We met with Mr. Tulga, Senior IT Manager at Oyutolgoi and Founding Member of PMI Mongolia Chapter, subsidiary of Project Management Institute.
The word “project” has entered into Mongolian vocabulary and is being used extensively these days. Could you please define the word project itself and what procedures and stages a project has?
- Project is defined as a collaborative process with an outcome through the stages from beginning to end. Simply put, painting a house is a project for the individual. After the paint work is done, there is a tangible outcome in terms of the project-color, and the color of the house has changed. Depending on the planning and the assessments of the risks, this particular project can be executed between 2 days or 2 weeks. This is what we define as project-systematic management of the resources and depicts useful instructions for execution.
Please tell our readers more about PMI.
- Project Management Institute (PMI) is a leading not-for-profit professional membership association for the project, program and portfolio management profession. Founded in 1969, PMI advances careers, improves organizational success and advances the profession of project management through its globally recognized standards, certifications, resources, tools, and academic research. Publications, professional development courses and networking opportunities are also available. PMI operates in 9 countries throughout Asia.
When was the PMI Mongolia Chapter established and who were the founders?
- PMI Mongolia Chapter was officially established in June 2014 through two-year collaborative effort of young professional volunteers here in Mongolia. PMI officially recognizes our activities and our information can be found on the PMI official website. As for myself, I have been elected as a member of the board. My main objective is to help other young professionals to further advance their professional skills and have the opportunity to learn from leading professionals. I also want to emphasize that PMI Mongolia Chapter is not-for-profit professional association.
What are the advantages of this association?
- The main advantage of PMI is the PMBOK, a book of project management guides and standards. These guides allow any professional to quickly understand the basics of the project management and helps to educate the reader. It is interesting to note that 60-70 per cent of countries conduct their business using these guides and standards. Project management standards here in Mongolia now follow these standards. The guides helps with between 20 or 60 annual projects, as well as 2 day projects. In other words, if one knows the basics and standards, the projects can be managed in a time saving and cost-effective way. This is the most distinctive characteristic of the expats who are working in Mongolia and the Mongolian PMI professionals. Our problem, in Mongolia, is that we lack the ability to finish the projects within the proposed time frame and budget.
- Another advantage of PMI is the “Project Management Professional” certification, and which is recognized everywhere in the world. Mongolian companies are spending a lot of time, effort and money abroad to obtain this certificate. Our objective in the coming years, therefore, is to provide the courses and accreditation of this certificate here in Mongolia.
Many think that a good teacher should be the director and that a skilled medical professional should manage, for example, the health sector. Can you define the difference of a skilled professional versus a good manager?
- Project management itself is a science and professionals need to do their job here. As a manager myself, I have encountered a lot of cases where a skilled professional is not enough to manage the whole project. The main tasks for the project manager is make decisions regarding time frame and budget of the project. Project management is a collaborative process and involves different aspects. For instance, it requires wide spectrum of abilities such as risk management or relation’s management. I would suggest that a skilled professional can be a good manager as well, but there is always the need to have a professional project manager to get the job done.
It is confirmed that PMI Mongolia Chapter is to conduct its first conference on 3rd of October. Can you give us more details about this event?
- As we have obtained our official certification this year we have aimed to organize our first conference in 2014. Chapters in other countries conduct conferences twice a year and we have participated In the Asian conferences to share their experiences. The main purpose of this conference is to promote our association and its activities. In this respect we hope to attract young and skilled project managers throughout the country and advance their careers through professional networking.
Are there any potential obstacles you might encounter in Mongolia with Project Management?
- I don’t believe that Mongolians are any different from other nations. We are all human beings. In this regard, we need to educate ourselves and get recognition.
You mentioned that this association was established by volunteers. Does this enable other volunteers and interested professionals to join the association?
- Yes, every interested individual and professional can join us, and we conduct monthly meetings to share our experiences in Project Management. There are no restrictions on who can join these meetings and so are open to any interested individual. It is very educational and supportive and is designed to meet other professionals to generate further growth.
