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Back to top Plenary 2 Adams, Robert 10,000 Interventions: Design and Project Management of a Sustainable Future for Melbourne As a species we have now reached the point where over 50% of us live in cities. Once a location of choice, cities are now locations of necessity. Melbourne has since 1985, navigated a path towards a sustainable future. A future that is creative, culturally vital, physically pleasing and hopefully environmentally neutral by 2020. This paper will look at the incremental achievements of this vision through a program of 10,000 interventions. From the basic use of 'built to last' solutions for our footpaths and street furniture, through to major projects like Postcode 3000, QV, Birrarung Marr and many others, the City through good design and project management has set a mandate for city improvements. With over 60 design and project management awards in fifteen years, the record of the team at the City of Melbourne produces a compelling case for the use of in-house design and project management services to drive the process of city improvement. Its latest project, CH2, which was in April 2005 the first multi-storey commercial office building to receive the six star rating from the Green Building Council, is an example of the political and administrative approach to setting in place an active program of long term agendas and change management. Not surprisingly, the ambitious but considered program followed by the City over the past 20 years has resulted in major financial benefits for the City. Not least, a reduction of over 50% in the rate in the dollar charged to ratepayers. This paper will give a detailed account of the processes and projects undertaken by the City in the last 20 years. It will look at the use of public/private partnerships, as well as long term master planning of the City's vision. Back to top Plenary 2 Gray, Norman Back to top Plenary 4 Hampson, Keith Projecting Change through Construction Innovation In projecting change for the critical Australian construction industry, the CRC for Construction Innovation envisions a culture of self improvement through applied research and technology transfer. Construction Innovation is driving research outcomes into business practice in areas such as innovativeness, sustainability, procurement, project diagnostics and site safety. The group has also led the formation of an international alliance to ensure its activities are hitting the mark nationally and internationally. Through initiatives like these, the CRC for Construction Innovation is already providing a potent vehicle for change. This paper will briefly track the development of the CRC for Construction Innovation and highlight the collaborative processes in developing, managing and disseminating applied research; profile a number of its key outcomes to date; and discuss the future of applied research in Australia in the context of its Construction 2020 national initiative, its upcoming Second International Conference and the challenge of the Centre's renewal beyond 2008. Back to top Plenary 6 Keys, Stephen People, Process and Products This session will discuss the realistic expectations of a Project Portfolio Management Strategy and the factors that are critical to its success. Without the investment in a complete strategy incorporating people, process and tools for execution the adoption of a successful project portfolio management solution is unrealistic. Back to top Plenary 7 Penn, Andrew The AXA Story - Building Project Management Capability Back to top Plenary 8 Johnson, David Using Project Management to Achieve Business Transformation ComSuper like many Australian superannuation administrators is facing many challenges at the moment as the general superannuation industry experiences widespread changes to its operating environment. The recent introduction of choice of fund for employees is driving the need for funds administrators and other stakeholders to refine their cost and service competitiveness. Increases to the levels of regulatory compliance required to operate in this area, are also creating extra workloads and complexities to what is already a complex business. Utilising proven project management practices and turning business challenges into opportunities, ComSuper is progressively building its future operating state. The organisation is exploiting its strengths and improving its weaknesses through business transformation achieved by embracing project management disciplines. This paper outlines how ComSuper is employing project management in order to create a viable future in the context of a rapidly changing business environment. Back to top Stream 1 Beard, Slade Soft Skills for the Global Project Manager A range of external forces such as increasing skilled labour shortages coupled with increasing levels of global competition for available skilled resources force a re-consideration of the knowledge and skill-sets that the globally focused project manager needs to possess. Increasingly, project managers will need to be as conversant with the realms of human psychology, human factors, and the creation of learning organisations as they are with the traditional areas of risk, cost and scope management. A major challenge with these realms of knowledge is that whilst they can be taught conceptually in theory, true learning is only harnessed through life experience. This means that organisations seeking senior project managers in the future will need to find individuals who can not only espouse the theory, but also draw on experience to solve the problems that will arise in the application of the theory to