Tuesday, February 28, 2012

PM Insights: Agile Best Practices

Over the next few weeks here on the Project World blog we're going to be featuring some of the insights shared at the 2011 Your Space session at the ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® event.


A repeat favorite, Your Space offers PW&WCBA attendees a chance to debrief on topics covered, come up actionable plans for their return to the office and share in the collective knowledge and expertise of other PW&WCBA attendees and speakers 

This week's topic comes from Table 8: Agile

Given our always popular Agile summit, and this year's presentation on the new PMI-ACP certification, Agile is an important and growing topic for PW&WCBA attendees.  Attendees at this table identified a number of sub-topics within agile that merited further discussion.

These included:
• Earned Value
• Virtual Team
• Risk Management
• Documentation (interpretation that Agile = No Docs)
• Buy-in as a PM practice
• Multiple methods of agile (Kanban, scrum, XP, ect)
• How do you know when you’re done
• Metrics for executives
• No good basis for estimates
• Best practices

When it comes to best practices, the team at table 8 identified some key takeaways for running a successful agile project:
  • Have a dedicated team
  • Make sure the type of project is the right fit for agile
  • Get a solid commitment from leadership
  • If you have a virtual team, invest in some onsite meetings
  • Do not allow extra discussion during daily stand-ups
We'll continue to check back in on the other agile topics identified between now and PW&WCBA 2012. Are there any topics not listed here that you'd like to see covered? What about best practices?

Michelle LeBlanc is a Social Media Strategist at IIR USA and the voice behind the @Project_World twitter. She may be reached at mleblanc@iirusa.com

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Last Chance: Call for Papers 2012 ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts Conference

Last Chance: Call for Papers 2012 ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts Conference 
Disney’s Contemporary Resort Orlando
September 10-12, 2012

Speaking Opportunities
We are seeking high caliber program managers, portfolio managers, PMO, engineers and business analysts who have run or are currently running complex projects especially high profile projects. Specific presentation topics of interest include: Agile // Running a PMO // Earned Value Management // Tools & Techniques // Communication // Innovation. These topics are best covered in a case study format where the topic is illustrated by sharing learnings from a real world project.

Time is running out
If you would like to present or if you would like to nominate an industry leader to present, please email Rachel McDonald at rmcdonald@iirusa.com.

This year’s theme shines a particular focus on Accelerating Innovation Across the Enterprise. What distinguishes PW&WCBA apart from similarly themed conference events is the practical nature of the presentations which leads to richer, more productive dialogue.

PW&WCBA is 100% designed around utilizing real world examples to illustrate key themes and topic areas. The event evolves year on year to be reflective of what’s happening and what matters most. This means incorporating top trends and new advancements to develop the manager into a true leader.

Friday, February 17, 2012

PM Insights: Managing stakeholder expectations

Over the next few weeks here on the Project World blog we're going to be featuring some of the insights shared at the 2011 Your Space session at the ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® event.

A repeat favorite, Your Space offers PW&WCBA attendees a chance to debrief on topics covered, come up actionable plans for their return to the office and share in the collective knowledge and expertise of other PW&WCBA attendees and speakers  

This week's topic comes from Table 5: Managing stakeholder expectations

This is obviously a huge topic for PW&WCBA attendees. The main problem that we saw emerging was that stakeholders get missed or overlooked or are otherwise not engaged or participating in the project, and this leads to overruns on time or budget or conflicts that derail progress.

The group at table five identified some strategies for preventing this and managing expectations more effectively:
• Using methodology or diagrams to identify all stakeholders
• Keeping stakeholders informed and engaged  with regular status updates on milestones & deliverables
• Define scope, define the project upfront, including risks and end date and educate the stakeholders on cost, time and materials.
• A lot of and clear communication
 • A documented approval process
• Prioritizing what is included in each release and understanding what a stakeholder is wanting a certain feature
• Stakeholders coming together in agreement on prioritizing issues as an outcome of testing or what is not in release
• Staying proactive to prevent reactive
• Be brief in your presentations, 3 min elevator speech
• Present stakeholder with all information about project steps
• Spend time to understand requirements, include end steps

What would you add to this list? Have you found a particular tactic effective for managing stakeholder expectations?

Michelle LeBlanc is a Social Media Strategist at IIR USA and the voice behind the @Project_World twitter. She may be reached at mleblanc@iirusa.com

Monday, February 13, 2012

PW&WCBA Call for Submissions Deadline Extended to 2/22

CALL FOR PRESENTERS: LAST CHANCE ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® 2012 
Email rmcdonald@iirusa.com by Wednesday, February 22, 2012 

The Institute for International Research (IIR) is currently seeking corporate practitioners, authors and experienced facilitators to present at the 2012 ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® conference. 

The event will take place September 10-12, 2012 at Disney's Contemporary Resort in Orlando, FL.

About this unique event: PW&WCBA is the industry's year round resource for gaining cutting-edge insights through C-Level case studies & corporate best practice presentations, exclusive Web Seminars, Learning Labs, including the Annual PMO Forum and the Annual Portfolio Management Forum.

Who and what are we looking for? We are seeking high caliber, unbiased program managers, portfolio managers, PMO, system engineers and business analysts. Experienced corporate practitioners, industry experts and qualified facilitators sharing innovative case studies, techniques, templates that attendees can implements as soon as they get back to the office. Each presentation should demonstrate at least three tangible takeaways.

Please note: Decisions will be based on the alignment of the content with the 2012 agenda content, feedback from the event advisors as well as on industry recognition and/or personal references.

