Sunday, 11 October
10:30 AM–12:00 PM
1 hour, 30 minutes

Speaker: Panel

This interactive session will look at the phenomenon that is changing the business landscape: social media. Twitter, webinars, LinkedIn, Yammer—whether these terms mean nothing to you or whether you already know you want to engage your project stakeholders in new ways, this session will discuss how we can leverage social media to improve our project experience.

Sunday, 11 October
10:30 AM–12:00 PM
1 hour, 30 minutes

Speaker: Korby L. Johnson, PMP

The intent is to provide the lessons learned from the 2008 Democratic National Convention from a state-agency perspective with an emphasis on risk management and to provide a nexus between the challenges that project managers face on large-scale, high profile projects. The lessons learned for the 2008 Democratic National Convention include:

• Complexity of incorporating Project Management Institute's standards [business] into law enforcement [tactical] procedures using the Incident Command System (ICS) to ensure compliancy with the federal grant;
• Overcoming limited communications due to the level of security required to host a national security event;
• Not being the lead agency and thus having to ascribe to another agency's rules of engagement, e.g., beginning a project without having federal grant monies booked, no clear determination of spending authority, insurance procurement for the event, training, et cetera; and
• Risk management.

Sunday, 11 October
10:30 AM–12:00 PM
1 hour, 30 minutes

Speakers: David Buisson, PMP; Julian Foster, MICE CEng, MBA, DIC, MAPM

Ever wondered how you could successfully deliver complex projects and manage adverse stakeholders all within a live operational environment? This session looks at the tools and techniques that were successfully used in all three areas during the delivery of the large scale refurbishment project at London Heathrow Airport.

Sunday, 11 October
10:30 AM–12:00 PM
1 hour, 30 minutes

Speaker: Richard Gerspacher, PE, MBA, PMP

Sunday, 11 October
10:30 AM–12:00 PM
1 hour, 30 minutes

Speaker: Kristy Tan

How do we know which goals to set? When are goals too easy or too hard? If you are unhappy with your goal setting habits and practices, come explore alternate ways to relate to goal setting so you and your project can set and achieve stretch goals.

Sunday, 11 October
10:30 AM–12:00 PM
1 hour, 30 minutes

Speaker: Jonathan Gilbert, PMP

What key skills separate high performers from average performers? Managers today must become adept at evaluating these critical skills and helping individuals develop competency in these areas. You will learn the important skills you should be developing in your organization, as well as a number of specific approaches for coaching others to develop those skills.

Sunday, 11 October
10:30 AM–12:00 PM
1 hour, 30 minutes

Speaker: Judith W. Umlas

This workshop focuses on how sincere acknowledgment can positively impact individual contributions, team dynamics and overall team performance. Through a combination of storytelling, group exercises and lively exchange, participants will discover new techniques that truly work to encourage team members to perform more effectively as a cohesive, supportive unit, built on a foundation of trust and rapport.

Sunday, 11 October
10:30 AM–12:00 PM
1 hour, 30 minutes

Speaker: Connie Plowman, PMP

Projects are done with people. In this session, we will share techniques for managing people who do not report to you by applying open communication, careful delegation, and clear and visible goal setting to deliver project success. Don’t miss this event. Learn 19 practical techniques that you can apply today!

Sunday, 11 October
10:30 AM–12:00 PM
1 hour, 30 minutes

Speaker: Doug Howardell, CPIM, PMP

This presentation will teach attendees to apply lessons learned from previous projects to their current projects. It will define and describe After Action Reviews which are a rigorous method to capture lessons learned. This presentation will also explain how to assure the lessons gathered are applied to the next project.

Sunday, 11 October
10:30 AM–12:00 PM
1 hour, 30 minutes

Speaker: Chris Richards, PMP

The new Practice Standard for Project Estimation is scheduled for publication in late 2010. This session will describe the process the project team followed to develop the standard as well a contextual overview of the standard's proposed content.

Sunday, 11 October
10:30 AM–12:00 PM
1 hour, 30 minutes

Speaker: Panel

Achieving your vision requires more than a strategy! This 90 minute panel discussion brings business leaders from healthcare, IT, education and financial industries to enlighten you on how an “Integrated Execution System” drives strategy to results.

This session is intended to help professionals understand how to advance their careers while advancing the strategic goals of their organizations. If you manage projects, project managers, programs or a PMO this is a great opportunity to get direct answers to your questions on how to build your talent, equip your teams and achieve results!

Sunday, 11 October
10:30 AM–12:00 PM
1 hour, 30 minutes

Speaker: Jesse Fewell, CST, PMP

Learning Objectives:

• Awareness of the differences in the role of traditional project manager vs. Agile team roles;
• concrete understanding of Agile practices in real live vs. the textbook rhetoric; and
• actionable advice, coaching and insights from Agile project management experts and colleagues on how to make the most of an Agile approach.

Today's economy is one that demands more value from fixed budgets. Meanwhile, what used to be a series of isolated successes in the IT industry, the Agile movement is now extending up the enterprise and expanding across several industries. Because of these two trends, project managers are expected to know what Agile processes can do for their organizations. But what is Agile, really? And what is the role of a project manager when “self-directed teams” are headed by “servant leaders”?

This interactive workshop will provide an opportunity for you to collaborate with some of the leading experts in Agile project management practices. These experts will facilitate dynamic group discussions, accelerated by brief focused presentations. Come start your congress with a session that combines networking with problem solving on an increasingly popular approach to project management.

Sunday, 11 October
10:30 AM–12:00 PM
1 hour, 30 minutes

Speaker: Bill Stewart

In today’s economy, project and program failure is no longer an option. Organizational success depends on the successful execution of strategic vision and project management and project managers provide that execution. Great project management infrastructure and great project managers provide organizations with a significant competitive edge as well as a key source for future leaders.

During this exciting and motivational presentation, Bill will describe the traits that separate great project managers from the rest of the project management “pack.” Using examples of great project management organizations, Bill will describe how they achieved greatness and the competitive advantage they have provided their organization. He will provide you with roadmaps to greatness; tools and techniques for communicating and selling your leadership value as a project manager; and the value of a culture of discipline planning and execution excellence.

Sunday, 11 October
10:30 AM–12:00 PM
1 hour, 30 minutes

Speakers: Frank Anbari, PhD, MBA, MS, PMP; Stuart A. Umpleby

We describe results of research on cultural differences in project teams, provide examples and highlight relations between people, motivational orientation, orientation toward risk, definition of self and others, attitudes toward time and attitudes toward the environment. We stress the importance of culturally aware leadership, effective cross-cultural communication, mutual respect and reconciliation.

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Nicholson Warman, MBA, ISP, ITCP, PMP

Learning Objectives:

• Better understand the HR rules and regulations in which their work falls.
• Better understand how (and why) PMs need to address performance issues (good, bad and ugly). Personal anecdotes will illustrate some of the DOs and DON'Ts associated with performance issues.
• Better partner WITH their corporate HR team, making best use of their functions and services.

There are many rules, laws and best practices dealing with the HR component of project teams. This paper will cover what is often BEHIND the Knowlege Area of Project Human Resource Management in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide)–Third Edition, from a U.S. and a general perspective. Some helpful hints on staff management will likewise be covered.

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: James D Quilliam

In the quest to insure the successful implementation of a comprehensive management system, this guided lecture/forum will discuss the implementation of an enterprise management system (EMS). This methodology provides a powerful framework for integrating organizational core capabilities. The shared example will focus on the integration of cost estimating, earned value and schedule management into your organization for program success. The approach will focus on the implementation of these four primary tenets: 1) Benefits of core competency integration; 2) Development and implementation of core competency working groups; 3) Advanced capability infrastructure for cost estimating, earned value and schedule management; and 4) Achieving full assimilation of core competencies.

Learning Objectives:

• Comprehend the four (4) primary tenets of the EMS approach and how it can be implemented successfully.
• Analyze the value of utilizing proven tools, techniques and lessons learned.
• Synthesize the benefits of utilizing techniques for successfully integrating cost, earned value and schedule management in your organization.

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Bethene D Britt, PhD; Lisa O'Brian, MBA, PMP

In 2006, Microsoft customer service & support created a global PMO chartered to overhaul their internal decision-making processes and improving internal project and portfolio governance. This presentation will provide specific details describing how the PMO was created and has evolved into a strategic office, the challenges overcome and future direction.

Learning Objectives:

• Be able to describe specific strategies for the successful adoption of a portfolio management solution and methodology across a global organization.
• Be able to identify specific opportunities for immediate cost savings and return on investment by implementing a portfolio management solution and methodology.
• Be able to describe a governance model and portfolio management office structure successfully used within Microsoft customer service and support.

Microsoft customer service and support (MCSS) is a global organization focused on helping customers and partners maximize the use of their technology investments. Serving millions of customers around the globe, in more than forty languages and 75 locations, the 4,000+ person division supports all customer segments from consumer, developer and IT Pros, to partners and the enterprise.

Through direct contact with customers and partners, MCSS is a core driver of the customer partner experience at Microsoft and continuously evolves policies and processes based on feedback. In 2006, MCSS created a global PMO chartered to overhaul their internal decision-making processes and improving internal project and portfolio governance. Since that time, the PMO's role has expanded to include strategic planning and performance dashboards, providing further support for aligned execution and delivering a tangible impact to the corporate bottom line.

This presentation will provide specific details describing how the PMO was created and successfully evolved into a strategic office, how cross-divisional and other challenges were overcome, and the goals for improving this solution moving forward. Since its creation, the PMO has delivered tangible and specific business returns, both quantitative and qualitative, to MCSS and its leadership team. This presentation will include details describing how the PMO identified and quantified these returns on investment and how this continues to justify greater investment in the PMO – even in challenging economic times.

Canceled

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Roger T Kent

“Movies Teach Project Management – Tlking to the Txting Genraton” explores the communication styles of multiple generations in the workplace and, through watching short clips from Hollywood films, offers solutions on how to get everyone on the same page. Or screen. Or IM window. Or Wiki.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how they typify or deviate from their own generational communication style stereotype.
• Understand some errors they may commit in communication with members of a different generation.
• Describe how to enhance their own communication styles to be more effective with all generations.

Many of us are painfully aware of how generational diversity in the workplace has created potential barriers to leadership, communication and team building. Traditionalists (born 1922-1943) don't understand Baby Boomers (born 1943-1960) who scorn Generation X'ers (born 1960-1980) who can't stand Millenials (born 1980-2000). Each group shares sets of values along with communication styles based on their collective life experiences and their exposure to technological advances.

In the recent election, one candidate admitted his lack of technological savvy while the other confessed to his Blackberry addiction. “Talking to the Txting Genraton” will examine four clips from recent Hollywood and independent films as a context for understanding:

• What are the values and predominant communication styles of each of these groups?
• How do these styles cause conflict among the group?
• What common communication errors do Boomers and X'ers (the congress audience) continually make and how can they be avoided?
• What tricks can Boomers and X'ers learn to enhance leadership and communication with Traditionalists and Millenials?

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Owen C Gadeken

You finally get your chance to become a project manager. The question is what do you do now that you're in charge? This session will provide a roadmap to sort through the issues, tasks and complexities of your current situation and provide a clear plan and direction to your project team.

Learning Objectives:

• Quickly assess a new or on-going project.
• Prepare a simple roadmap for taking over as a new project manager.
• Establish and maintain their credibility as an effective project manager.

That great day has finally come. After working faithfully for months or even years, you are finally getting your chance to take on a project manager (PM) job. You may have eagerly sought this opportunity or it may have come quite unexpectedly. In either case, you are about to assume a leadership role for both the project and the people working on it. The question on your mind (as well as everyone else's) is what do you do now that you are in charge. To use the classic answer: “it depends.”

Every project is unique, so what you should do depends on where the project stands when you take over and what it most needs to move forward to achieve successful outcomes. Your task, should you choose to accept it (and you'd better if you are the new PM!), is to sort through the complexities and ambiguities of the current situation to provide a clear plan and direction to your project team. This session will provide a roadmap of how that is done.

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Nathalie Udo

Effective requirements discovery, analysis and documentation are key factors to achieve project success. Writing good requirements takes time and practice. This is not something that will happen overnight. This presentation shows you how to minimize misunderstandings and provides you a “light” requirements document template so you can start your project right.

Learning Objectives:

• insight in the consequences of working without a requirements document;
• understand the importance of a succinct, signed-off requirements document (RD) for project success;
• minimize misunderstandings by using SMART to write requirement; and
• learn a “light” requirements document process.

Project success is more likely to happen when a project begins well. Effective requirements discovery, analysis and documentation practices are key factors to achieve this. It's a dirty secret that requirements are often not documented in detail at the start of projects or at all. For some reason the thought is that a “Requirements Document” will just slow things down.

As a result there is an abundance of misunderstandings concerning expectations, project scope, deliverables and many more things. Missed schedules, cost over-runs, restarts, are some of the results of not establishing requirements clearly upfront. Determining requirements that satisfy the actual customer needs at the start of the project greatly enhances the chances for project success. Requirements are the foundation to both the product and project life cycles.

Writing good requirements takes time and practice, and, even with all the new tools designed to help you, it will not happen overnight. You need a clear and organized mind, excellent communication skills and good people skills. This presentation will provide you with tools to minimize misunderstandings around requirements and with a “light” requirements document template so you can start your project right.

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Shobhna Raghupathy, MS, PMP

With the changing business climate, the yardstick for measurement is the emotional competence of project managers and leaders. This presentation will examine the challenges/issues presented to project managers and how emotional intelligence helps drive success. Leadership excellence cannot be achieved by technical competence but by character and emotional intelligence.

Learning Objectives:

• This presentation will enable the attendee to understand how leadership and emotional intelligence are important for excellence in all facets of life.
• Following the presentation, attendees will appreciate the emotion competence framework (ECF) introduced and identify areas for development to increase his/her emotional intelligence.
• Leverage the knowledge gained and understand that emotional intelligence is a necessary skill required to move from project management to leadership.

As the project management profession continues to increase in complexity, there is a demand for leaders. In today's changing business environment, project managers not only need to manage global, virtual and multi-cultural projects, but also establish a direction and align with the organization vision.

Successful leadership is a dynamic process requiring both cognitive and emotional competencies. The globalization of workplace puts special premium on emotional intelligence for project managers. Several studies demonstrate that strong leadership style and emotional intelligence leads to the success in implementing large and complex global initiatives.

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Ira Levy, MEd, MBA, PMP, PMCP, NIMS; Robert Pennacchia, MSIA, MBA; James Corbett, MBA

The successful delivery of public services rests on the effective coordination and integration of project management processes and practices across governmental entities. The importance of inter-governmental collaboration is evident in federal, state and local public infrastructure and service delivery projects. Panelists representing each level –U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, New York State Department of Health and Howard County (Maryland) Department of Technology and Communication Services – will present their successes and challenges when coordinating across governmental entities and the role of project management in cross-jurisdictional initiatives. Budgeting, stakeholders and lessons learned as well as synchronizing methodologies, people and processes are among the areas covered in this interactive panel.

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Jay M Siegelaub, MBA, PMP, PRINCE2™; Brian Herman

Are you often unsure of why projects are being done in your organization? This crash workshop on the “Business Case” will give you the chance to examine business cases from a variety of organizations, learn about their key elements and increase your knowledge in this critical area of project effectiveness.

Learning Objectives:

• Define what a business case is
• Indicate four key elements of a business case
• Specify three ways in which a business case impacts the effectiveness of a project

How often have you worked on a project and had no idea why the project was being done? When you have to allocate resources among competing projects do you know which should have priority? Surprisingly, many projects are proposed and managed through to completion, only to discover (after the results are delivered) that no real value has been achieved for the organization. The reason is often that a clear business case was not defined.

Proper use of a business case–clear justification for how the project will add value to an organization–enables the organization and the project manager to make sure resources and work efforts are applied most effectively. For the project manager, a business case provides critical guidance for many project decisions when internal options present themselves: which approach to take; how to structure the deliverables; who to assign to certain tasks; who are the real stakeholders? Even though a project sponsor may say “Don't worry about why we're doing this–just do what I ask,” you do need to know the “why,” as well as the “what,” to make effective decisions within your project.

This session, mixing guided design and lecture, will bring a new level of understanding to your role of “project manager as solution provider” and help you make sure that the solutions you do provide will add value to your organization.

Canceled

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Kirsten Lora, PMP, MS

When and how should a project manager address risk? The short answer is all the time, in every way. Project managers should address risk in coordination with all project management processes. Learn how proactively handling risk management allows you to protect the schedule, scope and costs of your projects.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the importance of identifying risks during the planning phases of the project.
• Select strategies for responding to risk according to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) recommendations of avoid, transfer, mitigate and accept (for negative risks); and exploit, share, enhance and accept (for positive risks).
• See how project changes affect the potential for risks, highlighting the importance of the monitoring and controlling process.

When and how should a project manager address risk? The short answer is all the time and in every conceivable way. This presentation takes a more extensive look at the question and provides multiple answers. Project managers can and should address risk management in coordination with all other project management processes. They must also be proactive in handling risk, as opposed to being reactive which may be more costly in terms of time and money.

Too often project managers avoid risk management by thinking that it is too difficult and/or too unfamiliar to them. This is negligent, dangerous and erroneous thinking. Project managers need to realize that risk management is easy, straightforward and necessary. If you already follow PMI's methodology, risk management is simply an extension of all other project management activities (time, cost and scope management, etc.). While all the processes are closely integrated, risk management is perhaps the most closely integrated to all other processes. Remember this concept as you begin to understand how risk relates to everything else you do in project management.

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Werner Don Gottwald

This presentation is specifically tailored to assist project managers in developing their leadership styles and approaches to maximize project team performance and produce outstanding results. Adoption of the principles covered in this presentation will benefit all PMs and project coordinators seeking to improve their performance and the performance of the teams they manage.

Learning Objectives:

• Following this presentation, attendees will have the ability to evaluate their leadership skills and associated parameters so they can determine what, if any, shortcomings in their leadership style could affect successful project outcomes.
• Additionally, attendees will gain an understanding on how to perform a gap analysis and determine what changes are needed in their individual approach to assure excellent team performance and potentially greater project success.
• Lastly, attendees will be provided with a recommended list of references, training and self improvement options that will facilitate the changes as identified in the gap analysis.

This presentation provides recommendations for project managers in determining a baseline of their individual leadership and coaching abilities along with some associated parameters, such as emotional intelligence, interpersonal relationship skills, communications skills, personality type and more. A 12-step process is outlined that provides the basis for self-evaluation and an individual SWOT analysis, gap analysis to understand the required changes and recommendations for change.

The first objective of this presentation is to set the context and assist project managers in understanding their current situation within the context of a project management framework and identify the gaps between their perceived capabilities and reality. The second objective is to develop a roadmap that leads to appropriate changes necessary for improvements that will lead to extraordinary project outcomes.

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Ganga Siebertz

In this presentation we will share with you how we used Path Pro^® to start our journey to building project management proficiency. We will walk through the various steps we took to assess the proficiency levels of our portfolio, program and project managers and the action plans we took to bridge the gaps. We will discuss how we tracked the proficiency gains and how we measured ROI on our project investments. Of course there were insights gained and lessons learned.

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Cindy M Lewis, MBA, PMP, PMI-SP, MCITP

Are you frustrated by Microsoft Office Project 2003/2007 and rather than use this powerful scheduling tool, have you reverted back to Excel? Some features that help with schedule management are often misused. Focus areas will be dependencies, milestones, deadlines, constraints, task calendars and the three task types.

Learning Objectives:

• Define how a critical path is computed by Microsoft Office Project
• Differentiate between deadlines, constraints and task calendars
• Discuss the impact of task type during Microsoft Office Project calculations.

Some professionals that understand the concept of scheduling and are computer savvy may attempt to teach themselves Microsoft Office Project. Unfortunately, the behavior of this scheduling tool in some ways conflicts with skills learned in other Microsoft software such as Excel. This in turn creates frustration among users and generates schedules that are difficult to set up, challenging to maintain and very often discarded as not useful for managing a project. Typically the issues users face are often due to specific features that they don't understand. In some cases the assumed behavior of the feature goes against the programming design by Microsoft. By giving users a better understanding of the purpose of commonly confused features, they will be better able to work with the software, using it to supplement the management of their project and help keep track of the collection of activities needed to accomplish the project goals.

This presentation will discuss dependencies, milestones, deadlines, constraints, task calendars and fixed duration/fixed work/fixed units task types. This presentation will also touch on how “where to click” type training may not have provided the business application for a specific feature. The speaker will fill in that gap with the best application of that feature for most types of industries.

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Laura Aziz, PhD, PMP

The art, science and mastery of building a cathedral and an aircraft have always intrigued us! How about building a state of the art hospital? This presentation highlights some key competencies needed to effectively manage such highly complex projects and successfully render the deliverable.

Learning Objectives:

• Intelligently discuss project dimensions that create complexity.
• Create a workplan that adequately addresses managing complex projects.
• Use project management tools and techniques to guide progress of complex, mega projects.

This presentation focuses on managing big, complex and high risk projects. The discussion applies a step-by-step process based on the program management standards to a practice model that facilitates managing complex, multi-phase, multi-entity, high tech projects. The outline of the presentation includes, governance: vision, mission and values; the leadership structure; the organization structure; the systems and operating model; the style of interaction (culture and communication); and the staffing mix, skills and competencies of the team. The presentation delves into how to make the project successful. How to thrive with ambiguity? Using the analogy and intricacy of building a cathedral, the audience will be able to appreciate the amount of work and level of detail and specialized knowledge needed to accomplish such an elaborate and sophisticated task.

Another dimension in building a cathedral is the time-horizon. Historically, all famous cathedrals were built over a long period of time. The length of time until you see the final deliverable usually works against the project and the project manager. People lose sight of the final product; they lose the sense of urgency and become relatively complacent. Teams are also at risk, risk of miscommunication and higher turnover. There is an inherent risk of convoluted chain of command and more politics coming into play. Other risks include managing quality; maintaining a steady monitor and control of activities; managing personnel, including contractors and outsourcers; managing the budget and time reports; producing weekly status reports and dashboards; and other executive reporting requirements.

