Volume IX - Issue VIII - August 2007

PM Community News

 

Professor Roland Gareis in Austria named
International Editorial Advisor for PM World Today

Prof. Dkfm, Roland Gareis, professor of project management and head of the department of project management at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration in Vienna, Austria, has been named an International Editorial Advisor for PM World Today, the online project management eJournal published by PMForum, Inc.

Roland Gareis is professor and head of the project management department, PROJEKTMANAGEMENT GROUP, at the University of Economics and Business Administration in Vienna, Austria. He is also director of the Professional MBA Program “Project & Process Management” at the university and manager of the research program: Project orientation (international).

He was formerly a visiting professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia Statue University in Atlanta, USA; at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland; and at the University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada. He studied at Vienna Technical University and the University of Economics and Business Administration, receiving his doctorate in 1972. He was a post-doctoral visiting scholar at the University of California Los Angeles, USA, in 1976.

A long time member of both Projekt Management Austria (PMA) and the Project Management Institute (PMI®), Roland was president and chairman of the board of PMA, the Austrian professional project management association, during 1986-2002. In 1990, he organized the IPMA World Congress in Vienna on the topic of “Management by Projects”. He is the former research director for the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and has been involved in various project management research and teaching projects for over 20 years. His primary research activities have been “Management by Projects” (1988-91), “Crisis Management” (1992-1993), “Project Management – A Business Process of the Project-oriented Company” (1995-1998), “Project-oriented Society” and “Programme Austria” (1999-2002), and “Project orientation – international” (2005-2007). He was chair or speaker at IPMA World Congresses in Budapest, Copenhagen, Moscow, New Delhi, Oslo and Paris, and has participated in a number of PMI congresses in the United States.

Roland Gareis was co-author, with Professor David Cleland, of the textbook, Global Project Management Handbook (McGraw-Hill, New York, 2006), and with M. Stummer of the textbook, Prozesse & Projekte (Manz Verlag, Wien, 2006). He is the author of the book Happy Projects in English (Manz Publishing, Vienna, 2005) and in German (Manz Verlag, Wien, 2004). His chapter contributions to other project management textbooks include: “Managing by Projects” in The Handbook of Managing Projects, Peter Morris & Jeffrey Pinto editors (Wiley & Sons, 2004); “Project management competencies in the project-oriented company”, in People in Project Management, J. Rodney Turner editor (Gower Aldershot, 2003); “Maturity of Project-oriented Organizations”, in The Frontiers of Project Management, Cleland, Pinto & Slevin editors, (PMI, 2002); “Projekte zum Management einer Unternehmensdiskontinuitat”, in Handbuck Krisenmanagement, Schlager/Feldbauer, Hrsg. (Sanierung, Linde Verlag, 2002); “Project Management Compentence in the Project-oriented Organization”, in People in Projects, J. Rodney Turner editor (Gower, Aldershot, 2002); and “Competencies in the Project-oriented Organization”, in PM Research at the turn of the Millenium (PMI, 2001). Professor Gareis has also made other significant contributions to project management conferences, journals and publications over the last two decades.

Since 1982, Professor Gareis has also owned and managed ROLAND GAREIS CONSULTING, providing project management services to national and international companies throughout Europe. He has developed licenses for ROLAND GAREIS Project and Programme Management ® and ROLAND GAREIS Management of the Project-oriented Company ®. In 2002, he developed the “Maturity model for a project-oriented organization”. He has consulted for many companies in and outside of Austria and has been a featured speaker at company events for Deutsche Telecom, HP and others.

The Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration (Wu Wien), formerly called the Imperial Export Academy, was established on October 1, 1898, with the aim of imparting knowledge to businessmen engaged in foreign trade. Immediately following World War I, the Academy became a public World Trade University (Hochschule für Welthandel), offering a three-year degree program. The University was renamed again in 1975, this time to Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien (Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration). Recent reforms, new degree programs with more flexible structures, and revised course regulations make education at WU Wien even more up to date and geared towards the needs of today’s business world.

WU Wien has now grown to 20,000 students and more than 1,000 full-time and adjunct faculty and staff members. The University’s close cooperation with industry affords it an especially practical relevance, which is one of the reasons The Financial Times ranked the university among Europe's Top 50 Business Schools. Over 180 partner universities throughout the world and acknowledged expertise in a number of fields, including that of East-West business, have made the university a renowned center of knowledge in many key fields of business and economics. Additional information about VU can be found at http://www.wu-wien.ac.at/english.

The
PROJEKTMANAGEMENT GROUP (PMG) is a department of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration since 1994 and offers high quality education and research services in process and project management. The PMG offers a special subject “Project management” for master and bachelor students at the University and cooperates both in education and research with an international network of project-oriented enterprises and universities. Moreover the PMG contributes to the acceptance of the job profile “Project Manager” in Austria. The systemic-constructive research approach applied by the PMG and developed by Prof. Roland Gareis is internationally accepted. The main research fields of the PMG for the next years are: (sectorial) project management, project-oriented company, project-oriented society, family of mature models. Additional information about PMG can be found at http://www.wu-wien.ac.at/pmg.

