Live at #PWWCBA: Metrics Magic and Social Currency

"Metrics Magic: Stop Guessing and Start Measuring your Requirements Practices" with Bradford J. Sandler PMP, Executive Project Manager, IBM Software Group Rational started off the afternoon in The New Era of Social Communication, Leadership & Collaboration track.

Sandler works with the Jazz team at IBM. According to the Jazz site, "Jazz is an initiative to transform software and systems delivery by making it more collaborative, productive and transparent, through integration of information and tasks across the phases of the lifecycle."

One interesting aspect Sandler mentioned briefly was the idea of  social currency being built up as users of a collaborative product digitally compliment their coworkers for providing useful information. In addition to actually allowing employees to easily access the assets (such as educational materials, documentation or presentations) they need more easily and conveniently  to accomplish a task, this social level of feedback provides both positive reinforcement and a metric for evaluation. Would you consider implementing a system like that at your company? Are there any disadvantages to a "reward" system like this?

Two Whitepapers on Requirements from Blueprint

In anticipation of our 2011 ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® event next week, our partner Blueprint is offering our readers exclusive access to two whitepapers on requirements management.

Download the papers: "Microsoft Office: The Wrong Tool for Software Requirements" and "Better Requirements through Better Validation." 

Blueprint is the world leader in requirements management solutions for enterprise application development. Its patented requirements definition and management software improves the expressiveness and quality of requirements, dramatically reducing the miscommunication that leads to rework, delays, and budget overruns. With Blueprint’s solution, business analysts clearly express requirements using a range of visual formats that are integrated to enforce consistency and remove conflicts, stakeholders understand and efficiently validate the requirements, and the team effectively leverages them throughout the entire lifecycle. Blueprint dramatically improves the software development lifecycle, accelerating delivery times and reducing costs for hundreds of major corporations. Headquartered in Toronto, Blueprint has sales offices throughout North America.

Want to learn more? Meet with Blueprint at this year's ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts®. Readers of our blog receive an exclusive 15% discount off the standard registration rate with code PW11BLOG. Register today.

An #ASK_PMIACP recap

Last week, Project World webinar presenter Joseph Flahiff was part of the first group of Agile professionals to take the new PMI Agile Certified Practitioner Exam.

Joined by co-host Rory McCorkle, the PMI Product Owner of the exam, Joseph discussed some of his experiences in a post-exam teleconference.

Some of my main takeaways from listening in included the following:

• 140 people have now taken the exam, and over 1,100 applications have been submitted for PMI ACP certification. There are currently 600 people out of those applications who are eligible for the exam.
• The exam will have 120 questions, and may cover the following topics: scrum and XP, Understanding Risk Management, Meetings and Roles, Tools and Techniques and Skills and Knowledge
• Answer the question asked, not what's in your mind: PMPs may get tripped up when approaching Agile-specific questions.

You can listen to the full recording here. Plus, find Joseph on twitter @joseph_flahiff.

If you're interesting in learning more about Agile certification, join us on Monday, November 14th, 2011 for our full day summit on "Adopting & Implementing Agile Practices." To learn more, download the agenda.

How to earn a complimentary pass to PWWCBA (Call for Guest Bloggers)

Earn a complimentary All-Access pass to ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® by serving as a guest-blogger. As a guest blogger, you’ll have access to PWWCBA's comprehensive agenda attracting the best in insights from around the world.

Unprecedented in size, scope, breadth, depth and participation, this is truly the best event the industry has ever seen. PW&WCBA tackles your mission-critical topics such as leadership, communication, collaboration, change management, social media, retaining top talent, virtual teams, managing next generation and more.

You'll get a pass to the annual PW&WCBA November event plus exclusive access to a networking community and on-demand webinars, to help you grow and learn throughout the year.

By participating as a guest blogger leading up to and at the event, you’ll receive an all access pass for the entire event, taking place November 14-16, 2011 at Disney's Contemporary Resort in Orlando, FL. Responsibilities will include attending specifically assigned sessions and blogging live or same day.

In exchange for guest blogging, you will receive an all-access pass to the event – a $3,000+ value. Guest bloggers are responsible for their travel and lodging.

Apply today by sending your name, company, short biography and links to your blog or writing samples if applicable to Michelle LeBlanc at mleblanc@iirusa.com.

Plus, don't forget that readers of our blog receive an exclusive 15% discount off the standard registration rate with code PW11BLOG. Register here.

ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® is one month away!

ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® is almost here! You have one month left to register for the premiere project management and business analysis conference in the world. So what are you waiting for? Register today and secure your spot!

Why Attend PW&WCBA?
ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® is vastly different from any other project management and business analysis event because it is designed to be truly transformational. This is the place where leading project management and business analysis professionals come together to share their challenges and stories of success. Join them this year and take advantage of this unique opportunity to collaborate and learn with your peers, and return to the office ready to implement your learnings.

For one investment fee, you'll receive:
• Pass to the Annual November Conference
• Up to 36 PDUs/CDUs plus earn your way toward the new Agile Certification (PMI's PMI-ACP)
• A continuous education series of on-demand web seminars offering you up to 12 more PDUs/CDUs
• Connect with peers before and after the event through an exclusive networking site
Plus, you don't want to miss our impressive keynote line-up:
• Dr. Terry Barnhart, Senior Director, Global R&D, Pfizer
• Carlos Dominguez, Senior Vice President, Office of the Chairman and CEO, Cisco
• Peter Guber, Founder & CEO, Mandalay Entertainment, Author, Tell to Win - Connect, Persuade and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story
• Chuck Millhollan, MBA, MPM, PMP, PgMP, Innovative Management Solutions, LLC
• Disney Institute
Download the conference brochure for the full speaker line-up.

The industry's leading companies will be attending - don't get left behind - gain the skills, insights and techniques you need to be more valuable to yourself and your organization.

Join us November 14-16 at Disney's Contemporary Resort in Orlando for Project World and the World Congress for Business Analysts. Readers of our blog receive an exclusive 15% discount off the standard registration rate with code PW11BLOG.

Register here.

We hope to see you next month in Orlando!
The ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts Team

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Project_World

Complimentary Web Seminar: Reduce Rampant Requirements Risks with Agile Practices

Project World and the World Congress for Business Analysts invites you to join us for the following complimentary web seminar: Reduce Rampant Requirements Risks with Agile Practices featuring Ellen Gottesdiener, Founder, Principal Consultant, EBG Consulting, Inc.

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011, 12:00 - 1:00 EST
Reserve your Webinar seat now here.
Please use priority code M2320W11Blog when registering

Because requirements-related problems are often cited as one of highest risks for any type of software project, more and more project leaders and business analysts are turning to agile methods of relief. Learn from requirements expert and agile coach Ellen Gottesdiener how agile teams successfully address and resolve key requirements risks.

You will learn how to:
• Identify the most common requirements-related to risks on any project
• Describe agile requirements practices that mitigate requirement risks
• Name key agile practices that facilitate the ability to for project managers and business analysts to requirement reduce risks

Participants will also receive a subscription to EBG's eNewsletter, Success with Requirements.


About Ellen Gottesdiener
Ellen Gottesdiener is founder and principal of EBG Consulting, experts helping you deliver high-value products your customers want and need. Ellen is an internationally recognized facilitator, coach, trainer, speaker and expert in agile product management practices, product envisioning and roadmapping, business analysis and requirements, retrospectives, and collaboration. She works with global clients and speaks at numerous numerous industry conferences.

Author of two acclaimed books - Requirements by Collaboration and The Software Requirements Memory Jogger- Ellen is co-authoring (with Mary Gorman) a book on practical agile planning and analysis practices. View articles, Ellen's tweets and blog, free eNewsletter, and find a variety of useful practitioner resources on EBG's website, ebgconsulting.com.

About EBG Consulting
EBG Consulting experts help you deliver high-value products your customers want and need. Based on many years of experience in a variety of domains, EBG helps you calibrate your practices to produce timely, quality products. EBG is a leader in helping business and technical teams collaborate to deliver valued, useful and usable products using the agile practice. EBG helps you incorporate appropriate business and requirements analysis practices to ensure a shared understanding of product needs.

Speaker Spotlight: Paul A. Capello, P.M.P.

Leading up to the Project World and World Congress for Business Analysts conference, we're featuring the outstanding bios of some of our speakers. Today let's take a look at Paul A. Capello, PMP, Project Office Manager, Bayfront Health Systems. Paul will be presenting "Managing the Increase in ARRA-Focused Projects: A Real Success Story with the Bayfront PMO Workbook" on Monday, November 14, 2011 in the Annual PMO Summit.

Bayfront Medical Center has established a Project Management Office to facilitate, educate and demonstrate Project Management principles and methodologies. Bayfront Medical has realized the benefits of putting work into projects within the organization; however the large number of projects and the complexity of the projects have resulted in difficulties around collaboration and communication. As the organization tries to transform itself from a reactive organization to a proactive organization and realize efficiencies and cost savings to meet the needs of an evolving marketplace certain tools are created. Thus, the project workbook was born.

