Project Managment News

Government Looks To Improve IT Project Management



Fed CIO Vivek Kundra pledges better and timelier details on the health of federal IT projects in as close to real time as possible.



The federal government is better known for spending $600 on toilet seats than being frugal, and IT projects are no exception. Cost overruns have plagued federal IT projects in the past, and the Government Accountability Office has written any number of reports detailing IT failures in government.This week, Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., introduced a bill that aims to make more public information available about federal IT spending, "require greater accountability for cost overruns," and improve investment management strategies.



The new legislation comes at a time when the Office of Management and Budget has placed a renewed focus on IT spending under newly minted federal CIO Vivek Kundra, whose office walls are notably adorned by graphs of the federal IT budget. Kundra has advocated transparency as a way to push more accountability for government IT projects."If we look at the tough economy we're in, the fact that we're in two wars, it's very important that we make sure every dollar that's spent produces real value," he said in a recent interview with InformationWeek. "We're divesting and killing projects that don't perform and we're investing in projects that do perform. We do not want to throw good money after bad money."



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IGNOU to launch new programme



NEW DELHI: Come July and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) here will launch a new post-graduate programme for certificate in project management.



The University is going to collaborate with the Indian chapter of the London-based International Project Management Association (IPMA) — Project Management Associates — and Center for Excellence in Project Management to develop the content for the course, engage resource persons and create placement opportunities. The IPMA is present in 44 countries teaching people the tools and art of how to handle projects. According to Manoj Kulsreshtha of the IGNOU School of Engineering and Technology who is the project coordinator for the new course, “Project management education should be encouraged in the national interest. Applications of project management concepts can improve our ability to keep pace with the international happenings. Education and training in the area of project management is an effective means of transforming a society into a project-oriented society.” The certificate programme is likely to be useful for working professionals, academia, aspiring managers and technical manpower.



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People in Business for May3, 2009



Stacey Hopkins has been named a project manager at I.T. by Design in a role that includes management of development staff, project planning and  technical leadership. He was a senior software developer.



Sherry Etheridge-Soileau has been named private client group manager at Wright & Percy Insurance, responsible for business development in the agency’s personal lines department.. She was a personal and commercial lines producer for Lewis Mohr Insurance Agency.



Eddrick Martin has been named associate executive director of programs and program development at the A.C. Lewis Branch of the YMCA of the Capital Area. He was program director