We met with Mr. Tulga, Senior IT Manager at Oyutolgoi and Founding Member of PMI Mongolia Chapter, subsidiary of Project Management Institute.
The word “project” has entered into Mongolian vocabulary and is being used extensively these days. Could you please define the word project itself and what procedures and stages a project has?
- Project is defined as a collaborative process with an outcome through the stages from beginning to end. Simply put, painting a house is a project for the individual. After the paint work is done, there is a tangible outcome in terms of the project-color, and the color of the house has changed. Depending on the planning and the assessments of the risks, this particular project can be executed between 2 days or 2 weeks. This is what we define as project-systematic management of the resources and depicts useful instructions for execution.
Please tell our readers more about PMI.
- Project Management Institute (PMI) is a leading not-for-profit professional membership association for the project, program and portfolio management profession. Founded in 1969, PMI advances careers, improves organizational success and advances the profession of project management through its globally recognized standards, certifications, resources, tools, and academic research. Publications, professional development courses and networking opportunities are also available. PMI operates in 9 countries throughout Asia.
When was the PMI Mongolia Chapter established and who were the founders?
- PMI Mongolia Chapter was officially established in June 2014 through two-year collaborative effort of young professional volunteers here in Mongolia. PMI officially recognizes our activities and our information can be found on the PMI official website. As for myself, I have been elected as a member of the board. My main objective is to help other young professionals to further advance their professional skills and have the opportunity to learn from leading professionals. I also want to emphasize that PMI Mongolia Chapter is not-for-profit professional association.
What are the advantages of this association?
- The main advantage of PMI is the PMBOK, a book of project management guides and standards. These guides allow any professional to quickly understand the basics of the project management and helps to educate the reader. It is interesting to note that 60-70 per cent of countries conduct their business using these guides and standards. Project management standards here in Mongolia now follow these standards. The guides helps with between 20 or 60 annual projects, as well as 2 day projects. In other words, if one knows the basics and standards, the projects can be managed in a time saving and cost-effective way. This is the most distinctive characteristic of the expats who are working in Mongolia and the Mongolian PMI professionals. Our problem, in Mongolia, is that we lack the ability to finish the projects within the proposed time frame and budget.
- Another advantage of PMI is the “Project Management Professional” certification, and which is recognized everywhere in the world. Mongolian companies are spending a lot of time, effort and money abroad to obtain this certificate. Our objective in the coming years, therefore, is to provide the courses and accreditation of this certificate here in Mongolia.
Many think that a good teacher should be the director and that a skilled medical professional should manage, for example, the health sector. Can you define the difference of a skilled professional versus a good manager?
- Project management itself is a science and professionals need to do their job here. As a manager myself, I have encountered a lot of cases where a skilled professional is not enough to manage the whole project. The main tasks for the project manager is make decisions regarding time frame and budget of the project. Project management is a collaborative process and involves different aspects. For instance, it requires wide spectrum of abilities such as risk management or relation’s management. I would suggest that a skilled professional can be a good manager as well, but there is always the need to have a professional project manager to get the job done.
It is confirmed that PMI Mongolia Chapter is to conduct its first conference on 3rd of October. Can you give us more details about this event?
- As we have obtained our official certification this year we have aimed to organize our first conference in 2014. Chapters in other countries conduct conferences twice a year and we have participated In the Asian conferences to share their experiences. The main purpose of this conference is to promote our association and its activities. In this respect we hope to attract young and skilled project managers throughout the country and advance their careers through professional networking.
Are there any potential obstacles you might encounter in Mongolia with Project Management?
- I don’t believe that Mongolians are any different from other nations. We are all human beings. In this regard, we need to educate ourselves and get recognition.
You mentioned that this association was established by volunteers. Does this enable other volunteers and interested professionals to join the association?
- Yes, every interested individual and professional can join us, and we conduct monthly meetings to share our experiences in Project Management. There are no restrictions on who can join these meetings and so are open to any interested individual. It is very educational and supportive and is designed to meet other professionals to generate further growth.