There are many similarities between building a cathedral, building a Boeing 777 and building a state of the art hospital. The case study in this paper is on building an advanced cardiac care medical center.

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Thomas J Mattus

A fun session regarding how to manage virtual teams and virtual people. There will be tips and discussions about communication tools to be used to get team members involved and motivated as well as a diagnostic tool to see how you measure up as a virtual leader. How to deal with cultural and other issues such as time zones and technology are addressed.

Learning Objectives:

• Define and build your virtual team by selecting the right players and giving them the right role and the right tools to be successful.
• Motivating and involving your virtual team by examining the different phases of virtual team development.
• Using technology to eliminate the virtual gap, keep people engaged and deal with issues that may hold the team back.

In this exciting presentation the author will define different types of virtual teams, the history of technology usage in teams and what is the “virtual gap.” Armed with this information, participants will be given tools and techniques to deal with project teams around the world. Building virtual trust and cooperation is difficult with live teams; with virtual teams the task can be daunting at times. Tips and hands-on exercises will be part of the presentation along with war stories about how companies like Sun Microsystems, L-3 and Johnson & Johnson manage these new teams.

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: R. Camper Bull

In this time of budget cut backs it is more important than ever to become more effective in your project management techniques. Looking at project managers who are incredibly successful in their industry, it is not necessarily what they do but how they do it differently that distinguishes them from the rest.

This lecture will discuss eight lessons from individuals who are considered some of the finest project managers in the world. These lessons will include things that you can use immediately to improve your project, build teamwork and interaction. These techniques are changing the way we fundamentally look at a project and do not necessarily require additional funding resources.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify non-resource draining strategies to boost project management effectiveness
• Communicate these eight ideas to help project managers see how they can implement them within their own project management process
• Show that not all project management improvements must be through costly tools

Through extensive interviews and personal contacts, we have been able to identify eight key techniques that project managers who are considered superior in their field are doing to make their projects better. The techniques are integrated with the fundamental steps of leading a project and are designed to be implementable with any project. Although most project managers may do some of the steps already, these techniques will change the way you look at the steps fundamentally that make the difference between an ordinary project manager and someone leading a project.

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Sandra Rowe, MBA, MSCIS, PMP

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the role of the project manager supporting components of a program.
• Incorporate leadership activities into project activities.
• Use collaborative project leadership tools and techniques to manage project activities.

Program management has become the recognized way of managing projects that deliver a strategic objective. Project managers who work on the projects within the program have new challenges. One way to obtain project success on a program is for the project managers to work together using collaborative project leadership.

Monday, 12 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Deborah C. Deland, PMP

Project managers worldwide have the unique power to radically advance business sustainability in every project they manage. To be successful, project managers need to integrate the basics of sustainability and systems thinking into their project management foundation.

This presentation discusses a new American dream, the business case for sustainability, WIFMs for project managers and includes a brief sustainability framework tutorial that project managers can use immediately. To ensure you are not left behind requires access to sustainability learning resources and experts. This presentation will encourage commitment to sustainability learning and action, as well as seeking out a Net Impact Chapter in your area.

Net Impact (a non-profit of over 10,000 members/200 chapters) aims to inspire and enable students and business professionals to apply sustainability in their day jobs at their companies. Net Impact gives project managers access to learning resources, workshops and world experts; fosters a local network of people working for and expert in sustainability; and provides member support for sustainability projects in their companies. Net Impact Orlando launches at the congress.

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Tim Rahschulte; Wayne Herrli; Debra Herrli, PMP

Project management tools abound. With increasing demands on project managers to lead organizational transformation, the most important is the readiness for change assessment. This presentation details how the readiness for change tool is being used in successful organizations to increase the effectiveness of change endeavors and yield organizational advantage.

Learning Objectives:

• Pressures of change – the dynamics of competitive markets and increasing demands to provide more with less.
• The role project managers play in organizational change management.
• The use of tools and templates to facilitate change.
• The value of project tools – especially communication and readiness for change.

Many companies are experiencing pressures to transform. No sector is immune to these pressures of change and it's the project manager who is looked upon to address the needs of organizational change. The role of the project manager as change agent is obvious since projects are the means by which companies address problems (pressure from competition, regulation, customer demands, financial standings, workforce dynamics, etc.) and it is the project manager who is responsible for projects. Although projects and project managers have always been responsible for delivering change, this role has only recently been considered critical to the discipline. This new role has new expectations. Gone are the days of determining success as on time, on budget and on scope. Today's project manager is responsible for not only the triple-constraints, but also the effective transformation of the business.

The project manager relies on many tools to deliver successful change. Unfortunately, the project manager does not yet have all the tools necessary to consistently deliver success. According to Karp (2006), the track record for successful change endeavors has been poor. This is in support of Burke's (2002) claim that most efforts to change an organization “do not work” (p. 1). Roughly 80 percent of all project change endeavors fail to meet targeted objectives. This is an issue of paramount concern. As organizational leaders demand greater results from change endeavors, project managers seek better tools to facilitate success. This presentation details the most important tools used among project managers today.

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Bill Richardson

Project and program managers are vanguards of change where resistance is the common currency and dealing with it is the barometer of success. Find out how to transform resistance into advocacy and how a facilitative leadership style builds the capacity for self management and the environment for interdependent team play. If project and program management is a team game, then facilitative leadership provides the playbook on how to do it with both character and competence.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain strengths and weaknesses of the various types of leadership styles and their appropriate application in the knowledge areas for portfolio, program and project management.
• Explain how a facilitative leadership approach improves team effectiveness by building capacity, self management capability and reducing stress while laying a foundation for trust and commitment.
• Articulate how a facilitative approach dovetails into the PMI code of conduct and significantly increases probability of success within each of the five process groups from either a project or program perspective.

Project and program managers are vanguards of change where resistance is the common currency and dealing with it is the barometer of success. Join Bill Richardson for an entertaining and informative look at a facilitative leadership approach that promotes transforming resistance into advocacy by becoming a thinking partner with your team instead of a thinking replacement. Find out how a facilitative leadership style builds the capacity for self management and the environment for interdependent team play. If project and program management is a team game, then facilitative leadership provides the playbook on how to do it with both character and competence.

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Heidi w Boehringer

Increase the maturity of your project management office by learning how to liberate your lessons learned from a database few query, to imbedding lessons learned into your processes, templates and guidelines. Using brief film clips, we will define and explore what the terms “lessons learned” and “best practice” mean and how to create repeatable project management processes.

Learning Objectives:

• Effectively run sessions aimed at gathering lessons learned.
• Understand how lessons learned statements transform from anecdotal statements to a process improvement action item, which is rolled out to the organization in the form of a best practice.
• Integrate best practices into work product templates, project process templates, project guidelines, training and other aspects of software development and management practices.

When Sir Francis Bacon wrote the phrase “Knowledge is power” back in 1597, he could have been talking about project management. After all, he founded the scientific method—a planned procedure and methodology for scientific investigations. Now here we are in 2009. In the era of the information age, why is it that project teams often seem uninformed? Why doesn't the knowledge of mistakes made on one project transfer to the next project?

The frank answer is that the gathering, analyzing, normalizing and accessing of lessons learned isn't as easy as it seems. Organizations typically do a good job at some of these endeavors, but not all. The most important aspect of putting lessons learned into practice is to translate the lessons learned statements into best practices that are incorporated into templates, processes and guidelines. Using brief film clips, this presentation will define and explore what the terms “lessons learned” and “best practice” mean and how to put them into practice at your organization.

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Joseph A Lukas; Janice F. Lukas

This presentation will describe the four basic personality styles, including strengths and weaknesses and reaction to stress. It will explain how to identify and effectively work with the styles of project stakeholders. This talk will help improve interactions with your project stakeholders and lead to improved project team performance.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the strengths, weaknesses and reaction to stress for the four basic personality styles.
• Explain how to identify the four basic personality styles.
• Describe how to flex each style to effectively communicate with other people.

Knowledge of project management technical skills such as scheduling or budgeting is not sufficient to avoid project failure. Project managers need well developed soft skills including leadership, conflict resolution and communications. However, project managers will not have good soft skills unless they possess emotional intelligence, which is the ability to recognize and manage your feelings, and effectively deal with the feelings of other people. Emotional intelligence also includes recognizing how you deal with other people and how you react when under stress. This is your personality style. The successful project manager also recognizes the styles of other project stakeholders.

This talk will explore how to better understand yourself and others and give you ideas on how to adapt your personality style to improve interactions with project stakeholders. It will focus on two of the more common personality models in use, which are the DISC (dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness) model and the four-color model, both which define four personality types. Other behavior models including the Myers-Briggs indicator model and Enneagrams, both of which will be briefly reviewed. The presentation will also explain the key strengths and weaknesses of the four styles as defined by the DISC and color models. More importantly, the talk will discuss how each style responds when faced with a stressful situation. We will also provide tips on how to identify the styles of project stakeholders and explain how to flex your style and effectively communicate with other people based on their personality styles. This talk will help you improve communications with your project stakeholders and lead to improved project team performance.

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Jeff Oltmann

FabCo* competes in a brutally competitive global market. This session describes how FabCo used a consultative process to identify and remedy project management shortcomings within a division that lacked project management maturity. We'll examine how FabCo adapted project management “best practices” to fit an organization without a project culture.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain typical symptoms and root causes of project failure in a real organization that has low project management maturity.
• Understand the consultative skills needed to diagnose and fix project management problems in such an organization.
• Understand the design of a project and portfolio management system that is an appropriate next step for an organization at this level of maturity.
• Apply the steps, issues and lessons learned in implementing this system over the course of a year. Summarize the current results and how well the original problem has been solved.

FabCo competes in a brutally competitive global market. This session describes how FabCo used a consultative process to identify and remedy project management shortcomings within a division that had low project management maturity.

The problem: FabCo is a worldwide leader in the global marketplace for semiconductor fabrication. Although FabCo's U.S. operations invest heavily in projects to stay competitive, many of these projects failed. They missed schedule and budget, did not deliver what was originally intended and caused major last minute surprises to the senior management team.

The solution: Management and technologists at FabCo-U.S. realized that improving project success was vital for the U.S. operations to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape. FabCo-U.S. designed and implemented custom project and portfolio management techniques to solve this problem.

We'll examine how FabCo-U.S. analyzed the situation, then adapted project management “best practices” to make them appropriate for an organization with low project management maturity and a non-project culture. We will also discuss learnings from the implementation process and current results on how much project success has improved.

* Name is fictional, but everything else is real.

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Andrew W BURNS

The meeting intends to generate ideas and education on these and other topics. The presenter will discuss project-planning techniques refined to deal with various organizational structures. Attendees may receive templates designed to deal with various organizational styling.

The target audience for this event includes all those concerned with the strategies and tactics (art and science) necessary to deliver quality project estimation. Fixing the Broken WBS examines the key tool used by project management professionals in scope and work estimation: the work breakdown structure. The approach will offer examples and admonitions based on case studies in a lighthearted fashion. Participants may expect to receive a great deal of useful reference, templates and anecdotal evidence.

Learning Objectives:

• Scope
• Estimation
• Work Break Down Structure
• Planning
• Templates WBS and Project Schedule

What is a good project estimate based on? What are the characteristics of a good schedule? Will the design of the project manager (PM) role in the organization actually affect the type of estimates that add value? What is the path of least resistant allowing the flow of thought leadership from technical domain experts?

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Elden F. Jones II, MSPM, PMP, CMII

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the different attributes associated with a well structured schedule.
• Understand the sequence of events required to build a schedule correctly.
• Be able to sell to management the requirements of building a schedule correctly to ensure success in understanding the overall project and how interactions within other departments or projects affect their projects as well as impacts to other projects.

The schedule is the one thing which we all agree is a part of every project, but what is a good schedule compared to something that just appears? Understanding the facets of a good schedule is critical in understanding the ROI differences between a good schedule and something which resembles a schedule.

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Laura M. Sherrick, PMP

In the summer of 2008, driven by a major consumer products licensing agreement, a committed and inspired team of professionals embarked on a developmental project to create an infant activity gym. The gym, a strategic initiative, was intended to serve as the high-end anchor (bottom-shelf product) for a retailer display. Product feature requirements included: use of proprietary character art; a bright, bold-colored pallet; and inclusion of developmental activities to both entertain baby and assist in dexterity and cognitive skills development. Following is the story of how the project team utilized A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide)–Third Edition Knowledge Areas to produce the “Play and Discover Gym.”

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Stan Veraart

Project financial decisions are often solely based on EVM, not taking the three corporate financial statements (balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement) into consideration. This presentation will provide insight into where, when and how each project impacts these three corporate statements and how this can affect project decision making.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the limited financial managerial project decisions solely based on earned value management.
• Have an informed conversation about balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements with the financial department of his or her corporation.
• Recognize when, where and how each project impacts the three main corporate financial statements.

Too often a project “lives” in an independent financial bubble, disconnected from the three main corporate financial statements: the balance sheet, the income statement and the cash flow statement. Although each project makes an impact on these three main corporate financial statements, it is often not understood where, when and how that impact is made. This white paper and presentation are geared to lessen the wide gap of financial misunderstanding that currently exists between the project management offices and the corporate financial departments.

Every project can be seen as a corporate financial investment that will generate a certain monetary return, a return which can be either positive or negative. Project managers managing these monetary investments are currently using the earned value tool to monitor their projects. Earned value allows them to see if they are staying within the approved project budget (CPI) and/or within the approved project timeframe (SPI). They can also measure project-specific Cash Flows (EAC, ETC, VAC).

How and where the projects' monetary returns either benefit or harm the three main corporate financial statements often remains a mystery to the project manager, although it is usually generally known that the project monetary returns impact the corporate bottom line...somewhere.

This white paper and presentation will not only provide insight into what balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements are, it will also provide clarity as to where and how the projects' monetary returns can and often do tie in with these three main corporate financial statements. An increased understanding of these connections often leads to different managerial and financial project decisions than those decisions based on earned value management alone.

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Timothy W Jaques, PMP; Jonathan Weinstein, PMP, PMP

Learning Objectives:

• Be able to describe the major new developments in federal project management.
• Understand the emerging tools and practices used in the federal government today.
• Understand the federal government PM community and how it is connected.

The federal government is a sprawling collection of agencies, areas of expertise, funding streams and projects. Yet within this vast arena, project management is on the move and growing rapidly. This presentation will uncover the key practices, techniques, legislation, policy and trends in federal government project management. The presentation will describe the PM community that is emerging and will include case studies from our extensive interviews with key project management leaders in the federal government.

This exciting presentation includes findings from U.S. government case studies and examples gathered from extensive interviews for their forthcoming book. The presentation will discuss key challenges and success factors experienced by federal project managers and sponsors.

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Gary R Heerkens, PMP, CPM, CBM, CIPA

Learning Objectives:

• Explain how and why the project management profession is in crisis today.
• Map how their situation relates to the salient issues identified in the presentation.
• Develop a strategy for improving their professional circumstances, relative to the practice of project management.

Project management has tremendous potential to improve any organization or type of business that embraces its application. But sadly, there are indications that it is a profession in crisis. Respect for project management – as a discipline and as a valued organizational function – has diminished over the past several years. This is evidenced by the failure (reluctance?) of corporate managers to elevate project management to a meaningful position in the organizational hierarchy. It is further evidenced by the way that many of today's project management practitioners report leading extremely difficult and challenging existences. Curiously, the crisis is unrelated to tools, techniques or processes, despite the emphasis on those things. It is often tied to authority figures – those who determine how project management is deployed. The argument can also be made that the actions of PMs contribute to their own desperate situation.

The crisis of respect that project management faces has become the “800-pound gorilla” that we all know is with us, but we seldom confront through meaningful and productive discussion. In this presentation, Gary Heerkens takes a no-holds-barred look at the “dark side” of the project management profession through the eyes of people who practice it under exceedingly difficult circumstances. 

The presentation draws on interviews with practicing project managers, published research and sage advice garnered from discussions with some of today's most prominent project management experts including Harold Kerzner, Janice Thomas and Neal Whitten. Although our profession may be viewed as being “in crisis,” all is not lost, as the presentation suggests what can be done to return a measure of effectiveness – and ultimately respect – to our positions and our profession.

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Alan B Harpham

This session looks back at nearly 10 years of effort, by the British Government, to improve delivery of public services through better program and project management. It considers what steps were taken and whether or not they achieved their objective. It outlines some wider benefits and looks to the future.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the scale of effort required to make large-scale improvements in program and project management.
• Recognize the many and various ways that improvements in program and project management may be achieved.
• Discuss some of the reasons that cause major culture change projects to continue to fail.

Successful delivery—across the public sector—has been at the top of the U.K. government's agenda for nearly a decade and it has turned to improved program and project management to achieve it. This presentation describes the efforts undertaken by the U.K. government to improve the track record of its programs and projects, in order to save costs and to enhance public service delivery. It provides a backdrop to this effort by outlining the significant failures of the late 1990s which led to the establishment of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) in 2000. The variety of initiatives that OGC has undertaken in partnership with other government departments are covered as endeavors—inspired by the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair—were made to counter what was seen as endemic weaknesses in project management among the civil service.

A cross-department project called “Improving Program and Project Delivery” (IPPD) was given the go-ahead in September 2001. This led to a succession of steps that included changes and improvements in structure and culture, and processes and tools as well as people and their skills. Centers of excellence in program and project management were set up in each government department to monitor the success of projects and the OGC had a highly ambitious target to achieve a two- to threefold improvement in the success of central government projects by June 2006.

However, despite all these efforts, projects still continued to fail and have done so to the present day. The presentation looks at the lessons that may be learned from this and considers whether a switch in OGC's objectives away from project and service delivery to cost saving through public sector procurement may have some responsibility to bear.

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Spencer Lamoreaux, MBA, PMP

Quality scheduling is complicated. Add to the mix a complex scheduling system like Microsoft Project Server and most project managers do not have the skill, patience or desire to be successful. How can you make it work in your organization? Come and hear how Intel IT did it with success!

Learning Objectives:

• Understand methods to influence management and project managers on the importance of professional scheduling.
• Learn best practices used by Intel IT to simplify the deployment of a scheduling solution.
• Understand how reports and metrics can be used to bolster the success of a scheduling system deployment.

Quality scheduling and resource leveling is complicated. Add to the mix a complex scheduling system such as Microsoft Project Server and most project managers do not have the skill, patience or desire to be successful. Despite the barriers, quality schedules are critical to efficient resource utilization and schedule forecasting. But how do you implement an advanced scheduling tool and ingrain quality schedule management into your organization's culture?

Spencer Lamoreaux is the scheduling product manager for Intel IT and has implemented and managed a very successful Microsoft Project Server environment for the last three years in the large 6,000 person IT organization. This presentation will focus on his key learnings and what helped him make schedule management a focus for hundreds of large-scale IT projects. Spencer will share his experience and insight from implementing schedule management; he will cover key topics such as:

• selling the value of a scheduling system and process to management;
• raising the bar for schedule management with PMs;
• increasing competency and desire on the scheduling tool;
• tracking the success of professional scheduling in the organization;
• delivering value to PMs and management; and
• present key reports and measures used for successful schedule management and compliance assessment to IT scheduling standards.

Canceled

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: James L Allen; Dr. Brian Mennecke, Ph. D.; James Allen, MBA, PMP

We will discuss how contemporary social networking technologies can be leveraged to enhance the creativity and efficiency of project teams. Toward this end, we will articulate a taxonomy of task/environment and technology fit; this will provide a useful tool for project management decision making regarding teams' technological environments.

Learning Objectives:

• Categorize social networking technologies in terms of their capacities.
• Utilize the taxonomy of task/environment and technology fit as a tool for project management decision making.

Our research goal is to create a systematic view of the relationship between the collaborative work environments of project teams and the appropriate enabling social network technologies. Significant work has been dedicated to-date examining the technical environments of virtual, face-to-face and hybrid work teams. Some work has been done on teams' utilization of specific social networking technologies; however, no work to-date has created a taxonomical framework that categorizes social networking technologies in terms of their capacities and then goes further to identify how these technologies can be used in a broad spectrum of team activities.

To accomplish this project, we first identify the entire range of social networking technologies. This range includes both the work-oriented set of social network technologies as well as useful technologies from gaming and virtual worlds, etc. that may lend themselves to more successful collaboration. We then examine this set and inductively build out a taxonomical framework within which the technologies can be categorized. We then apply our taxonomy of social networking technologies to extant categorizations of collaborative work, thus creating a relational framework between collaborative activities and the social networking technologies that provide support. We then discuss the implications of this context/technology fit on the development and management of project teams.

In addition to the direct social networking technology/project team fit, we will also be discussing how social networking technologies work with other forms of team and project support technologies to provide optimal technological infrastructure support for efficient project team operations.

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Lee Peters, PE, F.ASCE

Learning Objectives:

• Define and differentiate each ability of a project master.
• Forge resilient project teams using 7C approach.
• Coach exceptional performance – doing the right things, the right way, at the right time – again, and again.
• Employ eleven step performance analysis to identify the correct coaching technique to use.
• Use the eight step coaching process to change performance.

Forge resilient and agile teams to meet customer demands. Diagnose problems, improve project performance and intervene using the proper tool. Challenge performance deviation; teach knowledge; guide technical and team skills; mentor social and political skills; steward success; sanction failure. Be a project master … produce results for people, with people, under the most difficult conditions.

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Terence J Cooke-Davies; Scott Patton

As PM has evolved, the focus has been on technical aspects. This is “necessary but not sufficient,” while developing leadership and inter-personal skills–the softer side of change–has been underplayed. Drawing on research and benchmarked best practices, this presentation will provide practitioners and heads of project management with practical steps they can take to improve the balance.

Learning Objectives:

• Articulate the need for balance between the technical and the human aspects of the management of projects.
• Identify a number of relevant significant trends in project management practice across different industries and recognize appropriate new and different approaches to be adopted.
• Identify practical steps to develop new project management behavioral and relational competencies for themselves and for the project management community in their organization.