We expect our speakers to move beyond the fundamentals.
2012 Presentation Topic Areas include, but are not limited to:
• What's New in Agile?
• Agile, Tools and Metric Tracking
• Cloud Risk: Managing the Risk and Rewards of Cloud Computing
• Defining and Developing the Next Generation of PMs
• Improving the Value of Your PMO
• IT Portfolio Management
• Soft Leadership Skills
• Risk Management
• Building Program Management Expertise
• Motivating Teams and Increasing Team Performance
• Creating a Center of Excellence (Both BA and/or PM)
• Demonstrating the Current Value of Project Management and Business Analysis to Your Organization
• Career Paths for the BA and PM - Where Do You Go After 5 Years?
• Using Six Sigma and LEAN to Improve Project Management
• Requirements Management and Communication
• Funding Models in a Tight Financial Market
• Leading Global Teams
• Change Management
• Reading Verbal and Non-Verbal Cues
• Virtual Engagement
• Lightweight Project Management Tools vs. Heavyweight
• Enterprise Analysis
• Enterprise Architecture
• The Mechanics of Business Process Modeling
• Negotiation Skills for Dealing with Suppliers
• Improved Elicitation Techniques
• Developing Excellent Scoping Skills
• Agile Project Management
• A Systematic Approach to Increase Business Process Performance
• Improving Service Levels with Your Stakeholders
• Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring
• Developing a PM Toolkit: The Essentials
• Implementing a Portfolio Management • Risk Management • Estimating and Identification of Requirements
• Business Rules: An Important Technique to Capture and Discover What You Need
• Green Practices for the PM and BA
• Getting the Benefits of Consolidating, But Without Doing So
• The Current and Future State of the BA
• Identify and Retain the Best and the Brightest
• Agile: Governance and Decision-Making
• Sustainable Portfolio Management Practices
• Development Techniques that are Flexible and Responsive
• SOA Governance
• Integrating the Business Architecture with Human Performance

BONUS: In addition to the exposure and honor of being a speaker, speakers will also receive FREE admission to the conference, access to the post-conference web seminar series as well as any pre-conference activities ($3,000+ value).

How to Get Accepted: Priority will be given to presentations that highlight NEW case studies on pushing beyond the PMBOK and BABOK, presenting new skills, techniques and best practices for today's PM and BA worlds.
ONLY corporate/client-side speaker will be considered.
If you are a consultant, solution provider, technology provider, analyst or consultant, please see sponsorship/exhibit section below.

Interested in sponsoring or exhibiting? If you are a vendor or solution provider and are interested in showcasing your organization's expertise - Please contact Jon Saxe, Senior Business Development Manager at jsaxe@iirusa.com or 646-895-7467 for more information.

If you were not selected to present and are a vendor or solution provider, you may qualify for additional speaking opportunities available through sponsorship.

CALL FOR PRESENTERS: For consideration, please e-mail rmcdonald@iirusa.com with the following information by Wednesday, February 22, 2012:
• Proposed speaker name, job title, and company name
• Contact information including address, telephone and e-mail
• Title of Presentation (one line, benefit focused)
• A brief summary of content to be delivered (no more than 75 words), followed by 3 bullet points of what the audience will gain from your presentation (key audience takeaways)
• Previous conference speaking opportunities for the last 3 years
• Short bio of speaker (50-75 words)
• Two references with contact information

NOTE: If your proposal is selected, portions of this submission will be printed in the brochure.  

Additional Details:
• Commercialism and self-promotion are NOT permitted or tolerated. If this happens, you will NOT be invited to return as a speaker.
• Travel, lodging and other expenses are the responsibility of the speaker.

Friday, February 10, 2012

PM Insights: Overcoming Challenges with Leadership

Over the next few weeks here on the Project World blog we're going to be featuring some of the insights shared at the 2011 Your Space session at the ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® event.

A repeat favorite, Your Space offers PW&WCBA attendees a chance to debrief on topics covered, come up actionable plans for their return to the office and share in the collective knowledge and expertise of other PW&WCBA attendees and speakers  

This week's topic comes from Table 1: Overcoming Challenges w/Leadership
An ongoing topic in the PM & BA world, and certainly one well covered at ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts®, this was a popular table. The first takeaway from this group?

"When it comes to politics & group segregation: Build positive relationships, know who to approach and when"

Across a company in leadership (or even within your team,) individuals are coming from different backgrounds with different perspectives. They may be working towards different goals or have differing understanding of the same goals. The company may be working in different silos that have conflicts, and the conflicts between those silos may be causing roadblocks for your project. Before conflicts arise, get to know your stakeholders. Build those relationships so that you have a clear understanding of how to approach certain team members, or when to address a problem.

What strategies have you used to overcome internal politics or group segregation?

Michelle LeBlanc is a Social Media Strategist at IIR USA and the voice behind the @Project_World twitter. She may be reached at mleblanc@iirusa.com

Friday, February 3, 2012

Friday Flicks: Agile Scout's Peter Saddington

The Project Box has launched a new series of videos called "Meet The Experts" and we were excited to see PW&WCBA favorite and former guest blogger Peter Saddington of Agile Scout has been selected to participate.

They're not launching the full video until  the 17th of February, but why not catch the clip below for a taste:
 
Want more? PW&WCBA held a webinar with Peter back in May of 2011, entitled "10 Key Characteristics of a Great Agile Product Owner." You can watch the replay of it here.

Michelle LeBlanc is a Social Media Strategist at IIR USA and the voice behind the @Project_World twitter. She may be reached at mleblanc@iirusa.com