The PMI power 50

As the foremost authority in project management, PMI recognizes 50 prolific leaders in project management. There is no scientific survey or empirical formula behind this listing—these leaders are featured based on any number of factors, including their project management-centric management style, reputation for supporting project managers, demonstrable results attributable to an investment in project management methodologies, and depth and breadth of project management capabilities, among others. Whether designated a Rainmaker, Icon, Communicator, Achiever, Champion or an Innovator, these leaders undoubtedly deserve acknowledgment for their accomplishments, which are tied directly to their belief that project management is indispensable to business results.

This list is by no means conclusive and does not include every project management savvy organization, in fact, some executives declined participation at this time. PM Network also did its best to represent global and gender diversity, but again, some people chose not to be featured—they would rather have their reputation speak for itself.

We hope the listed organizations inspire spirited discussion around what a true leader in project management is, does and achieves.

*Sales for 2004, unless otherwise noted. In U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.

RUSS ARTZT {EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CO-FOUNDER} COMPUTER ASSOCIATES, ISLANDIA, N.Y., USA

Russ Artzt wrote the code for some of CA's first products. Today, he manages all CA product business units, with particular focus on the integration of the company's management software portfolio and the evolution of its enterprise infrastructure management strategy.

Russ Artzt wants Computer Associates to be synonymous with quality, and he relies on project management as the centerpiece of that promise. CA’s business units run all development activities as projects through an internally developed life-cycle quality process, helping the company achieve global ISO9001 certification in 2003.

CA currently has more than 600 active projects in the works, and project managers help prioritize strategic tasks, reduce duplication of efforts, join tasks related to the delivery of integrated solutions and increase productivity. “But, the best reason for process and project management is to improve quality and the ultimate customer experience,” Mr. Artzt says.

Historically, CA has viewed project management as integral to line development, and that's reflected in the workforce—Mr. Artzt estimates that one out of every 20 employees in CA’s development organization has project management responsibility. As the enterprise relies more on project managers to deliver success, the executive view continues to change. “As part of our increased focus on integrated solutions, we have identified key personnel who manage projects across the business units,” he says. “Coordination of all project deliverables through a centralized project management office is under consideration, as customer requirements for integrated solutions increase.”

To achieve consistency and repeatability, the company has a centralized source code repository and standard mechanisms for control—the system holds literally billions of lines of code. Products automatically can be re-generated to include the latest updated modules and patches. “By implementing continuous process improvements, we directly impact product quality and make the role of project management at CA more important in reaching our objectives,” Mr. Artzt says.

For example, project managers are taking a leadership role in CA’s soon-to-be-released next-generation management tools, dubbed r11, which are based on a shared management repository. “Project management capability is enabling us to deliver all the components that make up the r11 system concurrently,” Mr. Artzt says. “As a result, we expect that customers who deploy r11 will appreciate the high quality and achieve more value through integration because of the total life-cycle development processes, testing methods and project management efforts.”

MARSHALL GOLDSMITH, PH.D. {FOUNDING PARTNER} MARSHALL GOLDSMITH COACHING NETWORK, NEW YORK, N.Y., USA

Marshall Goldsmith is a world authority in helping successful leaders achieve positive change in behavior. He has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Economist and is author or co-editor of 18 books.

Today's leaders need to proactively reach out—in many different directions. “With globalization, professionals need to become skilled in establishing long-term relationships. There is no longer a company that's big enough or powerful enough to succeed on its own,” says Marshall Goldsmith. “A big change that's occurred in the world of business is the emerging importance of alliances and partnerships.”

A great first step for all leaders is to redefine internal relationships. Learn to look at your direct reports and your upper management as partners—don't get lost in the hierarchy, Mr. Goldsmith says. Outside of your own organization, partner with suppliers; really learn their business and even build good relationships with your competitors. “Today's competitor is tomorrow's customer or tomorrow's supplier. If not today, then soon, you will probably be facing unique industry issues that many organizations will need to work on together,” he says.

“Great project management is important for all of these relationships because the level of complexity of projects has increased,” he says. “In the past, project management professionals have been heavily focused on strategy and content and have not given adequate emphasis to relationships. If you look at mergers and acquisitions, why do they usually fail? They fail because of people and cultural issues—not strategic issues.”

Mr. Goldsmith foresees growth for project management: Businesses will apply the same discipline to people and behavioral issues that historically has been applied to strategic, technical and quality issues. “In my network of executive coaches, we are coaching people from many organizations around the world—including hundreds of leaders from just one organization,” he says. “We have a built-in, ongoing follow-up system, a clear measure of quality. We're using project management talent to manage large coaching engagements. We only get paid for results—and that makes us very practical. Coaches are effective when they help clients with the hard work required for lasting change—and this takes discipline, follow-up and measurement.”

DONNA A. JAMES {PRESIDENT} NATIONWIDE STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS, COLUMBUS, OHIO, USA

As president of Nationwide Strategic Investments, Donna A. James is responsible for developing new business opportunities in diversified financial services and directing the management of several affiliates, including Gates McDonald, Nationwide Advantage Mortgage Co., Nationwide Health Plans, Nationwide Global Holdings and the Nationwide Strategic Investment Fund LLC. Ms. James has been with Nationwide since 1981 and has held several corporate leadership positions including executive vice president and chief administrative officer, senior vice president of human resources, and vice president, assistant to the chairman and CEO. She also has served as director of investment products administration and director of treasury services within Nationwide Life.

As one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the world, Nationwide is involved directly in projects within the domestic property and casualty insurance, life insurance and retirement savings, asset management and strategic investments arena. The recent Cook County Deferred Compensation Plan with an estimated multi-million dollar project investment of $600 million is a prime example.

The inherent project management skills also were evident when the firm teamed up with Lowe's Home Improvement to help hurricane victims save millions of dollars while rebuilding their homes in Florida following hurricanes Charley and Frances.

KEN BLANCHARD, PH.D. {CHIEF SPIRITUAL OFFICER} KEN BLANCHARD COMPANIES, ESCONDIDO, CALIF., USA

Ken Blanchard is an acknowledged expert in leadership training and development for organizations worldwide. Co-author of more than 30 books—including The One Minute Manager, a business bestseller for more than two decades; he is an award-winning speaker and consultant.

In his work with thousands of companies around the globe, Ken Blanchard Ph.D. has observed that successful projects are the result of group efforts—and he believes that any team can benefit from following the PRICE model presented in The One Minute Manager.

In the PRICE model, each letter serves as a roadmap toward project completion. P: Pinpoint—define the concerns; determine what problem sparked the need for the project. R: Report—what is the present level of performance in the problem area? Involve the team and determine what resources are necessary. C: Coach—The coach serves as the project team's mentor—offering positive feedback for good work or redirection when thing get off-base. E: Evaluation—In the project wrap up, the team focuses on lesson learned.

“For a project to be successful everyone has to know what the goals are, what the team is trying to succeed in doing and what good behavior looks like,” Dr. Blanchard says.

WILLIAM H. GATES {CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF SOFTWARE ARCHITECT} MICROSOFT CORP., REDMOND, WASH., USA

Today, Microsoft Corp. boasts revenues of US$36.84 billion for the fiscal year ending June 2004 and employs more than 55,000 people in 85 countries and regions. Under Gates' leadership, Microsoft's mission has been to continually advance and improve software technology, and to make it easier, more cost-effective and more enjoyable for people to use computers.

Microsoft dramatically changed the world of project-based software development with its 1981 introduction of the MS operating system for IBM. The firm since has evolved as a leader in software development and support and continues to drive innovation, including its soon-to-be released Vista platform, which the company calls its largest project investment in the firm's 30-year history.

MARIE-LAURE LIAO {FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR} LOGIC INTERNATIONAL, HONG KONG, CHINA

Logic International provides project management services for companies developing the China market.

Marie-Laure Liao views project management as critical not only to individual projects but to the company's ability to succeed in the international landscape—and for the business world at large to communicate effectively. “Project management definitely is a way to bring together many people from different countries,” says Ms. Liao. “Because we always are facing cultural differences and life philosophies, project management becomes a very important tool to focus the scope of a project, and define the goals. In China, without strong project management it would be very difficult to succeed in any ventures—project management is a must for any multinational corporation seeking to perform in any country at any time,” she says.

