Better Requirements through Better Validation

Join us at PW&WCBA 2010 for the presentation, "Better Requirements through Better Validation" with Amy C. Hout, IT Project Sr Analyst, Citi and Keith Barrett, Sr. Sales Engineer,Blueprint Software Systems Inc.

About the session:

Improving the quality of requirements, making them more accurate and complete, is the desired outcome of the review and validation process. Not to be confused with sign-off which typically occurs at a given milestone in the process, review and validation requires multiple collaboration points as we share what has been authored to make sure it’s correct. However, many organizations struggle to get the level of engagement and feedback they need. In this session we’ll discuss characteristics of troubled validation approaches and describe more current and modern approaches to engage stakeholders, resulting in higher quality feedback and ultimately better requirements.

Audience Takeaways:
• A clear understanding of the difference between validation/review and sign-off
• How to spot a troubled validation process and its impact on requirements quality
• New current and modern approaches to conducting validation/review sessions that drive better requirements

There is still time to register!

PMs & BAs Learn New Skill Sets for the Future

Have you had a chance to look over the agenda, and see why ProjectWorld® &World Congress for Business Analysts® is the can't miss event of the year for project managers and business analysts?

We are excited to invite you to join us November 8-10 in Orlando, FL Take a look at all the new content and networking opportunities.

The chance to network with over 200 professionals in the project management and business analysis insights industries.

Visit www.projectworld.com to see a snapshot of the types of people you'll meet and get to know.

The latest and greatest for all your hot buttons.
The agenda covers: Project Management Office, Agile, Business Rules, Project Portfolio Management, the PM/BA Partnership, the Future of IT, Building Project Management and Business Analysis Skill Sets for the Future, Collaboration, Communication & Leadership, Tools, Techniques & Trends, and much more.

Earn up to 36 PDUs/CDUs with just one conference investment.
It's important to keep up-to-date on your professional education credits, and we're making it easier for you - earn almost half of the necessary credits in one place. (That's more than half of the PDUs/CDUs needed to maintain your certification!)

Face time with counterparts in your industry.
Enjoy an interactive environment where you can discuss issues with your peers that are privy to your own industry.

Your Space & World Café Collaborative Activities.
Participate in brainstorming and conversation with your peers to ask and answer the critical questions you have about your PM and BA needs.

Official Event Executive Summary.
Get a wrap up of all the key topics and deliverables revealed throughout PW&WCBA's sessions in a document you can take back and share with your colleagues.

NEW for 2010! We're offering a NEW year-round comprehensive learning experience. Within one conference package you'll receive exclusive access to the 2010 on-demand Web Seminar Series PLUS, access to the live PW&WCBA conference in November. That's up to 36 PDUs/CDUs in just one package!

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.

We hope to see you in Orlando this November!

ProjectBest Practices: It's a Small World & the Value of PMO

This Newsletter has been brought to you by ... ProjectWorld® & The World Congress for Business Analysts USA®

I have conducted a significant amount of international business this year. While spanning the globe, I realized it is a small, small world.

Countries, cultures and landscapes may differ, but project management challenges in business today seem eerily similar.

Here are some common trends I observe:

• PMO's continue to get a bad rap
• Project managers like to collect tools and templates with little thought to their value in supporting project needs or improve project practices
• Project teams are difficult to manage
• Project managers don't receive the respect they deserve
• Executives still don't get it

Beginning today and throughout future issues, I will provide my thoughts on each of these topics. Let's start with #1. In spite of increasing evidence showing direct correlation to project/business results when a PMO exists, organizations continue to have a love/hate relationship with PMO's. I believe there are five business values you can expect with a PMO:

1. Speed as a competitive advantage. An easy-to-use project management methodology enables people to move from vision to completion quickly.
2. Customer Satisfaction. Organizations that adopt project management see improvements in customer satisfaction. Because many projects are focused on product development, operations and process improvements, they directly improve the experience of the customer.
3. Proven Results. Monitoring project activities can improve overall project performance. Having "big brother" monitor project progress keeps people focused and driven.
4. Optimize Resources. Balancing resources between project needs and operational demands is tricky. Organizations that have project offices are better at managing limited resources to meet both needs.
5. Knowledge is Power. By capturing best practices and knowing what is and isn't working, companies can turn that information into insight and continuously improve project results supporting business success.

Declaring PMO value and sustaining it must mean relating back to business value. Does your PMO have a value proposition?

Now its time for you to join the conversation - Share your ideas, suggestions and thoughts on what the successful project manager looks like on our LIVE discussion on LinkedIn.

Contributor: Lisa DiTullio (Lisa DiTullio & Associates)

Earn up to 36 PDUs in one ticket. Register today.
ProjectWorld® & The World Congress for Business Analysts®
November 8-10, 2010 | Walt Disney World Swan, Orlando, FL
Be sure to visit www.projectworld.com for tools, articles, templates and event updates.

Interested in sponsoring? Contact Melissa Ashley, mashley@iirusa.com mashley@iirusa.com.


Get ProjectNews hot off the presses! Please click on the following link to subscribe: http://www.iirusa.com/optin. If you have any colleagues or friends you think would be interested, please feel free to share this with them!

Are you using Agile on personal projects?

