PW&WCBA June Event Round-Up

We invite you to join our PW&WCBA LinkedIn group offering networking, news and information about the PW&WCBA Conference. Join today!

Below is our most recent group announcement:


Last month we had the pleasure of being in Baltimore for our June 2009 PW&WCBA Event - It was an exciting experience and the new executive program format was a big hit. The extended sessions and immersion labs allowed attendees to dive-in, collaborate and ask personal questions pertaining to their specific challenges. All of the attendees walked away re-charged and re-energized.

A special thank you to those who attended! If you weren't able to attend, we hope you consider attending for our
November event – the NEW brochure is ready for download http://bit.ly/w60Cd .

For more information, please visit our website: http://bit.ly/YRDK1

Here’s a brief executive summary brought to you by Lisa DiTullio, Principal, Lisa DiTullio & Associates & Chair of the PMO Forum.

Within minutes of launching the program, it was clear that size does not matter. Our group was small but mighty. Everyone in the room was eager to be there, excited to learn, and enthusiastic about the program. Everyone clearly came to learn more about how to introduce and manage a PMO model. Our small size allowed everyone to engage in interactive discussion with the panel experts throughout the entire day.

James Randell, Director, PMO Department of Human Services (OKDHS), State of Oklahoma, kicked us off with an energetic presentation about the importance of cooperation and communication. In no time at all, James had the group constructing spider-webs, helping us all understand how the lack of sound communication can quickly place a team in crisis. He reminded us to rely upon our social awareness skills; he strongly suggested the value of Myers Briggs or knowing our colors to help understand differences among team members. What color are you - Blue, Gold, Green or Orange? Not sure, take a sample quiz at http://www.truecolorscareer.com/quiz.asp .

Mary Ann Burns, Senior Project Director, The Travelers taught us that yes, you may have more than one PMO in your organization and thrive. Mary Ann chronicled her 1st year journey as she designs and launches a new PMO in the Business Insurance Systems Division. She emphasized the need to really know your corporate culture before designing your PMO, scale your PMO to your industry and size, and be sure to adapt your methodology to your business needs - do not take a one-size-fits-all approach. I can't wait to hear about her continued journey in year two.

Heidi Boehringer was responsible for establishing and developing a PMO at the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). Today, NCCI has a mature project management culture and in fact has received many awards for their PMO accomplishments. Heidi provided terrific advice on how to mature your PMO through the application of lessons learned. She suggests you collect lessons learned at the end of each project phase rather than waiting until the completion of the project. She also advised that all project teams review previous lessons learned from the like - projects at project launch - a terrific way to gain insight as the project begins.

Jane Walton, an independent project management consultant, shared case studies from a variety of client engagements, showing best practices from PMO implementations. Jane reminded us that regardless of what type of PMO you need, you must always understand the impetus for launching a PMO model. The other two requirements necessary for a successful PMO launch is to focus on your constraints and objectives. Even if you have previous PMO launch experience, every PMO is different; remember, there are different solutions for different problems - be sure to correctly match the right solution to the right problem for guaranteed PMO success and longevity. The group left armed with actionable practices for immediate results. Just goes to show you - size doesn't matter.

Cheers,
PW&WCBA LinkedIn Group


November 2009 Event: http://bit.ly/YRDK1
Register: http://bit.ly/B1e2u
PW&WCBA Blog: http://bit.ly/GJAhZ