As PM has evolved over the last 50 years there has been a marked tendency to focus upon the technical processes and related competencies. While such developments were all desirable, this paper will suggest that they were &ldlquo;necessary but not sufficient” and that there has been a matching lack of focus upon the human side, such as leadership and inter- personal skills. Now it is time to redress the balance.

Drawing upon both new and previously published research, this presentation will show that regardless of whether process maturity is strong or weak, the level of leadership and other soft skills possessed by the project manager, program manager or sponsor will always have a critical impact when it comes to successful delivery. This has implications not only for practitioners who find themselves having to manage projects and program with a significant “change” element, or high dynamic complexity, but also for the development of sufficient practitioners with the right level of skill in an organization's project management community. It is currently reflected within the most mature organizations during the selection of more senior project managers, program managers and sponsors which does not depend upon the demonstration of technical skills or qualifications, but is based almost exclusively upon their ability to display and exercise strong soft skills. The presentation will outline practical steps that can be taken by any practitioner or organization to “raise their game” in this critical aspect of project management competence.

Monday, 12 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Brandon A Conrad

Tired of sticky notes and whiteboard sessions? Mind mapping is an effective way to capture the project scopes during a brainstorm session and convert such information into a different format without having to re-enter data. Participants will also learn how to improve communication of a project plan by converting Gantt charts into timelines, roadmaps or mind maps.

Learning Objectives:

• Effectively brainstorm and plan using mind maps and other project managment structures.
• Improve communication of project plan through mind mapping.
• Gain the ability to present project information more effectively.

Tired of sticky notes and whiteboard sessions? Mind mapping is an effective way to capture the project scope during a brainstorm session and convert such information into a digital format without having to re-enter data.

In this session we will demonstrate how advanced mind mapping tools can be utilized to create work breakdown structures and how some software will allow you to transfer the project scope directly from a mind map to a Gantt chart. The session will not only discuss many software options but also illustrate how an individual can utulize the mind mapping techinique without software.

Participants will also learn how to improve communication of a project plan by converting Gantt charts into timelines, roadmaps or mind maps. In addition, we will discuss the generic process of why, when and how to create a mind map and how your projects can benefit from having a mind map.

Canceled

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Giancarlo Duranti

Projects need a schedule to reflect and implement their projects plans. In a more and more globalized world, perception of time remains something deeply entrenched to culture and traditions. What happens when the project involves different cultural groups? How reliable will the activity duration estimation be? What are the repercussions about different attitudes towards time?

Learning Objectives:

• Be consciously aware of what working with people who have different attitudes towards time may imply. Specifically, time management and communication management processes.
• Be aware of cross-cultural differences and in particular, our own attitudes, behaviors and biases – it is essential for effective international team work.
• Avoid frustrations, misunderstanding and disrespectful situations. Build conscientiousness. Develop a cultural sensitivity.
• Leave the session with points of interest to think about.

Time has always played an essential role in the world. All the world religions gave it a central role, be it in astrology, stories of creation, cyclical world histories or notions of eternity. Philosophers tried to come to grips with the concept; some have argued that time is a basic property of the universe while others have argued that it is an illusion or a property of the human mind and not of the world.

All projects need an organized management of the time to reflect and implement each project's plans. Larger projects may have multiple schedules requiring a formal scheduling system. But even the smallest of projects needs to have at least a one page project master schedule to guide it.

In a more and more globalized world, perception of the time remains something deeply entrenched to culture and traditions. What happen when the project involves different cultural groups? How reliable will the activity duration estimation be?

Differences over time can play out in painful and dramatic ways in the negotiation or conflict resolution processes. They might make communications challenging. In addition, cultural approaches to time may not always be applied in good faith.

What I experienced during my extensive experience working as part of international teams are the problems that can occur if members have different attitudes towards time. For example, someone with a monochronic attitude to time may feel that a colleague displaying polychronic behaviors seems disorganized and may feel frustrated. In contrast, the person with a polichronic attitude to time may get frustrated with colleagues displaying monochromic behavior, particularly when they seem reluctant to take time out on an ad hoc basis to discuss pressing issues.

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Chuck Millhollan

Developing short-term goals and long-term objectives for the evolution of the project management office (PMP) is crucial to not only the success of the PMO but also the organization as a whole. The best PMOs are constantly evaluating how they are contributing to their organization and evolving to maximize that contribution.

Learning Objectives:

• Define and describe the factors leading to the need and acceptance of a structured project management methodology.
• Describe and manage the processes to clearly define senior leadership expectations for their PMO and how these expectations influence the project portfolio management processes and project management methodology.
• Explain the basics of implementing portfolio and project management processes in organizations new to structured project managment concepts.
• Identify unique opportunities to enhance their contributions to their organization and increase the exposure and credibility of their PMO.

Developing short-term goals and long-term objectives for the evolution of the project management office (PMO) is crucial to not only the success of the PMO, but also the organization as a whole. In today's competitive environment, profitability and project success are more closely linked than ever before. The best PMOs are constantly evaluating how they are contributing to their organization and evolving to maximize that contribution. Companies are realizing both the benefit and necessity of ensuring the right projects are being approved, the projects are aligned with strategic goals, all projects have measurable business benefit and the project portfolio is continuously maintained. The responsibility for meeting these challenges rests with the PMO.

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Lin Zhou; Michael Liehr, IBM, PhD, PMP

This paper addresses challenges of managing global virtual teams in dynamic environments. It is based on IBM hi-tech projects over the past 10 years. Project models, challenges and project management matrix are analyzed. Best practices and lessons learned are shared. Real case examples are provided to illustrate the key topics.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the challenges and sophistication of managing global virtual teams in dynamic environments.
• Learn and apply the key project management matrix, best practices and lessons learned to their projects.
• Improve skills in managing global virtual teams.

This paper presents success factors of managing global virtual teams in dynamic environments. It is based on IBM worldwide hi-tech projects over the past 10 years. They involved stake holders from multiple companies and cultures, speaking different languages, scattered across several continents and time zones. This contradicts conventional project management wisdom of co-location and made it hard for the team to act coherently. The member companies had different corporate cultures in addition to local unique laws and regulations, further complicating the projects.

The projects were planned and executed in fast pace and highly competitive dynamic environments. Frequent change requests threatened specification and schedule baselines. Market and customer demands for quick results stretched resources and cost. Internal sub-teams raced each other for revenue and resources. All these challenged the balance of project triple constraints. The teams used IT tools such as email, instant messaging and web conference to improve productivity and bridge location gaps. It was found that relying on IT tools alone did not create adequate human-human connections, clouded clarity and overloaded communication channels. New approaches, such as Web 2.0, need to be looked at to adequately address the human element.

In this article, project models, challenges and the project management matrix are analyzed. Best practices leading to project success are shared. Lessons learned are discussed. Real case examples are provided to illustrate the key topics.

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Juergen Oschadleus

Communication is critical – but what if we've been doing it wrong? Using a case study and the latest neuroscientific research, this session illustrates project managers' daily leadership frustrations. It presents a conversational leadership model and provides participants with an opportunity to practice and develop a powerful new communication technique.

Learning Objectives:

• Elaborate the problems inherent in command and control style leadership for the project environment
• Enunciate the benefits of conversational leadership
• Apply a conversational leadership framework to reframe their daily project communications
• Enhance their leadership and organizational influencing skills

Successful managers no longer rely on the traditional authority of the “command and control” culture to deliver outcomes. Increasing evidence suggests that force and directive behavior does not lead to long term commitment. Instead, managers – and project managers in particular – need to foster relationships and influence to build commitment and accountability in their teams. This requires a whole new management style, one focused around conversational leadership.

Ninety percent of the project manager's work involves communication but recent research into how the brain functions suggests we may need to change how we use our communication skills. It's not necessarily the flashy, highly visible leader that delivers the best results, but the leader whose conversational questioning style elicits new thinking, fosters accountability and builds commitment and passion.

Using a case study approach, this session illustrates the communication challenges project managers encounter daily and then suggests alternate approaches based on latest research into the neurosciences. Participants will experiment with various conversational and questioning techniques to build trust and develop thinking.

Participants will take away an action plan and conversational leadership framework to start applying the lessons learned and developing their own communication skills in the real world.

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Brian R Herman

How can you set attainable baselines on long projects without being able to predict the future? We'll consider best practices from the PMBOK^® Guide and PRINCE2, and examine planning concepts in Agile software development to see how planning in phases that deliver value to the business may help you meet customer expectations.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify three best practices for phase/stage base planning from the PMBOK^® Guide and PRINCE2.
• Describe two basic planning concepts in Agile software development and how they may be applied to planning any type of project.
• Propose a method for setting project baselines and defining project success metrics that go beyond “did you finish this two year long project on time/budget from what you predicted two years ago?”

Frustrated by a cheap crystal ball? Nostradamus not returning your calls? Rethinking how you commit to project deliverables may bring the relief you seek.

We expect the TV weather crew to accurately predict only 7 days ahead; they rarely pull it off. So why do your stakeholders expect you to be able to commit to a date and price tag for a project that may run a year or longer? Like the weather, your project is subject to hundreds of influences both small and large, often beyond your control that significantly change the outcome of your project.

When your project completes you'll be asked, “Were you on-time, on-scope and on-budget?” regardless of how long ago the project began. During the course of your project you achieved many milestones – did you get “credit” for meeting those or is your worth as a project manager being evaluated solely on your ability to predict the future on a long running project?

In this session we will consider techniques for setting achievable baselines using best practices from the PMBOK^® Guide and PRINCE2. Concepts like schedule padding, contingency budgets and rebaselining are the basics but there are more advanced techniques like tolerances and phase/stage based planning that can be applied. We will establish a foundation with these and then explore the planning philosophy from Agile software development.

Agile planning is based around short duration tasks that deliver value to the business. We will look at how these ideas could be applied to planning on any type of project and how these methods could lead to different ways of measuring successful outcomes and extend beyond the notion of binary “success/fail” measures for cost, schedule, and scope at project closure.

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Mark Kozak-Holland

The “Great Escape” from Stalag Luft III is one of the most daring escape attempts ever. But as an event, set in dire circumstances, what actually happened? How was it planned and executed as a project? How did it circumvent obstacles in an escape proof habitat? How was it tracked?

Learning Objectives:

• Be able to recount how the lessons learned from the “Great Escape” can be applied to projects today.
• Be able to recount how scope management played a part in the project.
• Be able to recount how risk management played a part in the project.

The “Great Escape” from the prison camp Stalag Luft III is widely regarded as one of the most audacious and daring escape attempts of the 20th century. But as an event in March 1944, set in dire circumstances, what actually happened? How was the escape planned and executed as a project? How did it get around numerous obstacles in a habitat designed to be escape proof? How was the project tracked?

In today's world business people are grappling with numerous obstacles in planning and executing projects in a climate of rapid changes. What can be learned from this event and put into practice today? Many projects today are initiated with clear objectives, executive sponsorship and a healthy budget but still fail. Other projects have no budgets, many obstacles in their way and succeed. This is the story of one of the perceived successes.

The presentation juxtaposes the “Great Escape” story and modern projects so that we can learn how:

• the escape committee and Roger Bushell (the big x or project manager), under tremendous pressure, inspired the inmates around them to continue a fight considered lost
• the camp POWs were unified to work on this one project, maximizing the work effort and matching their skill sets against project activities
• the escape committee understood the problems facing them and focused slender resources on critical tasks.

• Number of tunnels dug, determined by the number of concrete foundations available (hut footings) and the risk of discovery
• Depth and length of the tunnels, determined by the distance from the camp to the woods and available tunnel shoring materials
• Scope of intelligence and security required as at any time six guards were wandering around in the compound
• Number of escapers that could get through a tunnel in a given night
• Equipment required for completing the tunnel, and for the escapers.

• A major risk was the discovery of the trap doors and by paying great attention to their concealment this risk was mitigated. Weeks were spent in designing these trap doors in such a way that they blended into the surroundings of the room.
• “Ferrets” (intelligence guards) were a continuous risk that the team had no option but to accept. However, the risk could be mitigated through a system of tracking and an early warning system. Also, Bushell kept a list of ferrets that were deemed dangerous to the project. In reality Bushell accepted the risk here as part of the project.
• Ferrets expected tunnelling to be going on. As a contingency to mitigate the risk of a tunnel being discovered multiple tunnels were built in parallel in an effort to have a fallback in case one was found.
• By putting many resources into cover-up activities like diversion and sand dispersal, risk was mitigated in concealing traces of the tunnel.
• Another mitigation strategy was reading enemy intent and then taking proactive actions.
• Some “under the wire” escape jobs, accomplished by breaking through the wire, were encouraged so as to leave the impression that escape attempts were still being carried out. It would look strange if all escape attempts suddenly stopped for a period. Whether the escape made it or not was inconsequential as the main escape was protected. In effect, the risk was being transferred elsewhere to the other escape.

Canceled

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Greg Schwem

What's so funny about being a project manager? Plenty if you are corporate comedian Greg Schwem. Laugh along with Greg as he presents “Comedy with a Byte.” Greg shares his hilarious views on our profession and the tools we can't do without including Blackberries, email, PowerPoint^® and A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide).

Learning Objectives:

• Laugh at their jobs.
• Motivate themselves to become better project managers while not taking things so seriously.
• Become more productive.

This presentation invites attendees to laugh at the foibles of business, technology and, in particular, project management. “Comedy with a Byte” is customized humor for the project management profession.

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Daniel Weinberg

My presentation will describe the project management approaches used to conduct the largest peacetime undertaking of the U.S. government. Among the tools are an “Executive Schedule Alert” based on a master activity schedule, formal risk review boards at multiple levels (contract, project and program) and change control boards.

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Michael Thorn, MS, MBA, PMP, Six Sigma Black Belt; Jill Tiburzio, MSP Advanced, PMI Fellow

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Rick A Morris, MPM, PMP

One of the most sought after topics for project managers is how to deal with failing projects. When industry figures show a variation of 60-82 percent of projects failing, it is easy to see why. Rick will discuss some of his personal failures, lessons learned and ideas to turn around failing projects.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how to deal with difficult sponsors.
• Learn how to deal with unresponsive and difficult sponsors.
• Learn how to deal with ethical and moral issues.

One of the most sought after topics for project managers is how to deal with failing projects or even how to turn them around. When industry figures show a variation of 60-82 percent of projects failing, it is easy to see why so many seek this information.

In typical Rick Morris style, this teleconference will not be full of theories or textbook options. Instead, it will be an introspective look into actual experiences and a telling of true lessons learned. Rick made a name for himself at Fortune 100 companies for his ability to quickly analyze, understand and put plans in motion to turn around failing projects. Some of the stories will include:

• dealing with difficult sponsors;
• dealing with an unresponsive and unsupportive direct manager;
• turning around software development as well as IT services projects; and
• dealing with ethical/moral issues.

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Traci Duez

Change is impossible unless you can change minds. All change comes from a human mind...good changes and bad changes. We'll look at how you can create real, lasting changes in thinking habits by understanding the science of value to produce real, lasting changes in your world.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how Axiology and the three classes of value affect change and how to use this knowledge to your benefit.
• See a new way of looking at the thinking and choices that affect you, your team and your stakeholders.
• How Neuro-Axiology can improve your leadership abilities, your critical thinking and your productivity by helping you create REAL, LASTING change.

Change is the only constant in life. If you have a difficult time with change, you will have a difficult time with life.

• Those who can handle change are productive.
• Those who can create change can solve problems and are seen as successful.
• Those who can inspire others to change are leaders who create vision; focus on opportunities; and consistently surpass expectations.

• how Aaxiology and the three classes of value affect change and how to use this knowledge to your benefit;
• how the emerging science of Neuro-Axiology helps you to manage, create and inspire change;
• a new way of looking at the thinking and choices that affect you, your team and your stakeholders; and
• how Neuro-Axiology can improve your leadership abilities, your critical thinking and your productivity by helping you create REAL, LASTING change.

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: James B Forman; Dermot Somerville

Traditional EVM approaches can present insurmountable resource and cost challenges for projects. Without EVM, projects can easily fail for lack of performance measurement. There is a global need for a simplified EVM tool for smaller and resource-constrained projects. The authors share their unique, field-tested solution to the problem.

Learning Objectives:

• Develop an awareness of the need for a simplified EVM approach for resource-constrained projects.
• Understand how the authors defined requirements for EVM “Lite” and the underlying assumptions that drove the development and pilot usage of the EVM “Lite” tool.
• Understand the limitations of measuring performance using an EVM approach based on deliverables instead of work packages.

Traditionally, earned value management (EVM) approaches have called for planning and measuring project performance at the work package level, with performance metrics “rolled up” and reported at the control account level. This presentation describes an alternative, simplified approach to traditional EVM planning and performance measurement, and demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach using actual results from the field using a prototype EVM tool.

Instead of planning and measuring earned value at the work package level, EVM “Lite” plans and measures earned value at a higher level – at the finished deliverables level. Another simplification compares aggregate AC and aggregate PV to the aggregate earned value (EV) summed across all deliverables, to measure and report all of the traditional project-level EV metrics.

A final simplification limits the earned value measurement method for all deliverables to a single three-state 25/75/100 percent measurement. All deliverables earn 25 percent of their value when work begins; another 50 percent when the deliverable is presented to the customer for acceptance; and the final 25 percent when the customer signs the acceptance agreement.

The paper will explain how the authors realized the need for EVM “Lite,” how the requirements were defined, how they were transformed into the design for an Excel™-based EVM tool and performance dashboard, and how the tool performed when it was used to manage the actual performance of an enterprise-scale ERP project.

The paper will contain examples of how the pilot-tested EVM “Lite” tool operates in the form of text and screen shots, including the digital dashboard which reports and displays project performance information. Readers will be encouraged to use the authors' examples to guide their own efforts to tailor traditional EVM tools or to develop comparable deliverables-based tools for use in similar situations.

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: W. Chad Josey, MBA, PMP, PE; Kenric England, MMS, MBA

Progress Energy classifies projects by using a Project Profile Matrix (PPM), which analyzes projects based on size and complexity. The PPM facilitates the use of scale-appropriate processes and tools and determines the minimum required project management qualifications. Application of the PPM tool ensures projects are properly planned, executed and controlled consistently across the company.

Canceled

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Lori Lindbergh

Can you apply your project management skills and knowledge in your organization to achieve project success? This research-based presentation provides evidence on how organizational culture affects your project management efforts and identifies ways for you to adapt your behaviors and actions to achieve greater success on your projects.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the components of organizational project management capability that are critical for effective project manager performance.
• Discover how the three components influence performance throughout the project life cycle.
• Examine actions and strategies to improve project manager performance and project outcomes.

Can you apply your project management skills and knowledge in your organization to achieve project success? Do your project outcomes meet the expectations of your project sponsor and stakeholders? If you answered “No” to these questions, you are most likely not alone. Despite the increasing use of project management best practices, as well as the implementation of project manager training and development programs, a large percentage of projects still fail. Your project outcomes may be related to conditions in the organization's culture that enhance or detract from your ability to manage projects effectively throughout the project life cycle. Understanding how the organization's culture affects your project management efforts may help you adapt your behaviors and actions to achieve greater success on your projects.

This presentation builds on the author's presentation at the 2007 PMI global congress and describes the results of her dissertation which examined the effect of organizational culture on project manager perceived capability and actual project outcomes. The study used an integrated model to evaluate organizational project management capability as a system of three integrated components: project manager capability; project management culture; and overall organizational culture. This model moves beyond the one-dimensional approach that typical project management assessments use and applies a systems perspective to examine the performance outcomes of project managers in organizations. The results may help project managers better adapt to the organizational challenges they face to achieve greater project success and the integrated model may help managers develop more realistic expectations about the project outcomes they can achieve in their organizations.

Canceled

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Ron Sklaver

New knowledge sharing and collaboration technologies are transforming how teams create project deliverables and how PM's manage their projects. This session explores how the entire project team can leverage simple, inexpensive Web 2.0 tools such as social networks, wikis, IM and RSS to create better deliverables, maintain control over the project, engage stakeholders more effectively and deliver greater value for their customers.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify Web 2.0 tools becoming more commonly used in managing projects.
• Describe how these tools are used by project team members.
• Select the Web 2.0 tools that can help them manage and control their projects more effectively.

New knowledge sharing and collaboration technologies are transforming how teams create project deliverables and how PMs manage their projects. From social networks to RSS feeds to wikis, project teams of all types and sizes are finding these new ways of connecting with each other have stark advantages over traditional project management methods. This session explores how the entire project team can leverage simple, inexpensive Web 2.0 tools to create better deliverables, maintain control over the project, engage stakeholders more effectively and deliver greater value for their customers.

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: James H Foreman; Paul Travers, PMP

To sell the PMO to the CFO takes a design that adds measureable value to the organization as well as the skill to sell it. You need to create your pitch based on a sound, quantifiable business case. This presentation will explain what you need to know to close the deal.

Learning Objectives:

• Show measurable value by identifying and mapping PMO functions to organizational need.
• Utilize presentation techniques for designing and delivering a PMO business case to the CFO and the executive team.
• Understand the need to sell and resell the PMO at the executive level.

Selling the PMO to the CFO is like any sales proposition: it takes a good service and you need to know how to close the deal. The two keys are a PMO structure that adds appropriate, measurable value to the organization and the ability to effectively make a case for funding in a highly competitive arena.

James Foreman and Paul Travers will explore the make-up of the PMO and how to measure its effectiveness, correlating functions and cost to the need and value-add. The starting point is wide agreement on why the PMO should be established in the first place, what functions it will perform and how it will be evaluated. Appropriate measurements for the functions and the consequences of not performing them will be addressed.

With the design and measurements of the PMO in place, you'll be ready to present a credible business case to the CFO. Keeping in mind that the CFO and the entire executive team have competing demands for limited resources, your case for the PMO must be clear and concise. It has to stand out from the competition in the eyes of the CFO and the entire executive team. The PMO can be a harder sell since there's no obvious associated revenue stream. Tips for understanding the competitive landscape and designing the presentation at the executive level will be given.

A PMO can have a variety of characteristics and evolve over time to keep in step as the organizational project management capability and practices evolve to meet changing needs. As the PMO evolves and grows, the definition of success and value add (and thus measurement) will also evolve. The presenters will explain the need to sell and re-sell the PMO on a periodic, sometimes annual basis.

