Leveraging Talent and Initiative: EMTM's Project Management Forum

April 2, 2004 — What happens when a Six Sigma guru is late for an appearance? Executive students in Penn's Executive Master's for Technology Management (EMTM) program recently found out.

Last fall, a group of EMTM students decided to leverage their shared interests and experience to launch an extracurricular forum focused on project management. Consistent with EMTM's emphasis on innovation, their objectives were to develop a regular means for sharing PM (project management) knowledge; to enable greater networking among EMTM professionals; and to develop a knowledge base of best practices and references.

Tapping EMTM Expertise
"All technology is introduced into an organization by projects," says Dermot McCaul (EMTM ’04), Information Services Account Manager for Merck's Global Financial Systems, who headed up the forum this year. "During peer discussions we realized that there is an incredible depth and breadth of experience and skills in regards to project management across the EMTM community. Some of the skills around project management can be taught in a classroom, but many of the more advanced skills can only come by experience. The Project Management Forum is a means to help people exchange that tacit knowledge, the stuff 'behind the eyes and between the ears that can't be written down."

Nearly twenty students were involved in that kickoff discussion, ranging from those with extensive PM experience in organizations as diverse as Rohm & Haas, Air Products, GE, Ernst and Young, and Unisys, to others who saw project management as a skill they needed to develop.

Over the course of the year, the group met on several occasions to share best practices. They drew on internal expertise, such as when Melanie Zairis (EMTM ’06), Project Manager and Director at Morgan Stanley, discussed her organization's portfolio management process. They also brought in leaders in the field of project management. Ann M. Tomalavage (P.E., PMP), President of Malarkey Consulting, Inc., talked with forum members about the Project Management Institute (PMI), current best practices and how to get certification in project management. Tomalavage serves on the board of the Project Management Institute's Delaware Valley Chapter (PMI-DVC).

When it wasn't possible to meet in person, the group exchanged information and insights online via EMTM's customized online collaboration resource, webCafé.

Six Sigma
Among the highlights of the year was a guest appearance by Joseph E. DeFeo, president and CEO of the Juran Institute, who spoke on the evolution and current state of the quality industry and Six Sigma, in particular. When it was learned that De Feo was delayed by bad weather, EMTM was able to call on its own Six Sigma master black belt (the highest level) — Joe Kieffer (EMTM ’07), who could speak from personal experience at GE, as well as his current position as Practice Director for Global Financial Services at Unisys.

Despite the delay, De Feo arrived in time to bring high-level energy and extensive knowledge of the issues and current state of the art in best practice. And in true Six Sigma fashion, he managed to deliver an engaging presentation, address questions, and end precisely on time. He continued informal discussions with EMTM students at a dinner following the session.

De Feo's visit was timely in the larger sense as well, with 2004 marking the 100th birthday of founder J. M. Juran, the 50th anniversary of Dr. Juran's historic first visit to Japan at the invitation of the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers, and the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Juran Institute.

Looking Ahead
The Project Management Forum is already making plans for next year, including a peer review on "Lean Manufacturing," and a presentation from the head of the internal re-engineering group in a Fortune 50 company.

"What we have learned this year is that there is a lot we can learn from each other even outside the classroom," says McCaul, "and there is enormous value in making the connection.