Ten years of professional Project Management in Russia

Prof., Dr. Sc., Vladimir Voropajev
President of the Russian Project Management Association - SOVNET

1. A role of Project Management in the modern world

To the current time Project Management like professional activity has become recognised all over the world. The Projects Management methodology and techniques will be widely used in all areas of project-oriented activity and business. For last 30 years Project Management was formed as new culture of management and has become the peculiar cultural bridge in civilised business and miscellaneous continents countries co-operation with a difference history, traditions, economics and culture. Already it is difficult to call even one considerable project, which one would implement beyond the framework of philosophy and methodology of Project Management. It is difficult also to call even one company, known in a pattern which is not using in its practice Project Management methods and a tools.

2. Project Management place and role in administrative activity

The development of professional Project Management has transformed it into the potent tools as controls of creation of new products and services, and implementation of targeted changes within the framework of separate organisations, companies, and also whole social and economic systems and societies. All this allows to assert, that about 40 % of useful activity will be performed through the different projects and programs. At the same time all workers of an areas of management collide in the practical activity with necessity of implementation of different changes both development of organisations and systems by projects or programs. A conclusion from here follows, that for normal development and effective operation today's, becoming project-oriented companies all body of the engineering, economical and administrative specialists should be familiar with the bases and capabilities of Project Management as new by administrative culture and irreplaceable toolkit. At the same time 40 % of the specialists of an administrative body should be the professionals in the field of Project Management to ensure high outcomes of project-oriented activity and effective development of transformation of company and its business. Just it also determines the relevant role and value of development of professionalism in Project Management in Russia too.

3. Projects Management Status in Russia

The development of methods of Project Management in Russia, as well as in other developed countries, are rooted in the period of industrialisation of the 30-th years. Also there was it in a step with global development, but, we were a little behind the West. However Project Management, as professional discipline and special methodology of efficient change management, about the 90-th years was not claimed by practice in the term of centralised economics and predominance of command methods of management. It is necessary to note, that in the period with 30-th for 90 years in this area the considerable experience and definite achievements, which one, unfortunately was accumulated, have not received wide area application and had no an effect on economics of Russia in national scales.

The situation has changed in the period of rearrangement in sharply to beginning of the 90-th years, when "Iron Curtain" essentially has mounted and Russia has taken the place in a pattern of professional Project Management. As a formal first step in this direction it is possible to consider foundation in October, 1990 and beginning of fissile activity Russian (before Soviet) Project Management Association-SOVNET.

An analysis of project management status in modem Russia would not be complete without a brief review of the history, activity, and perspectives of SOVNET. The association has begun to play a more important role in professional project management development in our country in the course of forming this new market economy.

But first...

4. A Little history.

Specialists in the USSR had sketchy items of information on INTERNET (now IPMA) organisation and its biannual world congresses and published proceedings and journals . One to two specialists from the USSR participated in some INTERNET events. For example, Professor Vladimir Burkov was a participant of the first congress in Vienna in 1967 devoted to “Network Methods.”

As Mr. Roland Gutsch the founder and leader of INTERNET for many years said, from the first days of this European International Project Management Association activity, its officers wanted to engage Soviet specialists in INTERNET and to have a Soviet corporate member in INTERNET family.

The idea was enthusiastically supported by leading Soviet specialists. As a result The Russian (former Soviet) Project Management Association (SOVNET) was founded on October 25, 1990.

• 1990, October - Foundation of professional Project Management Association - "SOVNET";
• 1991, February – Joined SOVNET to INERNET family like National Association and Introduction SOVNET in International Project Management Association, Switzerland, Zurich;
• International Project Management Symposiums in Russia (Moscow - 1991, 1993, 1995, 1999; St.-Petersburg - 1997, all it is from above 1000 participants from Russia and about 500 of foreign countries).
• Participation of the Russian specialists and businessmen:

In World Congresses:
Florence, 1992 - 25 persons; Oslo, 1994 - 35 persons; Paris, 1996 - 45 persons; Ljubljana, 1998 - 25 persons; The London, 2000 - 8 persons;

In the PMI Annual Seminars and Symposiums, IPMA, APMI and other International Forums on Project Management abroad has participated above 300 Russian specialists.

• Dimension of Project Management (translated from English), Moscow, 1994
• Project Management in Russia (Russian and English version), 1995, 1997
• Project Management (tutorial), St.-Petersburg, 1996
• Project and program management, Moscow, 1999
• NBC National Competence Baseline of the specialists on Project Management. Version 1.3., Moscow, 2000

and other.

• Practical assistance in forming new consulting, project management and engineering firms in Russia
• SOVNET holds during 6 years Project Management Seminars, which was visited by one thousand specialists.
• Educational programs for the higher education institutions and seminars were developed.
• Learning the specialists with a higher education more than in 50 high education institutions of Russia and CIS, including first printings of the project managers: GTU (Yekaterinburg) -1999, SMU (Moscow) - 2001 etc.
• Development of the civilised market of PM software products and services in Russia, including Russian and Located versions of tools: Project Expert, Comcord, Time Line, Open Plan, Sure Track, Spider Project etc.
• More and more broad application Project Management methods and tools in practice: oil industry, investment-building area, IT and telecommunication, defence industry, space, infrastructure etc.
• Preparing and start National Certification Program of the Project Management specialists within the framework of the IPMA certification program. The first certificated Russian project managers: 11 persons - December, 1999; 7 persons - June, 2000; 7 persons - October, 2000.
• Integration Project Management with other modern management disciplines: strategic management, corporate management, crisis management, BPR etc.

6. Project Management perspective trends in Russia

For last 10 years the objective reasons for wide area development and application of Project Management in Russia are built. For maintenance of development it is necessary: