PM PEOPLE NEWS
Wayne Abba appointed PMWJ Honorary Industry Advisor in USA
One of the world’s leading experts on earned value management joins honorary advisory team for PM World Journal and Library
15 December 2023 – Dallas, TX and Washington, DC, USA – PM World has announced the appointment of Mr. Wayne Abba as an honorary industry advisor for the PM World Journal (PMWJ) and PM World Library (PMWL). Mr. Abba is an independent consultant with 40+ years of experience in defense, national security, science and U.S. federal government program management. He is an expert in earned value management and the planning and management of large complex programs and projects.
For 17 years before retiring from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in 1999, Wayne was the senior program analyst for contract cost and schedule performance management in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition & Technology). When Wayne joined the Under Secretary of Defense staff, his deep background in contracting and project management, gained during 15 years with the Army Materiel Command, Missile Command, Mobility Equipment Command, and Ammunition Procurement and Supply Agency, prepared him for leadership roles and special assignments that improved Defense management.
Over the past 20 years, Wayne has been an executive advisor for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the National Science Foundation (NSF), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Washington, DC. He worked with OMB to develop the federal circular and the Federal Acquisition Regulation clauses that implemented EVM in the U.S. civil agencies. He was an expert advisor and significant contributor to the GAO’s “Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide: Best Practices for Developing and Managing Capital Program Costs” and “Schedule Assessment Guide: Best Practices for Project Schedules.” He is (twice) Past President, College of Performance Management.
Wayne has been the driving force behind reformation of the US government’s implementation of Earned Value Management. He spearheaded development of the Project Management Institute’s Earned Value Practice Standard First Edition and assisted with the PMI PMBOK ® 4th edition chapters for procurement and cost management, which included EVM and made it consistent with other standards.
See his full honorary advisor profile at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wayne-abba/
According to PMWJ editor David Pells, “I am very happy to introduce Wayne Abba as an honorary advisor for the PMWJ and library. Wayne and I met nearly 30 years ago at the first Global PM Forum at PMI’95 in New Orleans. At the time, I was advocating for PM in government as well as advancing international relations on the PMI board; still at the Pentagon, he was leading a cooperative EVM initiative involving the defense departments of the US, UK, Australia, Canada and Sweden. I will never forget the tour of the Pentagon that he gave me in early 1996. Together we then organized meetings of PM focal points in federal agencies in Washington that came to be called the American PM Forums. It was an exciting time.”
Wayne Abba stated, “It was a pleasure to get the invitation to join this new honorary advisory team for the PM World Journal. I’ve worked with David Pells for a long time and have watched the journal and library grow to become impressive global resources. I am happy to offer my EVM and government PM perspective if that might be useful.”
Pells added, “I consider Wayne Abba to be the world’s foremost authority on program cost and schedule management, and EVM in particular. His advocacy in recent years for less-bureaucratic and more tailored EVM for smaller programs and projects has been brilliant. In that regard, perhaps the PMWJ can be useful for him as well.”
PM World engages with academic, industry and professional leaders in various countries to support the organization’s dual missions of advancing knowledge sharing and continuous learning related to modern program and project management. To see all current honorary Industry advisors, visit https://pmworldlibrary.net/honorary-industry-advisors/
About PM World
Based in the United States, PM World (PMW) works with a network of advisors, authors, correspondents and organizations worldwide. PMW produces and publishes the PM World Journal (PMWJ) (registered with the U.S. Library of Congress: ISSN 2330-4480), a web-based monthly publication featuring dozens of articles, papers, reports and other works about projects and project management around the world. PMW also maintains the PM World Library (PMWL), a global resource for knowledge sharing and continuous learning in programme and project management. To see the latest edition, go to www.pmworldjournal.com. To learn more, visit www.pmworldlibrary.net.