The PMI Global Congress EMEA was held in Amsterdam May 18-20, 2009.  Once again it was an excellent conference on all kinds of topics of project management.  Attendants could pick from more than 70 sessions.

There was no lack of innovative and thought provoking topics such as agile projects or applying insights of systems,  complexity or chaos theory in daily project management.  Agile has been around for quite some time.  Still, it is just entering the realm of PMI.  The resistance to embracing agile is weakening.  Personally, I think it will have become a standard in the PMI world in another year or two.  Let’s bet on it if you like.
Regarding systems, complexity and chaos theory I think this is a trend worthwhile watching.  We are living in a complex, non-linear world.  The PMBOK serves as a solid framework for project management.  However, it has its limits given its linear character.  Systems, complexity and chaos theories overcome this shortcoming.  They expand the dimensions of traditional project management, encourage us to think beyond the PMBOK standards and apply insights from systems, complexity and chaos theory in everyday project management.

Regarding my own 2 workshops on Team-Building as a Means to Re-Align a Project: Both workshops went really well.  The interactions in the 2 groups and 7 break out teams were creative and productive.  Impressions of the workshops can be viewed in my online photo album.
Following up on the workshop and preparing for the upcoming PMI conference in Orlando I have started an online survey on team-involvement in project re-alignment.  This is a public survey.  Please share your insights and advice on this topic.  Results of the survey will be published on this blog, my website, the PMI Agile Discussion group and in my article  for the PMI Global Congress North America 2009 in Orlando.

Overall, it was an excellent conference.  If you are interested in the latest findings and / or thought provoking ideas  on project management and network, these PMI conferences are probably one of the best venues.  See you in Orlando!