real world projects. Back to top Stream 1 Watts, Noel Soft Skills Will Produce Hard Results Through Reduced Staff In the war for talent between Project Management Organisations (PMOs), it shall be those that successfully implement employer of choice best practices that retain their valued employees and reduce the costs of staff turnover which directly undermine the return on project investment. These costs are conservatively estimated at 25% of a departing employee's compensation amount, and potentially the equivalent of a full year's salary. Leigh Branham has observed that employees leave their organisations for deeper reasons than higher pay or better opportunities and nominates a number of employer of choice engagement practices that promise to address them. Many are directly applicable to PMOs. Mastery of the 'soft skills' needed to implement employer of choice best practices both within projects and their wider PMOs will reap rewards for the organisations that invest in them, and will lead to a greater emphasis on their importance in future editions of the PMBOK. Back to top Stream 1 Hudson, David Projecting Competency Boundaries This paper examines the challenges in the use of competencies in Australia. It looks at the application of competencies by organisations moving towards Enterprise Project Management and how this can be improved for the benefit of all stakeholders. Most organisations that take a competency-based approach to PM focus solely on training. Few attempt the application of competencies across a full PM HR lifecycle. PM competencies can be applied to all activities in HR lifecycle for Organisation Development, Job Specification, Recruitment, Induction, Training, Mentoring, Career Development, Performance Management, and even Separation. In general, our corporate training strategies are 'undercooked'. From a two-dimensional model of (1) 'Competency' and (2) 'Consciousness', we tend to develop our people to a state of 'Conscious Competency' - the equivalent of a new driver, intensely aware of clutch, accelerator and brake. Real proficiency occurs when we prepare our people to a state of 'Unconscious Competency' - a true master of the project 'vehicle', concentrating on the road not the controls. Much of the corporate investment in PM training is undertaken on face value. The issue with applying Benefits Management to training is that baseline metrics are rarely available, and the benefits themselves are regarded as intangible rather than tangible. The Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model offers significant prospects for organisations seeking to properly demonstrate the benefit of the training investment. EPM is not achieved by training alone, though some organisations seek to do so. Organisations need to understand the WBS for a PM Improvement Project. Of the five major phases: Strategic Alignment, Methodology Development, Governance and Skills Framework, Competency Development and Tools Application, training is but one step. Back to top Stream 1 Hartley, Stephen Principled negotiation – how to effectively communicate stakeholder With practical tips and an analytical approach, this paper uncovers the key stages behind effective project negotiation as well as profiling the key skills required at each stage. Back to top Stream 1 Stejer, Richard Cooperative Competency for Managing New Product Development Projects A persistent contention underlying debates about the future of project management pivots on the right mix of 'hard' task-oriented skills and 'soft' people-oriented skills, for achieving successful outcomes from projects. This discussion will argue that current research excessively focuses on 'hard' skills and performance indicators, to the detriment of understanding 'soft' skills and project integration. Discussion will explore a compelling question. If senior executives continue to favour 'soft' behavioural controls rather than 'hard' task controls for managing projects, and if management-by-projects becomes part of organisation strategy, then how could the alarming rate of project failures be overcome? Tackling this question may contribute to advancing standards published in mainstream project bodies of knowledge (PMBOK and Prince2) and the Australian National Competency Standards. An objective of the article is to widen debates from the relative merits of 'hard' versus 'soft' skills. It engages debates about improvements in project practices for making informed decisions through lifecycles of product innovation in construction, telecommunications, defence, and financial services. Its discussion will interest people in the fields of organisational learning, knowledge management, project-based management, project integration management, and development of project professional standards. Back to top Stream 1 Chamberlain, Cynthia The Virtual Programme Manager The world gets smaller every day. There was a time, not too long ago, when the people with whom the programme manager worked also lived in the same area. Times have changed. Today, the programme manager may have to consider how much that international call will cost, how many hours difference there is between dispersed team members, or perhaps even how many days will be lost in travel if the need requires a face-to-face meeting. To be successful as a programme manager on global projects with virtual teams, one will be forced to adjust previously learned success patterns. Techniques that worked before may not be as effective in this new world environment. This workshop delves into this undefined area of virtual programmes and the new skills a virtual programme manager must have in their toolkits to be