Logic International's PMO helps the organization succeed while maintaining its small size. The PMO, headed by Ms. Liao, includes an internally developed Web-based project reporting dashboard, project collaboration services and financial reporting tools. The company maintains a small project portfolio with high profile projects with no more than five project managers working at one time. Teams consist of contractors with specific criteria, know-how and experience in their field. “Our project managers have the most important role because they have to bring revenues,” Ms. Liao says.

She believes that one way to help developing nations is with project management training. “It is a faster way of ensuring success in any program helping an organization,” she says. “Project management tools really are an international common language, because there is no room for misunderstanding—the scope and deliverables are clearly defined at the beginning.”

DAVID WEAVER {VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS} FREQUENCY MARKETING INC., CINCINNATI, OHIO,USA

Frequency Marketing provides end-to-end resources and technologies for the design, implementation and management of relationship marketing programs.

Frequency Marketing Inc.’s creation of a formal program management office—now nine months in the making—will initiate, track and learn from all projects executed across the enterprise. “While our PMO initiative is relatively new, project management has been part of our delivery methodology for many years,” says David Weaver, vice president of business operations at FMI. “We have experienced many successes through deployment of project management methods.” Early achievements with technology projects, for instance, gave FMI the confidence and the process to better manage service delivery, analytics and consulting—disciplines often wed in client deliverables.

“Project management is core to our product delivery and is an enabler to achieving our business strategy. By capturing the effort required and lessons learned from previous projects,

we are better positioned to select and prioritize projects that are aligned with our business objectives,” Mr. Weaver says.

Once the PMO is established, the firm's executives will receive timely and accurate data on pending actions and have a taskmaster to tie projects to deadlines, predefined parameters and budget. The PMO will communicate the status and successes of FMI’s 25 project managers—15 percent of total staff—and other associates who routinely manage projects as part of their job responsibilities.

“The PMO is our effort to establish a consistent discipline of project management across all functions to ensure that we are using the same process, tools and metrics on all projects,” Mr. Weaver says. Project management methodology fundamentally transforms businesses. At FMI, the appointment of a PMO will not make any quick changes but recognize the evolution of project management.

“For FMI, the PMO is an evolutionary response to the increased scope and complexity of our business and the needs of our clients. It addresses those needs in a holistic way that stand-alone project management could not,” Mr. Weaver says. “We anticipate that the PMO will provide the focus and insight to make the right decisions to achieve our business objectives, effectively managing our portfolio of projects and efficiently deploying our resources and assets.”

FREDERICK C. PAYNE {DIRECTOR FOR PROGRAM MANAGEMENT} BAE SYSTEMS, ROCKVILLE, MD.,USA

BAE Systems specializes in developing advanced defense aerospace systems.

BAE Systems recognizes that all of the systems in the world cannot lead to success if the people don't have the necessary support. “Our project managers are working hard to maintain BAE Systems as a transatlantic leader designing and developing intelligent solutions,” says Frederick Payne. “Our organization operates thousands of projects at any given time and if one fails there potentially could be serious ramifications for our stakeholders.”

To best support its project management staff, BAE Systems developed a project management council to secure margins and enhance customer satisfaction through the continuous improvement of the project management processes and the development of its project managers. “It is easy to postulate that if you get 100,000-plus employees marching to the same tune, that the organizational efficiencies produced would be endless,” Mr. Payne says. “But the reality is that that approach will stifle creativity and develop a malaise amongst the workforce. The trick to success is to develop a common songbook, life cycle management, whereby common guidance, based upon best practices and lessons learned, is offered in a flexible yet structured framework.” BAE Systems functions around councils that meet regularly to recommend and facilitate the implementation of enterprise-wide initiatives in areas endorsed by the operating groups and lines of business.

Since implementing its project management “Developing You” empowerment initiative, employee satisfaction surveys have shown a continuing annual growth in those reporting that they have the opportunity to learn and satisfaction with career development and training. “Our Developing You program provides a single competency-based framework to consistently manage the development of project managers in meeting both their personal expectations and the needs of the business,” Mr. Payne says. It ensures a common language and terminology and promotes the professionalism of project management by increasing internal and external recognition of Project Management Professional (PMP^®) certification.

“What is important is that we meet our personal and corporate objectives by staying ahead of our competition and consistently delivering to our customers,” Mr. Payne says.

ALPHEUS BINGHAM, PH.D. {VICE PRESIDENT OF STRATEGY} ELI LILLY, INDIANAPOLIS, IND., USA

Eli Lilly develops pharmaceutical products; e.Lilly is the manufacturer's venture for partners and start-ups.

Eli Lilly and Company values project management tools and processes across its organization. Engineering, chemical development and venture development functions—those responsible for creating the products well before other project leaders seek federal approval and eventually market adoption—use project management methodology.

“Our project leaders serve many roles. Those within e.Lilly help incubate new ventures or new capabilities (including drug development), while our pharmaceutical project management and product teams hold the accountability for advancing new drug candidates,” says Alpheus Bingham. “We invest nearly $2.5 billion a year in R&D, most of which is guided through a project team structure.”

Lilly's 100-plus project managers support the company's strategic objective: to discover and develop innovative new pharmaceutical products to meet serious medical needs. Project managers and their teams coordinate their approach even before a specific molecular solution has been identified and continue their work well after a product is launched. This dedicated follow-through reinforces Lilly's innovation because project teams stay focused to study and implement product line extensions of new drugs.

“Project management is viewed as a critical capability,” Dr. Bingham says. “People with those skills are highly valued for the work they perform and often selected for leadership roles.”

Lilly's project managers nurture an active portfolio management process that not only employs but designs unique approaches to project evaluation and decision-making. Product and brand managers form heavyweight teams after research and development and engineering have done their part. They focus Lilly's resources on delivering timely drug registrations with strong clinical data support.

Many people within Lilly rely on the results of project management processes. More important, however, is the trust of the people Lilly's drugs serve. “Millions of patients succumb to illnesses while the medicines that may well benefit them are under evaluation and development,” Dr. Bingham says. “The use of project and portfolio management to make that process more effective gets these products to people safely and sooner. I can only imagine the lives that have been saved by project management getting drugs to the patient in a timely manner.

“I have met some of those individuals and families who owe their own lives or the lives of their parents, children or other loved ones to our products. You can imagine the nature of that dialog,” he says. “It seems like a pretty reasonable ROI to me.”

MARY ANN DAVIDSON {CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER} ORACLE, REDWOOD CITY, CALIF., USA

Mary Ann Davidson sees Oracle's security “culture” as a key corporate strategy and competitive advantage in the software industry. As CSO, she is responsible for product security, as well as security evaluations, assessments and incident handling. Ms. Davidson also represents Oracle on the board of directors of the Information Technology Information Security Analysis Center, is a member of the Global Council of CSOs, is on the editorial board of SC Magazine and is a frequent contributor to other industry publications.

The world's largest enterprise software company, Oracle provides software and services that allow organizations get the most up-to-date and accurate information from their business systems. The recent TransGrid legacy system replacement project valued at $2.04 million, with a 446 percent ROI, is a prime example.

Internally, Oracle also uses project management to provide engineering with visibility across the enterprise, helping engineers more effectively manage time, scope and resources while improving profitability by reducing risk and costs.

MARC OWEN {EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF CORPORATE STRATEGY AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT} MCKESSON, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF., USA

Marc Owen joined McKesson in 2001. Previously, while a senior partner at McKinsey, he advised pharmaceutical manufacturers, health care providers, distributors and technology companies-including McKesson—for more than a decade. Mr. Owen was the founding partner responsible for establishing McKinsey's presence in Silicon Valley, and he was the global leader of McKinsey's Business-Technology office.

McKesson is a leading provider of supply, information and care management products and services designed to reduce costs and improve quality across health care. The recent $143 million project to build and launch the U.K. National Health Service Electronic Staff Record System increased its ability to deliver care effectively.

Internally, McKesson's project management office approach allows it to centralize project assignments, customer issues and accountability, while capitalizing on project efficiencies through the consistent use of project methodologies, tools and standards.

KARIN DREGER {VICE PRESIDENT OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES} SAP, WALLDORF, GERMANY

SAP is the world's largest inter-enterprise software company and third-largest independent software supplier.

