WELCOME
By David Pells
Managing Editor
Addison, Texas, USA
Welcome to the September 2023 edition of the PM World Journal, the 133rd monthly edition. This month’s PMWJ is another diverse and interesting edition, with 32 new works by 33 different authors representing 13 different countries. The new editions this month bring our totals to 4,799 works by 1,881 different authors representing 90+ countries published in the PMWJ to date and archived in the PM World Library.
I want to begin my introduction to the PMWJ this month with a couple of personal observations. While I am proud to publish good works in the journal every month, some of the articles and papers this month are absolutely outstanding. Several should also expand the range of potential research and new applications of project and program management; I’ll leave it to you to discover the works in mind. Several cover old topics in new ways. Some are simply entertaining to read.
Two Letters to the Editor are included in this edition, both dealing with definitions of important PM terms and concepts. Dr. Ken Smith in Manila offers an apology and clarification regarding project life cycles, a topic on which he recently wrote, which in turn generated some serious responses from other well-established authors. Dr. Stan Gasik in Poland has offered some feedback and important context for defining a “program”, depending on context, industry and frame of reference.
One Interview is included this month, courtesy of PMWJ correspondent Yasmina Khelifi in Paris, an interesting Q&A with Carole Osterweil in the UK. Carole is the author of the book Neuroscience for Project Success: Why People Behave as they do. The interview explores concepts from the book as well as Ms. Osterweil’s background and some factors that led her to this important topic. This should be a current hot topic for those in the PM field, helping us understand our teammates and stakeholders better. Check out this interesting interview.
Seven Featured Papers are included this month, including three by young professionals in Indonesia, Ms. Nina Ratna Enggar Puspita, Mr. Royan Nur Huda, and Mr. Cahyo Sukmono. Their three papers, with titles too long to conveniently include here, explore important topics related to project planning and management in the energy sector in Indonesia. Their research papers were prepared for a mentoring course taught by Dr. Paul D. Giammalvo of PT Mitratata Citragraha in Jakarta to help achieve Certified Cost Professional certification from AACE International. These authors and their excellent works were referred to me by Dr. Giammalvo, which I appreciated. They should be of interest to other project controls professionals in other many countries.
A paper by Paul Giammalvo is also included, a somewhat personal but heavily referenced work titled “The Futility of Integrated Master Plans Prepared by Planner/Schedulers with Little or No Hands-on Field Experience.” Younger readers, please don’t take umbrage; in many industries, Paul’s position makes sense and is often required. This then leads to the paper by Marco Caressa and Massimo Pirozzi in Italy titled “What to do if a project doesn’t go as planned or expected? (Let’s also ask Chat GPT-4)”. These two papers may become popular reads for many of you. After all, what could possibly go wrong with your next project?
“Project Logistics Management: A Literature Review for Project Managers” by Prof. M. F. Harake in France is one of my favorite papers this month. I think logistics, as it is for military campaigns, is one of the most important aspects of most programs and projects. Yet it seems to get very little attention in the project management field. After reading this paper, you might have a better idea as to why I think it is so important. Finally, Dr. Pawel Paterek and Karolina Jarocka in Poland, both of whom have deep experience with IT projects, ask a very good set of questions in their paper titled “Is it Possible to Create the Project Manager’s Manifesto?” Read their paper to see their arguments.
More…
To read entire welcome article, click here
How to cite this work: Pells, D.L. (2023). Welcome to the September 2023 PMWJ; PM World Journal, Vol. XII, Issue IX, September. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/pmwj133-Sep2023-Pells-welcome-to-the-Sep-2023-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 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. He occasionally acts as project management advisor for U.S. national laboratories and international programs, and currently serves as an independent advisor for a major U.S. national security program.
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/