successful. Back to top Stream 4 - CRC-CI Moussa, Neveen Conflict Management, Negotiation, and Effective Communication: Essential skills for Project Managers People with strong leadership skills can be more effective Project Managers (PM). Organizations are becoming flatter, culturally rich, geographically diverse, and intensely competitive. The possibilities for conflict are greater in such environments, and PM's must have sufficient competencies to lead in such situations. This paper will reflect on three complementary leadership competencies that are addressed in world wide competency standards, that of, conflict management, negotiation, and effective communication, which the authors argue are not well represented in the National (Australian) Competency Standards for Project Management. These competencies have been found by the authors to be most useful in practicing project management. To manage conflict a PM must understand the basics of negotiation theory and effective communications. This paper discusses some recognized negotiation techniques, and useful communications skills that will enhance the ability of PM's to be more effective not only in conflict management, but in many aspects of Project Management. Back to top Stream 1 - Project the Individual into the Future Watt, Graham Clearing the rising bar A case study into the current risks, challenges and solutions of a project management provider in the NSW public sector. The paper is based on the experience of the NSW Department of Commerce that provides project management services to agencies in NSW. Some current risks and challenges discussed are: • An aging workforce – and the challenge of retaining corporate knowledge • Restricted agency capital budgets – and the challenges to achieve greater efficiency • Competition for scarce resources – against the private development sector, etc. for materials and capable contractors • Community expectations – which at times appear to demand higher standards from the public sector And the responses that include: • Competency development – both specialist and interpersonal • Innovative procurement – with the development of new options that deliver greater value to government • Project management tools – required to support the project manager in this environment. Back to top Stream 1 - Project the Individual into the Future Whitty, John Team Project: A Method of Teaching Project Management The School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering at the University of Queensland in Australia has been evolving its approach to teaching project management to engineering students over a period of 10 years. An innovative strategy was implemented where final year students were given the opportunity to manage second and third year project teams, simulating an environment of supervision and management to transfer project management knowledge and skills. This paper discusses how these courses align together, their outcomes, lessons learned, and problems faced. Moreover, it suggests that a team project course can be regarded as a method of measuring quality in undergraduate engineering students thought their degree. Back to top Stream 2 Cowan, Brad Which Project Delivery Strategy Is For You? Project Procurement was simple in the old days, just design then construct or design and construct. The only other decision we had to make was which form of contract conditions to use. Why does it now seem so complicated? This paper explores the changed conditions now and in the immediate future that have meant project procurement is no longer an administration task but has become a strategic project decision. The features of project delivery are often excessively short time frames, objectives that can only be met through innovation, unrealistic budgets, and shortage of skill resources in the business and the region. We will explore from client and project manager perspectives the range of options available such as Construct to Design, Design and Construct, Engineering Procurement and Construction Management, Managing Contractor, Design Build and Operate, Build Own Operate and Transfer, Partnering, Alliances and Program Management. We will also explore a process for choosing a procurement strategy and share our experiences and choices on large and small recent projects. Back to top Stream 2 Young, Bill Global Trends in Project Management The project management profession continues to grow and expand to all types of industries due to the wide adoption of management by projects by corporations. In parallel with this rapid growth, a number of global trends are occurring; the globalisation of economies and privatisation of trade, market consolidation, advances in technology, and changes in consumer expectations and management practice. These factors influence the business environment in which corporations operate and consequently the nature of projects that they manage. Changes in the future practice of project management will be necessary to address the need for increasing competitiveness, accountability, scrutiny and demand for returns in order to provide better rigour in managing business outcomes through projects. Along with outlining some of the major global trends that will challenge project management practices, the paper also considers the important strategic role project management associations perform in the development of the profession. The paper examines the recent forming of the Asia Pacific Federation for Project Management and its context in the region and potential contribution in confronting some of the unfolding challenges that lay ahead. Back to top Stream 2 Pearce, Peter The People Dimensions of Projects