Why Am I Attending the PW&WCBA

This would be the first time I am able to attend the Project World and World Congress for Business Analyst (PW&WCBA) and the first time staying inside the Walt Disney World Resort.  This venue is perfect to reduce stress, encourage relaxation and absorb all the great information.  I am excited by the content and looking forward to the event.  I have been privileged to work in several diverse industries throughout my career as a Project Manager.  Currently, I am working as a PM in healthcare, which provides a different set of unique challenges. My organization is in the process of moving from an IT-PMO to and Enterprise PMO.  I see this change as a huge and exciting challenge.  I am glad to be part of the team to develop an Enterprise PMO and utilize program and portfolio management.  During my research on PMO’s and Portfolio Management, I found the PW & WCBA conference offered the perfect combination of educational sessions all in one place in three days.

The PW&WCBA has several very exciting presentation and educational tracks to help increase my knowledge and improve the PMO’s current foundation development.  In reviewing the “Agenda at a glance,” the PW&WCBA is offering several workshops on day one.  There is one full day and a few half day workshops.  The workshop which peeks my interest is the Full-Day Workshop, “Leadership:  Retooling Leadership (through the lens of Neuroscience),” presented by William Greenwald of Humana, Inc.  This workshop will get inside the minds of great leaders.

Please find a link to the Agenda at a Glance below:

http://www.iirusa.com/projectworld/agenda.xml

On day two there are some exciting Keynote speakers, both domestic and global.  Since we live in a global world I believe global representation is vital.  After some Opening Remarks from Chuck Millhollan of Churchill Downs, Inc., we will hear from Ralph Luck, UK Olympic Delivery Authority.  Managing any part of the Olympics would be a huge responsibility for any Project Manager.  I am sure Ralph has a few stories to tell and lessons learned.  The final keynote speaker for the day is Naomi Karten, Author of several great books, the topics include presentation skills, managing, communicating change and managing expectations.  The final presentation for the morning has an interesting title, “Speed Mentoring.”  I had to smile and think is this like speed dating, where you have three minutes with each mentee? 

After lunch there are four education tracks you could follow or you may move between the tracks.  These tracks include; From PM to Project Leader, From Business Analyst to Business Strategist, Best Practice PM/BA Collaboration and Tools, Techniques and Trends.  One of the speakers should be familiar if you are a PM or have taken any PM classes, J. LeRoy Ward.  He was pivotal in studying for the PMP certification. He will be presenting, “14 Project Leadership Skills to Boost Your Career.”  This session is a definite must to attend!   

There is no shortage of excellent keynote speakers on the third and final day.  William Greenwald, Humana, from the workshop on day one, Gurpreet Singh Kanwar, NAV Canada, a not-for-profit responsible for Canada’s Civil Air Navigation System and Carey Lohrenz, US Navy’s first female F-14 Fighter Pilot and team-building, leadership and strategy expert.  As a woman, I admire strong successful women.  You will find me in the front for her presentation!

After lunch, I would advise you, not to leave early.  In the afternoon the educational track will continue with many more exciting topics.  At first glance, a few which peek my interests include, “Is a PMP Needed, or is it Simply an Option?” “Building a successful Requirements Re-Use Program,” Mind Mapping Techniques to Improve Project Brainstorming,” “Collaboration and Planning” and “The Art of Process Mapping Fast,” just to name a few.  These presentations are definitely worth, staying until the end to hear the closing remarks.

These three days will be packed full of great information and networking opportunities. We will be in sunny Florida and be able to enjoy the sights and sounds.  I look forward to meeting and speaking with many of you during this conference and I hope you look forward to learning a lot and reading more from these informative blogs.

All of this great information and the opportunity to increase my knowledge is why I am attending the 2013 Project World & World Congress for Business Analysts . Register today at http://bit.ly/13jM72A.  I hope to see you in Orlando!