Professor Gareis lives in Vienna, Austria and can be contacted at . The PMForum team welcomes Professor Roland Gareis to the International Editorial Advisory Council for PM World Today.

In January 2007, PMForum announced the formation of a new Editorial Advisory Team for the monthly eJournal PM World Today. The PM World Today International Editorial Advisory Council includes representatives from some of the world’s leading universities that offer graduate programs in project management. Each representative is a full professor or head of department, and is well known in his or her respective country’s project management academic community. Additional information about the PMWT International Editorial Advisory Council can be found at pmworldtoday.net/team.htm.

Established in 1995, www.pmforum.org was the first website in the world devoted to professional project management. It is still one of the most widely known and most popular sources of project management news and information in the world of project management. PMForum, Inc. is a company formed to operate and administer the www.pmforum.org. PMForum also produces the monthly online PM World Today eJournal where articles, papers, reports and viewpoints by leading PM authorities and experts from around the world can be found. Free subscriptions are available at pmworldtoday.net.

 

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Former PMI Chair Louis Mercken Named PM Ambassador ™
Announces Global Availability as Speaker for PM events

Louis Mercken, former Chair of the Board of Directors of the Project Management Institute (PMI®), has joined the PM Ambassadors™ Speakers Bureau recently created by PMForum. Mr. Mercken is one of the most respected and best known project management leaders in Europe, an experienced executive and a project management expert in a wide range of applications and industries.

Louis J. Mercken, MBA, PMP is an International Partner and Chairman of the Threon Group, a leading international organization in Project Management Services, based in Belgium with facilities in most major countries in Europe. Threon specializes in delivering worldwide Project Management Excellence Education and Coaching to large international companies. His organization also provides Executive Consulting in Portfolio, Program and Project Management to the Boards of major companies. Threon started in May 2001 and developed in 5 years time into one of the leading European companies in the field of Project Management.

After starting his career with Ford, Louis worked in Exxon where he took up several managerial and executive positions in IT and Finance. In his last assignment from 1988 through 1991, he was the European IT Executive responsible for all cross-business group Shared Services and European Coach for Employee Development for all IT individuals.

During the last 20 years, Louis has worked as a senior executive with large multinationals such as Computer Science Corporation in Europe, and La Général de Belgique, the largest Belgian industrial and banking group. Louis has been a PMI member since 1995 and was a founder, Vice-President and president of the PMI Benelux chapter, a chapter covering 3 countries that grew from a starting membership of 63 to more than 600. He served as a Director at large and Member of the PMI Board of Directors during 2002-2004. In 2004 he was re-elected to the PMI Board of Directors and then elected Chair of the PMI Board in 2005, the first non-North American to fill that position.

Louis is a PMI certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) and holds degrees of Bachelor in Economics, MBA in Finance/Accountancy, MBA in Operational Research and an additional degree in Computer Sciences. In 1982 he followed the INSEAD Management Program and the IMEDE (Switzerland) extended program Finance for non-finance Executives. From mid 97 to mid 2001, he was visiting professor in Project Management Excellence at the International Institute for Project Management at the Leonardo de Vinci University in Paris-La Défense. Since October 2002 up to now, Louis is Executive Professor for a Project Management Excellence Program for UAMS (Universities Antwerp Management School).

Louis is prepared to provide keynote speeches and seminars on the following topics, among others:

  • Project Management for executives and boards of directors
  • Project management in the banking and IT sectors
  • Project management in energy & petrochemicals industries
  • PMI certifications, trends & news
  • Project management trends and practices in Europe

For information on Mr. Mercken’s availability, please contact


On 26 June 2007, PMForum announced the formation of the PM Ambassadors™ Speakers Bureau, a new global service for project management leaders and meeting planners worldwide. The program offers and promotes leading project management authorities, experts and professional leaders who are available to speak at conferences, meetings and seminars worldwide. PM Ambassadors™ include globally-recognized project management professional experts; authors of PM textbooks; former presidents and chairs of PM professional societies; experienced project managers and PM professionals; and retired executives of project and program-oriented organizations.

PM Ambassadors™ are available to speak at project management conferences, meetings, seminars and workshops, and at corporate events. Interested meeting organizers and planners can contact for more information. Background information about individual speakers, availability and potential presentation topics can be found at http://www.pmforum.org/ambassadors/ambassadors.htm.

Established in 1995, www.pmforum.org was the world’s first website devoted to professional project management and continues to be one of the world’s most popular sources of project management news and information. PMForum is a company formed to operate and administer the pmforum.org website. PMForum also produces the monthly online PM World Today eJournal where articles, case studies, papers and viewpoints by leading PM authorities from around the world can be found; free subscriptions are available at pmworldtoday.net.