The Project Management Body of Knowledge and our Australian Qualification's Framework describe the competencies required for successful project management. Considerable amounts of project manage training focus on the ''technical side'' of these project management competencies - the scoping, work breakdowns, scheduling, controlling etc. These topics are essential and provide the ''foundation'' skills for project managers. However, a critical success factor for successful project managers is their ability to deal with the people dimensions of projects. These so called ''soft'' skills are often the most difficult to master, yet from the concept through to effective implementation of projects they are crucial. This presentation is intended to stimulate some critical thinking around: • the impact of a deficiency of these people skills; • the environment that ''discourages'' the development of these people skills; and • suggested training solutions to support the development of skills to tackle the people dimensions of projects. ''Two plus two equals four until people get involved.'' Author unknown Back to top Stream 2 Newton, Chris Project Managed Organisation or Project Managed Business Unit? An Alternate approach Our company had an urgent requirement to rapidly improve the consistency and quality of its project management capabilities. The obvious solution was to introduce a PMO. With the assistance of AIPM mentoring we applied some innovative approaches to our implementation of a programme office. As a result we not only achieved our goal of PMO Level 5 but exceeded our timeframe in doing so in just 6 months (with an agreed follow up ratification phase due to this incredible speed). Of course we ''did all the usual stuff'' for our PMO certification requirements but our mindset was to limit our focus on our direct sphere of influence. In taking this approach we have achieved our goals faster and more thoroughly, thereby benefiting our customers earlier than planned, an achievement which has not gone unrecognised. We are now in a strong position to expand this proven capability to additional project business groups. What is therefore being proposed here is that AAPT did not in fact achieve PMO Level 5 but instead PMBU Level 5 or a Project Managed Business Unit. This modular approach can then be built upon across the organisation as the presentation will discuss. By sharing this experience it is hoped that a similar ''deconstructed'' approach may assist others who are currently undertaking or expecting to undertake this journey. The current terminology limited to just the PMO has lofty connotations that may hold back some from undertaking this process in the first place due to specific factors such as scale, geography, resources and of course, cross-company politics. This thinking says starting small may not only be the best way to start but possibly your best chance of ultimate wider success. Back to top Stream 3 MacDonald, Charles What are the important differences between partnering and alliance procurement models and why are the terms so seldom confused? In recent years the engineering and construction industries have coined the term 'relationship contracting' to describe new (and some not so new!) procurement models which attempt to achieve outcomes acceptable to all parties using a collaborative approach. In fact, there is a relatively broad spectrum of relationship contracting models including various forms of partnering and different styles of alliances. Unfortunately the terms partnering and alliancing are often used interchangeably when they really describe procurement approaches which are quite different, particularly in the manner in which they address the distribution of both risk and reward. This paper will seek to overcome this confusion by providing some clear definitions of partnering and alliancing and carefully explaining the differences between them. Whilst the definitions used will be those generally adopted by the construction industry the key differences that will be identified are considered to be equally applicable to other industrial sectors. Back to top Stream 4 - CRC-CI Mian, Daniyal Project Diagnostics - Assessing the conditions of projects and identifying poor health A tool was developed to allow assessment of current construction project health, identify the reasons why the project may not be performing as expected and suggest a means of returning the project to better health. The tool was derived from a human physical health model using Critical Success Factors, Key Performance Indicators, Contributing factors and Secondary Performance Indicators. The tool uses a model that has evolved from a decision-tree approach and the well-established continuous improvement model by Deming (1986). The model has been designed to facilitate the implementation of remedies, which would be chosen depending on the contributing factors identified during the health check. It is proposed that remedies would be put in to action and their effect on the project monitored. As the cycle continues this should lead to a continuous improvement in project health. This paper discusses the development and operation of this tool. The tool uses performance indicators that have been benchmarked on the basis of industry standards and historical data. The robustness of these indicators to assess the health of a project has been validated using Australian and international case studies. The software based assessment tool, Project Diagnostics has been developed to initial working stage. It can generally be used now, as intended by the study. The remedial measure module software is currently undergoing additional