Three years ago, Karin Dreger sat back and envisioned the ideal future of client relationships. Ms. Dreger came to the realization that to succeed with global clients, she had to unite global employees. “To maintain the strategic customer relationships we have, it was important to have a consistent approach to project management and a consistent look and feel globally,” Ms. Dreger says. Her initial focus on client satisfaction soon transformed itself into a need for internal consistency so that an SAP project manager in China would have the same tools—and the same career path—as her Canadian counterpart.

Today, Ms. Dreger leads SAP’s global project management office (PMO) which has established governance standards for five once-autonomous regions: North America; Latin America; Europe, Middle East and Africa; Japan; and Asia/Pacific.

Since its launch in the first quarter of 2004, the PMO has increased visibility and allowed the organization to track progress and methodology by account, and then roll up information both regionally and globally. “It might sound like normal course of business,” says Ms. Dreger, “but for three years we were not consistently using the same methodology or terminology. Today, we have the same career development plans internationally— which is significant for us—and we are one of the few groups in SAP to accomplish that on a global level. It makes employees feel more needed, connected and nurtured. We also can leverage our experiences globally, so that project management has become an integral part of our knowledge management program. And I think it will lead to higher employee satisfaction and, ultimately, higher levels of customer service and satisfaction.”

FRANCISCO D'SOUZA {COO} COGNIZANT, TEANECK, N.J., USA

Francisco D’souza, has 15 years of experience in the information technology industry, in both operational and advisory roles. In this capacity, Mr. D’souza oversees much of the operations and business development of the company. He works closely with clients who are using offshore resources to execute large software development and maintenance projects.

Finding a niche within the crowded offshore development market, Cognizant is a pioneer of 4th Generation Offshore Outsourcing. This service combines the best economics with industry experience, advanced technology knowledge, cultural compatibility and local consulting presence that integrates business strategy with execution.

By building an e-business and outsourcing powerhouse capable of delivering 24x7 project management on the largest software projects, backed by a world-class research and development organization, Cognizant has shed new light on project delivery for an array of industries.

WILLIAM HANNIGAN {PRESIDENT AND CEO} AT&T, BEDMINSTER, N.J., USA

William Hannigan is responsible for AT&T’s global network, engineering, operations and the AT&T Labs. In addition to his responsibilities leading AT&T, Mr. Hannigan is a member of the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee, which provides guidance to the President of the United States and his administration regarding vital information technologies, and the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.

Considering William Hannigan's integral involvement with Sabre Holdings strategic transactions, including the spin from AMR and the merger of Travelocity and Preview Travel, he came to AT&T fully equipped to face industry changes. Under Mr. Hannigan's tutelage, AT&T has made various project-based culture shifts, including assuming subcontractor roles when appropriate and making long-term commitments within the voice over internet protocol (VoIP) industry.

AT&T’s commitment to innovation has made it a global leader in local, long distance, Internet and transaction-based voice and data services, which is evident in its various ongoing projects, including the $3.2 million networking for Atrium Co.

RALPH R. PETERSON {PRESIDENT AND CEO} CH2M HILL COMPANIES LTD., ENGLEWOOD, COLO., USA

CH2M Hill provides engineering and construction services.

Frequently, Ralph Peterson recalls the words of the organization's founding partner, Jim Howland, “There is no more important work in the firm than project management. If all the general management people quit for a month, the firm would be hurt but could survive. if all the project managers did the same, we would be out of business.”

“To underscore the critical value of project managers to our business, each of our business groups assigns a project delivery director to maintain and improve our project management processes and oversee career development of our project managers—who make up 14 percent of our total professional workforce,” Mr. Peterson says. “In essence, CH2M HILL is a project delivery machine.”

Fine-tuning that machine involves a number of unique factors, beginning with a proprietary career development framework for project managers to help them master key competencies. It also includes formal sharing, training and knowledge transfer related to how the company delivers projects to help clients do a better job of delivering projects within their own organizations.

One of the cornerstones of CH2M HILL’s project management approach is a focus on adding value for clients. It starts with identifying key measures of client value addition and works backward to deliver client value through effective project management.

This quarter, CH2M HILL expects to complete the deconstruction, decontamination and permanent closure of the U.S. Department of Energy's Rocky Flats Site. CH2M HILL project management actions will safely deliver an unprecedented $30 billion savings to U.S. taxpayers, 50 years ahead of original forecasts. “The technological challenges of this project are staggering,” Mr. Peterson says.

JON MIHALIC {SENIOR ASSOCIATE} BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON, MCLEAN, VA., USA

Booz Allen Hamilton offers strategic management and technology consulting.

Over the last five years, taxpayers and government shareholders increasingly have demanded more traceability and accountability, so the U.S. federal government—faced with an increasing deficit and flat discretionary spending—has had to make solid decisions on where to invest its limited resources. “Both government and corporate clients are looking to project management as a key ingredient to success,” says Jon Mihalic.

To be successful, the implementation of project management requires organizational commitment, people, processes and tools—in that order, according to Mr. Mihalic. “Most failed attempts focus on the software tools first, fitting the processes to the tool second, and lastly focus is placed on people and cultural impact,” he says. “They underestimate the impact this has on their company or organization and that it involves a true integration of project management into their overall management philosophy.”

Booz Allen's success is based on a corporate culture centered on core values and a passionate commitment to make the client's mission its mission. This culture, and an investment in training and mentoring, allows the company to keep staff—including more than 200 project management professionals—current on project management knowledge. “Project management interest groups are popping up all over Booz Allen. The groups meet monthly to talk about what's new in the field and pass information and new ideas along,” Mr. Mihalic says.

Confident in the skills of its own people, Booz Allen is aiming beyond the walls of the company and spreading project management principles to its clients. “Our goal,” Mr. Mihalic says, “is to have clients take our passion and discipline and run with it. We know we're successful when our clients are successful long after we're gone.”

ROBIN B. HURST, PMP {MANAGER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND RETROFIT PROJECTS} SOUTHERN CO. GENERATION, ATLANTA, GA., USA

Southern Co. Generation provides low-cost electricity to meet the demands a growing Southeastern U.S. market.

Though it has had a project management office since 2003, Southern Co.’s new project management cultural initiative is adding fuel to the fire, aiming to improve processes, standardize reporting and increase internal awareness of the project management discipline.

“We are dedicated to being a valued citizen wherever we serve and are committed to meeting the emission reduction goals set forth by environmental regulations,” says Robin B. Hurst. “All of this requires that we have a sound strategy and that we implement the strategy flawlessly.”

Mr. Hurst attributes the initiative's success to the executive commitment to a “one team, one goal” attitude that requires strong leadership from project managers to develop a vision supported by the entire team, including internal functions and plant operations functions.

“Executives understand the value of our project management approach and feel it is well worth the effort to continue to develop the process and the people,” Mr. Hurst says. “They recognize that our successes are the result of a lot of hard work by a lot of people. This is clear from the dedication in our company to always look for ways to go from good to great.”

JANE M. HOLLEN {SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CIO} XEROX NORTH AMERICA INFORMATION MANAGEMENT GROUP, ROCHESTER, N.Y., USA

Xerox provides document management products and services.

You won't find any superheroes in Jane Hollen's office. While “senior managers frequently come in to save the day at the end, by either pulling the plug to help fix the problem,” she says, the last-minute-save-all culture just isn't her style.

Instead, Ms. Hollen prefers a much more upfront approach. “I opt for really having a clear view of what the business needs are, what market segments we're serving and where we're going,” she says, “a clearly articulated value proposition and business case in the context of an overall portfolio.”

Project management is a big enabler. “It's a key competency for our organization,” she says. “It gives us the ability to bring in a diverse set of stakeholders to formulate a scope, to align the resources. It's all the elements that need to be put into place to drive the whole project delivery process. That's a key role.”

Ms. Hollen says the methodology's look-both-ways perspective keeps every level of the organization in the loop. On a daily basis, project management enables her staff to stay on task and throw up the red flag when necessary. A project's hard-line data and metrics give executives a holistic perspective that speaks directly to the bottom line.

