Chapter News

The PMI Dutch Chapter is celebrating 20 years of existence. To learn more about its history and the changes it has gone through we interviewed Mr. Andre Legerman, a successful project & program manager, author and mentor who has been a Chapter member since its inception. Thank you very much Andre for sharing your thoughts with us!

When did you became a member of PMI and the Chapter?

I joined PMI and the Benelux Chapter in 1999.Main reason for joining PMI was the discount on the PMP-Exam. At the split of the Benelux chapter in a Netherlands chapter and a Belux chapter I automatically became a member of the Netherlands chapter.

How old are you and when did you retire?

I am 74 now. I retired from CSC (now DXC) at the age of 65. I continued to work fulltime as a freelancer until last year. Here I was much helped by being a member of the PMI community: nearly all assignments I fulfilled as a freelancer came to me through PMI-friends.

What keeps you busy today?

Nowadays from time to time I coach PgMP candidates on the path to certification. I also am a member of the board of four volunteer organizations (as I earned a MBA degree half a century ago I always get the treasurer role assigned). Next to that I spend much time on my hobby photography. I do the photo work for the communication of the local energy corporation. Recently I started as the volunteer project manager for the overhaul of the website of that energy corporation.

What roles did you have in the board?

Right from the start of the Netherlands chapter a persistent problem arose: lack of volunteers for board membership. So when I reacted on the call for volunteers by the founders of the chapter I was immediately elected because of lack of other candidates. The members of the first board of directors were awarded ‘chartering member’ certificates by PMI inc. I started as Director of Special Events. In that role I organized several of the yearly PMI Benelux days. These yearly conventions of the Benelux chapters were celebrated until a few years ago. At least ten of the past twenty years I have been a member of the board. The other ten years I interrupted board membership because of assignments abroad. I fulfilled treasurer and  secretary roles and one president term.

Did you fulfil other activities for PMI / the Chapter (like reviewing a companion or part of it)?

Anton Zandhuis and Rommert Stellingwerff and I translated various editions of the PMBoK Pocket Guide. The three of us also participated (mostly Rommert) in the creation of the ISO 21500 :2012 standard for Project Management. We also edited both the Dutch and the English editions of the ISO 21500 Practice Guide, which was written by a combined IPMA and PMI team.

How is project management today with respect to 20 years ago?

Twenty years ago project management by most managers was regarded as an activity you exercise next to your more important work. Nowadays project management is regarded as a trade and a specialism. Also the customers of project management work have raised their requirements considerably. Twenty years ago being a nice and knowledgeable person was sufficient to get the job. Nowadays most customers demand a lot of experience in several of the same projects in the same industry.

How did you survive the covid crisis so far?

I avoid crowds, which is easy as we live in a rural area. As I had worked for many years on international projects I was accustomed to Webex meetings, so Teams and Zoom are easy for me. Most important however is the Pfizer shot I received a few weeks ago.

What are the three most memorable moments during the past 20 years of PMI Netherlands for you?

Most important is the collaboration between IPMA and PMO. For a long time the two professionals organizations regarded each other as competitors and enemies both on global level as national. For more then ten years PMI NL and IPMA NL have collaborated now maintaining their own identities and standards.

Also important is the recognition of project management as a profession by the publication of the ISO 215** series of standards on project-, program- and portfolio management.

Than something personal: during my term as chapter president PMI NL won the organization of the PMI Global Congress 2019 in Amsterdam.

Do you have any tips for the next 10 years of the Chapter?

PMI is still not very known as a professional organization in the Netherlands. At the same time management of Government projects has a very bad reputation in the Netherlands because of the huge cost and time overruns. By getting involved in the review of the plans for Government projects PMI might help the improvement of the performance of these projects and achieve a reputation for its solid approach of projects.