HOW WE PUBLISH

Guiding Principles

The following principles are used for screening, editing and publishing works in the PM World Journal (PMWJ);

• • All authors submitting works for publication in the PMWJ will be treated politely, honestly, ethically, fairly and professionally;
  • All works received for publication will be reviewed promptly;
  • Works received will be published in the next available edition of the PMWJ after review and acceptance;
  • All works submitted must be accompanied by author bio, photo (with good resolution) and location of each author.
  • The tone, context and voice of original authors and works will be maintained as much as possible.
  • Publication of all works published in the PMWJ require the approval of the Managing Editor. Peer reviewed papers require the approval of the Executive Editor.
  • All communications by/with authors should be with the Managing Editor at editor@pmworldjournal.com.

For further guidance, visit the Before You Submit page on this website.

What We Accept for Publication

Please see What We Publish here

Preliminary Desk Check for all Submissions

Every submittal received for PMWJ publication will have a Preliminary Desk Check conducted by the Managing Editor, to include the following:

• Managing Editor Responses, where submitted material does not comply with PMWJ requirements, the Managing editor will return the work along with the following, where relevant:

1. 1. Original paper and PMWJ template for reformatting the paper, if it is not yet in our standard format.
   2. Author Agreement to be signed, converted to PDF after signing and returned.
   3. Plagiarism check, with ok or suggestions for dealing with the results
   4. AI check, with ok for low scores or instruction for reducing or explaining the results
   5. Guidance on adjustments required in order to be published in the PMWJ.

Peer Review Process

The PMWJ began to provide peer reviews for publication of selected research papers in June 2025. We have assembled a Peer Review Panel of experienced and respected academic and professional leaders to help conduct double blind reviews of papers for which a peer review is requested. These reviewers have direct experience with the peer review process at the doctoral level, both as PhD candidates themselves and as journal reviewers.  All are very knowledgeable about program and project management models, standards and topics. We are confident that they will provide fair and qualified reviews of submitted papers.  PMWJ’s peer review process is under the direction of Dr. Miles Shepherd, Executive Editor.

Objectives for Peer Reviews

PMWJ peer reviews are intended to support the following:

• • Provide academically qualified peer review for authors of research papers;
  • Improve the quality of papers published in the PMWJ; and
  • Help post graduate students, PhD candidates and others improve their research and authorship skills.

Process Steps

For papers for which a peer review has been requested or agreed to, the following steps will occur:

Receipt and Initial Review

1. Preliminary Desk Review will be conducted by the Managing Editor, as outlined above.

Follow Up Action

1. 2. If changes to the paper are required, Managing Editor will email comments and suggestions for the author, as provided by the peer reviewer, for revision.
   3. Author will revise paper to resolve peer review comments and recommendations and resubmit the paper to the Managing Editor.
   4. Managing Editor will email the new draft to the ExEd, who will repeat the review process.
   5. If paper has been approved by peer reviewer for publication, Managing Editor will finalize draft and return it to the submitting author for final approval.
   6. If paper requires further improvements, Managing Editor will return paper with new peer reviewer comments and recommendations.
   7. Author will decide whether to continue improving paper or pull it from consideration.

Further Reviews if Needed

1. 8. If author still wants the peer reviewed paper to be published in the PMWJ, he or she will need to revise the paper and re-submit it.
   9. Papers that require further review will follow a similar process but will be reviewed by another peer reviewer.
   10. If the new reviewer believes that the paper is now ready for PMWJ publication, the ExEd will so inform the Managing Editor, who will finalize the paper for publication and return it to the submitting author for final approval.
   11. If the ExEd determines that additional changes to the paper are needed, ExEd will so inform the Managing Editor and provide further feedback for the author.
   12. In that case, the Managing Editor with consultation with the ExEd, will determine whether the paper must be rejected for publication or returned to the original author for further revision.

After Peer Reviews Complete

Upon editorial approval, papers will be finalized for publication by the Managing Editor and returned to original author for their final agreement.