That long-term perspective helps Ms. Hollen in what she understands to be one of her most critical roles as a Xerox executive: being a champion for vital projects. “No matter what kind of project you do, you clearly need sponsorship because projects that are going to make a huge difference don't necessarily have all of the alignment. There are different motivations behind them,” she says. “If you don't have sponsorship at the appropriate level in a company, you can do everything else perfectly and you won't get the adoption of your project.”

A superhero she might not be, but a leader for sure. “We very much need to support the people leading the project, creating an environment for them to succeed in by getting involved and knocking down the barriers in a proactive way.”

NICK KUZEMKA {VICE PRESIDENT, PROGRAM MANAGEMENT} LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP., BETHESDA, MD., USA

Lockheed Martin Corp. researches, designs, develops, manufactures and integrates advanced technology systems, products and services.

Lockheed Martin Corp. has more than 3,000 program managers leading challenging assignments, including designing, developing and producing various products including weapon systems for the U.S. Department of Defense. Additionally, more than 15,000 Lockheed Martin employees participate on program management teams that contribute significantly to meeting contract cost, schedule and technical objectives.

One of Lockheed Martin's personnel challenges is to prepare qualified employees to lead these programs. “It's a continuing challenge to get our up-and-coming program managers timely and appropriate experience and training,” says Nick Kuzemka.

“When you're working in a high-tech area, there are a lot of risks and uncertainties,” he says. “You have to be very flexible and experienced in your ability to handle all of those processes.” In an effort to train more project managers, leaders from across the corporation created the Lockheed Martin program management council. The council includes senior executives from Lockheed Martin's five business areas. “We started off with the questions: ‘What can we do as a group to further the program management discipline?’ ‘What are the most important things we can do as an enterprise initiative?’” Mr. Kuzemka says. A major goal of the council is to maintain flexibility, but also develop standards for program management training, career-paths, tools and processes.

Today, the program management council recognizes four levels of program managers across the corporation: Candidate Program Manager and Levels 1 through 3. Candidate-level program managers, individuals who have experience and have excelled in their functional areas, such as engineering, technology or finance, have to demonstrate the attributes essential for effective program manager leadership before they can enter the professional career path. “Great engineers aren't necessarily suited to lead a program. They need a vision of where our corporation is going, they need to know how to satisfy customer needs, they must be able to effectively motivate and communicate with their co-workers, and they must be able to deliver the product,” Mr. Kuzemka says.

Lockheed Martin's investment in training program leaders continues to be a major priority to corporate leadership and is a key discriminator in winning and performing on contracts. As a result, the corporation is evolving and changing to bring greater value to its customers and stockholders.

WILLIAM N. DUDLEY {DIRECTOR AND EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT} BECHTEL CORP., HOUSTON, TEXAS, USA

Bechtel Corp. provides construction, engineering and project management services in 140 countries. ^

For years, Bechtel executives thought of the company as a leading engineering and construction firm. “But today, with the addition of two important words, we now officially describe ourselves as one of the world's premier engineering, construction and project management companies,” says William N. Dudley.

In truth, Bechtel always has been a project management company. In its 107-year history, it has completed more than 22,000 projects. Successful project management experience is a prerequisite to leadership at Bechtel. During his career with the firm, Mr. Dudley benefited from great mentors. Since formally adding project management to its engineering and construction mandate, Bechtel's approach to grooming project managers has become far more systematic.

Today's rising managers at Bechtel take online courses on risk management and financial reporting; week-long training seminars on all aspects of project management; and review Web-based manuals, checklists, suggested implementation schedules and best practices.

“Many of these tools and training opportunities owe their existence to Bechtel's project management committee, formed in 1993 to develop project management into a disciplined function,” Mr. Dudley says. “Among other things, the committee aims to establish principles, procedures and programs for improving the performance of project managers; promote the application of lessons learned on all projects; institute consistent methods and tools across business units; and identify promising new project managers.”

Successful project management at Bechtel goes far beyond attention to schedule, cost, quality and safety. Equally important, Mr. Dudley says, is managing “outside the fence” by engaging public stakeholders whenever possible on issues such as environmental and social impacts. And as the first engineering and construction company to implement Six Sigma, Bechtel has saved its customers more than a billion dollars over the past four years. “The challenges are great, but so too are the competitive opportunities,” Mr. Dudley says. “No company in our industry can succeed today without making project management a core competence.”

ALAN L. BOECKMANN {CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER} FLUOR CORP., ALISO VIEJO, CALIF., USA

Fluor Corp. provides international design, engineering and contracting services.

Almost everyone at Fluor thinks of how their role fits into and supports project management. “That focus, combined with our formal training, helps us get plants built on time and on schedule—especially when a client comes to us with a politically complicated, extremely large and technically complex project,” says Alan L. Boeckmann.

The secret to Fluor's success over the last 20 years has been the high value Fluor executives place on the profession and how that dedication impacts the corporation's ability to work project management practices into client projects at the planning stage.

Earning the title of project manager at Fluor is no easy task. “It's a stellar career path here, and people aspire to it early,” Mr. Boeckmann says. “We start to assess their capabilities and seriousness within their first four years. Project managers cannot be one-dimensional. In addition to technical skills, they have to prove their ability to build teams, analyze situations, work with government and corporate clients and communicate effectively to solve problems.”

The career paths of the more than 1,300 project managers within the corporation are closely tracked by a 10-member development board that meets quarterly to discuss the current training program, projects, assignments to facilitate growth and the employees’ futures with the organization.

As Fluor project managers ascend to more complex projects, they are well-prepared to deliver the holistic approach that will ensure the project plan is viable, Mr. Boeckmann says. “More than working as a client's engineer, this approach has allowed us to be in on the front end of project development and work as a mediator between clients, subcontractors and other engineers, ensuring that our view of the project is dictated by, and aligned with, the client's view of the project,” he says.

DINESH KRISHNASWAMY{CO-FOUNDER AND MEMBER} INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES LTD., BANGALORE, INDIA

Head of quality, education and research, information systems and the communication design group, Mr. K. Dinesh also serves as chairman of Infosys Technologies Australia Pty Ltd., a subsidiary of Infosys.

The execution of projects from multiple geographically dispersed locations has presented formidable challenges. To meet them, Infosys pioneered the global delivery model (GDM) concept designed to enable project teams to carry out the work at the location where it makes the most business sense in terms of quality and profitability. “This means that companies no longer restrict themselves to getting the right people to their location to get the work done. Instead, the work is shifted to the place where it makes the most business sense,” says Mr. K. Dinesh.

So far, the approach is working. “GDM has helped our clients reduce time to market (extended work days leveraging time zones), lower total cost of ownership, minimize risks and provide competitive advantage,” he says. The high level of customer satisfaction has resulted in repeat business of greater than 95 percent for Infosys.

There is strong sponsorship from top executives to strengthen project management capabilities to support accelerated growth—the company already has more than 3,000 project managers. As part of its commitment, Infosys launched an enabling and assessment program for its project managers.

In addition to making huge investments in systems and tools and sponsoring certifications for employees, senior managers are involved at multiple levels conducting contract and commitments reviews, project milestone reviews and PRISM reviews—periodic reviews by Infosys senior management—to highlight risks, share knowledge and monitor project health for high-risk projects.

JANET BURNS, PMP {DIRECTOR OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT} THE NEW YORK TIMES CO., NEW YORK, N.Y., USA

Janet Burns leads Times’ project management office (PMO), providing standards and processes to ensure strategy is aligned with projects. She has experience in various functional areas, culled from her work at Cigna Insurance and Harris Publishing Co., and has championed the project management profession since joining Times’ management team six years ago.

In the media business, your reputation depends on your ability to deliver news accurately and on time. As a leading media company, The New York Times Co. publishes The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe and 15 other daily newspapers. It also owns eight network-affiliated television stations. The company has invested in a project management competency center to ensure it stays ahead of the competition. The investment has paid off—Fortune ranked the company No. 1 in the publishing industry in its 2005 list of “America's Most Admired Companies” for the fifth consecutive year.

Through project management, Janet Burns helps Times achieve its core purpose: to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment. Through her office in Norfolk, Va., USA, Ms. Burns helps lead the company's project management staff virtually. As the PMO strives toward continuous improvement, Ms. Burns is helping the Times become a maturity-focused organization that employs best practices.

