PDU Opportunities
Janice L. Thomas, PhD and Mark Mullaly, PMP, at 2008 PMI Research Conference, Warsaw, Poland.
On 14 July at the 2008 PMI Research Conference held in Warsaw, Poland, Janice L. Thomas, PhD and Mark Mullaly, PMP, presented the preliminary findings of their landmark study, Researching the Value of Project Management.
The study was commissioned by PMI and conducted through Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada. The eagerly anticipated presentation was a featured event of the conference.
Dr. Thomas and Mr. Mullaly, the principal researchers, discussed the unprecedented investigation before an audience of more than 300 attendees.
Dr. Thomas opened the presentation with an essential conclusion, “I can stand here today and unequivocally state that project management does deliver value.”
The elements that create value were described as: satisfaction; project and organizational alignment; consistent use of good practices; better results of processes and projects; better business outcomes; and realization of tangible and intangible benefits.
The study comprises an amazing amount of data generated through 65 case studies, 447 interviews and 418 project summaries conducted by a team of 48 researchers from 15 countries during the last three years.
Organizations studied include those that are privately held, publicly traded, state owned, joint ventures, partnerships, sole proprietorships and government agencies.
Geographically, 29 percent were in Europe, 22 percent in North America and there was good representation from China, Russia, Australia, the Middle East and South America.
While the researchers collected many forms of data, interviews with project management practitioners provided rich statements about the value of project management. Here are some examples.
“Project management provides hard value: saving wasted dollars and effort and mitigating the risk of wasting dollars,” said one project manager.
“All divisions must work like a team to respond to customer needs. Project management contributes to team building and coordination. It greatly improved work efficiency and customer satisfaction,” said another project manager.
Further analysis and additional information on how practitioners and credential holders can make use of these research results will be forthcoming at the PMI Global Congress 2008—North America, to be held on 18–21 October in Denver, Colorado, USA.
Researching the Value of Project Management is available for pre-order. The book will be available for sale at the North America congress.
For more information now, see a video of the “Researching the Value of Project Management” presentation in Warsaw.
An eight-hour Research Program Working Session, scheduled to take place on 19 October during PMI Global Congress 2008—North America in Denver, Colorado, USA, will focus on the value of project management to organizations. Mark Mullaly, PMP, and Janice Thomas, Ph.D., will facilitate the workshop.
The workshop will enable participants to understand and articulate the value that implementation of project management can bring to organizations. Attendees will learn how to tailor this understanding to their industries, geographic regions and companies and how to communicate the value of PM to their management.
Credential holders can earn eight professional development units (PDUs) for participating in this session. Due to space limitations, early registration is strongly encouraged.