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Lynette I Duggan, PMP

Establishing a PMO is similar to a business start-up: limited resources, short time to demonstrate value and multiple risks. However, when business conditions demand stronger project performance, a PMO can be the right strategy. Follow the journey of an IT PMO in a global, high-tech Fortune 100 company through changing organizational goals to become the center for project excellence.

Learning Objectives:

• Apply a PMO maturity model based on the experiences in a high-tech Fortune 100 company.
• Understand the value and impact of multiple industry frameworks to the project management practices in a large IT organization.
• Learn how the journey to a project management culture drives organizational change.

Establishing a PMO is similar to a new business start-up – limited resources, limited time to demonstrate value and more risks than certainties. However, when business conditions demand stronger project management performance, a PMO can be the right strategy.

This presentation follows the journey to maturity of an IT PMO in a global, high-tech Fortune 100 company. The PMO was originally chartered to improve PM competency, establish standard project management processes, develop tools to support project management and drive governance to standards. Maintaining consistency across a 7,500 employee IT organization complicated the approach and necessitated the development of a change network to connect the PMO to the various IT organizations. In addition, six industry standard frameworks impacting project management practices existed in various parts of the organization: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide), CMMI, Six Sigma, ITIL and COBiT.

The PMO was challenged with the “battle of the frameworks” in setting the standard project management practices to meet the organizational needs. Over time, the IT organization changed as a result of changes in the corporate business climate and the PMO model altered in response. This presentation will demonstrate how an IT PMO not only survived these extreme organizational, cultural and environmental impacts but was recognized for performance excellence.

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Jonathan Gilbert

The focus will be the emerging role of middle managers as it applies to change management; how to operate concretely within the life cycle of change; and practical tips for change adoption using tools to document benefits realization and ensure return on investment.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the definitive role of middle management across life cycle of change.
• Learn practical, tactical techniques for change adoption including a planning template for including the workforce in successful change adoption.
• Gain tools for documenting benefits realization and ROI.

Seventy-five percent of all change management programs fail because of their lack of employee support. It is no longer sufficient to base change management initiatives solely on a top-down model. In fact, to ensure the health of an organization, change processes must be embraced on all levels.

The role of middle managers today has evolved into the linchpin between senior management and employees as never before. What used to be episodic in terms of incremental change is now endemic to every organization. Change now occurs continuously. Through technological advances and leaner organizational designs, employees are often expected to do more with less. The result is a new role for middle managers. They are now charged with ensuring that the benefits of organizational change are communicated to those who implement it.

This guided discussion will address the new trend in project management as it relates to change and the evolving role of middle management in the change process, no matter the organization. The presenter and participants will engage in a highly interactive discussion about the four new role imperatives for middle management including creating a positive environment to enable adoption of change, developing accountability and ownership, realizing benefits of change and ensuring return on investment. In addition, how these roles operate within life cycle of change throughout organization will be discussed. Lastly, the participants will address practical techniques to adopting these role imperatives to make change a more engaging and, ultimately, empowering process.

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Orlando Lugo, PMP, MPM, CBM

Project management involves much more than managing projects. The discipline of project management can play a key role in the development and implementation of a company’s strategic initiatives. Therefore, the establishment of a strategic Project Management Office (PMO) is a value proposition that can lead to improved organizational performance. Corporate strategy is usually implemented through projects, with each project treated as an investment. The PMO brings value by providing effective project selection and prioritization models as well as by enhancing the probability of delivering successful projects.

This presentation explores the benefits of implementing a corporate PMO as a change management, continuous process improvement initiative. The presenter summarizes lessons learned from the implementation of an enterprise-wide PMO at his previous employer. The initiative was managed as a project and the team was composed of key members from each line of business. The project team followed best practices in change management and process improvement. They set their goal of improving organizational performance by making project management a core competency in their company. During this session we will cover what worked, what didn’t and what key lessons the implementation team learned in the process.

This session also recognizes the need for project management professionals to talk to business leaders in their own business language to present the strategic value of project management in the selection, alignment, execution and measurement of the business initiatives that bring value and create competitive advantage. This is a relevant subject as attested by a recent article in Strategy & Business that describes a new model implemented at Toyota Model Sales USA Inc. which goes away from a project-by-project implementation approach to one that has a corporate-wide view that seeks to manage and complete projects that produce business value (“Toyota’s IT Transformation,” Strategy & Business. Summer 2009).

Monday, 12 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: San Retna; Sarma Tekumalla; Diane Miller; Mike Stratton

Learning Objectives:

The audience will walk away with an understanding of the practitioners’ and the participating audiences’ viewpoint on questions such as:

• What problem is PPM targeted to solve?
• What are some key benefits and learning?
• Where are the next opportunities?

PPM leaders from three leading organizations share their PPM journeys. This panel will be highly interactive, with continuous Q&A from the audience. Bring along your questions!Key issues include:

• What problem was PPM targeted to solve?
• What were some key benefits and lessons learned?
• What are the next opportunities?

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Joseph A Sopko, PMP, MSP; Kevin McDevitt, MSP

Program management, an effective PMO and maturity models are critical factors in Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3^®) maturity improvement. This paper discusses the approach taken, progress made and lessons learned in effectively transforming the cultural aspects of Siemens' U.S. businesses towards achievement of business excellence targets through improved OPM3 maturity using formal program management. From a practical perspective, a case study will be used to share lessons learned.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the application and value of formal program management in improving OPM maturity of an organization. Specifically, establishing the linkage between best practice maturity models, business objectives, business excellence and continuous improvement.
• Understand the key success factors in establishing an effective OPM maturity improvement environment and infrastructure for any organization.
• Practical application and lessons learned regarding the use of formal program management, best practice maturity models, alignment with business benefits and managing organizational change. Also, methods used to establish a PMO that remains relevant to the organization and delivers continuous business value to stakeholders.

Siemens has embraced organizational process maturity models as tools for improving organizational performance for more than a decade and a half. Included among these models are CMMI^®, OPM3 and others as well as several proprietary internal models such as Siemens maturity in project management (MPM). Even after several years of conducting over 150 valuable assessments, movement toward higher levels of organizational project management maturity was not meeting corporate expectations. A breakthrough approach was needed to accelerate improvements, manage organizational change and deliver business benefits.

This paper discusses the approach taken, progress made and lessons learned in effectively transforming the cultural aspects of Siemens' US businesses towards greater OPM maturity and achievement of business excellence targets using formal program management. From a practical perspective, an actual Siemens case study will be used to share experiences and lessons learned with the audience.

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Jerry L Julian

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the pitfalls associated with informal and incidental learning and how it leads to blowups, surprises and the red light learning cycle.
• Learn about the foundations skills, roles and tools of multi-level learning and how it leads to systematic improvement in teamwork and project results.
• Lead retrospectives that facilitate learning and effective group process at the project, process and strategy levels.
• Develop an approach to facilitating project performance improvement that suits their organization's unique culture and circumstances.

This workshop provides a practical toolset and step-by-step approach to facilitating learning and continuous improvement in project organizations that is grounded in cutting edge research and practice in the fields of agile software development, project management and organizational learning. This workshop introduces participants to the skills required to help teams innovate and improve while projects and programs are in flight, ensuring both immediate and long-term project success. By developing multi-level learning skills, participants can help their organization reduce risk, deliver faster results, eliminate waste and improve teamwork across the project portfolio.

Topics include the following:
• The red light learning cycle and the need for multi-level learning
• Foundations and principles of multi-level learning
• The role of the multi-level learning facilitator
• The role of the project and program management function (PMO)
• Facilitating level 1: continuous project improvement
• Facilitating level 2: cross-project improvement
• Facilitating level 3: strategic portfolio alignment

Canceled

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Mark Scott, PMP, PMI Certified OPM3 Consultant; John Schlichter, MBA, PMI OPM3-CA, PMI OPM3-CC

A case study that describes improvements to organizational project management in Harris reflects on the use of OPM3 to reduce process complexity in a multi-model environment (ISO, CMMI), unify the product development engine and implement a strategic time-to-market system.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how OPM3 was used to reduce process complexity a factor of 2 to 1.
• Understand how OPM3 may be used to integrate process improvement efforts including ISO9001:2000 and CMMI.
• Have a deeper understanding of how to use OPM3 to drive implementation of a strategic time-to-market framework.

Harris Corporation delivers technology that makes battlefield communications reliable, secure and simple. The need to bring these solutions to market fastest throws the importance of project management into sharp relief. The strategic imperative of speeding time-to-market (TTM) impacts lives on the battlefield.

Harris RFCD operates in a multi-standard, multi-model process improvement environment, having implemented a quality management system (QMS) that includes best practices associated with ISO9001:2000, CMMI, OPM3 and other process standards. RFCD is using OPM3 to establish a common lexicon and institutionalize a unified product development process within its time-to-market framework. Such a process enables the collection of metrics as a basis of initiatives producing quantifiable improvements relevant to the business and its customers.

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Samuel T Brown

The act of negotiating has several aspects and definitions, including, the art of the deal, making the big sale and making the right decision, to reference but a few. Join subject matter expert Samuel Brown as he teaches you to negotiate with authority using the best strategies for approaching, deploying and closing a negotiation.

Learning Objectives:

• Approach negotiations after proper planning and preparation.
• Consider the opposition's wants and needs to devise a win-win solution.
• Solidify an agreement and properly close-out the negotiation.

Whether you call it bartering, haggling, settling or bargaining, negotiating is a constant part of life, especially in project management. Because it is an active process, there are steps that can be taken to better plan for and approach the negotiation. In this presentation, attendees will learn useful strategies that will guide them before, during and after the negotiation to help ensure a positive outcome. These include knowing your opponent's desires, developing multiple exit strategies and what not to say.

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Larry Winters, PMP

Using the popular Discovery Channel series, Deadliest Catch, this interactive simulation provides experiential exercises, promoting a deeper understanding of the limits of risk identification for teams in real-world situations. With these barriers illuminated, practical strategies are shared and discussed, leveraging the direct experiences of the participants.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn the barriers of risk identification for project teams through an interactive and experiential simulation. Discover specific tactics for working through these barriers for project teams.
• Develop management strategies for avoiding identified challenges on future projects.

Risk identification is not a new concept in project management. However, project teams continue to be challenged with the early identification of risk in the project process and spend far too much time reacting to problems. Project managers can do a better job of applying proactive behavior to projects, anticipating potential risks and planning accordingly. One way to accomplish this proactive behavior is to understand the limits of a team's ability to identify risks common across projects, organizations and industries.

Using the popular Discovery Channel series, Deadliest Catch, this presentation provides a simulated risk identification exercise in an interactive team setting. Through experiential exercises, project managers develop a deeper understanding of the limits of risk identification for their teams in real-world situations. With specific barriers illuminated through the exercises, practical strategies for working through these limits are shared, leveraging the direct experiences of the participants.

This session provides participants with a clear delineation of what is and is not a risk through an interactive team simulation illustrating the limits of risk identification. Using an engaging, comparative analysis from past and current participants, clear action plans and next steps are identified based on data gathered from hundreds of project managers over the past three years.

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Shawn D Belling

In every organization, there is a mysterious group of people known as “they.” “They” are the people who seem to make all of the important decisions. This presentation looks into the question “who are “they;” how do employees perceive the decisions they make; and most importantly, how does this perception impact and influence managers and project managers?

Learning Objectives:

• Describe how employees perceive organizational decision making and how various efforts at employee empowerment have differing effects, particularly due to the variance between management goals and employee goals.
• Describe how employees generalize decision makers based on their perceptions and how changes in one's own career and status can affect how one is perceived as a decision maker.
• Describe the influences that employee perceptions of decision making have in the workplace and understand how managers and employees can work with this understanding to effect positive changes and outcomes from decisions.
• Apply employee perceptions of organizational decision making to the management of projects within their own organizations.

In every organization, there is a mysterious group of people generally referred to as “they.” “They” are the people who make decisions. They are the ones who, it is assumed, show up for work every day with the main goal of making life difficult for rank and file employees. “They” are the people who set unrealistic sales and profitability objectives, who insist on project completion dates that could not possibly be met and who decide to change the food in the company cafeteria or the parking rules without notice.

This presentation looks into the question “who are they?” How do employees perceive organizational decision making? Do employees perceive their involvement in decision making differently than upper management? How do various attempts by management to “empower” employees actually affect employee perception of decision making? Do these efforts actually involve employees in decision making that is meaningful to them?

Further discussion is given to the question of who are the people who make up the elusive and all-powerful “they;” why do employees believe that “they,” make all of the important decisions; and why do employees continue to accept that “they,” will make many of these important decisions? The presentation includes a review of practical implications for managers and project managers, including a look at the cons, and a few pros, of the “they” culture in the workplace.

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Earnest Valle, MBA, PMP

Simplifying OPM3 in a health and human services environment helps bridge the communication gap between functional operations and project management concepts. Creating an in-house web-based OPM3 assessment tool enhances control and user efficiency across the organization. Challenging economic times creates unforeseen value-add opportunities for implementing OPM3. This session contains five valuable insights gained while adapting OPM3 for an in-house solution at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Elizabeth C Goodman; Dr Patricia Henry

Poor supplier performance is often cited as a key reason for troubled projects. What are typical supplier issues and why do they repeatedly happen? What are the options for resolution? Is it always the suppliers fault? This paper will illustrate issues through a case study on how to avoid the pitfalls.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand what supplier issues can occur on a real case study and how these can impact a project as well as the options open for resolution, what they mean and the line of action taken with this case study.
• The supplier life cycle of delivery in an IT project and where the issues can occur.
• Practical guidance to avoid the pitfalls from the beginning, including offshore suppliers.
• The supplier perspective of the client and issues that they face with clients.

Supplier management for the majority of project managers is an integral part of any IT project. Suppliers can be responsible for a range of activities from design of the system to development and testing. Increasingly, the work is conducted offshore or by a supplier from a different country and culture. Integrating the efforts from the client and the supplier on the plan is critical to project success.

Poor supplier performance is often cited as a key reason for troubled projects. So what are the typical supplier issues and why do they repeatedly happen? What are the options for resolution? Is it always the suppliers fault?

A FSTE 100 organization had deployed a European company to deliver a new warehouse system, which ultimately deteriorated into a catalogue of issues and a disastrous relationship, which impacted the ability of the business to operate. This paper will illustrate:

• the issues that arose, the options available and how they were managed;
• the impact of culture on a project, particularly with off shore suppliers;
• the supplier perspective and the typical issues that they face, making delivery difficult; and
• practical guidance for avoiding the pitfalls of poor supplier performance.

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Lisa A. Grant, MBA, PMP

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” - Albert Einstein

This lecture discusses tips and tools on capturing and implementing lessons learned early and often in order to leverage project knowledge and avoid future pitfalls based on past mistakes.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the importance of gathering and implementing valuable knowledge to be reused for the betterment of future project success.
• Identify project life cycle phases in which lessons learned are gathered and implemented.
• Specify the importance of timing in gathering lessons learned.
• Build lessons learned knowledge sources that can be effectively utilized for future projects.

This lecture was developed to support practicing project managers in their lessons learned activities and to fill the void of lessons learned best practices. The presenter perceives a void in lessons learned best practices because upon research she found the topic referenced in the most-cited project management literature as follows:

• The PMBOK Guide^® states that lessons learned should be gathered at the end of the project phases and reviewed during planning.
• OPM3 mentions lessons learned at a high level.
• Prince2^® states that lessons learned should be captured in a log and published in a collated report.
• Finally, PMI recently published the book Post-Project Reviews to Gain Effective Lessons Learned which contains an assortment of data regarding the importance of a robust lessons learned practice and statistics on how organizations learn and why it's difficult to capture and leverage lessons learned.

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: John Schlichter; Terry Cooke-Davies; Abdullah Tamimi , MS

A case study that describes improvements to organizational project management in a department of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of the Interior, reflects on the use of periodic OPM3 assessments in guiding and evaluating the improvements, and illustrates how the linkage of operational improvements to strategic intent and culture is delivering improved value.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how OPM3 may be used to assess the extent of improvements.
• Understand how OPM3 may be used to assess the extent of improved organizational project management and the strengths and weaknesses of different OPM3 assessment methods.
• Gain a deeper understanding of the importance of matching organizational project management to the drivers of strategy and culture if an organization is to deliver value from its spend on project management.

Creating a mature organizational project management system that is aligned with corporate strategy presents a challenge to every organization. For organizations in government there are specific additional challenges, and these can be multiplied when the governments are operating in cultures outside of the cultural worlds in which project management practice originated. This is especially true when working in Arab countries where large power distance and uncertainty avoidance are the predominant characteristics of the culture. It is expected and accepted that leaders separate themselves from the group and issue complete and specific directives.

In 2006 the National Information Centre (NIC) of the Saudi Ministry of the Interior embarked on the ambitious task of building just such a system by implementing improvements to its project management office (PMO) and assessing the extent of the improvements made using PMI's Organizational Product Maturity Management Model (OPM3^®). Early in the implementation, a baseline assessment was made by a PMI Certified OPM3 Assessor® and some twelve months later a further OPM3 assessment was made to evaluate the extent of the improvement that had been made. As it happened, this second assessment not only provided encouragement about the nature and extent of improvements that had been made, but also revealed the need for further improvements of a rather different kind in order to align the organizational project management system with the strategic aims of the organization.

This presentation will not only show how the NIC is developing its organizational project management through improvements led by its PMO, but will also reflect on the very interesting use of OPM3 and relate these reflections to the question of how strategic “fit” between the elements of an organizational project management system, the organization's strategic drivers and the culture delivers value for that organization.

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Thomas C Sheives, PhD, PMP

When were you at the right time, the right place, for the right opportunity? Getting the right project isn't just “happenstance.” Success in a project isn't just“happenstance.” Four principles in creating cycles of opportunity are showcased in a professional development training project for the Panama Canal expansion program.

Learning Objectives:

• State and apply the four key principles that are critical for a project manager to continually get the “right opportunity” projects.
• State the difference between being an expert and being the recognized expert and how to achieve “expert” recognition.
• State and apply two supporting principles on how to get emotionally engaged in your project and with your team.
• State and apply at least two ways to help others achieve what they want.
• Understand the importance of being a terrific team member, not just for the team they lead but also for the team they are on.
• Relate to and state real life applications and stories obtained from delivering the professional development program used in the Panama Canal expansion program .
• Determine the next steps to create your own right opportunity projects.

What would it feel like to be at the right time, at the right place, for the right opportunity? Have you ever been at that point? Projects and plans don't succeed by just “happenstance.” They require careful planning and outstanding execution. Career opportunities aren't “merely happenstance” either.

This presentation will enable you to explore four vital principles, leading you to seize your career or business and create a cycle of opportunities. The presenter will share his own “right opportunity,” his involvement in the current $5.2 billion Panama Canal expansion program, voted on March 6, 2008 as the “Most Significant Construction Project in the World.”

The four important principles for creating your right opportunity are not “rocket science” ideology. Instead they are winning common sense practices that many professionals do not connect or do not implement. These principles are; 1) be a recognized expert; 2) get emotionally engaged; 3) help others; and 4) be a terrific team member. These four principles are presented from the perspective of a project manager, program manager or team member. Each principle is discussed and applied to real life situations and, in particular, to the presenter's experience in training the top 175 executives of the Panama Canal expansion program in project management principles.

What events surrounded the initial phone call to the presenter from the University of Texas at Dallas who had just received a request for proposal from the Panama Canal Authority? How was the status of “expert” attained? What was done during planning and execution to get emotionally engaged, help others and be a terrific team member? How do these four principles ensure even more future opportunities? How do they empower you to create your own cycle of opportunities?

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Ginger Levin

Virtual teams are common in today's environment, but team-building is still necessary in order that the group becomes an effective and highly productive team that is mutually accountable to one another for project and organizational success. This presentation describes 10 effective strategies for team building on the virtual team and seven guidelines to best implement these strategies in the work place.

Learning Objectives:

• Implement team-bulding strategies designed for virtual teams.
• Recognize what must be done to promote virtual team success.
• Conduct a “people issues” audit with the team.

Virtual teams are common in today's workforce, especially as more and more organizations move to a management-by-projects approach. They are also common on programs in which the program manager may be managing component projects located in other areas and in which team members on one project may support another project located in a different area. However, many of these virtual teams will never meet face-to-face on a project or program, or if they have the luxury of a face-to-face meeting, typically, it is held at the beginning on the project and these meetings are not regular occurrences.

On a collocated project, where team meetings are common occurrences, it is easy to use each of these meetings as an opportunity for team building in some fashion and, often, a special meeting is held just to focus on team building and the difficult people aspects of the project. The virtual team does not provide these opportunities.

This paper and subsequent presentation communicates strategies for team building on the virtual team. After a brief overview on the growth and use of virtual teams in organizations and a discussion of the types of virtual teams, the paper focuses on team-building strategies. It then presents seven key guidelines for consideration in the workplace as a program manager, project manager or a team member for project and organizational success.

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Judith W Umlas

Using the case study method to drive home critical acknowledgment skills that create breakthrough results, attendees go through real life, simulated and team based, attendee-created “studies.” Umlas will use her highly interactive, engaging and challenging style to elicit immediate results from attendees which they will bring home and keep with them for use on their project teams and beyond.

Learning Objectives:

• Develop key skills for delivering effective and authentic acknowledgment; learn to get acknowledgments “from their brain to their mouth!” and learn creative solutions for problems that arise on project teams
• Understand and be able to demonstrate how acknowledgment transforms people – both the giver and the receiver and enhances project team performance; have clarity as to why acknowledgment must be delivered only with sincerity and authenticity
• Understand and utilize the fact that acknowledgment is a key factor in developing employee loyalty and engagement, improving relationships and enhancing self-worth.

Acknowledgment as a tool for transformation is a relatively new application of an age old principle: let people know what you think they have done well, or that they are representing a corporate value such as integrity, intelligence or innovation, and they will swell with pride and want to do more and perform better. Let them know what they have done wrong in a harsh way and they will shrink back, go into a rage or even quit. While constructive criticism is essential for a person's growth and improvement, the focus of this presentation is on heartfelt and authentic acknowledgment, which creates great results nearly 100% of the time.