Upon receipt of final version from author, the peer reviewed paper will be included in the Featured Peer Review Papers category in the next available edition of the PMWJ.

Processes for all Other Contents

All works received for publication that will not be peer reviewed will be reviewed and accepted or rejected by the Managing Editor, who follows the following process:

• • Initial review of work submitted for publication in the PMWJ.
  • Preliminary Desk Review (see above)
  • Upon receipt of the properly formatted work, managing editor will review final version for acceptance and finalize formatting for publication.
  • Additional plagiarism and AI checks may be carried out to see if high scores were corrected; if high scores in either case remain, the author may be asked to make additional changes or publication may be declined.
  • Final steps for all works to be published in the next PMWJ include the following:
    1. Final approved paper is converted to PDF and added to the PM World Library, where all PMWJ works are archived.
    2. A summary introduction of the article, paper or other work is created in MS Word that includes title, author names, first few paragraphs of the work, a link to the PDF file in the PM World Library, citation and author information.

Monthly Publication of the PMWJ

The PMWJ is published via Word Press on the www.pmworldjournal.com website, in the following steps:

1. 1. A webpage is created as a DRAFT for the new monthly PMWJ Table of Contents;
   2. The Introductory summary of each work to be included is created as a page on the PMWJ website, posted live and linked to the current table of contents;
   3. The live link to each article is confirmed on the Draft Table of Contents page on the website; and
   4. When all articles and pages have been posted on the PMWJ website and linked to the table of contents, the Draft Table of Contents page is changed to LIVE status and the new edition has been published.

After Publication Actions

Communication of New Edition

The table of contents of the new edition of the PMWJ will be inserted into an email template and emailed to all authors of works included in the current edition to let them know that their work has been published.

The table of contents will be formatted into a standard email for distribution to (a) previous authors; (b) previous book reviewers; (c) non-author subscribers who have subscribed through the PMWJ website; and (d) advisors, correspondents and other selected stakeholders.

Archiving Contents in the PM World Library

All authors and works published in the PMWJ each month are then archived (posted) in the PM World Library (www.pmworldlibrary.net).

Author Showcase

All authors of works published in the PMWJ are also archived in the PM World Library’s Author Showcase as follows:

• • New Author Showcase webpage is created for each new author (including co-authors) in the current edition
  • Each Author Showcase includes author photo, location, country flag, and bio.
  • All works published in the PMWJ and archived in the library are linked to the author’s name so live links to those works appear on the Author’s showcase webpage.

PM World Collection

All works published in the PMWJ each month are archived in the PM World Library where they can be accessed on the PM World Collection webpage as follows:

• • The title of each new work is added as a new article on the library website, with following information tagged:
    • Author name (with link to author profile)
    • Date of posting
    • PDF of the article or paper (already in the library prior to publication)
    • Type of work (advisory article, featured paper, etc.)
    • Various relevant PM categories
    • Industries
    • Intended audience (personal, team, organization)
    • Other info

Citations for PMWJ works in the Library

To simplify the searching of the PM World Library by library members, students or researchers, selected citations of current works are posted in various sections of the library, primarily on the following pages (right hand menu subsections), each of which has multiple subtopics:

• • Basic PPM Processes and Topics
  • Advanced / Hot Topics in PPM
  • Industries and Organizations
  • Major Projects and Programmes
  • PM Education Resources
  • PM Profession Resources
  • Public / Government Resources
  • PM Careers
  • Solving Global Problems

Citations are in a standard format that can be used by students and researchers.  Each citation is linked to the resource itself, either a PMWJ published work now archived in the library or an external resource (for example, a paper published elsewhere). (Note: Students are advised not to cite a resource listed without first downloading and reading the resource.)

PMWL Home Page

Selected Authors, papers, articles and book reviews are tagged to be highlighted on the PM World Library home page each month.

After each monthly publication, authors should visit the PM World Library to confirm that their profiles and most recent works have been posted there.