WELCOME
By David L. Pells
Managing Editor
Addison, Texas, USA
Welcome to the August 2026 edition of the PM World Journal (PMWJ), our 167th monthly and 14th anniversary edition. This month’s PMWJ is another diverse and interesting edition, with 56 new works by 63 different authors representing 20 different countries. The new additions this month bring our totals to 5,907 works by 2,861 different authors representing 90+ countries published in the PMWJ to date and archived in the PM World Library.
Introduction – Scaling Up, Then What
In truth, I am writing this welcome before all contents have been posted in the journal, so the above numbers may end up or down a few. Three papers are awaiting final approval by authors, which may come in before the day is out. But as it is 6 August, I already feel too late this month. We haven’t changed processes; it’s just the increasing numbers of submissions. Clearly our visibility and reputation are growing, as we are getting submittals by more new authors, 28 this month alone. This is all positive, but it’s requiring us to take scaling up more seriously. What happens when the numbers keep growing each month?
Our cutoff date is now the 20th of each month, as it has been for years. But it’s now a hard stop date for accepting more submissions. Any manuscripts received after the 20th of each month will go into the queue for the following month’s edition. Exceptions can be made for correspondents, series authors or regular contributors whose submissions are in our standard format. The problem is with new submittals that have to be reformatted, some of which take hours. It seems that too many new authors haven’t read our Author Guidelines on the PMWJ website. Please, read our publishing policies and processes and Author Guidelines under the ABOUT and AUTHORS tabs on the journal homepage.
All these issues and especially the growth of the PMWJ are forcing us to get more serious about finding a new home for the PMWJ and Library. Production is becoming too much work , even with Miles now helping so much. We don’t plan to give the journal and library away, since too many simply value something based on how much they pay. Neither do we want to be inflexible or unreasonable. We want the journal and library to continue to grow. I personally feel that they have become world class resources for sharing knowledge and continuous learning in program and project management. These can immediately provide a PM association, university or corporation with global reach and visibility and a massive database of PM content in the library. If you have an interest or have questions, please contact me at editor@pmworldjournal.com
Now, This month in the Journal
In addition to this welcome article, Dr. Miles Shepherd has provided another short “From the Executive Editor’s Desk.” Miles, who is leading our Peer Review Program, has become more involved with reviewing papers submitted for publication. He offers some useful advice here for both new and experienced authors. Thank you, Miles.
Three Letters to the Editor are included in this edition. Please read the wonderful one from Yamanta Niroula in Kathmandu, who has perfectly captured what we have been trying to achieve each month. Dr. Ken Smith in Manila responds to a recent article on probability estimates. Ken Bainey in Canada shares some information about his book on applying guidance in the recent PMBOK Guide, 8th edition. Thank you to these three readers; I hope more of you will offer feedback on what you read in the PMWJ.
11 Featured Papers are included this month, by authors in five countries. The papers are grouped into three subsections this month, as follows: Governance of Programs and Projects; Project Cost, Schedule, Scope and Quality Management; and Construction, Engineering and Infrastructure Projects. Each month, the groupings will be determined by the primary subjects of submitted papers. Featured papers are a mix of academic and professional research, by professors, graduate students and very senior project management practitioners…
More…
To read entire welcome article, click here
Visit the latest edition of the PMWJ at www.pmworldjournal.com
How to cite this work: Pells, D.L. (2026). Welcome to the August 2026 PMWJ; PM World Journal, Vol. XV, Issue VIII, August. Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/pmwj167-Aug2026-Pells-Welcome-to-the-August-2026-pmwj.pdf
About the Author
David L. Pells
Managing Editor, PMWJ
Managing Director, PMWL
David L. Pells, PMI Fellow, HonFAPM, ISIPM, PMA is Managing Editor and publisher of the PM World Journal (www.pmworldjournal.com) and Managing Director of the PM World Library (www.pmworldlibrary.net). David is an internationally recognized leader in the field of professional project management with nearly 50 years of experience on a variety of programs and projects, including engineering, construction, energy, defense, transit, technology and nuclear security, and project sizes ranging from thousands to billions of dollars. He recently acted as a program management advisor for two major U.S. national nuclear security programs.
David Pells has been an active professional leader in the United States since the 1980s, as founder and president of several PMI chapters, founder of PMI’s first SIG (Project Earth), and member of the PMI board of directors twice. He was founder and chair of the Global Project Management Forum (1995-2000), an annual meeting of leaders of PM associations from around the world. David was awarded PMI’s Person of the Year award in 1998 and Fellow Award, PMI’s highest honor, in 1999. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Association for Project Management (APM) in the UK; the Instituto Italiano di Project Management (ISIMP) in Italy; and Project Management Associates (PMA) in India.
Former managing editor of PM World Today, he is the creator, editor and publisher of the PM World Journal (ISSN: 2330-4880) and creator and curator of the PM World Library. David has a BA in Business Administration from the University of Washington and an MBA from Idaho State University in the USA. He has published widely and spoken at conferences and events worldwide. David lives near Dallas, Texas and can be contacted at editor@pmworldjournal.com.
To see other works by David Pells, visit his author showcase in the PM World Library at http://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/david-l-pells/