In this session you'll learn:
• How to effectively communicate across project teams using a project workbook
• How to have Project Milestones documented
• How to introduce team members to Project Management methodologies

Paul Capello has extensive experience in a wide range of project management duties involving high technology systems development and integration projects, with particular expertise in project leadership and cost and schedule management. Paul is conversant with state-of-the-art technologies and complex technical subjects.

Paul’s recent activities include project management training and mentoring, project management presentations to large groups, leading a 35 person software development team to achieve client acceptance of a client/server budgeting system, writing a complete project management methodology for a health system, developing and delivering a 5 day project management training course, writing a software development methodology, managing a software engineering department and project teams delivering real-time embedded machine control systems, developing recommendations to strengthen a company's software development methodology, using MS-Project to provide planning and performance tracking for a large healthcare clinical implementation project, developing a scalable methodology to tailor project management disciplines to projects of different size and complexity, and conducting training courses in project management.

Prior to that, Paul was an IT manager and financial manager providing project management support to a multi-million dollar integrated software and hardware development project for Avco Financial.

In 2000, Paul was certified as a Project Management Professional by the Project Management Institute. Paul also sat on the Board of Directors for PMI South Florida from 1999-2003. Paul has recently been lauded in the Metropolitan Who's Who for Project Management.

To hear from Paul join us this November PW&WCBA! Learn more about Project World and the World Congress for Business Analysts by downloading the brochure here. Readers of our blog receive an exclusive 15% discount off the standard registration rate with code PW11BLOG. Register here.

Don’t Miss Your Chance to Save on PW&WCBA

Can you believe it's already the second week of August? Summer sure goes by fast, and so is your chance to register for the premiere conference brand in project management and business analysis ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® at a substantial discount. So if you haven't already checked out PW&WCBA in Florida this November, download the brochure today here. It's a summer read that may excite you, inspire you and even help advance your career.

The PW&WCBA Difference:
MORE VALUE
• Earn up to 36 PDUs/CDUs plus earn your way toward the new Agile certification
• Learning year round with a continuing education series of on-demand web seminars, offering you up to 12 PDUs/CDUs
• Continuous networking through an exclusive networking site

SUPERIOR CONTENT
• 90% session led by corporate practitioners
• All new keynotes, sharing enterprise-wide leadership
• 4 immersive tracks with 90-minute in-depth sessions
• Newly expanded and customizable Agile Summit
• Advanced PMO Summit

MORE TOOLS
• 45+ new tools from each speaker
• Pre-event Agile kit to help maximize training time
• Proprietary corporate matchmaking tool to connect you with your peers

See for yourself why PW&WCBA has consistently garnered near perfect satisfaction and referral scores and the highest company retention rates over any other event of its kind. Whether this will be your first time or you are a veteran attendee, you will have an experience incomparable to any previous events you have attended

Join us November 14-16 at Disney's Contemporary Resort in Orlando, register now to secure your spot, receive an exclusive 15% discount off the standard rate as a reader of our blog with code PW11BLOG. Register here.

We hope you will join the leading PM & BA community at the industry's annual gathering. All the best,
The ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts Team
Visit the ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts webpage.
Follow us on Twitter:

Exclusive 15% discount on ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts®

ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® is vastly different from any others because it is designed to be transformational.

This year's PW&WCBA pays particular attention to accelerating core leadership competencies. In the wake of all the revolutionary change - there's a clear need to elevate the discipline from manager to definitive leader. That's exactly what PW&WCBA is built to do.
The PW&WCBA Difference:
More Value than Any Other
Unlike any other event, PW&WCBA offers continuous learning and networking year-round. For one investment fee, you will receive:
• One pass to the annual conference in November
• The opportunity to earn up to 36 PDUs/CDUs, plus credits towards the new Agile Certification
• Year-Round Learning: A continuing education series of on-demand web seminars running bi-monthly following the event, offering an additional 12 PDUs/CDUs
• Continuous networking through an exclusive networking site where you can connect with your peers before, during and after the event
• Download the brochure for full conference details.

