PM Network

Hello followers of this blog! I’m sorry that, due to a long and much-needed vacation, I missed writing about the June issue of PM Network, the one with the high-speed train on the cover. So this post will cover June and July, and for good measure a just-published book derived from PM Network stories.

First, the book: It is called Getting It Done: Project Management in Action, and it was a long-time project to gather and organize more than 50 practitioner-written articles. The goal was to provide readers with usable hints, information and stories from around the world that could be classified by the legs of the PMI Talent Triangle™: technical project management, leadership skills, and strategic and business management.

This handy book puts all this great PM Network content together under one cover. These were stories that appeared under the old “From the Trenches” banner (which we’ve since renamed “Getting It Done”). I highly recommend purchasing this book for yourself or for the project manager in your life.

Now, on to PM Network. The June issue’s cover story details the growth in high-speed rail projects around the world. The track covered by high-speed trains is expected to triple by 2020. Learn about challenges faced by managers of these projects in places like Saudi Arabia, India and California, USA.

Also in June are stories on how the world’s rapidly aging population is creating a demand for projects serving senior citizens; all about contingency budgets and how to request that sort of funding from your sponsor; and using business cases to help project teams challenge their assumptions and keep sight of business benefits. A case study details a project to design, construct and test a new U.S. facility for destroying chemical weapons.

In The Edge, learn about CEOs views of stakeholder concerns, how Indian outsourcing firms are dealing with a changing economic landscape, and project growth expected in Iran as sanctions get lifted. Columnists in June explain how new project managers can jump-start their careers through certifications, learning from others and free tools; discuss how project managers can leverage innovation even without C-suite approval; and, in “Getting It Done,” urge team members to optimize risk reduction by empowering contractors to flag problems as soon as they are discovered.

Once you’ve digested all that information, turn to the month of July, where the cover story is how one team representing 140 countries successfully managed a 2015 major event: Expo Milan. Feature stories cover subjects important to many of us in your career and in your life: the rise of mobile banking and the associated project challenges. Also coming to a career near you: the project genius behind mergers and acquisitions (or, after the deal is signed, what happens to make things work, integration-wise).

Other feature stories cover nanotechnology and how to turn negative feedback into a positive experience. Edge news stories dive under the sea to discuss exploration of the ocean floor, and go to the sky for construction of massive telescopes. Want to know how the Internet of Things will affect the project landscape? That’s the topic of this month’s metrics infographic.

Voices columns include “The Agile Project Manager”: Jesse Fewell tells readers once you find out the problems to be solved, you can choose the right kind of agile approach. Learn three ways PMOs can develop their project management staff in “Getting It Done.” See how an IBM senior project manager deals with major change initiatives in “Inside Track.”

PMI members enjoy this spread of content each and every month in PM Network. Archived copies are available online if your vacation caused you to miss a month. And, if your native language is español or Português and you are a member of PMI, we have you covered! You can read the current and recent issues of PM Network in your language.