Using the case study method, IIL Trainer/author Judith W. Umlas (The Power of Acknowledgment, IIL Publishing, ©2006) will take attendees through the kind of behavior and communication that creates transformation and improves relationships in a workplace, on a team, even rippling out to one's family. Cases will be derived from a combination of a real life situation, a simulation and an attendee-created “study.” Umlas will use her highly interactive, engaging and challenging style to elicit immediate results and breakthroughs from attendees.

Participants will witness and learn how acknowledgment transforms people – both the giver and the receiver. By the end of the session, they will truly understand that acknowledgment is a key factor in developing employee loyalty and engagement, for improving relationships and for enhancing self-worth. These good results are contagious, and the actions of each individual can be amplified as recipient picks up on this idea and spreads the circle wider.

Attendees will learn to use acknowledgment to motivate and inspire teams and fellow employees, as well as to improve intimate relationships and interactions with the people they connect with on a day-to-day basis. They will learn to use this tool in an immediately effective way.

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Panayotis Agrapidis

Crisis obliges organizations to reduce personnel and expenses. This gives us the opportunity to apply project management tools and methodologies, directly supporting top management. We must be flexible, utilize a limited amount of resources, give results within a short period of time and help organizations make the right decisions.

Learning Objectives:

• Be able to think of the economic crisis as an opportunity for project management advancement and not as a threat.
• Be able to consider the fact that we can follow the top down approach, satisfying critical top management needs, expanding project management tools and methodologies adoption inside an organization.
• Be able to adopt a holistic approach regarding portfolio, program and project management. We must use the relative standards, keeping in mind the tools we have to adapt according to our organization's needs.

We must overcome a very deep and painful crisis. Organizations have to decide how and when to cut expenses and, if necessary, reduce personnel. Even in this difficult environment we can increase project management adoption if we understand exactly the needs of top management and create an indispensable tool for them. To win this challenge we must involve personnel with proven experience in project management and adopt maximum flexibility in order to present innovative proposals and to apply project management tools and methodologies in a highly effective way. Our target must be to cover the organization's critical needs in a very short period of time. Producing results quickly and with low cost will help us create the basis from where to start and step by step, with consecutive successes, increase our organization's project management orientation.

There is a very critical point to keep in mind; we must pay attention not to abandon project management standards application. We must apply them in a way to fulfill the customer's immediate needs in order to demonstrate the capabilities of project management tools and methodologies.

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Vijay Kanabar, PhD, PMP; Dr. Roger Warburton

This session expands on a new EVM model that can estimate cost and schedule reliably. We demonstrate several practical simulations and calculations to illustrate the model.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand EVM history and key methods.
• Understand the limitations of existing models and methods.
• Understand a new EVM model that can be used to estimate cost and schedule practically.

Expands on a new earned value management (EVM) model that can estimate both cost and schedule reliably. We then demonstrate several practical simulations and calculations to validate the model.

Monday, 12 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Cindy Berg; David Hulett, PhD

The new Practice Standard for Project Riskis scheduled for publication in the Fall of 2009. This session will describe the process the project team followed to develop the standard and will provide a general overview of the new standard's content.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Jiwan Giri, MS, PMP; Laurie Lambert

Learning Objectives:

• Understand why strategic planning and project management processes should be integrated and aligned within the organization.
• Recognize the importance of the Integrated Strategic Project Management Framework (ISPMF) as a vehicle for program success.
• Determine what, when and how to initiate key PM processes during various stages of strategic planning cycle.
• Identify key success factors that enable any organization to achieve program success.
• Learn the tips and tricks of the trade for successfully initiating, planning and executing the ISPMF to achieve program success.
• Adapt, customize and implement the framework to fit the organizational strategic and project management context.

This presentation provides an Integrated Strategic Project Management Framework (ISPMF). This combines strategic planning, organizational learning and project management processes which can help any public/private industry to add much more value to the organization, making each program's mission and strategic goals achievable!

Achieving program success in both private and public industries is a challenge faced by many senior program leaders and executives. Senior leaders deal with limited resources (labor, cost and materials), unclear program requirements (scope of work), unrealistic (pre-set) project deadlines and numerous other factors that are often beyond their control and thus may deter their efforts to lead a successful program. Even though experienced senior leaders may develop an ideal strategic plan, achieving success is still a difficult part of a journey requiring careful execution of the plan by employing sound project management methodologies.

Execution of the strategic plan, however, is not an effortless task. The ability to successfully execute a strategic plan is one of the most sought after skills among chief executives around the world. It requires a combination of both hard and soft skills of all the key players within the program and the integration of strategic planning, organizational learning in project management and project management processes.

An all-encompassing road map for getting from strategic plan to project execution for improving organizational performance and delivering quality results does not exist. However, there are a few structured methodologies and best project management practices that we can implement for running a successful program within the organization.

This research was funded by NCI Contract No. HHSN261200800001E and supported [in part] by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Angelo Baratta, CMC, PMP

How important is it for you to measure the business effectiveness of every project, remove projects which will never deliver a benefit and quantitatively develop project portfolios? The value triple constraint (VTC) is a simple yet powerful framework for generating high value projects and project portfolios linked to your strategy.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the limitations of the current triple constraint and the advantages of the proposed Value Triple Constraint (VTC) as a measurement paradigm.
• Use the VTC to enhance the effectiveness of program and portfolio management.
• Use the VTC to enhance and measure the effectiveness of your decision-making process.

It is often said that we cannot manage what we don't measure. But it is truer still to say that we cannot measure what we don't understand. We believe that the triple constraint of time, scope and cost is a valid model for decision making. But it isn't. It is a mental model that prevents us from measuring the true value delivered through projects.

The true measure of project success is the value actually delivered to the organization relative to the value that could have been delivered. That's what the value triple constraint (VTC) measures. The VTC states that value delivered is a function of business scope and delivery capability: value = f (scope, capability). The value triple constraint provides a framework for measuring actual value delivered as well as the true cost of delivering that value. It includes the opportunity cost associated with projects not selected.

The VTC is used at the project level to determine project effectiveness. It is used at the program level to strengthen program management. And it is used at the portfolio level to develop true alternative portfolios that can be evaluated as to benefit and risk. The VTC is a framework that will enhance any project management office function and help it make better business decisions and demonstrate the business value delivered through projects. It is a tool which, when combined with process performance management, can raise the maturity level of your organization.

The excellence of your decision making process is limited by the current triple constraint. When you adopt the VTC you will dramatically improve your organization's ability to make excellent project-based decisions.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Dave Prior, MBA, CSP, PMP

“Mashup” refers to the growing practice of blending existing media to create something new. In project management, a number of thought leaders are taking a similar approach to their craft. This session explores this cutting-edge approach to project management and includes a working session to develop new PM mashups that will evolve beyond this congress.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain a basic foundation of knowledge around work currently being done to introduce non-PM concepts into traditional PM practice.
• Have a set plan (with action items) so that the ideas created in the session can continue to evolve beyond this congress.
• Gain a deeper appreciation for, and awareness of, their own ability to incorporate non-standard PM practices into their day-to- day approach to project management in order to achieve better results.

This presentation/workshop is geared towards seasoned project managers. It will explore how advanced PM practitioners are introducing ideas and concepts from outside traditional project management in order to supplement a traditional approach. It will focus on the more creative aspects of blending elements from the non-PM world in order to create a more robust, creative and fresh approach to getting the work done.

The session will include an overview of current trends, look at where thought leaders in this area find their inspiration and include a group participation session in which the participants will develop new mashup ideas to explore and continue to develop outside of the session. Participants will develop a list of action items as part of the takeaway from this session and will continue to develop these ideas after the congress has ended.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Summer C Fowler, MS, PMP; Amy Oaks LoPresti, PMP

Does it feel as if your technical staff speaks another language? This presentation will help close the gap between the PM and technical team using tips and techniques to ensure conversations address all parties' objectives. This interactive session includes methods to elicit information and use project metrics to eliminate confusion.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize and effectively address several common communication issues between a PM and his/her technical team.
• Equip attendees with several project metrics that can be used to baseline discussions with technical team members.

This paper addresses several common communication errors that arise between a project manager and his/her technical team members. The paper is divided into three main sections. The first section details common communication issues and discusses when and why they occur. The second section uses A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide)—Third Edition Knowledge Area of Project Communication Management to outline miscommunication scenarios within each process area. The third section provides metrics and techniques to address each miscommunication scenario. The reader will be equipped with several tools to solve communication problems and more efficiently achieve project success.

The session provides several scenarios and attendees will be allowed to offer real-world examples from their projects. Multiple ways to address each scenario will be discussed including changing the PM's verbal cues and using data and visuals to baseline discussions. Because it is often the case that PMs and technical leads talk “past” each other by using the same vocabulary but with different semantics, the objective is to have both parties use data to come to a common set of definitions for project success. Each scenario will have at least one metric, tip or technique.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Victoria S Kumar, PMP; J.D. Haughwout, MA, CDP, PMP

Successful project managers are managers who practice both strong management skills and effective leadership skills. Effective leaders develop new leadership skills to complement those that made them successful as managers. This presentation focuses on leadership competencies required for project managers to manage their teams effectively and deliver projects successfully.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn the differences between project management and leadership.
• Identify different leadership styles for project managers and learn when to utilize each leadership style.
• Develop effective team leadership skills, including interpersonal communication skills, negotiation skills and influencing skills

Successful project managers are managers who practice both strong management skills and effective leadership skills. Leadership skills are not the same as management skills. Strong management skills can be gained through experience and practice. Leadership skills can be learned and leadership qualities can be developed. Effective leaders develop new leadership skills to complement those that made them successful as managers.

This presentation focuses on leadership competencies required for project managers to manage their teams effectively and deliver projects successfully. We will cover the differences between project management and leadership, the different leadership styles for project managers and when to utilize each leadership style. Participants will learn about practicing leadership skills in managing projects, including interpersonal communication skills, negotiation skills and influencing skills, as well as the most basic leadership competencies in motivating and inspiring teams.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Richard G Larson, PMP, CBAP; PMP, CBAP Elizabeth Larson

Scope creep is the most dreaded thing that can happen on a project. This presentation covers the five most common causes of scope creep and what project professionals (project managers and business analysts) can do about it. You will learn three to four industry-standard and realistic solutions for each cause.

Learning Objectives:

• List the top five reasons for scope creep on projects and their causes.
• Describe at least one solution per cause that will work in your environment.
• Discover how project managers and business analysts can work effectively together to manage scope.

Scope creep is the most dreaded thing that can happen on a project. Most projects seem to suffer from it and both project teams and stakeholders are consistently frustrated by it. Why does an effective means of controlling scope creep seem to elude us?

This presentation covers the five most common causes of scope creep and what project professionals (project managers and business analysts) can do about it. Problems and their symptoms are presented from the standpoint of a project sponsor and solutions are presented from the project team's perspective. This unique combination provides attendees new insights and ways of controlling scope that can be applied to any type or size of project.

The five causes involve scope definition, scope management, the structure of product requirements, lack of sponsorship and project length. For each cause, the presentation explores the various ways in which it contributes to scope creep. In addition, the presentation gives attendees three to four industry standard and realistic solutions for each cause. Solutions cover such things as the project charter, scope statement, scope management plan and requirements management plan and framework. Plus, specific tips and recommendations for controlling scope based on project lessons learned are also offered.

The topic has something for all levels of experience. Some of the causes and solutions may be known to experienced practitioners and the presentation serves as a powerful refresher on how to control scope creep. You will also learn several tips that you can use immediately. For newer project professionals, this presentation is an excellent introduction to controlling scope creep.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Lowell D Dye

Every organization, regardless of its size, must select projects that contribute to its success. Since every project requires an investment of time, people, equipment, materials and money, having a sound foundation for making project decisions is critical. This presentation addresses seven core competencies that contribute to an organization's success.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the seven core competencies that contribute to a project's success.
• Apply the seven core competencies to strengthen their organization's business case and commercialization/ launch strategy.
• Better integrate business and market components into the organization's portfolio management process.

Companies undertake projects for many reasons - market demand, customer request, changes within the industry, regulatory or legal compliance, societal obligation, etc. - all of which are driven by an underlying business reason. Regardless of the reason, every project requires an investment of time, people, equipment, materials and money. Toward that end, corporate investment in project management tools and processes has increased over the past several years in attempts to make better project decisions.

Project management discipline encourages that every project be supported by a business case that clearly documents the justification for undertaking the initiative. Some organizations spend a significant amount of time, perhaps even weeks or months, researching and analyzing the potential impact of the project or projects they are considering, all with the expectation that it will increase their probability of success. A typical business case addresses in broad terms two major elements – an analysis of alternatives and an economic analysis of each alternative – and is usually communicated in terms of the costs and benefits expected.

However, there are seven elements that if considered with every project, whether internally or externally driven, will contribute to the organization's project decision making process. The seven elements (7 Cs) are: customers, competitors, capabilities, capital, channels, communication and coordination.

Every organization, regardless of how large or small, must assess itself against these core competencies and how closely each potential project fits within these competencies. This paper will address each of these competencies and their impact of project success.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Alan K Roit, MA, PMP

Using PMI’s program management standard, this presentation will propose some useful constructs for determining how a PMO program can operate in federal civilian agencies. The presentation will show how the PMO “program” can provide shared services in the form of unique projects for training, mentoring, planning, information dissemination and oversight.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Scotty C DeClue; Jesse DeClue

The premise sounds simple but many projects fail or are perceived as poorly managed because proper cost estimates were not developed early in the project. Fixed price contracts are not properly estimated because the project manager wants the project to be approved and wants to keep the budget down. Then, halfway through the project, the actual durations of the activities are realized and, as the costs go up, the project is considered a failure.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the value of developing effective budget estimates early instead of just guessing.
• Convince their management that hiring consultants to perform a value engineer analysis is an effective technique to budget properly.
• Reduce the perception that projects fail because of cost overruns, when the project quality was delivered on schedule.

Engineers early cost less than attorneys later. The premise sounds simple, but many projects fail or are perceived as poorly managed because proper cost estimates were not developed early in the project. Fixed price contracts are not properly estimated because the project manager wants the project to be approved and wants to keep the budget down. Then, halfway through the project, the actual durations of the activities are realized and as the costs go up, the project is considered a failure.

At the Robinson Nuclear Plant, owned by Progress Energy, the project manager contracted with a design firm and then used a time and materials contract with the installer to assist designing the main transformer replacement, including GSU transformer fabrication, installation and heavy hauling as well as fire suppression, fire wall design and installation, prior to receiving a cost estimate for the installation.

The PM also contracted other industry professionals to perform a value engineer review of the scope, schedule, strategy, risk identification and cost estimates. During this presentation, Progress Energy, Enercon, Siemens and the value engineer team will discuss their role in ensuring the project is properly estimated early to save litigation and/or claims later.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Andrew M Wood

If you have had multiple projects, many of which are underperforming, then this session will address what one state government department did to get these projects, and all future projects, back on track and meet the state government's mandated performance. Examples are in infrastructure construction.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn an approach to tackling underperforming projects and getting them back on track.
• Determine how long an exercise of this nature may take and what resources are involved.
• Pick up a number of answers to problems they face and adapt them to their business.

The state governor set targets that all projects be delivered within 90 percent of scope, budget and schedule. The forty seven projects being run for the Rail & Marine Office were falling far short of this target and the department was being criticized for this failure.

Using the whole project team of 12 people, an exercise was mounted to first assess the causes and then develop solutions for these failures. Knowing that the project managers themselves had experienced all the problems, it became an example of linking their knowledge to skills in creative problem solving to develop a methodology to correct the issues.

Over a 12-month period, meeting for two hours every two weeks, we generated: 76 Causes for failure; 326 potential solutions generated; and 181 action steps adopted.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Michael W Evans

In our engagements at clients, we often get asked this simple question: how do your teams get so much done compared to my teams? In other words, how do you achieve the velocity that we aspire to in our internal IT organizations? Clients think they are doing the right things the right way, but at the and of the day they see only nominal improvement in delivering their services to the business.

In this session, we will share with you some of the common hurdles our clients face and the things they have done to overcome some of those hurdles. Additionally, we'll discuss how you can apply these concepts to your own personal performance as you strive to maximize your contributions. We'll also share with you some of the things we do at Pariveda Solutions that help to equip us to perform well in our client settings, often under greater scrutiny than the client IT organization because of the costs associated with using professional services firms.

Learning Objectives:

• Look for ways to improve their team's velocity.
• Identify aspects of their own individual goals and performance that might be adjusted to improve their individual contribution.

In our engagements at clients, we often get asked this simple question: how do your teams get so much done compared to my teams? In other words, how do you achieve the velocity that we aspire to in our internal IT organizations? Clients think they are doing the right things the right way, but at the and of the day they see only nominal improvement in delivering their services to the business.

In this session, we will share with you some of the common hurdles our clients face as well as things they have done to overcome some of those hurdles. Additionally, we'll discuss how you can apply these concepts to your own personal performance as you strive to maximize your contributions. We'll also share with you some of the things we do at Pariveda Solutions that help to equip us to perform well in our client settings, often under greater scrutiny than the client IT organization because of the costs associated with using professional services firms.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Betsy Redden; Frank Schettini

PMI has enhanced the way credential holders can report Professional Development Units (PDUs) with the release of the new Continuing Certification Requirements System (CCRS). If you are a credential holder, or thinking of becoming one, understanding how to obtain and report PDUs is critical. This session will give you an understanding of how to earn PDUs, explaining all the PDU categories with ideas for earning PDUs, plus a hands-on look at navigating through the new CCR System that is used to report PDUs.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Éamonn V Kelly, MBA, PMP, PMI-SP

Clients often ask for projects to be completed earlier than what was originally envisaged with a minimum impact on the overall cost. Learn a failsafe approach to crashing a project giving you, the project manager, the confidence to offer alternative cost and time scenarios to the client.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the basic sequence of works necessary to produce a precedence diagram;
• Appreciate the basic mechanics of scheduling using the critical path method (CPM);
• Generate and execute crash scenarios; and
• Understand the process for generating and presenting trade-off scenarios.

Project management is about optimizing time, cost and quality performance on projects. These three variables are intrinsically linked. Changes in requirements of these variables frequently occur and the project manager has to be able to re-plan the project accordingly and provide revised estimates for the linked variables.

In practice, the most common requirement for project re-planning calculations concerns time and cost. Clients often ask for projects to be speeded up and need to know how much of an increase in speed is possible as well as what it will cost.

The analysis and execution of this time change, and its attendant impact on cost, is commonly known as crash analysis. In crash analysis, a project manager offers replanning advice based on the functional relationship between time and cost. The objective is to look at that relationship for the process concerned and to generate a curve showing alternative cost and time scenarios. The client can look at this curve and can see how much it will cost to meet a range of different time options.

This paper will outline “how to” crash a project schedule effectively.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Nadim K Nassar, PhD, PEng., PMP

This presentation proposes a consistent and quantitative project performance evaluation model that is applicable to any project in the construction industry. It presents the eight project performance indices and explains the quantification of each index. It also describes the quantification process of the overall project performance index using an AHP Model.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Lyssa Adkins

On an agile team, we seek excellence and we know that conflicts arise one after the other and that harmony and disharmony are both normal. Navigating conflict is our new model wherein we use conflict as a catapult to high performance. Come find out how.

Learning Objectives:

• Be able to use a common sense and human-centered conflict framework to dispassionately see what is truly happening when an agile team is in conflict.
• Learn appropriate response modes to conflict, both for themselves and for their teams.
• Learn how carrying complaints undermines the very foundation of agile and experience an alternate way of dealing with team members who complain about others and ask for help.

We were warned this would happen. In their foundational work, Agile Software Development with Scrum, Ken Schwaber and Mike Beedle told us to expect it. Under the heading of “Respect” in the discussion of scrum values, they said to expect conflict. They said that the very nature of people being together, all with different backgrounds and perspectives, would bring it out. Anyone who has spent solid time with a collocated agile team can attest to this. Conflict happens.

In her book Collaboration Explained, Jean Tabaka tells us that one of the hallmarks of highly collaborative (read: high performance) teams is that they live in a world of constant constructive disagreement. That sounds like conflict to me. Or, at least, some brand of conflict made over for constructive use.

Turning conflict to constructive disagreement is the core of this presentation. That's why it is named “Navigating Conflict ...” rather than some of the more common titles in the domain such as “Managing Conflict”, “Conflict Resolution” or &ldlquo;Mediation”. These are all modes that view conflict as a problem to be solved with harmony as the end game. On an agile team, we seek excellence and we know that conflicts arise one after the other and that harmony and disharmony are both normal. Navigating conflict is our new model wherein we use conflict as a catapult to high performance.

Monday, 12 October
4:00 PM–5:15 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Felipe Meléndez

Learn how to face your project threats successfully using a risk management methodology applied to engineering and operations. Make decisions appropriate with probability and an impact matrix with escalation system. Create a risk culture in your company through our lessons learned obtained in a project management methodology implemented in the oil wells drilling.

Learning Objectives:

• Face the threats of your project´s objectives in a systematic and effective manner.
• Know a risk management methodology applied to engineering and operation.
• Understand the importance of having a risk manager role in your project.
• Make decisions more appropriate using a probability and impact matrix with escalation system.

We live in a world full of uncertainty, which requires permanent changes. When we select a project we make the decision to face all the threats and opportunities. We face a difficult situation; companies want to be more profitable but they are not very attentive to risks. Risk management culture lacks so that throughout the project a great quantity of problems appear that could have been foreseen. We do not have time to identify a risk but to resolve a problem we invest the necessary time and cost to solve it; this makes the project not end on time and the costs rise.

In oil wells drilling the application of PMBOK Guide^® good practices has improved. However, when operation risks occur they have a very high cost. The presentation will show a practical risk management methodology, easy to use, aligned to the petroleum industry. Our methodology adapts to different types of oil wells drilling projects of Peruvian forest. We will show detailed processes and risk register templates that integrate the management and engineering risks.