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Karen Tate, PMI Director, added as Second Keynote Speaker for 1st UTD Project Management Symposium in Texas

Karen Tate, PMP, Director-at-Large and member of the Board of Directors of the Project Management Institute (PMI®), will deliver the second keynote address at the 1st UTD Project Management Symposium scheduled for August 6, 2007, in Plano, Texas. Karen’s presentation will be on the topic of “Project Management as a Strategic Competency”.

Karen Tate, MBA, PMP, is Founder and President of The Griffen Tate Group, an Ohio-based project management consulting firm that provides consulting, training, facilitation and course development to both the private and public sectors, small and large organizations. Ms. Tate has been working with projects and project teams for more than 20 years. Her areas of expertise include Project Management, Training and Consulting, Team and Executive Level Meeting Facilitation, Technical Creativity & Innovation, Reengineering and Total Quality Management. She has extensive experience with technical, engineering, high tech, and software development organizations.

Karen has managed programs and projects of all types and sizes, in a variety of industries, and has presented, consulted and trained with organizations throughout North America, Europe, South Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Her corporate experience included positions where she was an engineer, project manager, and consultant for both internal and external customers. Karen is the co-author of The Project Management Memory Jogger, A Pocket Guide for Project Teams, Getting Started in Project Management, A Step By Step Approach to Risk Assessment, and Triz: An Approach to Systematic Innovation. A PMI member since 1991, she has been a frequent speaker and presenter at PMI chapter meetings, conferences and SeminarsWorld® programs around the world. She attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and has a BS in finance and an MBA from Xavier Univerity in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Karen has also been a frequent contributor of articles and was a former columnist for PM Network®, served as a PMI Project of the Year judge, and was a member of the PMI Education Member Advisory Group. She has been chair of the External Relations and Volunteer Involvement Committee (ERVI) of the PMI Board of Directors since 2005.

The 1st UTD Project Management Symposium will be held on Monday 6 August 2007 at the Plano Convention Center, 2000 East Spring Creek Parkway, Plano, Texas, USA. The conference is being sponsored by the Graduate Program in Project Management in the School of Management’s Executive Education Center at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), in cooperation with the Dallas Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) and PMForum, Inc.

The 1 day symposium will feature speeches, professional presentations and discussions in the following tracks:

Track 1 – Program & Portfolio Management
Track 2 – Project Management: Critical Organization Success Factor
Track 3 – Software Development & Agile Project Management
Track 4 – PM for Product Development, including small projects
Track 5 – The Role of Project Management in Corporate Governance
Track 6 – Project Management in the Global Economy

Other Conference Features will include an Opening Ceremony with Keynote Speakers, vendor exhibition, book signings, breaks and lunch in the vendors’ exhibition area, and a closing keynote speech. Conference registration and information can be found at http://som.utdallas.edu/project/project-symp.htm or contact .

Both the PMI Dallas Chapter and the UTD’s executive education program in the school of management are registered education providers with PMI, so attendees can receive up to five Professional Development Units (PDUs) for PMP recertification.

The conference is being sponsored by the Graduate Program in Project Management in the School of Management’s Executive Education Center at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), (http://som.utdallas.edu/project/); along with the PMI Dallas Chapter (); and PMForum, Inc. (www.pmforum.org).

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Alexander Matthey named International Correspondent
for PMForum in Switzerland

Mr. Alexander Matthey, MS, PMP has been named an International Correspondent for PMForum in Switzerland. Alexander Matthey is also the Managing Director of 3PM Experts Sàrl, a project management consulting and training enterprise based in Vich, Vaud, Switzerland. With over 24 years’ experience, he has worked extensively in many cultural environments, from Switzerland to Australia, from Morocco to Singapore, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Mr. Matthey is a computer science engineer with extensive experience in information services, consulting and training industries.

Following a fruitful career in software development and ERP implementation, he has now focused on combining his Services, Project, Process and People skills and expertise to organizational excellence. With over 20 years in project management including as a PMO Manager, he has forged a reputation as expert and trouble shooter in Project Management consulting, coaching and training. Alexander is a Project Management Office consultant at Richemont International; was the PMO Manager at SITA in Geneva in 2005, and designed, established and managed the PMO at Orange Communications from 2002 to 2004. He led the world’s first organizational project management maturity assessment based on PMI’s OPM3 model.

Other previous professional assignments include senior project manager for Cap Gemini Ernst & Young in Geneva; project manager, methodology and functional consultant at Scala Business Solutions SA in Nyon, Switzerland; and project manager and consultant at Fintel Ltd. in Geneva. He has extensive experience with planning and implementing technology projects, developing and leading project teams, establishing and managing a project management office (PMO), and coaching and teaching project management professionals.