PAULE DORÉ {VICE-PRESIDENT AND CCO} CGI-AMS, FAIRFAX, VA., USA

Paule Doré is responsible for CGI-AMS’ development and evolution of human resources and leadership development, internal and external communications, investor relations, quality and methodology as well as corporate governance. For more than 20 years, Ms. Doré has held various leadership and management positions, including president of the board of trade for Metropolitan Montreal from 1996—1997.

As a full-service IT and managed services provider with deep industry expertise and innovative project management service models, CGI-AMS recently helped the Cuyahoga County (Ohio, USA) Prosecutor's Office (CCPO) with a case management system designed to achieve it organizational goals. Upon completion, the new case management system will fully integrate information across all 13 units in the prosecutor's office, eliminate unnecessary data entry and generate accurate reporting and statistics. It creates a centralized system for managing 18,000 criminal cases, 11,000 juvenile cases, 5,000 civil cases, 3,500 Children and Family Services cases, and 7,000 child support cases annually. Additionally, it allows the CCPO to address storage issues in case volume, expected to increase from the current 285,000 cases to 365,000 cases within the next year.

RICH SHERIDAN {PRESIDENT} MENLO INNOVATIONS LLC, ANN ARBOR, MICH., USA

Menlo Innovations LLC designs and builds software products for companies that are either direct users or that want to sell those products in the marketplace.

Project management is all about agility at Menlo Innovations LLC. “We define agile as meaning responsive, not reactive,” says Rich Sheridan, who advocates using project management for its creativity as much as its consistency of approach.

“Our goal is to provide the project manager—and the project sponsor—with a high-performance steering wheel on the team.”

True to its name, Menlo Innovations employs novel team titles—from chief architects to high-tech anthropologists—to direct software development efforts. The company, which budgets 15 percent of each effort to project management, has completed about $8 million in projects since 2001. “Project management is a key element of our ability to scale our organization to handle more projects simultaneously without having to create inordinately complicated and expensive management hierarchy,” Mr. Sheridan says. “By providing a professional project manager with each project, part-or full-time, we have most of the ‘adult supervision’ we need on every one of our projects.”

Mr. Sheridan views project management as a core part of Menlo's strategy and delivery model. Project managers not only provide leadership and guidance to the project team, they also are the key contact for clients. “Our project managers do all the things you'd expect from most project managers in that they maintain all of the artifacts related to status, scope, budget and schedule, but they are also very much a part of the people-part of the equation,” he says. “They are highly involved with the software developers and designers as well as the key customer stakeholders.”

Menlo's iterative, incremental approach requires an adaptive, agile approach to project management. The company can better handle customer feedback and move past development miscues faster—traditionally a problem for the IT sector. “We are a weird software company in that we don't believe that software is always the best solution to all problems,” Mr. Sheridan says. “The tools we use are simple paper tools that invite participation of the project's sponsors in ‘what if’ planning exercises. We also treat ‘plan’ as a verb in our environment instead of a noun. Thus we plan every week, do a week's worth of work, evaluate how we did versus estimates and then re-plan based on those results and any other inputs that came in the meantime.”

BRAD BOSTON {SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CIO} CISCO SYSTEMS INC., SAN JOSE, CALIF., USA

Brad Boston is responsible for the company's worldwide use of information technology. Mr. Boston is driving Cisco's IT foundation strategy to enable end-to-end business processes and IT efficiencies throughout the organization.

As a leader in networking for the Internet, Cisco has created and deployed networks for business, education, government and home communications. The Sprint deployment of an end-to-end Cisco IP Next-Generation Network is a prime example. Cisco also uses project management to provide client management services.

Sprint's data simplification initiative is designed to deliver corporate applications such as intranets, extranets, highly secure remote access and value-added services over its 100 percent Cisco-based global IP/MPLS network. As a result, users have the ability to reduce or better manage costs through usage-based billing, prioritization for VoIP and other critical applications in addition to providing wireline and wireless access flexibility for stationary and mobile users to access company data and applications. The initiative also improves the overall customer experience with a streamlined product portfolio and simplified pricing, contracts and billing.

ROBERT ATWELL {SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF NORTH AMERICAN BRANCH OPERATIONS} KEANE INC., BOSTON, MASS., USA

A 32-year veteran of the information systems industry, Robert Atwell managed start-up organizations and consulted for numerous Fortune 500 companies. At Keane, Mr. Atwell is responsible for overall profit and loss, branch operations and customer satisfaction for North America.

Mr. Atwell joined Keane in 1974, and his early experience centered on branch management and project management. He also has served as Director of Keane's Professional Services Group, managing national senior industry consultants and education services. As advisor and partner for its clients, he has been able to deliver on projects like Keane's recent $367 million Victoria's Transport next-generation ticketing system deployment in Victoria, Australia.

This state-of-the-art micropayment smartcard technology ticketing system will support Victoria's multi-modal network of 270 railway stations, 480 trams and 1,650 buses that services more than 410 million journeys each year. With a scheduled 2007 live date, the new system will enable travelers to access all types of public transit using a single micropayment smartcard similar to a pre-paid mobile phone card. Passengers will be able to store value on their cards using self-service machines, the telephone or the Internet.

MARSHA EVANS {PRESIDENT AND CEO} AMERICAN RED CROSS, WASHINGTON, D.C., USA

The American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization that provides relief to victims of disasters.

A lot of companies refer to projects as critical, but for the American Red Cross, a project's success truly can mean life or death. In 2002, when Marsha “Marty” Evans joined the organization, only the IT department and biomedical services division had project management efforts in place.

In 2003, Ms. Evans established the organization's enterprise project management office, a departure for a non-profit. “The Red Cross is a unique institution with a broad mission, and that means that we must measure our success in ways that reflect both our lifesaving mission and our accountability to our donors,” she says. “One of the things that I have done is to incorporate the success of strategic projects into the personal performance objectives of the executives who are leading them. This helps instill the focus, discipline and commitment required to successfully execute projects that are intricately tied to our ability to achieve our strategic goals.”

While finalizing the strategic plan for that year, it became clear to Ms. Evans that a major outreach effort to increase the level of emergency preparedness in the United States was needed—quickly. She appointed a senior executive sponsor and issued a tight deadline, providing the team with four months to design a new program. The team delivered and rolled out the “Together We Prepare” campaign on time.

Its quick development and timely deployment allowed local and regional government agencies to work with the Red Cross to help educate citizens on the importance and techniques of becoming prepared for all types of emergencies. “The return on investment is probably best measured by the number of people we reached,” Ms. Evans says. “Prior to the program's launch, we educated approximately 1.8 million people annually. Today, we are training about 4 million people a year, thanks in large part to ‘Together We Prepare.’”

The other return on investment is an institution-wide embrace of project management—success with high-profile projects is one of the ways in which the enterprise project management office has demonstrated its worth. “All of our executives have come to appreciate what project management contributes to their operational success. I receive more requests for professionally trained project managers and see basic approaches to project management becoming routine across the Red Cross,” Ms. Evans says.

PETER ALTABEF {PRESIDENT AND CEO} PEROT SYSTEMS CORP., PLANO, TEXAS, USA

A 10-year member of Perot Systems’ executive team, Peter Altabef joined Perot in 1993 and was named president and CEO in September 2004. During his decade of leadership, Mr. Altabef contributed to building an IT services company with $1.8 billion of annual revenue in 2004 and more than 16,000 associates worldwide. Mr. Altabef led the development of the company's business process solutions strategy.

The $20 million U.S. Department of Education Data Exchange Network project exemplifies how Perot Systems used project management to tap into a portfolio of interrelated consulting, business process, application and infrastructure services. With a project focus, Perot blends strategic design, proven technology and timely delivery to create solutions that maximize returns on IT investments.

CARL SERGEANT, PMP {ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT} BELL CANADA, TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA

Bell Canada is Canada's largest communications network.

Twelve years ago, Carl Sergeant looked at Bell Canada's existing project management structure and saw the opportunity to grow both his project managers and the corporation. “As a project manager myself,” he says, “I saw project managers out in the world without a solid support infrastructure—we needed to enhance our support of them so they could be more effective and provide more value.” He has spent the last three years championing project management within the corporation, building executive support and aligning project management with Bell Canada's forward momentum.

