IBM PROJECT MANAGEMENT CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE:

On February 5, 1997, the IBM Project Management Centre of Excellence (PMCOE) was born with a charter to drive IBM's transition to and support of professional project management worldwide, a competency deemed necessary to ensure effectiveness and success within a matrix enterprise.

Since its inception, the IBM PMCOEworking hand in hand with all business units worldwideensured that we became a project-based enterprise that applies and integrates projectmanagementdisciplines into all core business processes and systems.

The initial charter drove more consistent and broader use of project management disciplines, including the formalization of the position of project manager throughout our organization.

Over time, the IBM PMCOE has driven the transformation and integration of project management into the fabric of the organization.

Our professionals are more experienced and capable in their abilities to get their work done using project management disciplines.

In addition to being one of the world's largest IT and consulting services company, IBM is a global business and technology leader, innovating in research and development to shape the future of society at large.

Today, we see ourselves as much more than anInformation Technologycompany. In April 2016, IBM's Chairman, President and CEO, Ginni Rometty described the dawn of a new era, shaped by AI computing and cloud platforms. She described how the IT industry is fundamentally re-ordering at an unprecedented pace. In response, IBM is becoming much more than a "hardware, software, services" company. We are emerging as an AI solutions and cloud platform company.

Fundamental to the success of this transformation is the skills and abilities of our workforce. We are being challenged to be relevant to the marketplace of tomorrow. As a focus on continuous learning, we have Think40 where we are encouraged to spend 40 hours every year to up-skill.

We are encouraged to have a point of view, be socially eminent and be comfortable in a customer-facing situation. We are provided with the tools and techniques, including new ways of learning such as video, gaming and interactive eLearning techniques to enable this objective. New phrases and concepts are creeping into the everyday vocabulary of our teams, such as agile, design thinking, calculated risk-taking and better collaboration.

IBM's PMCOE is no exception to this transformationand 2017 marked the 20th anniversary of the Centre of Excellence, which clearly shows our ongoing commitment to project management as a key profession within the corporation.

Our PM curriculum is delivered globally and across all lines of business, helping to drive a consistent base of terminology and understanding across the company. And our project and program management profession has established an end-to end process to "quality assure" progress through the project management career path.

Question 3 (30 marks)

1. You have been appointed the project manager at IBM and wish to emphasise to the company bosses the need to establish a sound project priority system.Describe some of the techniques that you would employ in selecting projects fairly. (15 marks)
2. Over time, the IBM PMCOE has driven the transformation and integration of project management into the fabric of the organization. Evident from this assertion is that this company has and continues to align projects to its strategy. Discuss the importance of aligning projects to strategy.(15 marks)