Alexander has written and lectured widely on Project Management in French and in English, and is the author and trainer of the PMP certification course which enabled over 25% of the PMPs in Switzerland to pass their certification. He offered the first such courses in Morocco and Tunisia. He has developed and delivered PMP preparation courses, organizational project management maturity (OPM3) seminars, and introductory and intermediate PM classes at the undergraduate and graduate university levels. Alexander is also a frequent speaker at International PMI leadership meetings, at PMI regional and chapter events, and at PMI global congresses. He is a faculty member of the International University in Geneva, and is an external lecturer at the University of Geneva for undergraduate and MBA students in project management. He is Vice President of the PMI Switzerland Chapter.

Mr. Matthey holds a Master of Science in Computer Electronics and Software Engineering from Sofia Technical University and a Masters of Business Information Systems from the University of Geneva. He is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) and in 2001 he achieved PMI’s internationally recognized Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification. He graduated from PMI’s Leadership Institute Masters Class in 2007. He is fluent in the English, French, Hungarian and Bulgarian languages, and speaks some German and Russian. Alexander Matthey lives in Vich, Switzerland and can be contacted at .

According to Wikipedia, Vich is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, residing on the main route connecting Geneva and Lausanne. The Canton of Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in the southwestern part of the country, bordering the western shores of Lake Geneva.

The capital Lausanne is the major city in the canton. There are light industries concentrated around the capital. The canton is the second largest producer of wine in Switzerland. Most of the wine produced in the canton is white wine, and most vineyards are located on the steep shores of Lake Geneva. Tourism is important in many towns along the Lake Geneva. Major lakeside resorts include Lausanne, Montreux or Vevey.

The Lake Geneva Region commands a very special, central position in Switzerland, located at the cross-roads of the major European thoroughfares. Ever since the 18th century, the Lake Geneva Region, reputed for its beauty, has grown to be a holidaying region, visited by the great personalities of this world who were enchanted by the peace that emanates from its landscapes. The advantages of its climate and its diversity were appreciated long before that as, even as far back as Roman times, many tourist sites had come into being.

The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. Switzerland's sovereignty and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and the country was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbors.


According to Wikipedia, Switzerland is a landlocked nation of 7.5 million people in Western Europe. It is bordered by Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. Switzerland is multilingual, with four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. Switzerland is divided into 26 cantons, six of which are sometimes referred to as "half-cantons," since they have less representation in the Council of States. Switzerland has a long history of being neutral (it has not been in a foreign war since 1815) and therefore hosts various international organizations, such as the United Nations, which, though headquartered in New York City, has many departments in Switzerland.

In 2002 Switzerland became a full member of the United Nations, leaving the Vatican as the last widely recognised state without full UN membership. Switzerland is a founding member of the EFTA, but is not a member of the European Economic Area. An application for membership in the European Union was sent in May 1992, but not advanced since the EEA was rejected in December 1992 when Switzerland was the only country to launch a referendum on the EEA. There have since been several referenda on the EU issue, with a mixed reaction to these from the population. However, Swiss law is gradually being adjusted to conform with that of the EU and the government has signed a number of bilateral agreements with the European Union. Switzerland, together with Liechtenstein, has been completely surrounded by the EU since Austria's membership in 1995.

Many international institutions have their seats in Switzerland, in part due to its policy of neutrality. The Red Cross was founded there in 1863 and still has its institutional centre in the country. Switzerland was one of the last countries to join the United Nations, in 2002, even though Geneva is the second biggest centre for the United Nations after New York, and Switzerland was a founding member of the League of Nations.

With an area of 41,285 square kilometres (15,940 sq mi), Switzerland is a relatively small country. The population is about 7.4 million, resulting in an average population density of 182 people per square kilometre (472/sq mi). The more mountainous southern half of the country is more sparsely populated. Switzerland has a prosperous and stable modern market economy, with a nominal per capita GDP that is higher than those of the big western European economies, United States and Japan, though on a PPP basis, it ranks tenth. The World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report currently ranks Switzerland's economy as the most competitive in the world. For much of the 20th century, Switzerland was the wealthiest country in Europe.

Several of the world's largest companies are headquartered in Switzerland, including Nestle, UBS AG, Credit Suisse, Novartis, ABB, and Swatch. Switzerland is ranked the sixth most powerful economy in the world. Banking, tourism, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals are very important industries in Switzerland. The manufacture of precision instruments for engineering is important, as is watch making and the biological sciences industries. Switzerland has nearly zero unemployment.

In recent years, the Swiss have brought their economic practices largely into conformity with those of the European Union in many ways, in an effort to enhance their international competitiveness. The economy has been growing at around 3% per year. Full EU membership is a long-term objective of some in the Swiss government, but there is considerable popular sentiment against this supported by the conservative SVP party.