validation before being ready for commercial use by industry. Keywords: case studies, construction project critical success factors, key performance indicators, project health, questionnaire. Back to top Stream 2 Prefontaine, Lise Experimenting with Public and Private Partnership Projects: The Canadian Experience This research examined nine innovative projects involving both public and private sectors in the delivery of public services and attempted to identify their main critical success factors (CSFs). Several respondents from both sectors were interviewed. Results show that as projects unfold in time, CSFs evolve over the life cycle: CSFs of the initial phase become the necessary condition for subsequent phases of the projects. Overall, political leadership, thorough planning and communication stand out as the first necessary conditions to the success of public-private collaboration, assuring projects the legitimacy, the direction and the implication most needed to attain success. When reflecting on the overall experience with PPPs, we find that Canada is still at the experimentation stage; cultural differences between the two sectors are important and the country has not yet put in place the proper political and institutional mechanisms to channel the creation and the implementation of these partnership experiences. Back to top Stream 3 Regester, Geoff Project Management - Underpinning success in the biopharmaceutical industry Once the domain of construction and information technology sectors, Project Management has become firmly entrenched in the Biopharmaceutical industry, where the implications of schedule, scope and cost overrun, can make or break an efficient drug development program. Superimposed on this, the requirement for uncompromised quality standards across all parts of the development pipeline is driving the need for stringent scheduling, risk assessment and quality assurance built into the management plan. In this paper we review some typical requirements engaging project management in today's Biopharmaceutical industry. Several of these processes have been described at a recent gathering of project management representatives from the US Biopharmaceutical industry (PMB, 2005). Back to top Stream 4 - CRC-CI Setunge, Sujeeva Decision support tools for the re-life of buildings – an exploratory case study This paper describes the process adopted in developing an integrated decision support framework for planning of office building refurbishment projects, with specific emphasize on optimising rentable floor space, structural strengthening, residual life and sustainability. Expert opinion on the issues to be considered in a tool is being captured through the DELPHI process, which is currently ongoing. The methodology for development of the integrated tool will be validated through decisions taken during a case study project: refurbishment of CH1 building of Melbourne City Council, which will be followed through to completion by the research team. Current status of the CH1 planning will be presented in the context of the research project. Back to top Stream 2 Wells, David The Role of Organizational Project Management Maturity in Implementing Project Management Technologies This paper explores the role of technology in enabling organisational project management capabilities, the benefits technology brings, and the associated dangers. It focuses on the relationship between organisational project management maturity and the corresponding toolset functionality which should be implemented. The paper provides examples of how a toolset can be used in alternate ways to achieve different levels of capability, and how increasing maturity levels require moving from the paradigm of unstructured information to structured data, introducing more sophisticated toolsets as a result. It also looks at how complexity increases as you move from individual projects, to portfolios of projects, and how technology assists accordingly. Ultimately a recommendation is made that project management technology should be implemented at a level appropriate to the organisations project management maturity, and any software selected be based on a platform that can develop as the organisations maturity evolves. Back to top Stream 4 - CRC-CI Cheung, Fiona Y.K. The Interrelationships between Organisational Structure, Culture and Committment: An Australian Case Study Successful construction project often stress the importance of team relationship, project environment and senior management commitment. However, it is generally accepted that the construction industry has stronger preference of distrust rather than full benefit of cooperation. Numbers of studies have point out there needs to be a culture shift and change of attitude. In order for a turn around, partnering, alliancing and relational contracting have been popular choices of project delivery systems since the twentieth century. In the research domain, the impact of culture and organisation on project performance is becoming an increasingly important topic for the establishment of a sound partnering or alliancing approach to projects. However, the efficacy of alliancing has so far produced mixed results. This paper details the interrelationships between culture, structure and commitment in an organisation. It further reports findings of a research currently taking place in Australia, where the perceptions of professional personnel and mismatches are found in both organisational structuring and organisational culture developed in the organisation. Based on the research findings, this paper outlines the framework of fundamental elements for successful relational contracting, where