Great article today from Michele Sliger who asked her Twitter followers whether or not anyone was using an agile technique to help them plan their individual efforts and if they were, what were they using. Sliger found that many of the respondents were using Personal Kanban. Find out more about Personal Kanban here. What is interesting about Sliger's piece is that she showcased a very practical, very "old school" way of organizing our personal time. As project managers, we are inundated with the next software, planning system or meeting style to get our project done on time and on budget. But how awesome is it to have something as simple as a Personal Kanban to keep track of all of the little projects that may not fall into the digital sector? What other techniques to you use to keep your personal projects going?

Be sure to check out Michele Sliger's blog for more information.

The Future of IT Isn’t What It Used to Be

Did you know that 75% of business leaders view IT as critical to success but only 25% of business leaders consider themselves “smart” about IT? As a result of this competency gap, existing IT assets are not fully exploited. IT capacity constrains innovation, and the potential of emerging “anytime-anywhere” technologies is difficult to realize. Join Susan Cramm, author of 8 Things We Hate About IT, for a provocative discussion about increasing the IT-smarts of your organization. "The Future of IT Isn’t What It Used to Be" live at Project World & World Congress for Business Analysts Conference 2010, November 8-10, 2010 in Orlando.

• The future of corporate IT
• The “Gentle Slope” of IT-Smarts
• IT-Smarts Initiatives and Implementation Strategies

Find out more about PW&WCBA 2010 - visit the event's website for complete event details.

Business Analysis Professionals – How to Thrive Now

We know it's often difficult for business analysis professionals to get out of the office. That's why this year we have made it easy for you at ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts®. In just three days, our unique agenda urges you to move beyond the core principles of the BABOK® through REAL WORLD CASE STUDIES and PRACTICAL TOOLS that tackle your current challenges.

Plus, earn up to 36 CDUs with the all new All-Access Conference pass!

Based on extensive practitioner research, we've developed an agenda that tackles your current challenges and we've recruited cross-industry experts to specifically address your needs.

The Agile Summit: The Power, Promise, Pain and Praise of Using Agile Practices - sessions include:
• Leading Agile Self-Directed Teams, Scripps Network Interactive
• Partner for Success: Using Agile and Lean Methodologies, Mayo Clinic
• Two Globally Distributed "Agile" Projects - 1 Success, 1 Failure and the Lessons Learned, Monetrics, LLC

Assessing and Improving Your BA Team - a full-day workshop dedicated to helping you understand the value delivered by business analysis, and creating an action plan to implement change.

Build Your Business Analysis Skills Set for the Future - sessions include:
• Are You Worth It? Formulating and Implementing a Value Proposition for Business Analysis in Your Organization, US Dept. of the Interior
• The Enterprise Business Analyst, IIBA
• Risk Management for Requirements and Use Cases, National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR)

Tools, Techniques & Trends - sessions include:
• Cloud Risks: Managing the Risks and Rewards of Cloud Computing, The Hartford
• Beyond SOA - The Business Semantics and Reusable Business Service Ontology of an Agile Extended Enterprise, TCS America
• Business Architecture Trends and Methods, Wells Fargo Bank
Plus, join your project management counterparts during the Collaboration, Communication and Leadership track and take advantage of this time to share best practices, insights and knowledge.

This is just a small sample of all that PW&WCBA has to offer.

Click here to download the full agenda, complete speaking roster and event details.

We hope to see you in Orlando this November!

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Are Project Managers' Soft Skills Evolving?

Below is a post from Project World & World Congress for Business Analysts Keynote speaker, Mary Gerush of Forrester. Join Mary and other esteemed guest at the premier event for Project Management and Business Analyst professionals while earning 36 PDUs/CDUs.

PW&WCBA
November 8-10, 2010
Walt Disney World Swan
Orlando, FL

Download the Brochure


Once upon a time, there was a project manager. This project manager was strong, motivated, and driven to succeed. She was certified, the PMBOK was her friend, and she could create the most amazing Gantt charts ever seen.

One day, she took on a new project.

This project was large and complex. It involved new technologies and many stakeholders. And the project team was — let’s just say — “challenging.”

But this didn’t scare our heroine. She created a fabulous Gantt chart, established milestones, and documented roles and responsibilities. She set up her cost management, time management, and quality management plans. And she doled out assignments to the project team with a confident smile.

The project went off track quickly.

Team members argued, stakeholders failed to participate, and serious roadblocks emerged. The project manager requested status updates, set up meetings, and reported to the steering team — all things that “good” project managers do. But eventually, she lost the gig.

Why? She either didn’t have — or didn’t use — critical soft skills that today’s strong, next-generation project manager absolutely must not only have — but also exercise.

Like this project manager (any resemblance to actual events or characters is purely coincidental), I come from a very “traditional” project management background. I’m a PMI member and a certified project management professional. The PMBOK is my friend too. Managing the triple constraints of time, cost, and scope motivated me for years. And while my traditional project management skills helped me lead most (but not all) of my projects to successful outcomes, they would have meant nothing without the ability to serve and enable the team, adapt to complexity, and flex appropriately.

I’ve blogged about this in the past, sharing my findings on today’s strong project manager as well as tips to help project managers evolve. But now the topic is once again top of mind, because I’m preparing to speak about the next-generation project manager at the November ProjectWorld & World Congress For Business Analysts. And while I feel that the discipline of project management has evolved to embrace new ideals, many project managers are still overly focused on methodology and neglecting the development of critical soft skills. It’s not about checklists, schedules, and status reports — it’s about people.

Are you seeing traditional project managers evolve to become more people-oriented and flexible? How are they being successful? How can we help people like our heroine enhance their traditional project management abilities while developing and using next-generation soft skills? Share your thoughts and come join me in Orlando.

Thanks!

Mary