The western French-speaking areas tend to be more pro-EU. The government has established an Integration Office under the Department of Foreign and Economic Affairs. To minimise the negative consequences of Switzerland's isolation from the rest of Europe, Bern and Brussels signed seven agreements, called bilateral agreements, to further liberalise trade ties. These agreements were signed in 1999 and took effect in 2001. This first series of bilateral agreements included the free movement of persons. A second series covering nine areas was signed in 2004 and awaits ratification.

They continue to discuss further areas for cooperation. Switzerland most recently (2006) approved a billion euro supportive investment in the poorer eastern European countries in support of cooperation and positive ties to the EU as a whole. They have also been under EU and international pressure to open up their bank secrecy and to raise their tax rates into compliance with the EU. Preparatory discussions are being opened on four new areas: opening up the electricity market, participation in the European GPS system Galileo, cooperating with the European centre for disease prevention and recognizing certificates of origin for food products.

The United States is the second-largest importer (9.1%) of Swiss goods after Germany (20.0%). Germany, on the other hand, exports more to Switzerland each year than to all the countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe combined. In addition, the United States is the largest foreign investor in Switzerland, and conversely, the primary destination of Swiss foreign investment. It is estimated that 200,000 American jobs depend on Swiss foreign investments. (More information about Switzerland can be found at (http://en.wikipedia.org)

In August 2006, PMForum announced the formation of a global network of International Correspondents to provide news and information from around the world of project management. PMF now has correspondents in over 15 countries. More information about this program and about other international correspondents can be found at http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#5.

Established in 1995, www.pmforum.org was the world’s first website devoted to professional project management and continues to be one of the world’s most popular sources of project management news and information. PMForum is a company formed to operate and administer the pmforum.org website. PMForum also produces the monthly online PM World Today eJournal where articles, case studies, papers and viewpoints by leading PM authorities from around the world can be found; free subscriptions are available at pmworldtoday.net.

 

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Irwin José Franco named International Correspondent
for PMForum in Ecuador

Mr. Irwin José Franco, MS, PMP has been named an International Correspondent for PMForum in Ecuador. Irwin Franco is also a Project Manager at Image Tech, a leading web and multimedia solutions company based in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Irwin José Franco has a B.A. in Visual Communications from Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Quito, Ecuador, and a Masters degree in Project Management (Specialization in Information Technology) from Universidad La Salle in Madrid, Spain. Mr. Franco has been a producer of video documentaries and news programs, developer of graphics interfaces and 2D/3D animations for TV programs, and a student of animation, video production, documentary film production, sound and lighting. He has also graduated from the Management Skills Program offered by STVDIUM n Professional Foundation, and Process Design and Optimization Program by The Bottom Line Consulting Group, both in Guayaquil.

Since 2000, Irwin has been a Project Coordinator, Project Manager and Portfolio Manager with Image Tech corporation in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He has developed and managed more than 40 IT projects, including E-commerce and E-banking portals, mobile solutions, content management systems, corporate software projects and multimedia products. He has developed solutions for the telecommunications, mass media, tourism and financial sectors. Recently he has been responsible for deployment of Microsoft’s Enterprise Project Management (EPM) solution and framework, and for establishing project management best practices with Risk and Earned Value Management.

Irwin was previously a producer of multimedia products for Producrear and a Graphics Director for Moviola, both in Quito, Ecuador. For these firms, he produced and managed projects and teams related to multimedia products, animations, corporate presentations and other audio/visual productions.

Mr. Franco is an active member of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) and a member of the startup team for an Ecuador chapter of PMI. He has received his Project Management Professional (PMP®) certificate from PMI. He is also a member of the Software Ecuadorian Association (AESOFT) and of the Sectorial Commission of Software Developers for the Chamber of Commerce of Guayaquil. He provides services to PYMES and ONGs on Information Technology Implementation and Project Development, and produces weekly articles and news about project management in his personal blog at www.elcafedejoe.com in the Spanish language.

According to Wikipedia, Santiago de Guayaquil, or just Guayaquil, is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador, as well as that nation's main port. Guayaquil is on the west margin of the Guayas River, which flows into the Gulf of Guayaquil in the Pacific Ocean. Guayaquil is about 250 km south-southwest of the capital of Ecuador, Quito.

According to the most recent census (2001), its estimated metropolitan population was 2,908,338. Guayaquil is the capital of the Ecuadorian province of Guayas and the seat of the namesake canton. The city is the center of Ecuador's fishing and manufacturing industries.

Founded on July 25, 1538, Guayaquil is currently upgrading its image. Guayaquil is primarily visited by business executives or travelers on their way to the coastal waters along the Pacific Ocean or a brief stop prior to Galapagos Islands tours and cruises. Guayaquil is in a transition mode. Traditionally a port city, Guayaquil is now focusing on upholding its nickname as "Perla del Pacifico". The city's surroundings have one of the most important tourist potentials in the nation, seen through a wide span of tourist attractions that range from historic or archeological ruins that can be appreciated in museums, to reserves or locations for fascinating ecotourism.

Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic of 13.5 million people in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, by Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean on the west. The country also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 965 kilometers (600 miles) west of the mainland. Ecuador straddles the equator, from which it takes its name, and has an area of 256,370 square kilometers (98,985 mi²). Its capital city is Quito; its largest city is Guayaquil. Ecuador has been an independent country since 1830.


Ecuador has three main geographic regions, plus an insular region in the Pacific Ocean:

La Costa, or the coast, comprises the low-lying littoral in the western part of the country, including the Pacific coastline.

La Sierra ("the highlands") is the high-altitude belt running north to south along the center of the country, its mountainous terrain dominated by the Andes mountain range.

El Oriente ("the east") comprises the Amazon rainforest areas in the eastern part of the country, accounting for just under half of the country's total surface area, though populated by under 5% of the population.

The Región Insular is the region comprising the Galápagos Islands, some 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) west of the mainland in the Pacific Ocean.

Ecuador is one of seventeen mega-diverse countries in the world according to Conservation International. There are 1600 bird species (some 15% of the world's known bird species) in the continental area, and 38 more endemic to the Galápagos. There are also 25,000 species of plants recorded in Ecuador, along with 106 endemic reptiles, 138 endemic amphibians, and 6,000 species of butterflies. The Galápagos Islands are very well known as a region of distinct fauna, famous as the place of birth of Darwin's Theory of Evolution, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources and rich agricultural areas. Because the country exports primary products such as oil, bananas, flowers and shrimp, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. Industry is largely oriented to servicing the domestic market, and some exports to the Andean Common market.

In 2000, the federal government adopted the U.S. dollar as the official currency of Ecuador to address an ongoing economic crisis. The government also entered into negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), culminating in the negotiation of a stand-by arrangement with the Fund. Additional policy initiatives included efforts to reduce the government's fiscal deficit, implement structural reforms to strengthen the banking system and regain access to private capital markets. In April 2007, after winning a referendum on Constitutional reform, President Correa announced that he no longer intended to make repayments to the IMF or deal with the World Bank.

Irwin José Franco is currently working to promote the Project Management profession in his country. He lives in Guayaquil and can be contacted at . We at PMForum want to welcome him as an International Correspondent for PMForum and PM World Today

In August 2006, PMForum announced the formation of a global network of International Correspondents to provide news and information from around the world of project management. PMF now has correspondents in over 15 countries. More information about this program and about other international correspondents can be found at http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#5.

Established in 1995, www.pmforum.org was the world’s first website devoted to professional project management and continues to be one of the world’s most popular sources of project management news and information. PMForum is a company formed to operate and administer the pmforum.org website. PMForum also produces the monthly online PM World Today eJournal where articles, case studies, papers and viewpoints by leading PM authorities from around the world can be found; free subscriptions are available at pmworldtoday.net.

 

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Irwin José Franco nombrado Corresponsal Internacional para PMForum en Ecuador

Irwin José Franco, PMP ha sido nombrado Corresponsal Internacional para PMForum en Ecuador. Irwin Franco es también Project Manager en Image Tech, empresa líder en soluciones web y multimedia de Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Irwin José Franco posee un B.A. en Comunicaciones Visuales de la Universidad San Francisco de Quito, en Quito, Ecuador. Además, obtuvo un Maestría en Project Management (especialización Tecnología de Información) por la Universidad La Salle en Madrid, España.  El Sr. Franco ha sido producto de video documentales y programas de noticias, desarrollador de interfaces gráficas y animaciones 2D/3D para programas de TV, además de estudiante de animación, producción de video, producción de documentales, sonido e iluminación. Él también se graduó del  Programa de Habilidades Directivas ofrecido por STVIDUM Formación Profesional, y del Programa de Diseño y Optimización de Procesos organizado por The Bottom Line Consulting Group, ambos en Guayaquil.

Desde el 2000, Irwin ha sido Coordinador, Jefe  y actualmente, Gerente de Proyectos en Image Tech, de Guayaquil Ecuador. Él ha desarrollado y gestionado más de 40 proyectos IT incluyendo: Portales de E-commerce y E-Banking, soluciones móviles, sistemas de gestión de contenido, software customizado para empresas y productos multimedios. Él ha desarrollado soluciones para los sectores de telecomunicaciones, medios masivos, turismo, financiero, entre otros. Recientemente ha sido responsable en la implementación de la solución EPM de Microsoft para gestión de proyectos, así como del Microsoft Solution Framework, y ha establecido mejores prácticas en la gestión de proyecto aplicando la Administración de Riesgos y Valor Ganado.

Anteriormente, Irwin fue Productor Multimedia para Producrear, y luego, Director Gráfico en Moviola, ambas empresas de Quito, Ecuador. Para estas firmas produjo y gestionó proyectos relacionados a: productos multimedia, animaciones, presentaciones corporativas y producciones audiovisuales.