emerging lessons which come from the research are also presented. Keywords: Culture, organisational structure, commitment, relational contracting, Australia Back to top Stream 4 - CRC-CI Black, Peter E-volution of E-Tender: A Checklist for E-Tender Implementation Tendering is considered to be one of the fairest means of awarding government contracts and the method most likely to secure a favourable outcome for a government in its spending of public money. The basic principles of the tendering process have been applied to many business areas, such as purchasing goods, seeking service providers, business consulting, or the selection of main contractors for construction work. Although demand from governments and the construction industry for paperless business processes has generated many commercial e-tendering systems around the world these remain largely untested from both a legal and security compliance perspective. The uncertainty resulting from a lack of sufficient understanding of the legal rules and principles likely to be applied to and electronic tendering systems makes security compliance for an e-tendering system paramount. Inadequate security opens significant opportunities for fraud and collusion by parties inside and outside of the process. These risks can be minimised in part through detailed and specific conditions of tender but these conditions will rely upon effective security mechanisms existing within the system. This paper seeks to identify key security and legal issues to be addressed in the design of secure and legally compliant e-tendering systems. In particular, the three stages of development and implementation for an electronic tendering system will be discussed, focusing on the security and legal issues Back to top Stream 2 - Project the Organisation into the Future Halling, Gavin Risk Management – Practical examples of 'How to make it happen'. This paper describes how some of the difficulties encountered by many organisations in undertaking risk management have been overcome. Particularly, how an integrated solution from Executive level through to Project level has been achieved. There are a significant number of Clients who have addressed this process and the paper outlines some of these experiences. The organisations range from large national companies through to Small/Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The paper then succinctly addresses the key components for any organisation to undertake a similar initiative. The paper concludes with some key benefits that have been derived by organisations in undertaking an initiative to develop or enhance their risk management processes. Back to top Stream 2 - Project the Organisation in the Future Wu, Jeremy Learning from Projects: A Life-Cycle Perspective Jeremy Wu. Faculty of Architecture, University of Sydney, Wilkinson Building G04, Camperdown Campus, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Tel: +61 (02) 9351 8597, Fax: +61 (02) 9351 5665, email: chwu8354@arch.usyd.edu.au Despite the vast amount of words written on project management and the volume of project work managed by project-based organizations, organizations fail to learn from their success and failures and transform them into improved project and organizational performances. In addition, projects are becoming increasingly complex and constrained. Hence, it is no longer sufficient for project-based organizations to rely on mainstream views of project management. Researchers and practitioners need to move beyond this and embrace a more holistic view of managing projects: not just by applying emerging theories such as program and portfolio management but also by developing more robust learning practices that can enable organizations and their members to implement these lessons across projects. This learning promotes the improvement of an organization's project and organizational performances, as well as optimizing value generation for the owner/sponsor from their constructed facility. Back to top Stream 3 Doyle, Jim The Complexity Surrounding Contract Delays Delays are a common part of any contract, some are caused by the contractor, some by the principal and some by neutral external influences (eg the weather). Contracts apportion the risk and consequences of delays in various ways, but generally, the law requires each party to a contract to be responsible for its own actions. Complexity starts to arise when several different causes of delay are in play at the same time. What is the effect of an inclement weather delay if the contractor's progress is already stopped awaiting design information from the principal? Normally the contractor can expect to be compensated for delays caused by the principal by way of extensions of time and delay costs but inclement weather delays are normally a risk borne entirely by the contractor or at best have an entitlement to a nil cost EOT. This paper canvases the state of the law dealing with complex delays and provide practical advice on the best ways of assessing and dealing with the consequences of parallel delays within a contract. Back to top Stream 3 Tupicoff, Alan Documentation Quality – Reality or Myth This paper is to present the findings of the recent investigation into the ''Quality of Documentation within the Queensland Building and Construction Industry''. The Investigation was carried out by an Industry Task Group which comprised representatives from all aspects of the industry including such bodies as Master Builders, Property Council of Australia, Civil Contractors Federation, Engineers Australia, Government Agencies, and most of the relevant professional institutes. Back to top Stream 3 