We will focus on risk identification, evaluation and application of probability and impact matrix, as well as activities to control risks associated with operations and engineering. The role of the risk manager is necessary in the petroleum industry. As someone near to the operations they realize risks more effectively and generate more risk culture to the project team members, including the sellers that make the operation. Finally, we will introduce the learned lessons of our experiences in the oil wells drilling.

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Glenn W Strausser, MBA, PMP, SSBB, MBB, CQE, MSP, CMQ/OE, OPM3 Assessor/Consultant; Stephen Barney

Changing the business: The use of formal program management methodologies such as PMI's The Standard for Program Management and OGC's Managing Successful Programmes to improve business change will be discussed. How to implement and use these standards in an organization will be discussed and lessons learned shared.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand relevant standards for program management
• Understand how to apply relevant standards to optimize business change efforts

The use of formal program management methodologies such as PMI's The Standard for Program Management and OGC's Managing Successful Programmes standard to improve business change will be discussed. How to implement and use these standards in an organization will be discussed and lessons learned shared.

Canceled

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Glenn R Brule; Amy Nichols, PMP

Requirements management and development will be discussed as offering an improved means to achieve overall business goals. This metrics-based approach for determining the cost and organizational impacts of requirements will be explored for better planning, management and defining of requirements upfront so that pennies saved will be pennies earned.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand which components need to be measured in a project that will demonstrate value and support the organization's objectives.
• Know techniques and metrics with which to measure the project components.
• Understand the overall impact of a project from an organizational, project and goods/services perspective.

Project managers know that requirements are essential to improving a process to increase efficiency. Fully leveraging requirements will also help avoid serious headaches during the implementation or post-deployment phase by reducing or eliminating inferior components that can negatively affect other project requirements. Requirements management and development (RMD) is a new means to assess and evaluate the organizational impact and cost impact that requirements will bring to a project. RMD is still in the adoption phase, and Glenn Brule and Amy Nichols will share their experience and first-hand knowledge of this leading edge technique.

RMD provides quality metrics that project and portfolio managers can use to assess the dollar, performance and feasibility value of each project component. This allows managers to balance and prioritize requirements and ensure they are traceable back to the overall business goal. This heightened awareness around quality and level of detail will enable a fine-tuned approach that attendees can implement in their own organizations to improve project and portfolio performance.

Presenters will address RMD implementation in the organization from the top level to portfolio, program and project levels. It will show how project managers and business analysts can collaboratively use RMD to determine: maturity and process metrics; number of change requests and their cost; and post-deployment operational costs.

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Frank R Manella, MBA, PMP, CPM; Michael A. Thompson, MBA, PMP

This lecture reviews methods and tools used to analyze a portfolio of projects to seek out excellence based on two key corporate success metrics: return on investment and project duration. Output from the analysis includes a break out of best practices categorized using the PMBOK Guide^®.

Learning Objectives:

• Analyze a portfolio of projects for best practices.
• Develop surveys and focus groups to determine common project success factors and validate the data.
• Develop action items to leverage best practices on future projects.

Have you ever wondered why certain projects in your portfolio were more successful than others? Have you been able to harvest the best practices from these “EXCELLENT” projects and apply them to your future projects? This lecture reviews methods and tools used to analyze a portfolio of projects to seek out excellence based on two success metrics: return on investment and project duration. Output from the analysis includes a break out of best practices categorized using the PMBOK Guide^®. Actual case study data is provided in order to provide a context for the use of these methods and tools.

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Brian Turner, MPA; Monica Croy

Learning Objectives:

• Understand common perspectives on how executives approach decision making for projects that are in crisis.
• Learn strategies to help the executive team think through the key decisions that need to be made in order to get the project turned around.
• Understand what roles the project manager must play in the decision making process to effectively evaluate the go forward position of the project.

When facing a high risk project headed toward failure, the accomplished project leader provides unbiased leadership to address root cause, rebuild stakeholder and team support to rally around the common good, and envision a set of solutions that will move the project forward.

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Mario Arlt, MS, PMP

Learning Objectives:

• Develop a PPM project checklist
• Understand the “Strategic Gap” and “Project Gap” of a PPM
• Understand the approach for setting up an efficient and effective measurement process for both portfolio outcome and portfolio management process

Setting project portfolio management (PPM) process on the correct path from day one will be addressed. Critical activities to be performed initially will be emphasized including managing the PPM implementation as a project, gaining and sustaining commitment, addressing strategic and project gaps, choosing suitable project selection methods and measurement.

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: George “Tres” Roeder, MBA, PMP

Learning Objectives:

• Understand importance of people skills to project success
• Learn a framework for better people skills
• Integrate people skills into project management tool kit / A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide)

Successful project managers need more than great technical skills. They need to have A Sixth Sense for Project Management^® and develop Sixth Sense skills. This means having skills for self-awareness and situational awareness, self-confidence and leadership, great communication skills to build genuine buy-in within the team and skills to build/maintain executive relationships.

Tres Roeder will discuss the emergence of people skills as a critical component of every project manager’s toolkit. A growing body of knowledge suggests that good structural skills and technical capabilities are not enough. PMI’s newest edition of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) includes the addition of Appendix G, which acknowledges the importance of these interpersonal skills in the practice of project management. Good people skills help you to build better relationships, communicate more effectively and gain confidence and respect. Practicing Sixth Sense skills will help you personally and professionally.

You will enjoy Mr. Roeder’s engaging style as he integrates cutting-edge science, personal stories and expertise from a variety of disciplines into his presentation. You will learn what it means to have A Sixth Sense for Project Management^® and how it can help you. You’ll also learn six things you can do immediately to begin the journey towards Sixth Sense skills. Finally, session participants will learn how to develop a personal action plan to gain the Sixth Sense skills.

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Paul Burek

Often, teams make the mistake of jumping straight to proposal generation before defining and understanding their project needs. During this presentation, we will share techniques for clearly defining project needs, building RFPs that remove the guess work for vendors and closing the gap between vendor proposals and true project needs.

Learning Objectives:
In this course participants will be able to:

• Understand why RFP efforts often fail and what the characteristics are of successful RFP efforts
• Identify the components of the RFP life cycle
• Clearly identify project needs in the form of business requirements
• Understand the 7 components of the complete RFP anatomy
• Utilize techniques for evaluating vendor responses
• Understand how to recognize and close gaps between proposed vendor solutions and the project needs

Purchasing a project solution versus building one internally to avoid the cost and time of re-inventing the wheel is becoming more common on projects. Selecting a vendor through a Request For Proposal (RFP) process doesn't always guarantee that the solution the vendor proposed really meets the project's needs and stakeholder's expectations.

Project teams often make the mistake of jumping straight to the proposal generation and procurement portion of their project life cycle before clearly defining and understanding the project needs. The resulting RFP sent to vendors is vague, failing to communicate the specific requirements the vendor needs to base their proposed solution on. Vendors are left with little choice – except to make many assumptions on what they think the project's needs are or they try to dictate what the project's needs should be based on what their solution can provide. Almost any vendor solution appears to adequately address the need because the project requirements are so vague.

During this presentation, we will share techniques for clearly defining project needs and building an RFP that removes the guess work for vendors. We will also describe how to reduce the subjectivity of the project team's evaluation of the vendor's responses. Additionally we will present techniques for identifying and closing the gap between what the vendor initially proposes and the true needs of the project.

Canceled

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Michael B. Rogalski, PE, PMP

The Herbert Hoover Dike major rehabilitation is a nationwide priority for the Corps of Engineers with many activities ongoing in parallel with project team members spread throughout the world. The project presents its challenges and opportunities in the day-to-day management and strategies to keep all activities moving forward.

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Ernest Baker, PMP

This session will cover 10 typical, but dangerous, ideas to which project managers are often subjected or fall victim. Learn how to recognize and understand these ideas and, more importantly, learn the steps that you can take to combat them on your project.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize when a project stakeholder has a potentially bothersome idea regarding a project.
• Combat dangerous ideas and assumptions about project management, and choose tactics to re-educate stakeholders.
• Discover methods for engaging project stakeholders, and setting appropriate expectations for the project.

Project mangers often find themselves on the wrong end of a lot misconceptions about project management. This session will deal with ten of these misconceptions and explain the potential danger or exposure that these ideas contain. Case studies and examples will be used to illustrate the ideas and recommendations will be made on how to combat these ideas should they creep into, or affect, your project.

Canceled

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Alex S Brown, PMP IPMA-C

An exploration of the meaning and significance of projects, both for a project manager's personal mission as well as the organizational mission and vision. An inspirational and practical talk about how to view project success and failure in the larger context of your life and your whole organization.

Learning Objectives:

• Will be inspired to re-examine their current and future projects, considering the larger impact of their work.
• Will have examples of ethical and practical implications of projects, helping them understand that “success” is based on more than scope, time and budget.
• Will have tools and examples to be able to explain the meaning of their projects in relation to their organization and their personal lives.

All projects have meaning to someone. Whether they are tactical, strategic, large, small or even fraudulent, there is meaningful work to be done in running them and guiding them well. The recent fascination of project management experts with strategy and strategic alignment is in many ways a search for higher meaning in project work. This session will help you identify and explain the meaning of your projects. It will draw on personal and well-known examples to answer questions like:

• what makes a project a success;
• can we boast about a project, even if it “fails;” and
• how does the work of project management contribute to our personal sense of mission and our organization's mission and vision?

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Jim De Piante

Our happiness depends on our ability to interpret and understand the events of our lives in a satisfying way. Historically, the ladder has served as a model by which we interpret the events of our careers. It is a rather bleak model and can't help but leave us dissatisfied and unhappy. The ladder is being replaced by the compost pile as the model of choice. The compost pile is organic. It is alive. It is about growth. It is about possibilities.

Learning Objectives:

• Be able to articulate the compost pile model of career success in terms of personal growth.
• Resolve to adequately plan for growth and add material to their own heap.
• Cultivate relationships, spread the message and share this new model with others.

Career ladders are out. Compost piles are in. Come find out why. Leave with a new and refreshing view of career success and how to achieve it.

Historically, the ladder has stood as a metaphor for career success. Why? Because ladders let you climb, one rung at a time, to the heights you aspire to achieve. But ladders have problems: they're unstable; they're dangerous; there's only room for one person at a time on a ladder; and, of course, ladders also have long-standing associations with bad luck.

The compost pile offers a much more robust model, a model adapted to changing times and to the new millennium. The compost pile is a model of growth, of sharing, of happiness. It is a way of understanding career success in organic terms; where the accumulation of your life's (decomposed) experiences provides a broad and fertile base on which to cultivate and accumulate new and ever more valuable experiences. The pile grows ever higher, without losing stability.

Come hear poignant stories of career growth, death, decay and rebirth. Add to your pile.

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Bruce A Woerner, MS, PMP

Learning Objectives:

• Utilize select Six Sigma tools on IT projects.
• Leverage the Six Sigma DMAIC process to support benefits realization on IT projects.
• Understand the power of Six Sigma data to influence stakeholders

Six Sigma methodologies may appear intimidating to the information technology project manager. They don't have to be. The author, a seasoned information technology (IT) project manager, completed his first Six Sigma project using the Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC) approach and discusses key tools discovered. A key learning from this project was that the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology has aspects of benefits realization. While stakeholder management and understanding what the sponsors are saying is important on most projects, it is particularly important when using Six Sigma DMAIC methodology to improve an existing process.

After introducing Six Sigma and benefits realization, the author establishes that Six Sigma tools can and should exist in the PM's tool chest. Using a travel metaphor, the author's first hand experience with Six Sigma is presented. The focus is on the use of key Six Sigma tools for IT projects. Once the tool discussion is complete, the paper narrows to the author's key discovery; Six Sigma data is powerful and can be a differentiator in benefits realization.

By listening to the voice of the customer (VOC) and determining critical to quality (CTQ) items during the define phase the benefits can be articulated. As data is gathered during measure, connections can be made with the CTQ items. The benefits realization occurs organically throughout the DMAIC process and is addressed in each tollgate. Six Sigma tools can be used in a non-manufacturing environment with the well established techniques advocated in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) to better run IT projects and garner stakeholder support throughout the project. The author advocates that IT PM professionals gain exposure to Six Sigma and benefits realization.

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Noah Rabinowitz

In a dynamic and interactive session, participants will learn how to take a proactive, leading role in developing sources of revenue by employing proven methodologies and approaches to managing projects that earns higher levels of client satisfaction and engagement.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the role of PMs in fostering effective client relationships.
• Learn a suite of simple, implementable tools that PMs can readily use to build trust and credibility with clients and build long-term relationships.
• Acquire a vision for how project management can serve to positively differentiate your firm, both in terms of project execution and in terms of client satisfaction and loyalty.
• Engage in a proactive process for uncovering new or hidden project opportunities with clients, allowing the PM to actually address a broader range of client business problems and needs.

Many project managers erroneously believe that a well-managed, well-executed project equates to a satisfied, pleased client and to the opportunity to execute the next project. Experienced PMs have learned the hard way that despite delivering a technically perfect project, the client felt less than satisfied and occasionally angry. PMs must constantly be creating a positive relationship with the client and position their organization to either get the next opportunity with that client, or the “golden referral.” As the first ones to hear of problems, PMs are the team members with the most direct and sustained client contact.

The role of the PM is crucial to creating positive differentiation that leads directly to additional and new sources of revenue, to new sales opportunities and to sustainable, repeat business. Explanations for why clients do not respond well to effective project delivery tend to be based on often-held notions that clients set unreasonable and even irrational expectations. PMs sometimes feel that client expectations were created by sales or marketing people who over-promised and under-delivered.

This presentation challenges these beliefs and focuses on the role of the project manager in furthering sales and business development opportunities. As a firm's leader for delivery, the project manager actually sets the tone and frames the context for future sales and revenue opportunities with the client. We will outline a systematic approach that PMs can employ to build greater levels of trust and credibility through proactive client-focused project management that fosters higher levels of client satisfaction and actually serves to build the client relationship in ways that produce both continuing and new business revenues.

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Lisa A DiTullio

No project can succeed without a project team. More likely than not, your project will also require a number of participants from different areas within your organization. It's also highly likely you will need to involve parties from external agencies, whether they are consultants or vendors. Regardless of whom and how many you have on your team, you cannot succeed in meeting deliverables and deadlines unless you act as a high-functioning team. Focusing on simple techniques to enhance team behavior and group dynamics, this seminar reveals easy-to-adopt practices to enhance team members' awareness and accountability resulting in improved decisions, efficiency and business results.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the value of teamwork and the link to business outcomes.
• Be able to discuss how the “right” set of behaviors can support productive teamwork.
• Learn how to introduce easy methods to improve team dynamics and reduce conflict.

This presentation guides participants through an easy exercise which will introduce operating norms for team members. These norms support productive teamwork in a healthy manner and supports virtual team relationships.

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Thomas Juli, PhD, PMP

Learning Objectives:

• Involve a team to re-align a project.
• Use a simple yet powerful four-step framework for re-aligning projects.
• Transfer lessons learned from project rescues to aligning projects properly from project initiation to closure.

We all dream of projects where objectives are clearly defined and mutually understood. Projects where every team member knows which role to play, which responsibilities to fill, when performance is daily routine, where constructive feedback is second nature, lessons learned are shared across teams, and last but not least, where teams deliver results, on time and on budget.

Way too often this stays a dream. The opposite may be the case: The scope is undefined, stakeholders’ expectations are not aligned, roles and responsibilities only vaguely defined but not agreed, antagonism and distrust widespread, isolated and insular work practices dominate actual team work, and deliverables, are late and/or of poor quality. The big question is how to get out of this mess, how to re-align the project. Regardless where and how you start this mission, it should be clear that a project manager alone could not accomplish it. It takes a team to do so.

The lecture explains how the project manager can involve his team to re-align a project gone astray. It starts out with a look at the PMBOK^® Guide and its ideas and guidelines to re-align a project. Numerous other approaches exist, too, as the lecture will sketch. Alas, the author is skeptical of those approaches because they often lack the simplicity and practicality a team needs to re-align a project. He will propose a simple yet powerful and effective 3-step approach to project recovery. He will present practical tools, methods and exercises for each of the steps that can help the recovery team to quickly gain ground.

The lecture concludes with a discussion of what we can learn from project re-alignments. The author will point out how and where to apply lessons learned from project recoveries in aligning projects properly from project initiation to closure.Preliminary material of this lecture and an interactive forum are available at http://thomasjuli.wordpress.com/conferences/.

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Kent J Crawford

Resource management challenges are the top issues facing project management today, according to recent Center for Business Practices research. This presentation will help you assess resource management in your organization, identify the skills and roles key to your success, and involve the PMO in improving resource management across the organization.

Learning Objectives:

• Uncover the skills, roles, resources and resource bottlenecks that currently reside within the organization.
• Develop a simple categorization structure that will facilitate resource allocation decisions across the organization.
• Understand the project management office's (PMO's) role in simplifying this process.

Resource management challenges are the top issues facing project management today, according to recent Center for Business Practices research. Resource shortages and conflicts can plague your ability to deliver. Understanding the resource capacity and skill sets that exist within your organization gives you the ability to balance demand and apply the right resources at the right time. How can you obtain, structure and analyze your resource management information and practices to use your talent effectively and streamline resource deployment?

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Todd MacAdam

Despite an increasing need for speed and efficiency, much of the effort expended by project teams is often wasteful. In many cases, only one hour in a team member's eight-hour workday is actually spent directly creating value for their customers. Learn a set of leading edge, practical tools for slashing waste and increasing speed and efficiency.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify non-value added tasks and wasteful work habits in any project.
• Dramatically reduce project completion timelines and improve resource utilization by eliminating non-value added tasks.
• Reduce non-recurring project costs.

The same principles that have been applied in manufacturing to give firms such as Toyota an incredible competitive advantage can be applied to project management. Learn a set of leading edge, practical tools that can slash project waste and increase speed and efficiency of project completion. These tools enable dramatic reductions in project schedules while freeing up valuable resources for additional project work. Firms that have embraced these practical, waste-eliminating tools have reported up to 50 percent reduction in project schedules, dramatic improvements in project performance and enhanced customer satisfaction.

Tuesday, 13 October
8:15 AM–9:30 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Michelle Brunswick; James Pennypacker

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: David A Hillson

Making risky and important decisions in groups is hard and there are many influences. Recent research into the “triple strand” of conscious, subconscious and affective factors has revealed the main drivers of group behavior in these situations. Understanding and managing these drivers allows groups to make good decisions – find out how.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the “triple strand” of influences on group decision-making.
• Recognize the main drivers of group behavior in situations perceived to be risky and important.
• Understand how to use an emotional literacy approach to manage group risk attitude.

There are many influences when groups make decisions, especially when the decision is perceived to be both risky and important. These influences can be summarized in the “triple strand” of conscious, subconscious and affective factors. This presentation reports on recent research which has revealed the main drivers of group behavior in these situations. An expanded emotional literacy framework is proposed to enable groups to make good decisions by understanding and managing the underlying influences on group risk attitude.

Canceled

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Lynda M Bourne; David Lord

This paper describes an OPM3 ProductSuite assessment and “improvement” project undertaken by Parmalat, one of Australia's major dairy food manufacturers. This paper describes the project's business drivers, the advantages of using OPM3 ProductSuite, the assessment and improvement planning processes, the implementation phase and the benefits realized from the process improvement initiatives.

Learning Objectives:

• Attendees will understand the key differences between OPM3 on-line and OPM3 ProductSuite and the improvements inherent in OPM3 v2.
• Attendees will understand the key steps involved in undertaking a successful OPM3 assessment and in developing a realistic improvement plan.
• Attendees will appreciate the extent of effort needed to successfully implement and embed improvements in an organization's culture, including the critical role of a PMO.
• The benefits of using OPM3 ProductSuite to enhance the competitive position of an organisation will be appreciated, together with an understanding of the resources and commitment needed to successfully implement the planned improvements.

This paper describes the first complete OPM3 ProductSuite assessment and “improvement” project undertaken in Australia, for Parmalat Australia. Parmalat is an Italian food group active in milk, dairy products and fruit-based beverages. The assessed organization, Parmalat Australia Ltd, specializes in the production of branded cream, milk and other fresh dairy products and is one of the major food manufacturers in Australia.

The OPM3 ProductSuite assessment and improvement planning was undertaken by the first author, a PMI Certified OPM3 Assessor^® and PMI Certified OPM3 Consultant^®, at the request of the second author, the managing director of Parmalat Australia Ltd. All areas of the business were assessed including manufacturing, IT, sales & marketing and new product development.

This paper describes the business drivers that led to the commissioning of the improvement project; it then discusses the advantages of using OPM3 ProductSuite for this type of business-wide initiative, and the assessment and improvement planning phases of the project. Following acceptance of the improvement plan, the paper considers the critical factors involved in establishing a strong project team to implement the agreed process improvements and the work needed to embed the changed ways of working into the organization's culture.

The paper concludes by identifying the lessons learned from this successful program, quantifies the benefits realized and describes the ongoing nature of this initiative to enhance the competitive position of Parmalat Australia Ltd, to ensure it remains the “cream of the crop” when compared to other dairy manufactures in Australasia.

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Patrick E Murray; William Grossmann; Bryan Moser

Today's aerospace products are increasingly complex and developed by globally distributed teams. The challenge is to organize, direct and manage these teams' interactions, dependencies and priorities during the program. Shared situational awareness and sustainable, visual tools keep the teams' focus on real progress, coordination overhead and product risk throughout.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the systemic ramifications to cost, schedule and risk of distributed teams and supply chain, especially due to coordination burdens of a program.
• Be aware of possible responses to shifting priorities caused by distributed teams during a program.
• Understand the benefits of early, high level architectural design of the program and the way that team structures fall across subsystem boundaries.

Today's aerospace products are more complex while being developed by teams located across the globe. The challenge is to optimally organize, direct and manage these teams, their interactions, dependencies and their priorities during the program. The complexity of these systems and multiple layers of system architecture make it difficult for internal and external teams to develop and maintain a shared situational awareness of the total product architecture, project schedule and most significant risks. Traditional detailed WBS and earned value management approaches often exacerbate rather than help performance under complexity.