El Sr. Franco es miembro activo del Project Management Institute (PMI®) y miembro del Capítulo en proceso de Formación de Ecuador para el PMI. Él ha recibido la certificación Project Management Professional (PMP®) otorgada por el PMI. Él es también un participante en la Asociación Ecuatoriana de Software (AESOFT), y miembro de la Comisión Sectorial de Desarrolladores de Software de la Cámara de Comercio de Guayaquil. Él provee asesoría a PYMES y ONGs en implementación de Tecnología de Información y desarrollo de proyectos, también produce artículos semanales sobre Dirección de Proyectos en su blog www.elcafedejoe.com

De acuerdo a Wikipedia, Santiago de Guayaquil, o tan solo Guayaquil, es la ciudad más grande y poblada del Ecuador, y es también el puerto principal. Guayaquil está sobre el margen oeste del Rio Guayas, el que desemboca en el Golfo de Guayaquil en el Océano Pacífico. Guayaquil se encuentra a 250kms. de distancia al sur suroeste de

Quito, Ciudad Capital del Ecuador.

De acuerdo al censo más reciente (2001), se estima al población metropolitana en 2,908,338. Guayaquil es la capital de la Provincia del Guayas, y se encuentra en el cantón del mismo nombre. La ciudad es el centro de la pesca y manufactura ecuatoriana.

Fundada el 25 de Julio de 1538, Guayaquil se encuentra actualmente mejorando su imagen. Guayaquil es visitada principalmente por ejecutivos de negocios y de viajeros en su paso hacia las costas de Océano Pacífico, o como parada principal en tours hacia las Islas Galápagos. Guayaquil está en proceso de transición. Tradicionalmente conocida como puerto, ahora Guayaquil se está enfocando en mantener su nombre de “Perla del Pacífico”. Los alrededores de la ciudad poseen uno de los mayores potenciales turísticos del país, con atractivos turísticos como ruinas históricas o arqueológicas que pueden ser apreciadas en museos, reservas naturales o en sitios para ecoturismo.

Ecuador, oficialmente conocido como República de Ecuador, es una república con representatividad democrática de 13.5 millones de habitantes en América del Sur. Ecuador limita al norte con Colombia, y al este y sur con el Perú. Las Islas Galápagos son parte del Ecuador, y se encuentra a unos 965 kilómetros de distancia del continente. Por Ecuador atraviesa la Línea Ecuatorial, de la cual proviene su nombre, y posee un área de 256.370 Km2. Su ciudad capital es Quito, y su ciudad principal es Guayaquil. Ecuador ha sido país independiente desde 1830.

Ecuador posee tres regiones geográficas principales, además de una región insular en el Océano Pacífico.


  • La Costa corresponde al litoral en la parte occidental del país, incluyendo la línea costera del Pacífico.

  • La Sierra corresponde a un cinturón montañoso de Los Andes que corre de norte a sur a lo largo del país.

  • El Oriente incluye la selva amazónica ubicada en la parte este de país, comprendiendo la mitad del territorio total, pero con menos del 5% de la población.

  • La Región Insular es la zona que incluye las Islas Galápagos, aproximadamente a 1,000 Kms. del Ecuador continental, en el Océano Pacífico.

Ecuador es uno de los siete países mega diversos en el mundo de acuerdo con Conversación Internacional. Existen 1600 especies de aves (alrededor del 15% de las especies conocidas a nivel mundial) en el área continental, y más de 29 especies endémicas en las Islas Galápagos. También existen 25,000 especies de plantas registradas en Ecuador, junto con 106 especies endémicas de reptiles, 138 anfibios endémicos y 6.000 especies de mariposas. Las Islas Galápagos son bien reconocidas por su fauna, y por ser el lugar donde nació la Teoría de la Evolución de Darwin, y como Patrimonio de la Humanidad de la UNESCO.

Ecuador posee sustanciales recursos petroleros y áreas ricas en agricultura. Debido a que los productos principales de exportación son el aceite, banano, flores y camarones, las fluctuaciones en el mercado internacional puede generar un impacto importante a nivel local. La industria es principalmente orientada a servir el mercado local, y las exportaciones al mercado común andino.