Hassen, Neville Virtual Project Teams are the Structure of the Future – The increasing national and international nature of both private and public activities, are creating projects of all types and sizes, being managed by groups of people widely dispersed yet making up the composite or virtual project team. Today, it is hard to imagine an organisation that is not engaged in some sort of virtual project team activity. Interpersonal communications, specifically face-to-face direct contact, has always been the most important ingredient to achieving the necessary cohesion between the project manager and project team members, and maintaining good relations with important stakeholders. Newly available broadband data communications technologies facilitate Virtual Face-to-Face (VFTF) and Virtual Being-There (VBT) through webcam, video conference and camera equipped mobile phones, but these are not widely used in a dynamic way in project work This paper looks at virtual project teams as the project structure of the future, how interpersonal communications by VFTF and VBT will largely substitute for direct physical presence in many situations. It looks at the some of the considerations in developing a Virtual Project Team organisation that uses them effectively and efficiently. Back to top Stream 3 Cough, Murray Corporate Improvement Project (CIP) For Project Management: This paper is written on behalf of many Executive Managers who want better and reliable results from their projects, but are frustrated by the cut and thrust of meeting deadlines and reporting to Boards of Directors. In particular, this paper focuses on the design and delivery of a program that results in a customised Corporate Improvement Project (CIP) to streamline and measure the planning and delivery of projects across the corporation. In particular, the paper concentrates on measuring the result of the process by way of KPIs. The development of methodologies, procedures and work instructions is not new in the quest for higher organisational maturity levels in project management and there are many consultant companies doing exceptional work in this field; however, in many cases the methodology, in particular, is usually bought in, or based on existing culture (procedures) in the organisation. Unfortunately there is rarely a holistic (total solutions) systems-based approach to the work that results in an updated, systems-integrated and customised solution to suit the business. Back to top Stream 3 - Project the Industry into the Future Milner, Steve Project Management and the Innovative Organisational Culture Management of innovation is a key strategic challenge for organisations. In the innovative organisation where something new is being developed there are significant challenges as a project needs to capture creativity, innovation, flexibility and unique processes. These issues are discussed in context of a South Australian biopharmaceutical development company where reduction in risk in the drug development path is valued. At the core of this, organisational culture has a massive impact on outcomes; there has to be the desire to want to innovate and change, and there has to be flexibility to do so. This attitude is particularly important as scope and quality change is likely to happen several times during the development of a drug. Back to top Stream 3 - Projecting the Industry into the Future Simon, Graeme Directing Public Private Partnership Towards Success - The Project Director's View A significant pipeline of Australian Infrastructure projects are marked for delivery via the Public Private Partnership process. For many in the Commonwealth, State Government and the bidding consortia this will be the first time that they have experienced this type of delivery process. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the complex issues that can be experienced in a Public Private Partnership and to identify a practical approach that can help future Public Private Partnership teams deliver an effective outcome. Core to delivering an effective outcome is the role of the Project Director who is responsible for managing, motivating and leading the project delivery team through the Public Private Partnership delivery process. Using examples from recent projects this paper will explore the core principles that will help form a Peak Performing Team – a team that delivers an effective project outcome well beyond the traditional ''on time and on budget'' principle. Back to top Stream 3 - Project the Organisation into the Future Buckley, David Tsunami Relief & Reconstruction Project Management: Sri Lanka - A Case Study The relief, recovery and reconstruction tasks following the Box Day Tsunami span many countries, involve an enormous range of professional and technical resources, will take many years, and the financial cost will be immense. The fundamental principles of Project Management are being applied at all levels to the recovery and reconstruction efforts. This paper examines the project management challenges and issues faced in undertaking these tasks, based on the experiences of the author, who was located in the Batticaloa District on the east coast of Sri Lanka, from mid February to late March 2005 Back to top Stream 4 - Future Research Lecomber, Angela Jane Future Dilemmas: Do we need socially and ecologically responsible project management competencies? By 2050, the globe would need to make wholesale societal changes to uncouple the economic growth driving the depletion of natural resources (Foran et al. 2003). Unless we (as project managers and project management bodies), regardless of the sector we operate in - analyse, plan and construct