In this paper we show a simulation and visualization approach to promote shared situational awareness. Sustainable, visual tools allow teams to keeps their focus on real progress, coordination overhead and systemic product risk throughout.

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Oscar de Lucio, MBA, PMP

Beyond the old PMO, the Enterprise Project/Program/Portfolio Management Office (EP3MO) is a new strategic asset that delivers superior value to organizations. This session will be focused on discussing the building blocks of a modern EP3MO and how to deliver this new capability to an organization.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the evolution of the Project Management Offices (how we got here) and what is different today (what is new today) that allows enhanced value to be delivered through the EP3MO.
• Describe the building blocks of the new Enterprise Project/Program/Portfolio Office (EP3MO), including areas such as the EP3MO service catalogue, project management maturity growth, strategic roadmap planning, portfolio business value prioritization, portfolio optimization, capacity and resource management, and management of the investment framework.
• Get it done in an organization. Facing cultural aspects and ensuring the correct organizational integration for a sustained EP3MO value delivery.

The project management office (PMO) has evolved consistently during the last three decades and rapidly during the last five years to become a new strategic asset for organizational business performance: the Enterprise Project/Program/Portfolio Management Office (EP3MO). This session will explore how the classic project office and PMO have evolved over the years into the current strategic enterprise portfolio offices. The focus will be on reviewing what superior value the EP3MO can deliver today for organizations and how challenges can be overcome to grow the value and expand the role of a modern project and portfolio office.

Specific topics covered during this presentation include:

• How we got here: The evolution of the project management discipline over the decades and the associated changing role of the PMO.
• What is new today: Insights into the new possibilities and discussion on how project management maturity, technologies, business needs and market realities pose an opportunity for the EP3MO to deliver superior value for organizations.
• The new building blocks: Components of the new EP3MO, from portfolio strategic alignment to resource capacity management and cultural leadership.
• How to get it done: Overcoming challenges and uncovering opportunities with a maturity roadmap; finding the right path for an organization to build superior project and portfolio capabilities in a challenging environment.

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Loredana Abramo, MS, EE, PMP; Dannielle Holder

Learning Objectives:

• Determine the areas of greatest impact for your PMO
• Tailor program governance to enable effective decision makingengage key stakeholders to improve information flow

Ever felt like your Program Management Office (PMO) is not performing to its greatest potential? We propose a way to tailor the structure and functions of your PMO so that it can provide the best governance, while meeting your program’s requirements.

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Stephen J. Garfein, MBA, PMP

Learning Objectives:

• Be able to apply the The Standard for Portfolio Management—Second Edition to assist your organization to expand its strategic throughput.
• Be able to apply the Ten Principles for Expanding Strategic Throughput to help your organization close the gap between its stated strategy and the actual results it achieves by employing a closed-loop strategic portfolio management process.
• Gain a better understanding of senior executive perspectives and what they want from their portfolio, program and project managers.

This presentation explores strategic throughput as a measure of how well an organization translates strategy into results using a closed-loop, Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) model. Taking a top-down, executive perspective of overall performance, this SPM model is based on the newly revised The Standard for Portfolio Management—Second Edition.

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Mark L Davison

An engaging presentation of the challenges of managing external and internal consultants on projects. Internal consultants are embedded in the hierarchy and politics of their organizations, while external consultants are not. Conflicts are bound to occur. This presentation will discuss the differences between external and internal consultants, expectations, resistance and strategies for success.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the differences between how external and internal consultants work.
• Appreciate the different expectations project participants and leaders may have.
• Use the strategies discussed to achieve success.

This is an engaging presentation of the practical issues and challenges we as project managers face working with external and internal consultants on our projects. External consultants must address their roles and responsibilities from a position outside a client's organizational fabric and culture, while internal consultants are embedded in the hierarchy and politics of their organizations. Conflicts are bound to occur and may derail your project. How should they be addressed? What strategies can be employed to assure these consultants work well together? What skills are needed to manage these resources to success? Find out by attending this session.

The presentation includes: 1) the differences between external and internal consultants; 2) understanding client and management expectations; 3) dealing with resistance; and (4) strategies for successfully managing external and internal consultants.

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Curt Finch

Understanding project costs is the first step towards understanding profitability. Most managers know how profitable the company is, but few know profitability on a per-project or per-customer basis. This knowledge is necessary to develop and implement the right growth strategy. It is the difference between performing surgery with a scalpel versus a chainsaw.

Learning Objectives:

• Know which projects are profitable and how to cut the unprofitable ones with precision
• Understand labor rates, expense tracking and allocation of indirect costs
• Be able to lead the company to per-customer per-project profitability

In a recession, management often makes unwise decisions out of panic. They might cut employees or reduce spending on various programs that are good for the company. Consequently, many companies that slash costs in response to an economic recession find themselves unable to achieve top-line growth when the recession ends.

Overzealous cutting of people and projects can be avoided, or at the very least, can be performed with more intelligent precision. All that is required to handle such problems the right way are per-customer per-project profitability metrics.

Understanding project costs is the first step towards understanding profitability. Most managers know how profitable the company is in general, but few of them know how profitable it is on a per-project or per-customer basis. This level of understanding is necessary in order to develop and implement the right growth strategy. Think of it as the difference between performing surgery with a scalpel and performing it with a chainsaw.

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Jeffrey C Nuding

This lecture presents project management practices reflected in managing a critical fingerprint archive imaging project for New York state. Implementation posed several challenges: a complex procurement process; the sensitivity of the data; diverse technologies and architectures; and the need for contingency planning when procurements were delayed, necessitating alternate site planning.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn some important lessons about dealing with procurement cycle, creating a digital archive, data sensitivity, diverse technologies and architectures and contingency planning, based on experience with the SAFIS archive project.
• Learn about actual SAFIS archive project experiences which demonstrate important aspects of the PMBOK Guide^® Knowledge Areas: Project Human Resource Management, Project Risk Management and Project Communication Management.
• Gain valuable insights into project management for state government as well as project management techniques specific to developing imaging solutions for government.

This lecture presents project management practices reflected in a successful imaging project. A twenty year information technology consultant and Project Management Professional (PMP^®) relates his experience in managing a critical fingerprint archive imaging project for New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).

The expiration of a long-term warehouse lease provided a catalyst for implementing an electronic content management (ECM) digital archive for New York state's 22 million fingerprint records in Central Files, collocated in warehouse facilities. Criminal justice storage and retrieval requirements for fingerprint archives would add complexity, site re-engineering, scope and significant cost to any new warehouse lease.

DCJS assessed the grave risk posed to these unique and critical law enforcement records, due to fire, water or other damage. Loss of these records would seriously jeopardize public safety. The paper-based fingerprint records were expensive to maintain and manipulate, and poorly integrated with other critical DCJS systems and records. Creation of the digital archive achieved multiple, high pay-off objectives in risk mitigation and cost avoidance. Implementing the Statewide Automated Fingerprint Identification System (SAFIS) archive posed several challenges: a complex procurement process in a difficult economic environment; the sensitivity of the data; diverse technologies and architectures; and the need for extended contingency planning, when procurements were delayed, necessitating alternate site planning.

This presentation describes the lessons learned in managing the archive project, focusing on human resource, risk and communications management, as well as project management for state government.

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Mary Brennan; Gary R. Heerkens, PMP, CPM, CBM, CIPA,

This session presents the real-life success story of how a company rapidly transformed from having very little project management to the installation of a PMO that didn't just concern itself with doing projects better, it actually became a key partner in the business side of the company's project implementation strategy.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the key success factors and the difficulties surrounding the rapid startup and implementation of a project management system.
• Describe the improvements in business results that a company can realize through the implementation of a strategic PMO.
• Design and implement a “strategic PMO.”

American Eagle Federal Credit was experiencing poor business results based on extremely poor project results. Projects were taking 2-3 longer than projected, budgets were anywhere from 50-300 percent underestimated, and resources were over allocated and performing poorly. Missed opportunities, late deliveries and poor budget estimations were hindering the organization from being successful. The solution of implementing a PMO was not as easy as it sounds. The implementation of the PMO had to deliver much more than good project results, it had to be a critical partner in achieving business results.

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Lisamarie Babik

This year the cubicle turned 40 years old but is it time to put it out to pasture? Studies have shown that teams working in open “war rooms” are twice as productive as traditional teams. This session examines the impact open workspaces can have for your team.

Learning Objectives:

• Articulate an effective argument to their management for implementing a war room for their project.
• Determine for their selves whether or not a war room is the best environment for their project to succeed.
• Know the environmental and change management factors required to successfully implement a war room.

The benefits of working in “war rooms” has been proven in multiple studies. In one study, teams of workers that labored together for several months in specially designed “war rooms” were twice as productive as their counterparts working in traditional office arrangements. Yet, as organizations, we continue to “reward” our star programmers with private offices, far away from the rest of their team. Is this reward system undermining the success of our projects?

In some respects, as a workforce, we are really more disconnected (at least personally) than at any other point in history. Even workers whose offices are in the same location are so busy being busy, and virtually collaborating, that they often don't spend enough focused time with one another working on key issues. Rather than sequestering talent behind the closed doors of their individual offices or spreading them hither and yon in cube farms, consider the benefits of bringing them together (face-to-face) for the purposes of accomplishing something specific: your project.

There are legitimate concerns when moving to this type of work environment. Many cite “lack of privacy” and “noise” as reasons to retain private offices and cubicles. Regardless, many firms are increasily moving their workers out of their offices and cubicles into wall-less “war rooms” equipped with white boards, flip charts and central work tables. This has, in fact, long been the practice of other areas of business (sales and marketing for example) and is one of the central tenets of the new software methodology called “agile.”

This paper will examine the benefits and drawbacks to project success of teams working in “war rooms” and other types of open spaces.

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Theofanis C Giotis, MSc, PMP, MCT, MCSE; José Ângelo Pinto, MS, PMP

Conflict in project teams must be managed effectively for successful project delivery. This ability is one of the most difficult soft skills that someone can master and develop, but it is considered as a core leadership competence. Leadership through conflict management can help project teams grow and advance!

Learning Objectives:

• Understand what conflict is.
• Discover if conflict is for GOOD or for BAD.
• Separate “warranted conflict” from “Unwarranted conflict.”
• Understand the six step process for conflict resolution.
• Select one conflict strategy from the following: 1) avoiding; 2)cCollaborating; 3) competing; 4) accommodating; and 5) compromising.
• Reduce conflict in project teams.

Conflict in inevitable in project teams involving more than one person. Project managers and team members must manage conflict effectively for successful project delivery. The ability to manage conflict is considered as a core leadership competence and can help project teams grow and advance. But conflict management is one of the most difficult soft skills that someone can master and develop.

Conflict is the driving force for change. In general, conflict is divided in GOOD and BAD conflict. GOOD CONFLICT produces new ideas, solves continuous problems, gives opportunity for people to expand skills, allows creativity and improves performance. BAD CONFILCT lowers team energy or morale, reduces productivity, prevents job accomplishment, creates destructive behavior and fosters poor performance.

Conflict can also be warranted or unwarranted. Warranted conflict arises when team members DON'T agree with the stated goal. Unwarranted conflict arises when team members agree with the stated goal, but they DISAGREE about how to accomplish the stated goal. Most of the conflicts (80 percent) are unwarranted conflicts.

Conflict resolution is a six step process: 1) define problem; 2) gather data; 3) analyze data; 4) choose best solution; 5) implement solution; and 6) continue to refine the solution. Conflict ctrategies include: AVOIDING (avoid the conflict and postpone the decision), COLLABORATING (try to meet needs of all involved), COMPETING (take a firm stand and use positional power to conform to one perspective), ACCOMMODATING (give in to others) and COMPROMISING (satisfy partially everyone).

Dealing with conflict effectively allows team members to master and develop one of the most difficult soft skills. This will make “leading through conflict” an easy and must have competence!

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Michel S Thiry; Manon Deguire, PMP, PRINCE2, MSP

We will use the analogy of Roman mythology and astronomy to initiate a discussion on the differences between the role of program managers and that of project managers. In a forum, we will ask groups to analyze four specific areas: 1) leadership (stakeholder management); 2) approach: (governance); 3) strategy (benefits management); and 4) attitude (change management).

Learning Objectives:

• The key areas where program and project managers' role differ.
• How these roles differ in each of the four areas.
• How to extend their skills into a program manager's role.

In Roman mythology, Saturn is the father of Jupiter. Although he is originally good, he becomes an all powerful and cruel tyrant who eats his children. Eventually Jupiter evades him, later forcing him to release the children he earlier had swallowed and banishing him to the outer reaches of the sky.

We will use the above analogy, as well as astronomical concepts to analyze four areas that our experience and research have identified as crucial for the role of program manager and usually not covered as part of the project manager's role. We have called them LASA (leadership, approach, strategy and attitude). Using a space mission analogy, we will describe the journey from project management to program management in each topic and explain how the roles of project and program managers differ in each of these areas.

These four areas of interest are important issues in the Program Management Professional (PgMP)^® certification requirements specification in defining the program, initiating the program (covered by 1 and 3 below), planning the program, specifically scope definition and interdependencies (covered by 2) and controlling the program (covered by 4).

LASA: Four launch pads:

• Leadership (stakeholder management): Facilitating leadership as opposed to directing leadership. That would address the stakeholder management issue.
• Approach (governance): Systems view vs. performance view (learning vs. performance; different style of decision-making, etc.
• Strategy (benefits management): Strategic focus instead of product focus. That would address the benefits management issue, especially benefits vs. deliverables.
• Attitude (change management): Tolerance to ambiguity vs. cartesian anxiety. The need to be flexible because programs change along the way.

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: James Pennypacker

Learning Objectives:

• Identify value propositions to use in building a great personal or PMO brand and identify the brand stakeholders.
• Develop a brand position – how to best sell the brand to stakeholders.
• Describe the steps needed to successfully execute brand initiatives.

Your success (or your PMO’s success) depends on how others perceive the value you deliver to your organization. So how do you position brand – your capabilities, your knowledge – so others see you in the best light? Learn the steps you need to take to build a great brand.

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Richard B Sheridan

“We need to innovate!”, “We need to be lean!”, “We need to adopt agile!.” Do lean, agile organizations even need professional project managers? These questions and more are on the minds of project managers in every industry. Come to this highly interactive session to learn more about agile and its application to software design and development.

Learning Objectives:

• Be able to articulate several concepts from the PMBOK Guide^® at work in professionally managed agile software development teams including progressive elaboration, scope authorization, work authorization, schedule performance, work breakdown structure and work packages.
• Learn techniques for producing high-engagement from project sponsors throughout the entire life cycle of the project.
• Attendees will learn how to assemble a team that can expand or contract rapidly as scope decisions are made.

Innovate or die. Does professional project management make sense for Agile onnovation teams?

In this paper, Richard Sheridan, President & CEO of Menlo Innovations, a software design and development team employing an agile approach to design and development, will explore the seeming contradictions between the application of professional project management as defined by A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide), and the need for 21st century organizations to rapidly innovate in order to thrive or even just survive in a globally competitive market. Sheridan will outline how a rigorous yet agile project management system that aligns with the teachings in the PMBOK Guide^® is used to enjoy all the benefits of agile while simultaneously avoiding all the pitfalls often associated with teams who believe agile eliminates the need for professional project management.

Tuesday, 13 October
10:00 AM–11:15 AM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Timothy Jaques; Jonathon Weinstein; Beth Nolan; Elaine Bannon

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Don J Wessels, PMP; Casey Wilson

Organizations are implementing “Management by Projects” and moving to more strategic project management. Tactical project managers that work “in” the project are still needed. But so are project leaders that work “on” the project. To make this transition requires discipline on a number of fronts including asking strategic questions and stepping back to obtain a strategic perspective. What are the additional skills that the strategic project leader needs?

Learning Objectives:

• Differentiate between tactical approaches and strategic approaches to thinking.
• Describe and interpret environmental factors that influence strategic thinking.
• Assess the situation and make strategic course corrections.

Organizations continue to embrace management by projects rather than management by objectives. This move has evolved today's project manager into more awareness of the organization's vision and mission, not just delivering a specific result. As a result, strategic project management has been added to tactical project management.

To move from a tactical to a strategic perspective, leaders need to be able to step back to work “on” the various systems elements of the workplace and project. This does not mean they don't need to work “in” the system, but part of being strategic is the ability to step back to work “on” things.

To take this step back requires discipline on a number of fronts, including asking strategic questions, gaining a strategic perspective, maintaining the discipline of thinking strategically in the face of tactical pressure and taking a comprehensive and systems-oriented view of the workplace. A framework for strategic thinking is needed, a systems-oriented model that will help strategic project leaders move from tactical to strategic thinking.

Strategic project leaders have a responsibility to the bigger picture, which includes how they engage the people/talent within their organization, how effectively and efficiently they maneuver the organization over time and how they use the other resources at their disposal. Of course there are other aspects of organizational leadership that leaders steward. These are simply examples of the bigger picture levers that leaders need to be aware of and be prepared to address and influence, as they move from a tactical perspective to a strategic perspective.

What are the leadership skills that are necessary to transform a tactical project manager to a strategic project leader?

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Wade C Stewart

Project communications on vendor projects are complex due to the types and number of stakeholders. This presentation will explore the complexities of these projects, identifying the stakeholders and preparing a communication plan in a vendor-centric project.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the potential complexities of communications in a vendor project.
• Understand what to look for when identifying stakeholders in a vendor project.
• Prepare an effective project communications plan from a vendor project perspective.

For large projects executed by a vendor, project communications can get particularly difficult. A project may be a subcontract to the customer through a prime contractor, the vendor may have a sales or support organization outside of the company's legal entity, and the vendor may have ongoing warranty and support responsibility with the end user even though there are two or more degrees of separation from the end user during the project.

This presentation will describe the difficulties in determining communication pathways, methods for identifying stakeholders and how to establish an effective communication plan in a vendor environment.

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Laszlo A Retfalvi

Effective management of medium to large complex procurement and integration programs is a difficult task. Program staff tend to be overloaded as they are actively involved in a number of simultaneous and critical tasks. Key or emergent issues and risks within the program may be overlooked. Event-based risk management (EBRM) is a proven technique to assist the program manager in overcoming these issues.

Learning Objectives:

• Review and apply event-based risk methodology to their current and future programs and efficiently manage a program while maintaining the required focus on program goals and milestones to ensure: schedule adherence; satisfied stakeholders; and overall acceptable risk.
• Recognize the difference between a risk and an issue; focus on what is important to control versus what is easy to control.
• Understand how risk mitigation activities may affect work scope.
• Develop an event-based communication approach to allow alignment of program team, stakeholders, sponsors and executives.

Event-based risk management (EBRM) is a powerful top-down technique to assist the program manager in identifying the key items that program staff must address in order to successfully plan and execute a program. EBRM is also an effective communication tool to increase stakeholder engagement and alignment.

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Richard W Lacher

There is a trend in the IT industry toward applying lean thinking and agile principles to information technology projects. These proven means meld nicely into our existing project management disciplines, techniques and tools. With minor adjustments in our belief systems, we now have advanced our skills and our ability to management change as it occurs.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how applying lean thinking and agile principles can help project managers overcome really big problems.
• Utilize quality analysis tools to uncover root causes of complex impediments.
• Recognize how some beliefs and behaviors can have severe and negative unintended consequences.
• Effectively combine the three driving disciplines of project management agile and lean thinking to improve team productivity.

This presentation covers how applying lean thinking and agile techniques helped one project manager and his team triumph over a really big problem and uncover the underlying, root causes for the failure of another team. The presentation will cover lean-agile principles, techniques and tools used to help teams break out to new levels of excellence.

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Frank P Saladis

Successful project managers understand the importance of developing a highly motivated and innovative project team. This interactive and enjoyable presentation provides the attendee with the ability to unlock their own creative talents to motivate the project team and develop a team environment that will improve overall project performance.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain and utilize the concept of present-mindedness. Present mindedness is a technique that allows the mind to sort information, incubate data and then produce creative ideas.
• Unlock the creativity embedded in everyone. Adults tend to lose their creative abilities. They are not lost, just locked up. The presentation provides information that will enable the participant to rediscover their creativity for planning and problem solving.
• Improve your listening skills and enhance your communications effectiveness. Creative teams work more effectively together. Innovation drives a team to greater communication and stimulates aditional idea generation.

This paper focuses on the importance of developing and maintaining a high degree of creativity and innovation within the project team. Project managers and project team members face many challenges during project planning and execution and despite thorough risk assessment, issues and unexpected problems will develop. The constraints associated with many projects and the need to find solutions to issues and risk situations require project managers to develop effective solutions quickly. The ability to assess problems, determine root causes and then identify alternatives and options is critically important to project success. Flexible thinking, identifying solutions that may not initially be obvious, enhancing the value of a project outcome and motivating a project team are all characteristics of the creative project leader.

This paper address the concept of present-mindedness, right brain thinking and using imagination and innovation along with traditional project tools and techniques to power-up a project team and achieve greater levels of performance while building a cohesive team that possesses superior problem-solving skills. In today's economic environment and the growing demands associated with worldwide business competition, companies need project managers and teams who can find quick and effective solutions to serious problems; and use innovation to accelerate planning and execution without sacrificing quality, safety and the brand name of the organization. This paper provides suggestions for strengthening individual and team creativity and innovation and also provides the project leader with ideas and techniques that will improve leadership capability and effectiveness.

Canceled

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Oscar Ghopeh, PMP

In project management nothing is more valuable to your career, your future, than management effectiveness. It motivates timely completion of difficult tasks and drives personal accountability for team members. This presentation reveals the keys for solving this perpetual PM challenge. Don’t miss this chance to learn the art and science of project management with finesse!

Canceled

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Sergio Gerosa; Jim De Piante, PMP

How can project management help us manage the most important project of them all – our own life? We'll see how the methodologies, techniques and skills of project management can effectively be used to organize our lives and help us reach the goals we have set for it.

Learning Objectives:

• Our own life does respond to the definition of project given by PMI.
• How to use project management tools and methodologies to improve our life.
• Understand the importance of empathic communication (and in particulare active listening) and proactivity in our life.