“Previously, project management was seen as a magic wand: When something was falling apart, you threw in a project manager to fix it,” Mr. Sergeant says. “But it's way more valuable than that; I’m passionate about the value project managers create.” His passion has impacted the entire organization. Mr. Sergeant established a five-level career path. “Project managers can increasingly take on more responsibility, accountability and risk, knowing there is a career path to support their own career aspirations” he says.

This year, project management itself got a promotion when it moved into Bell Professional Services. Through a project called “Evolution,” the project management organization went through a change and now is run as a matrix with a resource management team. Leaders became coaches and mentors—that dedication to a professional services mentality before the corporation itself was thinking in that direction is what attracted Professional Services to the group.

“At the end of the day it's about people, making sure they have what they need to do the job, they are supported and feel good about what they are doing,” Mr. Sergeant says. “And it's making sure the corporation understands how important that support is, and that's the success of the project management office.”

CLAY B. JONES, PMP {PMO DIRECTOR} WASHINGTON GROUP, BOISE, IDAHO, USA

Washington Group provides global integrated engineering, construction and management solutions.

Clay Jones, PMP, practices what he preaches. “I believe that a disciplined project management process, if applied with appropriate judgment, is the most effective way to manage work, whether it is a traditional engineering/construction job or an operational function,” he says.

The company's comprehensive internal process, The Washington Way, consists of policies and standards, detailed procedures, tools and training. Corporate functional leaders in project management, project controls, estimating, engineering, procurement and construction institutionalize Washington Group's approach. Consistently superior performance is accomplished through standardized tools, extensive investment in personnel training and development, resource deployment, detailed performance monitoring and a formalized process to share lessons learned.

Mr. Jones works closely with both the corporate functional leaders and his counterparts in the other business units to share process improvements and enhance employee development and deployment. “An effective, functioning project management and program integration office is indispensable for planning, executing and controlling projects, and meeting customer objectives, especially in a cost-constrained, competitive environment,” he says.

During recent work at the Savannah River Site for the U.S. Department of Energy, the company effectively utilized resources while maintaining control and focus on project teams—and on results. “We are seeing substantial results and our investment really is paying off,” he says. “This can be seen from our earned value performance metrics. Of our current 45 projects, totaling about $4.5 billion, eight have a schedule performance index (SPI) or cost performance index (CPI) below 1.0, but only one has both CPI and SPI less than 1.0. The real success, however, is meeting customer expectations, which we believe is directly tied to implementing a comprehensive project management approach to business,” he says.

DUNDEANA DOYLE {VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGY AND RISK} ALLIANT ENERGY, MADISON, WISC., USA

Alliant Energy provides electricity and natural gas to customers in four states.

In mid-2004, Alliant Energy added a 565-megawatt natural gas combined cycle generating station to its fleet of plants in Iowa to ensure reliable electrical service to customers. “Constructing a new power plant is a complex process with dozens of internal and external stakeholders, including vendors, regulators, customers and neighbors,” says Dundeana Doyle, vice president, strategy and risk for Alliant Energy. “Application of our project management process helped complete the project on time and under budget.”

At Alliant Energy, projects are scoped at the corporate level, so there is a lot of diversity—everything from information technology projects to construction to business process improvements, according to Ms. Doyle. After concepts and ideas are strategically planned, Alliant Energy uses a process based on PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) to drive projects through execution. Critical metrics are tied back to business metrics, such as cost savings, cycle time, benefit realization and risk avoidance to ensure that the right projects get done quickly and cost-effectively.

“Our PMO, established in 1998, provides oversight and independent data-based reporting through our executive project dashboard,” Ms. Doyle says. “Project management provides the process, tools and support to help Alliant Energy achieve specific business results within time and cost constraints to meet strategic objectives. It also provides visibility and accountability with regular checkpoints for go/no-go decisions and proactive risk management and avoidance.”

GEORGE LOWDEN {EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT} ICF CONSULTING, FAIRFAX, VA., USA

ICF Consulting is a management, technology and policy consulting firm.

ICF Consulting views its “product” as “projects.” “Our success is due to project management, and our future is based on a culture that recognizes the role project management plays in everything we do,” says George Low-den, PMP, executive vice president. “It's this culture that sets us apart. We have great people, and the people, not the institution, do the work for our clients. But even as our dedicated people come and go, grow and change, our clients come back to us in part because of the analytic, project management culture that they can depend on throughout the company.”

The owners and managers of ICF Consulting are focused on growing internally and by selected acquisitions. “Many businesses view acquisitions as financial activities, but having undertaken several, we know that they are much more than that,” Mr. Lowden says. ICF Consulting “projectizes” each acquisition and then manages it accordingly.

Project teams are diligent about tracking the progress of acquisition tasks, even if the work appears to be going well. “Will Rogers, the American humorist, said, ‘Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.’ If a project task starts to falter, the entire effort can unravel surprisingly quickly.” Without project management, Mr. Lowden says, ICF would not know the goals of transition or integration efforts, how to manage and accomplish them best, or how to measure progress or the ultimate level of success.

MARC OKEN {CFO} BANK OF AMERICA, CHARLOTTE, N.C., USA

Marc Oken is responsible for finance, supply chain management, corporate treasury, corporate investments, corporate workplace and investor relations. Prior to his appointment as CFO, Mr. Oken was principal financial executive, a position he held since joining the bank in 1989. From 1981 to 1983, Mr. Oken was a fellow with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bank of America's recent merger with FleetBoston has provided numerous project opportunities including the recent $1.1 billion communications infrastructure integration. As the individual formally responsible for the merger transition, Mr. Oken is intimately involved in making the process a success.

GINA M. WESTCOTT {DIRECTOR OF MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS} BOSTON UNIVERSITY CORPORATE EDUCATION , BOSTON, MASS., USA

Boston University Corporate Education Center provides project management training for individuals and organizations.

Hiring project managers with Project Management Professional (PMP^®) credentials may not guarantee that the project manager hired is capable of moving the organization forward, according to Gina M. Westcott, MDP director at Boston University Corporate Education Center (BUCEC).

Ms. Westcott, who works closely with organizations to determine project management needs and build project management capability using training programs, skills assessments, coaching or mentoring and consulting, has seen an increasing need for project managers to have strong leadership skills within the organization.

Ms. Westcott sees the project manager of the future as an individual who works hand-in-hand with the executive team to ensure that the right projects are selected at the right time, to align with the long-term goals of the organization. “Organizations will not be able to compete globally without putting in place project management processes and continuing to develop their project managers to become leaders within the organization,” she says.

Technical skills, she says, are no longer enough. Project managers need strong business and leadership skills, the ability to speak at the executive level and communicate how projects are aligned to the goals of the organization, the ability to assist in determining which projects should be part of the project portfolio, and the ability to effectively and accurately report on project status to executives of the organization.

FRIEDRICH STROBUSCH

{PROJECT DIRECTOR} SIEMENS BUSINESS SERVICES, MUNICH, GERMANY

A GLOBAL IT SERVICE PROVIDER, SIEMENS BUSINESS SERVICES EMPLOYS MORE THAN 36,000 PEOPLE.

Managing projects at Siemens Business Services means thinking and acting like entrepreneurs, showing technical excellence and mastering all aspects of project management, according to Friedrich Strobusch, project director. “The increase in customer satisfaction and retention, staff motivation and business success are the yardsticks of success for our project managers.”

Three years ago, the Siemens corporate executive committee had integrated the project management improvement approaches from the different Siemens groups. Siemens declared the improvement of project management as a strategic objective and initiated the PM@Siemens initiative as a common platform to strengthen its global competitiveness. A team of experts from the different groups identified best practices in 12 areas of project management and defined measures that are being implemented in all Siemens Groups. “The progress of the implementation is monitored through regular project management-based key performance indicator reporting and annual maturity assessments to ensure the sustainability of the improvement program,” Mr. Strobusch says.

When taking their skills out of the office, teams conduct a customer business needs workshop to gather and validate client information. They analyze the client situation and use the opportunity to obtain insight into the client's objectives and business needs to define the scope of the project early in the proposal phase.

During a project, both the customer and Siemens Business Services appoint executives and ensure the project is aligned to the customer's business objectives. The team has strategic direction, that contractual arrangements are met and that conflicts between parties or con-current sub-projects are resolved. “These principles allow us to conduct business in a win-win situation with our customers,” Mr. Strobusch says. “They support our strategic direction to increase our business portion in a customer budget for IT spending and help us to increase our market share.”