our game plan for the future in terms of societal impacts and sustainable use of natural resources, we will find ourselves increasingly delivering projects that produce deliverables that "cope" with changing external factors rather than deliverables that endure. The aim of the session is to explore the case for socially and ecologically responsible project management competencies. Do we need a forum for dialogue and professional support to strengthen skills and capacity for socially and ecologically responsible project management? The authors hope that the session will lead to the ultimate formulation and formal presentation to project management bodies worldwide to consider these competencies. Back to top Stream 4 Cipolla, Dean Safety Leadership and the Project Manager: Competencies An arguable means to address injury and fatality rates in the Australian construction industry is the improvement of site safety culture. When understanding how safety culture is influenced, it is important to note the significant role that both management and leadership have in determining the quality of a safety culture (Barling, Loughlin & Kelloway 2002; Zohar 2002). Hence, professions such as Project Management will need to be, and produce safety leaders. Focus groups were conducted with eleven of Australia's largest construction contractors with the purpose of identifying safety critical positions and the characteristics, competencies and attitudes required by people who hold these roles, to be successful safety leaders. Analysis of the results revealed the important position that Project Managers are in to effectively lead safety behaviours, as well as the strong role that safety knowledge, communication and interpersonal style have in determining the quality of their safety leadership. Back to top Stream 4 Brewer, Graham Critical Success Factors for ICT Mediated Supply Chains: Implications for Project Managers This paper reports on the findings from a major study conducted by the Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation and the University of Newcastle that sought to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) for ICT uptake and integration into businesses across all tiers of the project supply chain. The project built upon the latest research, extending this using various processes including a Delphi study of ICT and supply chain management (SCM) experts from around the world, a national survey of attitudes and opinions from experience practitioners across four sectors of the construction industry (CI), and detailed case studies of three project supply chains. There was broad consensus as to the challenges facing practitioners wishing to use ICT in their SCM activities. However different emphases emerged amongst the various tiers of project participants. It became apparent that strong leadership was desirable from those who 'dictate' supply chain protocols in order to optimise the large number of flexible and willing supply chain 'followers'. The study also revealed that considerable benefits were possible if issues of trust and transparency could be overcome, and strategic relationships formed and maintained to the mutual benefit of the partners over a number of projects. It also appeared to be the case that the use of certain technologies such as e-mail, which had been thought of as a comparative rarity as recently as 1999, were now widely adopted across all sectors, although still possibly under utilised. The paper concludes with a range of suggestions directed to project managers that might enable them to extract better performance from their supply chain partners in construction projects. Back to top Stream 4 - Future Research Wilson-Evered, Elizabeth Building transformation capacity in Australian manufacturing: A project managed approach to succession planning. The research is premised on the assumption that transformational leadership is theoretically predicted to influence both workplace context and outcomes. Determining and developing those leadership behaviours is critical to securing the survival and success of Australian Manufacturing. One hundred and fifty-two managers from the top three layers of a large Australian manufacturing group participated in a study of perceptions of their leadership, climate for succession planning support for innovation and transformation. The paper describes a project management approach to succession planning and a study identifying key components of leadership style and climate for leadership development that informs project strategy. Back to top Stream 4 - Future Research Baccarini, David Estimating Project Cost Contingency – Beyond the 10% syndrome Projects require budgets to set the sponsor's financial commitment and provide the basis for cost control and measurement of cost performance. A key component of a project budget is cost contingency. This paper reviews the traditional approach of estimating project cost contingency by means of a percentage addition to the base estimate and analyses its many conceptual flaws. Over the past decade there has been a significant increase in interest by both practitioners and academics into more robust methods for estimating cost contingency. This paper reviews the literature of some of these methods for estimating project cost contingency. Back to top Please note that some conference papers are unavailable, and will not load when clicked. They will be published when available. If you would like to purchase the full 2005 Conference Proceedings on CD-ROM, please contact skhisti@aipm.com.au Prices: AIPM Members $80.00 (incl. GST) Non-members: $100.00 (incl.GST) Click to return to Conference Proceedings |
