The Profession in the Public Eye, Blast from the Past,
Good News, Not So Good News, Professional News,
Trees in Projects and White Storks
REPORT
By Miles Shepherd
Executive Advisor & International Correspondent
Salisbury, England, UK
INTRODUCTION
Most readers will know we were forced to skip the October issue, which is a mixed blessing as it allowed me more time to compete my report but still necessitates some editing as events in the PM World do not stand still.
There are times when you feel you are repeating yourself and this is one – the Silly Season is not actually over, as I had assured readers in the September report. I had forgotten that September brings not Wordsworth’s “the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” but the party political conferences. A cynic might regard these events as just another junket for those with their snouts in the trough (See right. Image: bellscorners.wordpress.com).
However, such events offer the opportunity for lobbying and the Politicos are often prone to promise all sorts of goodies that affect the Project World as I report later. Furthermore, we have just had a new Budget set by the incoming Administration which will clearly affect the UK Project World.
So – what news have my various News Imps found over the last two months? Well, first up is a blast from what most of us considered the past – HS2 is in the news again. Then there is Our Esteemed Leader (OEL) who has announced plans for new Nuclear and as usual my Green Imp bears news of Off Shore energy developments. Trees are also in the project news these days.
However, before descending to the news you have all been waiting for, I am returning to a rant I have raised several times recently.
THE PROFESSION IN THE PUBLIC EYE
My Professional Services Imps have been putting in long hours recently. Imp # 1 tells me that here in UK, we are plagued by Public Inquiries. Any time anything goes wrong, there is a hue and cry from the GBP and hounds of the Fifth Estate (Great British Public and the Press, respectively) for a Public Inquiry – Lessons Must be Learned! It will come as no surprise that these events happen all too frequently and that they rarely produce any lessons, and in the unlikely event that they do, the Lessons Will NOT be learned.
A large number of these unedifying spectacles are running currently and a few are of interest to Project people. We have the investigation into the events that culminated in the deaths of 72 people in the Grenfell Tower fire in London on 19 September 2017, and an independent public statutory Inquiry established to gather a clear account of the implementation and failings of the Horizon IT system at the Post Office. There are others running but these two illustrate the point I want to make.
(Image@ HM Government)
But before I make this point, I would draw your attention to a US Coast Guard Board of Investigation looking at events leading up to the loss of the Titan submersible in June 2023.
More…
To read entire report, click here
How to cite this work: Shepherd, M. (2024). UK Project Management Round Up, report, PM World Journal, Vol. XIII, Issue X, October/November. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pmwj146-OctNov2024-Shepherd-UK-Project-Management-Roundup-report-1.pdf
About the Author
Dr. Miles Shepherd
Salisbury, UK
Dr. Miles Shepherd is an executive editorial advisor and international correspondent for PM World Journal in the United Kingdom. He is also managing director for MS Projects Ltd, a consulting company supporting various UK and overseas Government agencies, nuclear industry organisations and other businesses. Miles has over 30 years’ experience on a variety of projects in UK, Eastern Europe and Russia. His PM experience includes defence, major IT projects, decommissioning of nuclear reactors, nuclear security, rail and business projects for the UK Government and EU. His consulting work has taken him to Japan, Taiwan, USA and Russia. Past Chair and Fellow of the Association for Project Management (APM), Miles is also past president and chair and a Fellow of the International Project Management Association (IPMA). He was, for seven years, a Director for PMI’s Global Accreditation Centre and is immediate past Chair of the ISO committee developing new international standards for Project Management and for Program/Portfolio Management. He is currently Chairman of the British Standards Institute project management committee. He was involved in setting up APM’s team developing guidelines for project management oversight and governance. Miles is based in Salisbury, England and can be contacted at miles.shepherd@msp-ltd.co.uk.
To view other works by Miles Shepherd, visit his author showcase in the PM World Library at http://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/miles-shepherd/.
