3rd International Conference on Project Management (ProMAC2006)
26-29 September 2006, Sydney, Australia
Transformative Project and Program Management for the Advancement of Organisations, Government Agencies and Communities
ProMAC2006 was successfully staged in Sydney, Australia, with over 500 attendees from Asia Australia, the America´s and Europe. The host bodies Asia Pacific International College, Australian Institute of Project Management, Engineers Australia and Project Management Institute (Sydney Chapter) managed the conference in partnership with the Society of Project Management of Japan and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. The opening Ceremony shown below was striking for its use of a traditional Australian welcome using a didgeridoo, a symbol of Indigenous rights and of communication. Each of the Hosts left their handprint on a ceremonial didgeridoo, intended to be passed on to the next conference as it travels the states bordering the Pacific.
Photo Description: Opening Ceremony of ProMAC2006. Player Les Saxby (Aboriginal Artist), presenting Mr. Brian Kooyman, Organising Committee Chair, standing from right to left: Dr. David Dombkins AIPM, ProfessorAli Jaafari, Conference Co-Chair and Chair of International Advisory Board, Professor Yuichi Kanda,President of SPM of Japan, Mr. Peter Dechaineux, AO, Engineers Australia and Mr. Gordon Bartlett, PMI Sydney Chapter.
Top
ProMAC2006 attracted the highest number of international delegates of any international PM Conference staged in Australia. With a high quality blend of theoretical and practitioner papers presented over a 3.5 day period, the conference enriched our understanding of transformative project and program management. The ProMAC series of conferences were created by the Society of Project Management (SPM) of Japan. In 2004 SPM entrusted the third international conference (ProMAC2006) to Professor Jaafari to organise. The initial host organisations were Asia Pacific International College and Engineers Australia. (EA is the peak professional engineering body in Australia.) These institutions invited Australian Institute of Project Management and PMI Sydney Chapter on board as co-hosts. Professor Jaafari was the Conference Co-chair and convened an International Advisory Board of prominent PM scholars and professional leaders who vetted all paperssubmitted for the conference. Professor Jaafari also chaired the Technical, Scientific and ProgramCommittee.
Photo Description: From left Ms. Kaoru Nakamura, Mr. Kenji Hatsuda, Professor Yuichi Kanda, Professor Ali Jaafari, Adjunct Professor Miles Shepherd, Associate Professor Bob Hunt, Adjunct Professor Ted Tooher and Mr. Peter May.
Top
Professor Jaafari in association with his colleagues (in particular Adjunct Prof. Ted Tooher) and research students contributed a huge amount of intellectual input to this event. Professor Jaafari chose the theme of transformative project and program management for the conference. This theme was in line with Asia Pacific International College´s mission (APIC is an innovative Graduate College devoted to the research, teaching and promotion of Transformative Education). Professor Jaafari presented a number of papers to this conference which were received with surprising enthusiasm. One paper, "Re-Thinking Project and Program Management" argued for a paradigm shift from normative model of thinking to a transformative model. APIC´s Graduate Program in Business and Project Management is designed to promote transformative thinking, behaviour and practice (see APIC´s Chart of Competency). A transformative approach is well suited to the rising levels of complexity, uncertainty, indeterminacy and change that characterise today´s complex project and programs and their environments. This paper was the culmination of an enormous amount of research and development work by Professor Jaafari and APIC to develop tools and courseware to apply transformative thinking and promote non-linear approach to both education and professional development of managers in this field.
Photo Description: Professor Jaafari presenting APIC´s Project Health Check to the Conference.
Top
The other major paper "Accelerating project performance by applying project diagnostics - theory and real life case studies" focused on project diagnostics. Professor Jaafari presented the Project Health Check (PH-Check) tool (Photo 3) designed to provide a snapshot of a complex project(system) subject to change and evolution. PH-Check aids managers of large complex projects to diagnose the areas of poor performance and can surprise even the most confident managers with new insights into the state of a project from the business and strategic management perspective as well as implementation efficiency and effectiveness. The paper and the PH-Check tool are tools of complexity management. PH-Check is a tool for fast feedback and diagnosis of complex projects applying a large number of criteria and indicators. These are true risk management tools as they show whether projects are on track to achieve their goals. The response to project diagnostics was so large that it has prompted APIC to invest to create a shortened version of the PH-Check for online access by managers worldwide.
Photo Description: Adjunct Professor Ted Tooher presenting to the Conference.
Top
Adjunct Professor Ted Tooher presented a paper "Project Management, how much is Enough" on estimating the level of effort required to deliver projects. The estimates are based on the author´s experiences over twenty five years of consulting and sought to address the disparity between types of projects, the maturity of the client and project organisations involved. The presentation was delivered to a packed room with many participants commenting on the uniqueness of the findings and on it´s relevance to practical project management resourcing particularly where programs of work are required across a team. Further work in this area is to be undertaken by APIC as part of its research Program.
APIC had an exhibition booth (Photo 5) that was particularly popular with a range of Conference delegates who wished to learn more about APIC´s Chart of Competencies, Graduate Program in Business and Project Management, Project Health Check tool and other tools and facilities designed to provide a holistic service to clients worldwide.
Photo Description: APIC´s Exhibition Booth. Standing Ms. Estelle Farwell, Dr. Neveen Moussa, Professor Ali Jaafari, seated, Adjunct Professor Ted Tooher
Top
Altogether ProMAC2006 was a defining point in the art and science of transformative project management. Leading academics and frontline thinkers (Photo 6) travelled from a distance to give and receive ideas on how transformative project management can work in the age of complexity and change. ProMAC2006 was a unique experience brought about by the high level debate and discourse on project management and the rich mix of delegates from all over the world stimulated by the wonderful atmosphere of the Harbour City.
Photo Description: From left, Associate Professor Khim Teck Yeo, Mr. Nobuhro Hashizume, Professor Masaki Arioka, Professor Ali Jaafari, Professor Igor Kononenko and Professor Jing Ra.
Top
The 4th International Conference in the series, ProMAC2008, has been entrusted to the University of Alaska at Anchorage (Photo 7) to organise under the leadership of Professor Jing Ra. APIC will be supporting ProMAC2008 as a valuable experience for the project management and business community worldwide to build on from that of Sydney experience and enrichment.
Photo Description: Closing ceremony and hand over to the University of Alaska to host ProMAC2008.
Top |
Research 