How can project management help us manage the most important project of them all – our own life? Can we use project management techniques to help us manage our families, our careers, our problems and even our relationships?

Can we each understand our own life as a project? It seems to meet the criteria:

• It has specific objectives (or at least it should. If it doesn't, then we have more serious problems, which is beyond the scope of project management).
• It is a complex effort and involves a great many stakeholders.
• It is temporary in nature, even if it is not our objective to shorten the schedule.

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Chance W Reichel

While most can master a project's triple constraint, do they have what it takes to be an effective project leader? Know when and how to make and communicate the tough project decisions. Learn how to unlock the hidden project leader within you and be amazed by project success!

Learning Objectives:

• Learn methods of demonstrating appropriate project leadership skills to all types of resources.
• Learn methods of motivational strategies to keep a positive project dynamic.
• See how project leadership is viewed and assessed by the project stakeholder community and how to incorporate leadership in your project management environment.

Do you have the tools to provide project leadership? Project managers must be able to assess situations quickly and accurately to maximize project resources and minimize project threats. This course will present the competencies needed to apply project leadership to create the positive project environment that will allow project resources to maximize their potential on your projects. This course will provide you with the needed information to answer that question. Each student will learn the various methods of leadership and how the methods interact to create the project dynamic and how to lead project resources to project success as defined by the project sponsor.

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Diane White, MA, PMP

Learning Objectives:

• Define the concept of socio-cultural animation and draw parallels to project management.
• Describe one characteristic of an “animator” and how it applies to the project manager
• Compare the volunteer-led project to the five project management process groups as defined in the PMBOK^® Guide
• Describe at least one lesson learned from leading a volunteer project and how that may apply to a work-life project

Have you ever thought of the project manager as an animator? The term “animation” is mostly associated with the film and computer graphics industries which “animate” virtual characters and cartoons – making them appear alive. At another level, animation is making things move or happen, breathing life into and making things come alive. This session will explore what insights socio-cultural animation can provide for project managers about community, teaming and engagement by way of lessons learned from leading volunteer-based volunteer projects.

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Randall L. Englund, MBA, BSEE, NPDP, CBM; Robert Lauridsen, PhD

Managers want results but actions speak louder to say they want control. Is it possible to pursue both control and results—up to the point where the two actually conflict? Explore a new perspective, frame of reference, tools and recommendations to achieve better results through the power of strong relationships. Use the three cornerstones and the fundamentals for building a high-performance culture, developing effective working relationships both onsite and across distance. Develop an aligned, collaborative team that pulls together.

Tap the power of a commitment-based managerial system; elevate the levels of personal and team performance by shifting from activities to commitment-based management. Make a powerful shift in the effectiveness and efficiency of daily interactions; save time by reducing wasted conversations while increasing commitment to goals and objectives.

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Darlene H Fladager, MS, PMP

A candid look at the process of defining and implementing standard PM practices for the central IT organization at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This presentation will outline a multi-pronged approach to getting buy-in in a highly unstructured environment.

Learning Objectives:

• Be able to take a look at the organization's culture and start to set up a project framework that will fit.
• Organize and present the project portfolio to upper management.
• Work to get buy-in and roll out a PPM system.

The central IT organization at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had no formal PM processes but continued to work on over 150 projects per year. With the arrival of a new VP in 2004, the opportunity presented itself to take a hard look at project execution and establish some standards.

The initial steps included the development of a simplified PM framework, the development of some standard templates and forms, and the cataloging of current work. This was followed by basic PM training and mentoring and a more formal project review process for key projects. The most recent addition is a department-wide PPM system that will allow all in the department to see how the work is progressing.

Although adoption for all of these offerings has been slow, there is a steady improvement in the maturity level of the PMs within the organization and a more serious approach to project execution from the executive office. This presentation will outline the journey from start to the current state.

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Mahmood Khan, MBA, PMP

Learning Objectives:

• Use a six step process to improve job searches
• Provide attendees with tools, techniques and collateral for starting an effective job search.

This presentation and talk will focus on tools, techniques and collateral for starting an effective job search group and conducting a framework-based job search in 30-60 days.

This presentation can also compliment professional coaches who usually charge hundreds of dollars per hour for preparing people in need of direction and “how to” search for a job in this current climate. In addition to the framework of job search group organization for local chapters, the proven job search campaign with Six Step process will be introduced.

• Step #1: Initial Assessment and Discovery
• Step #2: Job Search Campaign with Your “A”, “B” and “C” Job Descriptions
• Step #3: Interview Planning and Management
• Step #4: Negotiations and Knowing Your BATNA
• Step #5: Transition to the New Job
• Step #6: Transition to Your “A” Job

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Randall T Black; Igor Osipov

Project management learning and training has evolved over the past 25 years beyond a focus upon just the basics of tools and techniques. Learning research has indicated that the new generation of project managers will learn through far more interactive techniques. The presentation will address the trends in the marketplace and how gaming as a means of learning can provide enhanced learning opportunities and context for new project managers.

Learning Objectives:

• Be familiar with the principles of effective adult learning.
• Appreciate the roles of simulation as a strategy for the development of project management skills.
• Understand the criteria necessary for the effective use of simulations as a training and development tool.

Project management learning and training has evolved over the past 25 years beyond a focus upon just the basics of tools and techniques. Recent focus has been upon the development of the “softer” skills of people management that project managers leverage in their roles. Similarly, delivery techniques are evolving to the greater use of technology and distance learning techniques. The learning spaces of this new millennium looks very different than the training rooms of the 80s and 90s.

Many of today's learning techniques are being challenged by a new generation of learners. Sitting in a classroom, being lectured to on the techniques, language and tools of project management needs to be augmented with more active learning for this “gaming generation.” Yes, case studies have made this adult learning experience far more interactive and stimulating but more is going to be needed in the very near future.

Research has indicated that the new generation of project managers will learn through far more interactive techniques, one of which is the use of games as a learning tool. Gaming techniques and their usefulness has been seen throughout the pedagogical learning world and are now starting to make inroads in the andragogical world. Recent articles from Forrester Research and Training Quarterly reinforce this position, indicating measurable increases of 17 to 37 percent effectiveness as the result of using games and simulations.

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Cindy A Margules, PMP

Focus: challenges, risks and best practices of managing a successful global PMO – and the manager's behavior that is critical to drive that success. Topics - organizational structure, management from afar, communication streams, change management, setting expectations and cultural differences. Real world examples and results along with practical information for immediate personal application.

Learning Objectives:

• Be able to immediately increase their success in running a global PMO and avoid costly mistakes.
• Differentiate and appropriately utilize different leadership styles.
• Be able to focus on understanding and employing cultural differences for the success of the PMO.

This presentation will address the challenges, risks and best practices of managing a successful global PMO, focusing on the manager's behaviors to drive that success. Topics will include leadership with a strategic bent, organizational structure, management from afar, communication streams, change management, setting expectations and cultural differences. Using real world examples and results, you will walk away with practical behaviors and actions for immediate application.

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Clement J Goebel

Many key project management practices are quickly limited by the quality of your project's work-breakdown-structure and your team's ability to communicate. This is why effective agile software teams focus on teamwork and maintaining an updated comprehensive work-breakdown-structure. Come learn some simple techniques for applying these strategies to your projects.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain several simple tests to measure the effectiveness of their WBS.
• Understand why some teams separate the creation of the WBS from the process of entering it into electronic tools.
• Describe how a WBS could be managed on index cards in a way that allows for improved project planning and stakeholder participation.

Many project management practices are only as effective as the project's underlying project work-breakdown-structure (WBS). This paper will map how the work packages defined in the WBS ripple through the other project management practices and will affect those practices.

This paper, and the sessions hands-on learning exercises, will explore how some of the techniques used by agile software teams can be used to facilitate the construction of a more effective WBS, even for projects outside of information technology.

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Dorothy Tiffany; Alfonso Bucero; Jang Ra

Canceled

Tuesday, 13 October
12:45 PM–2:00 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Conrado Morlan

Enterprises look for benefits through the execution of multiple ongoing and inter-dependent projects with an emphasis on coordination and prioritization of resources across departments or business units. Such projects may have a local, regional or global approach. The regional and local applications roadmaps need to be aligned and in order to avoid business disruption.

Learning Objectives:

• Partner with the business units to implement solutions and realize benefits to the organization.
• Identify project issues and prepare solutions to address those issues during program/project execution.
• Recognize importance of business, change management and cultural diversity in program/project teams.

A successful regional project requires a well defined governance body, an experienced project manager and the committment of stakeholders. The presentation will describe the implementation of a regional billing project which complemented the order to cash (OtC) process and the relationship with other regional and local applications in a geographical region comprised of nearly 50 countries.

In this presentation, the following topics will be discussed:

• Project Description
  • Project Facts
    • Project Management
      • Governance
      • Costs/Benefits
      • Stakeholders
    • Project Support
    • Project Closing
    • Management of Internal/External Factors
• Lessons Learned

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: J. LeRoy Ward

This presentation shows participants the necessary steps to achieve successful program management execution by first distinguishing between programs and projects, then providing guidelines to ensure program manager empowerment. The audience will walk away with a broader understanding of how they can implement improved program management in their own organization.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the differences between projects and programs.
• Apply relevant management techniques based on degrees of program integration.
• Hone the ability to develop an organization-specific program management competency model based on a global framework.

Apples are not oranges, and programs are not projects. Nonetheless, many global organizations manage their programs using the same methods they use to manage their projects. The results are predictably disappointing. The key challenge in these organizations is understanding the distinctions between programs and projects. Program managers often lack best practices and support factors required to ensure program success.

Moreover, programs differ from each other in ways that even projects do not. The effective program manager is one who understands the nature of program integration, which drives different management approaches relevant to the undertaking. Programs are not merely “bigger” projects; nor are program managers simply professionals who are one step up on the organizational ladder. In fact, program managers can come from anywhere in the organization regardless of their backgrounds. The key to success is the support provided by their organization in the pursuit of program excellence.

J. LeRoy Ward will discuss strategies to boost program managers' effectiveness and explore the cardinal differences between projects and programs. He will describe how different management techniques are required on the program level by illustrating nine crucial support factors that are pivotal for program success. Using real-life scenarios, Mr. Ward will discuss the positive outcomes from such organizations as Motorola, Toyota and Siemens to underscore the importance of these support factors. The audience will gain a deeper understanding of the overall competency model for program managers, being given the most current research available on the topic.

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Anthony Boles, MBA, PMP, CBIP

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the presentation, participants should understand:

• Why effectively managing a portfolio of work is important.
• What deliverables (i.e., work and informational artifacts) are produced from work management.
• What components comprise an effective work management process.
• What points to consider when adapting the process to fit their situation.

“The Work Delivery Process” presentation will introduce a pragmatic approach to project portfolio management. Going well beyond defining what project portfolio management is and is not, this presentation outlines the detailed process components that comprise a holistic framework that can be adapted and utilized by most any type or size organization within most any industry. The framework is time-tested and has proven its value within many leading Fortune 100 companies.

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Eddie Merla

Every time you communicate about or for your project - whether it's face to face, in a meeting, or standing fearlessly (or fearfully) in front of your audience - you are making a critical presentation. Make every presentation count by learning seven key strategies for enhancing your presentation power.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize and take advantage of opportunities to lead by presenting.
• Raise your presentation IQ by incorporating the seven strategies into every presentation you give.
• Learn to adopt these presentation techniques to achieve your presentation objectives; to organize complex material; to get to the point quickly; to influence, inspire, or motivate your listener; and to bring life to technical, often dry, material.

Every time you lead a project and every time you are given an opportunity to communicate about or for your project - whether it's face to face in a meeting, or standing fearlessly (or maybe fearfully) in front of your presentation slides - you are making a presentation, and possibly a critical presentation. As a project manager, you are often called on to “lead from the stage” by giving presentations to various audiences with varying interests and sometimes conflicting interests. You can gain ground or lose valuable ground with a single presentation. Make every presentation count by learning seven strategies for enhancing your presentation power as a project manager.

By following the techniques in this presentation, you can raise your presentation IQ and capitalize on every speaking and presentation opportunity that you are given or that you create. This presentation will share techniques to achieve the presenter's objectives; to organize complex material; to get to the point quickly; to influence, inspire or motivate an audience; and to bring life to technical, often dry, material.

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Bill Stewart

The "road trip" to project management excellence is a high-risk adventure marked with many potholes and other obstacles that can impede progress or ultimately cause failure. PMO pioneer and thought leader Bill Stewart will provide an informative and humorous presentation describing more than 25 years of lessons learned in implementing and sustaining PMOs. Whether you are implementing a PMO, EPMO or portfolio management, Bill, in his warm and entertaining style, will provide you with significant insight into these risks and how to avoid them, while providing you with a roadmap to a sustainable culture of project management excellence.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the importance of the PMO and will learn tips and techniques for a successful PMO.
• Understand the value of the project manager role within the organization.
• Learn about the misconceptions of project managers and how to avoid misconceptions.
• Learn the value of leadership within the project manager, as well as leadership techniques that can immediately be applied at the workplace.
• Be able to communicate to the executives the value of both the project manager and the PMO to the organization.

The "road trip" to project management excellence is a high-risk adventure marked with many potholes and other obstacles that can impede progress or ultimately cause failure. PMO pioneer and thought leader Bill Stewart will provide an informative and humorous presentation describing more than 25 years of lessons learned in implementing and sustaining PMOs. Whether you are implementing a PMO, EPMO or portfolio management, Bill, in his warm and entertaining style, will provide you with significant insight into these risks and how to avoid them, while providing you with a roadmap to a sustainable culture of project management excellence.

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Wanda Curlee

Ethics and leadership share the perception of “I know it when I see it,” but academics and project managers have a difficult time succinctly defining both. So, how does a project manager (PM) establish ethics on a virtual project when it cannot be defined?

Learning Objectives:

• To establish policies and procedures that help to create an ethical project environment.
• Learn some U.S. laws and regulations that will affect the way the project personnel need to work overseas.
• Have a better perspective in order to have an ethical project.

Ethics and leadership share the perception of “I know it when I see it,” but academics and project managers have a difficult time succinctly defining both. So, how does a project manager (PM) establish ethics on a virtual project when it cannot be defined? The United States legislates some behavior. The PM's company may have a vision or mission statement, processes/procedures and a culture which may provide guidance. However, how does the PM provide the leadership and the ethical foundation for a project team that may include many cultures from around the world?

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Gina Westcott-Abudi, MBA

This session will focus on how a school district implemented a project management best practice throughout the district to accomplish major initiatives.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn a comprehensive step-by-step approach for developing a project management best practice
• Learn how to incorporate project management processes into a non-project focused organization
• Learn how to get buy-in throughout an organization to develop a project-oriented mindset

This presentation will focus on the specifics of developing a project management best practice in an organization regardless of their size and the number of project managers. Organizations are beginning to see the value of formalizing their project management practices, including developing best practices, career and training paths for project managers, and putting a formal methodology/process in place. The presentation will center on a case study of a school district where a project management practice was developed with no current project management processes/framework and training or “official” project managers in place. It will step through the process of creating the best practice and demonstrate the value shown once a project management mindset was adopted within an organization that would traditionally not focus on project management.

Canceled

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Craig Killough, MBA, PMP, MCSE

PMI is dedicated to enhancing stakeholder intimacy through transforming the practitioner’s relationship with PMI and the profession. PMI has created an integrated practitioner team that combines the resources of membership development, component and community relations, credentials, credential renewal, and professional and career development. The objectives of the practitioner team are to provide products and services that create community, networking, knowledge access, professional development and career development to transform the practitioner relationship from transactional to experiential.

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Marshall Brown, PCC

Are you marketing your skills and accomplishments effectively? Would you hire yourself? In today’s highly competitive job market, your resume needs to be powerful and stand out from the competition. It needs to attract the attention of hiring authorities, showcase your relevant work background and demonstrate that you have the right qualifications for the job. Join Marshall as he reviews how to identify key work expertise and experiences and how to bundle them together to develop a resume projecting your unique professional brand. He will also discuss important computer formats and the use of key words when submitting your resume online.

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Sherri L Thomas

In today's volatile economy, many project managers are searching for ways to get hired, promoted or gain new customers. Sherri Thomas, president of Career Coaching 360 and author of CAREER SMART: Five Steps to a Powerful Personal Brand, provides a project management career blueprint for a successful career.

Learning Objectives:

• Advancing your career by strengthening your credibility and building visibility with people who can promote, hire and introduce you to others who could potentially hire you. 
• Five (5) steps to grow and strengthen your professional network with four (4) types of career influencers.
• Twelve (12) internal and external strategies to promote yourself, your projects and your teams to get noticed and put yourself in high demand.

PMI congress attendees will learn how to advance their career as a project manager in five simple steps. Managing your career as a project manager means that you are sending the right messages, networking with the right career influencers and successfully driving the perceptions of clients, managers and potential employers. Learn the five steps to developing a powerful personal brand and advancing your career as a project manager including:

• defining the five core ingredients that make you unique;
• sending the right messages;
• building relationships with the right career influencers;
• strengthening your visibility and credibility with career influencers; and
• creating an ROI dashboard to measure and build your success.

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: Bryan R Moser; John Halpin

Virtual Teams—proliferating with global business and travel costs—have neither shared experience nor awareness of assumptions/risks. Centralized planning isn't feasible. Experts propose qualitative insights; PMs need pragmatic methods. This situation, the failure of traditional approaches and new research are shown. Virtual planning methods and tools are demonstrated.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand root cause of why traditional planning fails for virtual teams.
• Learn three key ideas from research for measuring and adjusting the architecture and coordination of virtual team projects, including knowing when virtual teams don't make sense.
• Be aware of new tools for virtual team planning.

Global business, increased supplier involvement, network communications and pressure on travel costs have led to increased use of virtual project teams. In many cases the teams have little previous experience working together and no shared awareness of project assumptions, feasibilities and risks. Traditional, centralized and detailed planning is not an option for these projects. While some experts have proposed qualitative or “soft” recommendations for these teams, PMs need a pragmatic and sustainable way to plan and launch with virtual teams.

This paper describes the pressure on virtual teams, why traditional approaches do not succeed and introduces the conclusion of years of research by a team at U Tokyo, MIT and U Connecticut to address this problem. The resulting virtual planning method and tools are demonstrated against a case study from industry.

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Jack Duggal, MBA, PMP

Even though the nature of projects and programs has changed over the years, the tools and techniques we use to manage them have not changed. Today's organizational challenges require new tools for new times. This thought-provoking session will provide a new perspective and a framework for applying next generation PM tools.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the need for new approaches and new tools to address today's project and program management challenges.
• Apply a framework for building a next generation PM toolkit that can be applied to various phases of the project and program life cycles.
• Outline and consider the adaptation of new and emerging tools that complement existing tools.

Even though the nature of projects and programs has changed over the years, the tools and techniques we use to manage them have not changed. There is recognition that today's project and program environments are different and complex, and we need new approaches. The challenge is there are not many new tools to apply the new approaches. Today's organizational challenges require new tools for new times.

This session will address key questions. Are we using the right tools to solve the right problems? Is there a need to update the PM toolkit? What are the tools to manage increasing levels of complexity, uncertainty, ambiguity and dynamic changes in a project and program environment? This thought-provoking paper will provide a new perspective on tools. A framework for building a next generation PM toolkit that can be applied to various phases of the project, program, portfolio and PMO life cycles will be introduced. Also, a sampling and application of new and emerging tools and techniqes will be presented.

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Rodney Bodamer, PMP, CSM

Over the past several years an intense interest in the adoption of agile methods (Scrum, DSDM, eXtreme Programming, etc.) in both private and public sectors has led to an increased demand for agile approaches, tools and techniques. Industry leaders have discovered that, implemented appropriately, agile accelerates project delivery times, increases customer and employee satisfaction and provides flexibility to changes in business requirements.

What are the expectations around the agile project panager within an agile project management framework? What agile tools, techniques and approaches does the project manager have at their disposal to ensure a productive and successful agile team? How can traditional project managers be best positioned to execute their new agile roles and responsibilities, while still leveraging certain traditional PMBOK Guide^® best practices and knowledge areas?

In this interactive session, participants will learn how to combine the newer breakthrough principles of agile methodologies with complementary time-tested project management practices to deliver business value on agile projects.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand basics around lean and agile principles and approaches.
• Articulate the benefits of agile techniques.
• Understand the typical barriers in implementing agile within an organization.
• Discover how agile frameworks align with the PMBOK Guide^® practices and knowledge areas.
• Experience how the agile principles have been applied to real-world projects.

Over the past several years an intense interest in the adoption of agile methods (Scrum, DSDM, eXtreme Programming, etc.) in both private and public sectors has led to an increased demand for agile approaches, tools and techniques. Industry leaders have discovered that, implemented appropriately, agile accelerates project delivery times, increases customer and employee satisfaction and provides flexibility to changes in business requirements.

What are the expectations around the agile project manager within an agile project management framework? What agile tools, techniques and approaches does the project manager have at their disposal to ensure a productive and successful agile team? How can traditional project managers be best positioned to execute their new agile roles and responsibilities, while still leveraging certain traditional PMBOK Guide^® best practices and knowledge areas?

In this interactive session, participants will learn how to combine the newer breakthrough principles of agile methodologies with complementary time-tested project management practices to deliver business value on agile projects.

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speakers: David Pells; Rebecca Winston

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Marvin Hargrove

As a member of the management team, your ultimate mission is to execute your organization's strategic goals. Now you can learn how the discipline of project management integrates with and aligns your organizational environment to increase innovation, learning, communication and achievement of the organization's goals.

Tuesday, 13 October
2:30 PM–3:45 PM
1 hour, 15 minutes

Speaker: Mike Cottmeyer, PMP, CSM

Learning Objectives:

• Understand why traditional approaches are often not well suited to software projects.
• Understand how agile approaches can be leveraged to complement existing project management best practices.
• Learn what a traditional project manager can do today to begin taking advantage of emerging agile best practices.

This talk will explore the hidden assumptions behind A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) and explore a more agile approach to managing time, cost and scope. We will take an in-depth look at the PMI processes and knowledge areas and explore how to adapt them to agile projects.