Page 177 - Global Project Management Handbook

CHAPTER 8

COMPETENCIES OF
PROJECT MANAGERS

Lynn Crawford
ESC Lille, France, and
University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

Lynn Crawford holds a DBA and has qualifications in human
resource management, town planning, and architecture. She was
director of the postgraduate Project Management Program at the
University of Technology, Sydney, for six years and has been project
director for several major research projects funded by the Australian
Research Council in collaboration with industry in areas of project
management competence and the management of multiple interde-
pendent and soft projects. She continues to conduct research in
these areas with support of industry partners.
Dr. Crawford has been involved in development of competency
standards since the early 1990s and was a member of the steering
committee for the development of Australian National Competency
Standards in Project Management. She is currently leading initia-
tives aimed at the development of global standards for project man-
agement. These initiatives involve project management professional
associations, recognized leaders in project management, and repre-
sentatives of global corporations.
Currently, Dr. Crawford is professor of project management at
ESC Lille in France, directs a project management research group at
the University of Technology, Sydney, and is managing director of
Human Systems Asia Pacific, which is part of a global network that
facilitates knowledge sharing, benchmarking, and enhancement of

delivery capability between major corporations.

Competent project managers are vital to the effective management of projects, and the
successful delivery of projects is a major contributor to corporate performance. An
increasing focus on governance means that shareholders, clients, governments, and the
public are demanding evidence of corporate delivery capability, which includes the com-
petence of project managers. It is therefore not surprising that there is considerable inter-
est in assessing and developing project management competence. As globally mobile
project managers contemplate their careers and global corporations consider how to
assess the competence of their workforce to deliver projects and develop programs for
development and ways of demonstrating that competence to stakeholders, they are faced
with decisions concerning choice of standards and qualifications that will provide guide-
lines for development and provide transferability and mutual recognition across national
boundaries. This chapter is intended to assist individuals and organizations faced with
these decisions.

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