WELCOME
By David Pells
Managing Editor
Addison, Texas, USA
Welcome to the February 2026 edition of the PM World Journal (PMWJ), our 161st monthly edition. This month’s PMWJ is another diverse and interesting edition, with 36 new works by 37 different authors representing 15 different countries. The new additions this month bring our totals to 5,592 (I think, but we may have lost count) works by 2,221 different authors representing 90+ countries published in the PMWJ to date and now archived in the PM World Library.
Introduction: Independence doesn’t mean Isolation (or non-alignment)
Over the 14 years of this publication, we have tried to remain independent, that is, not beholden to another organization or professional body. At the same time, we have been committed to serving the global project management professional field, so we support all recognized project management professional associations and societies. We regularly feature interviews, articles, stories and reports about and by leaders of various PM organizations, including APM, IPMA, PMI and others. In fact, we seek more reporting from and about those professional bodies.
This month we take it a step further, as we are publishing for the first time an entire newsletter created by a PMI chapter, the PMI Dallas chapter. They produce a full and useful newsletter each month, highlighting the wide range of activities, events, programs and services that they provide to members. We share their report this month to both support the PMI Dallas Chapter, based here in North Central Texas where PM World is based, and to show other PM leaders and organizations an example of a very active local all-volunteer organization. So, we publish this newsletter in support of knowledge sharing.
We would welcome more such “reports” from other organizations. If your branch, chapter, interest group or national organization publishes a monthly newsletter related to project management, perhaps we can share it with our global audience. We prefer not to publish newsletters that promote commercial products or services, although most professional associations do sell books, certifications, training and other services. If you would like us to publish or republish a monthly newsletter or set of announcements that fit our purpose and policies, please contact me at editor@pmworldjournal.com.
Now, this month in the Journal
Two Letters to the Editor are included in this edition. Dr. Ken Smith in Manila weighs in “In Defense of PERT-PLUS”, perhaps renewing a very old debate. Alan Stretton, now living in New Zealand, following several email exchanges, has commented “On the subject of major infrastructure projects.” Alan asks an interesting and potentially loaded question; if so many major infrastructure projects are continuing to fail, why aren’t the leading professional bodies talking about it, or doing something?
Two excellent Interviews are included this month, courtesy of PMWJ correspondents Yasmina Khelifi in Paris and Aina Aliieva in Toronto. Yasmina has again interviewed Pierre Le Manh, President and CEO of the Project Management Institute (PMI). This is a new and important update on her first interview with Pierre three years ago; Pierre reflects on some of the major strategies and initiatives that are now driving PMI’s unprecedented growth around the world, and especially in China. Aina’s interview is with Ming Yeung, a very experienced portfolio and program director based in Canada. Check out this interesting interview, an extension of Aina’s recent series of interviews on the topic of the new and expanding role of “chief project officer’ in many organizations.
One Peer Reviewed Paper was again approved for publication this month. Rishiraj Kohli in the USA is the author of “AI-Powered Risk Assessment and Project Management Frameworks for Health IT Systems in Infectious Disease and Global Health Organizations.” This is an example of how we are maintaining our focus on practitioner topics, even with peer reviewed papers. While this paper was the only one crossing the finish line this month, we have ten more under review, so the next few editions should have more good papers to share with you.
Nine editor-accepted Featured Papers are included this month, by 13 authors in six different countries. These good papers are a mix of academic and professional research, by professors, post graduate students and very senior project management practitioners. More…
To read entire welcome article, click here
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How to cite this work: Pells, D.L. (2026). Welcome to the February 2026 PMWJ; PM World Journal, Vol. XV, Issue II, February. Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/pmwj161-Feb2026-Pells-Welcome-to-the-February-2026-pmwj-4.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 more than 40 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. In recent years, he has served as a senior program management advisor for several major U.S. National 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). 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/