En el año 2000, el gobierno federal adoptó el Dólar Norteamericano como la moneda oficial del Ecuador para superar las profundas crisis económicas. El gobierno también inició las negociaciones con el Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI), culminando en un acuerdo stand-by con el Fondo. Adicionalmente, las iniciativas políticas incluyeron esfuerzos para reducir el déficit fiscal del Gobierno, implementar reformas estructurales para endurecer el sistema bancario y obtener acceso a los mercados de capital privados. En Abril del 2007, luego de ganar el referéndum de la Reforma Constitucional, el Presidente Correa anunció que no  realizará pagos al FMI o acuerdos con el Banco Mundial.Irwin José Franco está actualmente trabajando para promover la profesión de la Dirección de Proyectos en su país. Él vive en Guayaquil y puede ser contactado en . Nosotros en PMForum deseamos darle la bienvenida como Corresponsal Internacional para PMForum y para PM World Today

En Agosto del 2006, PMForum anunció la formación de la red global de Corresponsales Internacionales para proveer de noticias e información alrededor del mundo sobre la Dirección de Proyectos. PMF actualmente posee representantes en 15 países.  Más información acerca del programa y sobre los corresponsales internacionales puede encontrarse en: http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#5.

Establecido en 1995, www.pmforum.orges el primer portal en el mundo dedicado a la profesión de la Dirección de Proyectos y continúa siendo uno de las fuentes de información y noticias a nivel mundial sobre Dirección de Proyectos. PMForum es una compañía formada para operar y administrar el sitio web de pmforum.org. PMForum también produce la publicación mensual en línea PM World Today eJournal, donde se puede obtener artículos, casos de estudio, investigaciones y puntos de vista sobre autoridades en PM alrededor del mundo; la suscripción gratuita está disponible en pmworldtoday.net.

 

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Martin Barnes named PM Ambassador™
Announces Global Availability as Speaker for PM events

Martin Barnes, PhD, former Chairman and current President of the Association for Project Management in the UK, has joined the PM Ambassadors™ Speakers Bureau recently created by PMForum. Dr. Barnes is one of the best known and widely respected project management leaders in Great Britain and around the World.

Dr. Martin Barnes is President of the Association for Project Management (APM), the professional body for project managers in the UK. He was a founding member (no. 10) of APM in 1972 and has been an active APM leader since that time. He was APM Chair in the 1980s and was named an APM Fellow in 1995. Martin has a civil engineering degree from the University of London and a PhD from the University of Manchester, UK. His doctorate was awarded in 1971 for research into improved methods of financial control for engineering projects.

Martin Barnes invented the classic Time/Cost/Quality triangle and other project management techniques over the years. He built up his own PM business over 15 years until it merged with what is now PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1985. Now a consultant in project management, Martin was also Executive Director of the Major Projects Association (MPA) for nine years until 2006. Dr Barnes has advised on significant projects in many countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, for the World Bank, other funding agencies, governments, promoters and major contractors. He has worked on projects in the engineering, defense, aerospace, IT, financial, business change and media sectors. Martin’s BBC television programme on project management has been used as a training aid in many countries. He has acted as expert witness in a number of arbitrations concerning major projects. He has presented papers or training courses in project management in 22 countries.

Martin led the team that produced the New Engineering Contract (NEC), a system of contracts designed to facilitate and stimulate the use of modern project management across all the contributors on a project. The NEC is now being used in over 20 countries and has been adopted by the UK government for all publicly funded construction projects.

Martin Barnes has been active in the IPMA since 1972, having attended all but one of its world congresses since that year. He presented papers at most of them. He is a Fellow of IPMA and a former board member and Chairman of its Council of Representatives.

Dr Barnes is a recipient of the Chartered Institute of Management’s Special Award and of the Institution of Civil Engineers’ Watson Medal in the UK, both for his personal contributions to the development of project management. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the UK’s highest engineering recognition, and is a Churchill Fellow.

Dr. Barnes is prepared to provide keynote speeches, lectures and executive briefings on the following topics, among others:

  • Management of Engineering & Construction Projects

  • Management of Major Projects – all industries & sectors

  • Project Management in Uncertainty – risk management

  • Contracts and Procurement – they can help manage projects better

  • Project Management for Government & Business

  • The Future of Project Management

For information on Dr. Barnes’ availability, please contact

On 26 June 2007, PMForum announced the formation of the PM Ambassadors™ Speakers Bureau, a new global service for project management leaders and meeting planners worldwide. The program offers and promotes leading project management authorities, experts and professional leaders who are available to speak at conferences, meetings and seminars worldwide. PM Ambassadors™ include globally-recognized project management professional experts; authors of PM textbooks; former presidents and chairs of PM professional societies; experienced project managers and PM professionals; and retired executives of project and program-oriented organizations.

PM Ambassadors™ are available to speak at project management conferences, meetings, seminars and workshops, and at corporate events. Interested meeting organizers and planners can contact for more information. Background information about individual speakers, availability and potential presentation topics can be found at http://www.pmforum.org/ambassadors/ambassadors.htm.

Established in 1995, www.pmforum.org. was the world’s first website devoted to professional project management and continues to be one of the world’s most popular sources of project management news and information. PMForum is a company formed to operate and administer the pmforum.org website. PMForum also produces the monthly online PM World Today eJournal where articles, case studies, papers and viewpoints by leading PM authorities from around the world can be found; free subscriptions are available at pmworldtoday.net.

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