PMIWDC

About the Visit

Natalia Vainshtein, PMP visited PMI representatives in Russia, from November 9 – November 23rd, 2007.

This report covers 3 areas of her activity: 

• Moscow IV International Project Management Annual Conference

• Project Management workshop organized by PMI Moscow professionals

• Meetings with PMI Leadership and Project Management Professionals

• Suggestions for next steps within CTC program with Russia

1. Moscow IV International Project Management Annual Conference

Dates: November 12-13, 2007

Theme: Project Management – Profession and Standards

Participation:  about 300 attendees

Participants:  professionals from Moscow area and consulting companies sponsoring the conference

Structure:  1st day presentations for all attendees, 2nd day parallel workshops

Languages: Russian and English, synchronized translation available; all presentations were displayed in Power Point slides in both languages on 2 screens simultaneously.

PMI WDC Travelling Member’s Presentation:

“Project Management Methodologies and their application” (Attached as a separate document), in Russian

The presentation covered the fundamentals and the differences of the PMBOK Framework and Agile project management methodologies and provided examples of real-life projects to show how these methodologies were applied.  The goal of the presentation was to convey that the methodologies must be tailored to each specific project and each organizational culture in order to provide the best value to the customer.  Another goal of the presentation was to share with the audience specifics of leading projects in the US.

The presentation was very well received.  Several questions followed the presentation from the audience members immediately after the presentation.  During the conference reception on November 12, attendees formed a semi-circle and posed questions about US project management practices and seeking advice how to deal with specific issues. 

Conference Organization:

The conference was very well organized.  According to Alexandr Bazhenov, the President of Moscow PMI, organizing and holding this annual conferences presents an enormous challenge for the PMI Moscow. 

• Difficulties attracting sponsors for the conference

• Fluctuating prices, which make bookings of the venue and catering difficult in advance

• Fluctuating schedules of consulting companies and their clients, which makes it difficult to gain commitments from the sponsors and attendees

• Unwillingness of most organizations in Moscow to pay for their employee’s training expenses, such as attendance of the educational events

PMI Moscow URL:

http://conf2007.pmi.ru/en/

The conference URL:

http://conf2007.pmi.ru/

The conference photos – photos home page

http://conf2007.pmi.ru/ru/conf/fotootchet/#

The conference photos – page with the Speaker

http://conf2007.pmi.ru/ru/conf/fotootchet5/

The conference schedule, speaker’s presentation is last at 17:45 – 18:30 PM (in Russian):

http://conf2007.pmi.ru/ru/programma/

The speaker’s bio (in Russian):

http://www.conf2007.pmi.ru/ru/programma/vainstein/

The hotel Golden Ring:

http://www.goldenring-moscow.ru/en/

2. Project Management Workshop

Organizer: Vladimir Mikheev (author, Lively Project Management, see link in item 3)

Date: November 21st, Wednesday

Topic:  Ethics in Project Management practices in Moscow

Frequency: this is an on-going workshop monthly series organized by a volunteer project management practitioner. 

Attendees: 12 project management executives from Moscow and other adjacent cities

Invitation: I was invited to attend the workshop by Vladimir Mikheev after he heard my presentation during the conference.

Workshop Goals:

• Define what “ethics” is

• Define ethics in the context of project management practices from participants’ experiences

• Discuss current project management ethics and practices in Moscow

Ethics and Professionalism: 

There are plenty of professionals in Russia who adhere and support high ethical standards in the profession of project management, and strive to elevate the professional and ethical conduct in Moscow.  This was highly encouraging.

Gender in Project Management Discussion: 

A few workshop participants were debating with each other whether or not certain project management assignments are better suited for females than for males.  Sometimes clients will only deal or communicate with the male counterparts.  Participants gave several examples when the female project manager had to pretend to have lower rank on the project and switch the roles temporarily with one of the male associates whom she outranked in order to be heard by the clients. 

Age in Project Management Discussion: 

Workshop participants shared with each other that certain government clients will often refuse to work with the project manager who is younger than the government counterpart and will not grant a contract unless the PM is replaced with someone who they deem age appropriate.

Profession Knowledge and Depth:

This was a workshop attended by the senior and executive level project management professionals.  Some of the attendees were Program Directors, Vice Presidents and senior consultants.  Everyone was highly knowledgeable and proficient with current project management standards and practices.

3. Meetings with PMI Leadership and PM Professionals

3.1 Meeting with Alexey Arefiev, VP of Moscow PMI

Meeting Purpose: to discuss the charter between Moscow and Washington DC PMI chapters and opportunities for the future exchange.

1. Charter is signed between Moscow and Washington DC chapters.  Moscow PMI understands that the Moscow travelers are expected to pay their own way if they come to Washington, DC.  Alexey shared that without sponsorship it will be difficult to find members in Moscow who will be willing to pay for the trip out of their own pocket.  It is also difficult to find corporate sponsors for the member trips to PMI Washington, DC chapter.  Various European project management conferences are easily fit into the budget within $600 range including airfare and accommodations, and thus present a competition to Washington DC PMI option for travel.

2. PMI Moscow inquired if it is possible to find some assistance from PMI WDC in terms of corporate sponsorship from companies that have a partnership with PMI WDC for future travel to Washington DC PMI events.   Moscow PMI has several practitioners who could deliver interesting and exciting presentations to the WDC audience. 

3. Difficult to govern and expand PMI Moscow chapter: difficult to cultivate interest to attend the meetings.  Membership is free for the chapter.  This is the only way the participation will persist in Moscow PMI.

3.2 Meeting with Vladimir Mihkeev, author of the book “Lively Project Management”

Vladimir’s book URL (in Russian):

http://www.books.ru/shop/books/497971

Meeting Purpose: to discuss my participation in the workshop and the history of project management in Russia.

Project management as a profession in Russia started developing in early 1990s.  Since then, several organizations established themselves as professional affiliations.  PMI Moscow is one of the organizations to arrange conferences and workshops.  The problem project management as a profession is facing currently is de-centralization and de-synchronization between several competing organizations.

3.3 Meeting with Alexander Tsvetkov, PMSoft managing partner, PMSoft

PM Soft URL / Alexander’s bio (in Russian)

http://www.pmsoft.ru/about/management/

Meeting Purpose: informational discussion about project management profession as-is-state in Russia, future outlook and industry analysis in Russia.

1. The country experienced growth in the early 90s, during which many new ventures were formed in the following industries: oil, construction, IT.  During early and late 90s these new ventures had large profit margins.  In 2007, these newly emerged ventures are at the point where there is a need to learn how to control growth and operate efficiently.

2. There is a need for experts in the training arena in various topics in project management.

3. PMSoft is a representative distributor for Primavera software in Russia.

As Russia is becoming more prominent in the global economy, support is critical from countries that already have established industries and professional standards for various professions. 

PMI WDC Chapter-To-Chapter program needs to continue to show support for Moscow PMI, such as sponsoring traveling members and providing financial assistance for visiting speakers from Moscow. 

There will be another conference in March 2008 that should be considered.