Keynote Speech
The Project Management View
The Compleat Project

Once upon a time in a Kingdom far, far away, projects used to be stand-alone pieces of change. They were owned and driven by departments (they even used to call them IT projects!). The project was all about the effort put in, the delivery of certain outcomes to time, cost or quality - everyone assumed that doing a project was ‘Good’ and so no one checked if real benefits (more money) had been achieved. In that Olde Kingdom all the focus was on the core project activity and not on the real needs of the stakeholders who had to live and work with the results of the project.

One day all that changed. That day probably for you, was yesterday! Now projects have to connect with the organisation’s strategy - they are ‘Business Projects’. This means simply achieving originally specified deliverables to time and cost can mean that you will be seen to have failed! In your world it means more interference from more people adding more change and complexity to more work with more people who don’t really understand the project difficulties!

Success means fit with the downstream user needs and behaviours, it means the deliverables are compliant and the list goes on. But it is set to get even worse, as the global economy drives even more competition in the future. As cost pressures increase we won’t be able to afford to waste resources on ‘incompleat projects’ - that is, projects where the project leader has been unable to link all the aspects of the project to deliver the best result (as opposed to merely what he or she was asked to deliver).

Delivering Compleat projects is more challenging but not necessarily more difficult if you apply the right thinking tools and techniques, and - most importantly - engage all the key stakeholders to support you rather than resist you!

Dr Eddie Obeng is well-known to Project Managers as a regular contributor to Project Manager Today, having his own column and is described as their ‘resident guru’. He is also corporate management’s best-kept secret. For multinationals worldwide, Dr Eddie Obeng is a lethal weapon in their battle to succeed in the ‘New World’ of global economics. He stands between them and the growing graveyard of corporate stalwarts trapped by ‘Old World’ thinking. He advises the ‘big boys’ of commerce and industry who respect his expertise and embrace his no-nonsense direction on how to improve the performance of managers and business. Eddie is currently Learning Director for Pentacle.

The Quality View
Quality - Current Issues

Quality is like an over arching umbrella, necessary to develop and utilise good computing systems. An umbrella, to be effective must have all spokes in place, to provide effective coverage. Within the computer industry, these would include requirement capture, change management, project management, estimation, design of systems and of websites, testing, security and legal issues, many of which are being addressed at this conference. She will relate these to other aspects of quality including new standards, offshore outsourcing and professional issues. Failure to address these correctly can have damaging results, not only on the project, but possibly more importantly on the organisation and its position in the marketplace.

Margaret Ross Professor of Software Quality at Southampton Institute, is the Vice Chair of the BCS QSG and member of the BCS TickIT Committee. She is the Conference Director of the two annual international conferences of the Quality Specialist Group: SQM (Software Quality Management which is concerned with benefits to business through research and case histories); and INSPIRE (which is concerned with methods of improving software processes through improved methods of training and education of current and potential staff). Margaret is one of the two BCS representatives on the Engineering and Technology Board (which replaced the Engineering Council of which she was a Senator), a member of the Parliamentary IT Committee, of the BCS Council, Chair of the BCS Hampshire Branch and also on the Committee of the BCS Women SG.

She is keen to encourage children and students to consider computing as a career. She is also on the Committee of the BCSWomen Specialist Group, which encourages women working in the computing industry or taking career breaks.

The Law View
Latest Developments in IT Law

It is difficult to keep track of the many developments that there have been in IT law recently. However, it is critical that project managers have a working knowledge of the law affecting them in their work. This talk is a practical guide to the law relating to data protection, spamming and email marketing. It will also outline how to avoid employment problems relating to the use of computers and a well-tested specimen staff computer use policy will be provided. In addition the talk will list the most important points in the main types of computer contracts (including service level agreements and outsourcing contracts). It will also describe legal "street fighting techniques" in computer security.

Jeremy Holt is a partner in the firm of Clark Holt, Commercial Solicitors in Swindon. He is head of the firm's computer law group and has written and lectured widely on computer matters. He was secretary of the Law Specialist Group of the British Computer Society between 1993 and 2004. He is also a member of PROMS-G. In 2003 he helped found, in Swindon, the country's only specialist computer museum. He co-edited "A Manager’s Guide to IT Law" published by the British Computer Society in 2004.

The Configuration Management View
Trends in Configuration Management

Configuration Management is often looked on as boring, bureaucratic and at best a necessary evil. However, it lies at the heart of all organisations and development projects ranging from those using best practices in Service Management (ITIL and BS15000) to those adopting agile methods such as XP - extreme programming. This presentation highlights some recent developments in both approaches and tools.

Robert Cowham is the founder of Vaccaperna Systems providing SCM (software configuration management) consultancy and training to organisations. He has 20 years of experience in software development, working for companies like Logica. He has long had an interest in SCM, and has worked with clients around the world in this arena during the last 7 years. He has presented at a variety of events and conferences, and is a co-author of the monthly Agile SCM column for CMCrossroads.com.