Superior Content
The high-level content stretches far beyond the fundamentals to provide you with the skills, techniques and practices to succeed in today's high-pressure business environment.
• NEWLY EXPANDED Agile Summit, customizable for your maturity level
• NEW Agile Certification, earn credits onsite
• Advanced PMO Summit - Your Roadmap to PMO Success
• All NEW Keynotes, sharing enterprise-wide leadership
• Four Immersive Tracks with 90 minute in-depth sessions
• Back by Popular Demand: YOUR Space
• 90% of sessions led by corporate practitioners
• No commercialism from the podium

More Tools, More Value
• Every speaker will provide one tool or template, that's 45+ new tools
• Pre-event Agile kit includes terminology and quizzes to maximize the training time together
• Proprietary Corporate Matchmaking to connect you with folks you are most likely to benefit from meeting
Attend PW&WCBA and you will return to your organization with the most crucial skills for success, and the tools and techniques you need to get the job done.

Join us November 14-16 at Disney's Contemporary Resort in Orlando, register now to secure your spot, receive an exclusive 15% discount off the standard registration rate as a reader of our blog with code PW11BLOG. Register here.


We look forward to seeing you in Orlando this November!
All the best,
The ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts Team

6 Reasons Why PW&WCBA is the premier project management and business analysis conference

The 2011 Project World & World Congress for Business Analysts event is vastly different because it's designed to be truly transformational. That's precisely why PW&WCBA is the premier project management and business analysis conference in the world.

What makes PW&WCBA different from the rest?
• NEWLY EXPANDED Agile Summit, customizable for your maturity level
• NEW Agile certification, earn credits onsite
• All NEW Keynotes, sharing enterprise-wide leadership
• Four Immersive Tracks with 90 minute in-depth sessions
• Back by popular demand: YOUR SPACE 2011
• LEARNING YEAR ROUND, a continuing educations series of on-demand web seminars will run bi-weekly following the event, offering you up to 12 or more PDUs/CDUs
• CONTINUOUS NETWORKING through an exclusive networking site where you can connect with peers before and after the event
• That's not all, download the brochure for the full event details.

Join us November 14-16 at Disney's Contemporary Resort in Orlando, register now to secure your spot, receive an exclusive 15% discount off the standard registration rate as a reader of our blog with code PW11BLOG. Register here.

We look forward to seeing you in Orlando this November!
All the best,
The ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts Team
Visit the ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts webpage
Follow us on Twitter

The 2011 ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts Program is Unveiled

We are excited to announce your exclusive preview of the 2011 program and full speaker roster for ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts®. PW&WCBA will deliver exactly what you need to accelerate success and create value for your organization.

This year's theme pays particular attention to accelerating core leadership competencies. In the wake of all revolutionary change - there's a clear need to elevate the discipline from manager to definitive leader. That's exactly what the event is built to do.

Join us November 14-16 at Disney's Contemporary Resort in Orlando, FL. Download the brochure for full event details.

ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® 2011, Transforming a Role: Accelerate Core Leadership Competencies, November 14-16, 2011, Orlando, FL

Earn up to 36 PDUs/CDUs with one pass
Featured speakers include:

• • Peter Guber, Founder & CEO, Mandalay Entertainment & Author of best-selling book Tell to Win
• • Carlos Dominguez, SVP, Office of the Chairman and CEO, Cisco
• • Brett Roberts, Senior Project Investment and Change Management Manager, The Boeing Company
• • Terri Dickson, PMP, Program Manager, External Mandates & Compliance Implementation, CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield
• • Special Presentation by The Disney Institute, The "Magic" Behind Great Teamwork: Disney's Approach to People Management
• • And more - Download the brochure for the full speaker line-up and complete agenda.

The Content Has Been Organized to Help You Achieve More:
• From Project Manager to Project Leader
• Mastering the BA Role
• The New Era of Social Communication, Leadership & Collaboration
• Tools, Techniques & Trends
• Advancing Your PMO
• Adopting & Implementing Agile Practices
• Being an Evangelist for Portfolio Management
• Enterprise Business Analysis - Moving from Tactical to Strategic
• The Risk of Ignoring Culture in Projects
And don't miss pre-conference activities, workshops and summits, including a newly expanded all-day Agile Summit with breakout options for all maturity levels, the Advanced PMO Summit and all-day topic intensive workshops for the BA & PM.

PLUS - Earn up to 36 PDUs/CDUs and master the people, leadership and facilitator techniques you need to succeed. Download the brochure for the complete program.

Register now to secure your spot and receive an exclusive 15% discount off the standard rate as a reader of our blog with code PW11BLOG.

We look forward to seeing you in Orlando this November!
All the best,
The ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts Team
Visit the ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts webpage
Follow us on Twitter.