DAVID WILLIAMS {PARTNER, PROGRAM LEADERSHIP PRACTICE} DELOITTE, LONDON, U.k.

Deloitte provides consulting services globally.

Who is one of Deloitte's most difficult clients? Deloitte is, says David Williams. The firm manages billions of dollars annually in projects for clients and when the consultants turn their focus inward, expectations are just as high. “When we execute internal changes, we become our own clients—and we're quite demanding,” he says.

During a recent year-long project to implement a standardized SAP system, a project management office was established and SAP experts were brought in while a senior project manager led the effort.

Investing $1 million annually in internal projects and managing billions of dollars a year for its clients’ projects, Mr. Williams says, allows Deloitte to see project management from both sides giving the organization a multi-angle focus on the industry. “What has happened is that project management has grown up to cope with programs within interrelated projects and then, more laterally, portfolios and programs and projects. And not all of the tools, technologies and personalities that apply in projects apply in programs and portfolios. Project management has benefited from commonality of language and standards,” Mr. Williams says adding that a common understanding of the difference between project, programs and portfolios would do even more to strengthen the industry.

JEFF STERBA {CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT, CEO} PNM RESOURCES, ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., USA

PMN Resources is an electricity and natural gas company, the parent company of PMN, Texas-New Mexico Power, First Choice Power and Avistar.

Two years ago, PNM Resources established a project management office (PMO) in its business technology organization. Today, the company is building on its success to create an enterprisewide PMO that will serve as a resource for approach, methods, tools and reporting and establish a consistent and common approach to project management throughout the company, providing the platform for a scalable and deployable PMO as the company continues to grow.

“One of PNM Resources’ strategic goals is to incorporate process quality into all operations,” says Jeff Sterba, chairman, president and CEO of PNM. “We continually evaluate our processes and systems to provide reliable, affordable service to our customers in a way that best rewards our shareholders. Project management provides a standardized and objective method to look at organizational performance against strategic goals.”

Project management quickly is ingraining itself into corporate culture and influencing how PNM does business. “Project management is not one department at PNM—it's part of our operating model of how we deliver value to our customers and key stakeholders,” Mr. Sterba says.

When PNM recently acquired a Texas-based company, the successful use of project management approaches and methods allowed the company to make significant internal investments. Because of the successful acquisition, the company has been able to make significant internal investments in human resources systems as well as in efforts to maintain reliability, enhance the customer care experience, improve safety culture and practices, and launch a supply chain management initiative. They also were able to lower rates for customers, Mr. Sterba says.

PETER BLACKMORE {PRESIDENT OF SALES AND MARKETING} UNISYS, BLUE BELL, PA., USA

As president of worldwide sales and marketing for the worldwide organization, Peter Blackmore is responsible for driving the Unisys change agenda in sales and delivery excellence as well as driving the sales leadership program. He also manages the corporate teams in strategic communications, corporate marketing, sales operations, services operations, solution development and strategy and alliances. In addition to his role in marketing and sales, Mr. Blackmore serves as executive vice president of the Unisys Board of Directors.

Coming from HP, Peter Blackmore brought to Unisys a wealth of project management experience, which he is using to develop the firm's diverse client base. Combining its expertise in consulting, systems integration, outsourcing, infrastructure and server technology, Unisys recently rolled out a $12 million call center service project for Compañía Anoníma Nacional Teléfonos de Venezuela.

REBECCA MACIEIRA-KAUFMANN {EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND SMALL BUSINESS SEGMENT MANAGER} WELLS FARGO, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF., USA

Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann manages profit and loss of the small business cash management and business direct lines and loans businesses, as well as small business marketing for the diversified products group.

A leader at one of the largest financial institutions in the western United States, Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann wears many hats. She oversees portfolio management, product management and development, database marketing, business development, phone sales, market intelligence, marketing communications, direct mail and finance strategy and analysis for the small business customer segment.

“Good business management is all about excellent execution,” Ms. Macieira-Kaufmann says, “setting goals, measuring goals and ensuring all team members are aligned to properly support those goals. The success or failure of each of these areas is largely determined by our ability to incorporate the most effective methods of project management in all that we do.”

As a manager of several multi-billion dollar businesses for Wells Fargo, Ms. Macieira-Kaufmann believes that project management is a fundamental skill. “Without project management, it would be impossible for us deliver on our strategic vision of helping small business owners succeed financially, in business and personally,” she says, crediting good project management practices with supporting every initiative in the company and helping every project get from A to Z. While my title may not be project manager,’ it happens to be one of the many hats I wear.”

BRENDA BRESLIN {DIRECTOR OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT} NEW YORK STATE PMO, ALBANY, N.Y., USA

The Office for Technology works to improve government services and efficiency.

Her business card says that she's the director of project management, but Brenda Breslin, at times, feels more like a foreign-language translator between technical groups.

A 20+-year project management veteran, Ms. Breslin uses the methodology to create a universal vocabulary among the myriad entities and agencies involved in New York State IT projects. Putting her experience and knowledge to paper, Ms. Breslin is co-author of the New York State Project Management Guidebook, which is compliant with PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide).

“The Guidebook provides a common terminology so everyone is speaking the same language,” she says. “Most of our projects cross functional boundaries within the organization. The methodology helps keep us on the same page, making sure we're sharing lessons learned and valuable project information.”

The first version of the guide proved so successful that Ms. Breslin and her colleagues released a second edition, which incorporates many of the lessons learned after the first publication. “The Guidebook is constantly changing,” she says. “It's not stagnant. We're doing updates, tweaks and changes. It's continuously improving.”

During the span of her two-decade career, Ms. Breslin has seen the value of project management continue to prove itself ever more relevant to her agency's operation. “Communication has increased across work groups. Issues are brought up much earlier in the project. Resources are better allocated,” she says.

Additionally, project management lends value up the organization. Ms. Breslin says that the methodology has helped the NYS PMO optimize offerings. “We have a better informed portfolio management process, which helps us meet business goals,” she says. “It enables us to say that every project is aligned with the strategic direction of the agency.”

E.LAVERNE JOHNSON {FOUNDER, CEO AND PRESIDENT} INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR LEARNING, NEW YORK, N.Y., USA

International Institute for Learning is a corporate training and consulting firm with nine global operating companies.

Someone who derives great joy from being a “constant learner,” E. LaVerne Johnson is passionate about training and education in project management. “You help individuals perform better at what they do. You help organizations. That helps their community, their country and ultimately the world. The ripple effect of project management is huge. And it's all good. Because what's project management if not a strategic tool to help companies run better?”

One of the greatest benefits she sees on the horizon is standardization of managing global projects. “In the early '90s, you could go into a room with 30 project management professionals and not know they were talking about the same subject. That changed when PMI created A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide). That was the catalyst that created a profession.” Ms. Johnson believes the new challenge is similar as organizations strive to merge several national standards to create an international language. “We wouldn't have been able to effectively train 1,200 SAP project managers in 22 countries over just a few months last year without the consistency of the PMBOK^® Guide.”

The big hurdle today is leadership. “What organizations really are trying to do is get their project teams to work together efficiently and effectively. That requires a focus beyond rules and procedures because after a while the philosophy can be excellent, but it has to create results in the real world to be meaningful.”

Looking ahead, she can see the day when all organizations truly manage themselves through program and project portfolio management. “When top-level executives come to their offices in the morning and see a dashboard of portfolios on mission critical projects, learn what's on schedule and on budget, get really useful information when they need it and use it to make critical business decisions when they need to be made, that will be a tremendous breakthrough.”

SCOTT FASS {MANAGING DIRECTOR, PROJECT ADVISORY SERVICES} PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS (PWC) LLP, WASHINGTON, D.C., USA

PWC is a global consultancy.

Two years ago, executives at PricewaterhouseCoopers revived their commitment to project management principles. Their investment was sparked by two things: the desire to meet client demands and the sale of the organization's legacy consulting practice to IBM, according to Scott Fass, managing director. “We've taken the project and program management services we provide to clients and internalized them to improve our operational effectiveness,” he says. Since changing the business model for its core auditing business, PwC has driven toward greater employee satisfaction and minimizing turnover caused by excessive work hours.

The firm put its faith in project management, with the goals of allowing its practitioners to thrive and inspire them to stay in the environment, satisfied that they are in the best place. “We relied on best practices, such as creating a strong matrix organization where subject matter experts can be leveraged and pulled in to a team,” Mr. Fass says. For example, if an audit team needs a derivatives expert, it might reach outside of the core audit team, bringing an expert in only for the duration of that project segment. This allows teams to optimize resources, rather than churning and burning on skills that might be a stretch. Also, the person who is pulled in is engaged in multiple dynamic environments, while fulfilling individual goals, he says.

“A lot of companies provide these services to their clients, but don't practice what they preach,” Mr. Fass says. “I feel strongly PwC is a great place to work and embedding project, program and portfolio management in support of our core business is creating win-win scenarios across our firm.”

ABDALLAH S. JUM'AH {PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER} SAUDI ARAMCO, DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIA

The Saudi Arabian oil company is the world's no.1 oil producer.

Saudi Aramco's PMO consists of two general management areas and seven departments—some permanent and others created to support a single mega-project. The company's project management organization helps to achieve Saudi Aramco's strategic imperatives in three important areas, says Abdallah S. Jum'ah.

“First, project management is working to maintain cost and schedule parity with best-in-class performers,” he says. “We have teams currently active on initiatives in support of this goal. These initiatives run from the earliest planning stages to the post-project appraisal.” For example, the organization is defining decision-making gates in project planning, each of which provide an opportunity to ensure that projects align with the company's strategic direction and that key decisions are made early. Looking at project closeout, the company is developing a process to assess scope, economics and operational results versus the original front-end planning.

“Our project management competency's second contribution to our strategic direction is in the area of optimizing our corporate portfolio,” Mr. Jum'ah says. “Project management has allowed us to outsource design work to local design contractors, and our outsourcing focus for this year is to change from a service provider to a manager of service providers.”

Saudi Aramco also believes project management can help expand and diversify its portfolio—in-kingdom contractors execute more than 60 percent of the engineering and all of the construction for Saudi Aramco's projects. Internally, Mr. Jum'ah already has seen great results. “We have reduced our average project schedule duration by 20 percent, seen a 10 percent reduction in our international cost benchmarking results and a 50 percent improvement in contractor safety performance,” he says.

LARRY NOVACICH {EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS} SYNYGY, CHESTER, PA., USA

Synygy is the largest provider of enterprise incentive management software and services and a leading supplier of solutions that enable companies to align, measure, reward, report and analyze the performance of the organization and its employees.

Gaining speed without sacrificing quality is a tough task for any project team. When Synygy set the goal of cutting installation time down to only 90 days—in an industry where the standard installation takes a year—it had to get its internal resources in top shape.

In addition to providing better service for clients, the increased project speed was intended to increase employee satisfaction, says Larry Novacich. “Those long, massive projects tend to run employees into the ground, and then they need recovery time before they are ready for the next big challenge. We felt that was an inefficient way to run projects and a poor way to treat employees.”

Synygy sees project management as critical to its success because clients are paying not just for software but for a well-run project, whether that is during a configuration or during outsourced plan management. To speed up implementations and manage significant technological changes, the company reinvented its project approach.

Synygy designated a project management officer, who developed three key things: training for project managers and for the rest of the 200-person professional services organization so all employees understand project management and can communicate using a common language and thought process; new project management templates accessible via an intranet; and coaching, where a more senior project manager coaches others to resolve issues that arise in a project and to serve as another set of eyes and ears.

“We ask clients quarterly to tell us how we're doing,” Mr. Novacich says. “Our client satisfaction, which is consistently above four on a five-point scale, has improved on our implementation projects since we instituted the project management improvements.” The new processes have not only enhanced client satisfaction, they have had a positive impact on morale. “The speed really has made a difference. There was doubt about whether we could speed up the implementation process. When it started to happen, we were all more motivated by the success—there's a certain element of success breeding success,” Mr. Novacich says.

RENÉE SPEITEL {VICE PRESIDENT OF THE ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM MANAGEMENT OFFICE} HEWLETT-PACKARD SERVICES, PALO ALTO, CALIF., USA

Hewlett-Packard is the largest consumer IT company and a leading enterprise IT company.

When news of the largest IT merger ever broke—a blending of Hewlett-Packard and Compaq into a $73-billion global technology company operating in 160 countries—the story wasn't about what went on behind the scenes, a massive effort to prepare for day one. But preparation was key to the merger's success.

“The pre-close effort is as an example of how a solid project management approach to the integration planning effort for the merger had significant impact on shareholder needs,” says Renée Speitel. “This was a classic project with a start and end date that was not movable. There were clear objectives and goals, multiple activities to plan and manage, priorities to establish, staffing requirements, risks and constraints to manage and staggering communication requirements.”

At its peak, there were more than 2,000 people working on the project from both companies, all aiming to provide a product roadmap effective on day one so that the new organization and its customers would know the post-merger status of product offerings.

“Rigorous project management practices were employed to handle all aspects of this effort,” Ms. Speitel says. “Accountability was determined for each sub-project with an owner identified for each, a budget established and financial targets set. Rigorous tracking of all projects, key milestones and progress against schedule were done on a weekly basis.”

Regular communication to key stakeholders, including the board of directors of each company, was important. “Without solid project management skills and a disciplined approach this project would not have been successful,” she says. On day one, the new company had more than 800 senior managers named and in place and more than 200 account managers named to ensure customer continuity. The success was possible, in part, because of the global EPMO, which is supported by a formal organization that supports and trains project mangers.

TIM SHANNON {DEAN OF THE CAPITAL AND NORTHEAST REGION} THE DEFENSE ACQUISITION UNIVERSITY, FORT BELVIOR, VA., USA

Tim Shannon is dean of the Capital and Northeast Region of the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) in Fort Belvior, Va., USA. DAU provides practitioner training and career management to the defense acquisition workforce.

To become a 24/7 learning-on-demand asset to the acquisition workforce, Tim Shannon joined the group that made the initial push to transform the university by centralizing key information and connecting a globally scattered workforce.

DAU established a dedicated department to manage the transition. “That helped us cut down development time and cost while allowing us to put out a product of benefit to the workforce,” Mr. Shannon says. “In the past, courses were developed independent of each other; we were looking for configuration control and the ability to move learning assets between different courses where applicable.”

Project management is essential to major acquisition programs because leaders in procurement need leadership, team-building and problem-solving skills that come from project management training. DAU has long-partnered with PMI and in 2003, PMI adopted the Department of Defense (DoD) Extension to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide).

KENNETH R. JOHNSEN {PRESIDENT AND CEO} PARAGO INC., LEWISVILLE, TEXAS, USA

Parago provides marketing services to more than 250 clients.

Parago's clients tend to deepen their relationship with the company by continually delegating more projects to Parago's capable project managers. The new opportunities are easily absorbed.

“We start a project with a client that thinks it's the best project manager in the world,” says Ken Johnsen. “But once we get involved, we find they delegate a lot to us. We can do it twice as fast and with much less cost. Project management is our lifeblood.”

Project management lets the firm calculate return on investment for every piece of work, including internal product building and infrastructure issues such as IT systems care and data recovery in the case of cyber-shortages as well as client-specific jobs. Parago puts project management priority on work that is estimated to take more than 300 hours to complete.

“Project management is an iterative process, and we constantly take new feedback to improve the process,” Mr. Johnsen says. A project management officer incorporates lessons learned so that successive rounds of decisions—which projects to pursue, how to manage them, which components to track and how to change the process yet again—are easier to make. Continuous improvement also reinforces the company's claim of project management as a core competency.

Parago's PMO meets weekly with the company's executive team to look at potential projects and rate them with a business score (a reflection of the project's relevancy to Parago's strategic objectives) and a technology score (a consideration of necessary personnel efforts and on-hand technical expertise), then does some delegating of its own, doling out projects to the dozen project managers on staff.

“We take a deliberate view to strategic objectives and we are incredibly accountable on projects, even with competing demand for resources,” Mr. Johnsen says. “We have a closed loop—identify a project, do it and manage its success.”

Additional reporting by Natalie Bauer, Ross Foti, Peter Fretty and Kelly Shermach