Key tips on managing change requests from PW&WCBA Guest Contributor

This week PW & WCBA would like to introduce to you speaker and guest blogger Gurpreet Singh Kanwar, PMP Manager, Custom Applications, NAV Canada. Take a look below at Gurpreet’s post on the PW blog “Project Change Request” in which he details a specific process to manage change requests in order to ensure that projects will be completed on time, within budget and with the expected feature set. We also have several posts below that the rest of the PW community has taken interest in:

Project Change Request
http://bit.ly/3psfCB

Preparing for the PMP exam
http://bit.ly/3dqWNU

CIO is critical to project management process
http://bit.ly/1EE2ud

The Annual PW&WCBA event is only 3 weeks away - Make sure not to miss Gurpreet’s session “Leveraging the Strengths of a PMO to Add Value in Your Organization” on Monday November 16. If you’re planning to attend make sure to mention PWWLINKEDIN when to receive a discount of 20% off the registration rate.

Event Details

Visit the ProjectWorld Homepage
http://bit.ly/3zhFpD

View the ProjectWorld Brochure
http://bit.ly/13YT9V

View the ProjectWorld 2009 Speaker Roster
http://bit.ly/Ba2VA

Register
Save 20% off the registration rate when you mention code PWWLINKEDIN
http://bit.ly/VDHTx

Training Tip Tuesdays: Surfing the Sigmoid Curve: Engagement and Retention of the Best Employees

Join us at ProjectWorld on November 17th at 12 for a special presentation by Vera Teller, Director Systems and Programming, Trader Joe’s Companies. In this presentation, Teller will speak on to keep best employees within the organization engaged even with the struggle in the current economic climate. This presentation explains the Sigmoid Curve developed by Charles Handy. Knowledge of the Sigmoid Curve will help you retain your best employees within the organization. According to Handy, the energy to change is the driver when a disaster is upon us. Instead of reacting to employee loss, plan and develop retention techniques that will keep your best employees engaged.

Don't miss the chance to see this presentation at ProjectWorld this November 16th- 18th at Anaheim, CA. Hope to see you all there!

New Two-Part Hot Topic Session Just Announced – MGM Mirage, Safeway, Inc. and Grange Insurance

We hope that you’re planning to join us for the 2009 PW&WCBA November Event. Among the great speakers and companies in attendance, we’re pleased to announce a brand new hot topic session.

To find out more information about the PW&WCBA November event, please visit our event site. Save 20% off your registration when you use code PWWLINKEDIN

Event Site: http://bit.ly/3SEPCx
Brochure: http://bit.ly/HGV9X
Registration: http://bit.ly/13rRpD

Featured speakers:
San Retna, VP, Safeway, Inc.
Sarma Tekumalla, AVP, PMO & Procurement Grange Insurance
Mike Gosnear, Director, MGM Mirage

Part 1: Monday at 9:15 during the Annual PMO and ITPM Forum

Keynote: Project Portfolio Management (PPM) – Views from the management trenches

PPM leaders from three leading organizations – including Safeway and MGM Mirage - share their PPM journeys. This panel will be highly interactive, with continuous Q&A from the audience. Bring along your questions!

Key issues include:

What problem was PPM targeted to solve?
What were some key benefits and learnings?
What are the next opportunities?

Part 2: Wednesday at 11:30 during the General Session

Panel – Lessons Learned in Resource Management & Change Impact Management

Following their first day’s session, the PPM leaders will drill down into two core PPM areas –Resource Management and Change Impact Management. For each of these areas, they will explain how they got launched, what approaches were implemented, and the impact and lessons learned along the way.

Key issues include:

As prioritization is an emotive arena, how can one reduce the friction cost?
What approaches to resource optimization had the greatest success?
How does one better manage the impact unleashed by the project changes (processes, organizational, technology, etc.)?

Free Web Seminar: Creating the Vision and Making it Real: How to Leverage Project Management for Results

Here is the first in a series of webinars that Project World will put together in anticipation for the event in November in Anaheim, California. Lisa DiTullio will be presenting this seminar on Thursday, September 10th from 2:00PM-3:00PM EDT. Here's a brief description of the webinar.

Want to enhance competency and performance in strategic thinking, strategic planning and project management? This program is specifically designed to promote the understanding and practice in the “Business Circle of Life”. Starting with strategic planning and concluding with plan execution, participants will learn how to take a step back, define their strategy, and make it real through successful execution. This program is ideal for business leaders who are responsible for creating and executing a business plan, but who are unsure how to do it.

What you will learn:

• Strategic Thinking: How to Assess the Environment
• Strategic Planning: How to Set the Direction
• Defining Targets: How to Set Goals and Establish Performance Measures
• Making the Plan Real: How to Leverage Project Management for Results

About the speaker: Lisa DiTullio

Lisa is principal of Lisa DiTullio & Associates, a practice dedicated to introducing project management as a business competency, enabling
organization to improve decision-making, instill accountability, and enhance communications.

She is the editor of ProjectBestPractices, a quarterly newsletter from ProjectWorld, a regular blogger for the Silicon ValleyPM and ProjectConnections sites, and a contributor to PM Network Magazine. She’s also the author of Simple Solutions: How "Enterprise Project Management" Supported Harvard Pilgrim Health Care's Journey from Near Collapse to #1. Her second book, Project Team Dynamics: Increased Speed, Enhanced Performance is due out the end of this year.

Find out more about Lisa:
http://www.lisaditullio.com

Title: Creating the Vision and Making it Real: How to Leverage Project Management for Results

Date: Thursday, September 10, 2009

Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT

Mention priority code G1M2120W2BLOG
Register here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/907235425

Meetings Drive Business

This is why companies need to continue to invest in business meetings. Not only will those who attend gain new and fresh perspectives from other attendees, but they'll hear from top companies who have lived by the same philosophy. Investment in yourself and innovation are the key to your business. What have you done recently to invest in your business?

Are you thinking of attending PW&WCBA this year? What would you expect to gain from the experience?

Meetings Drive Business

PW&WCBA November Keynote: Vincent Cirel

Vincent Cirel

Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer

Norwegian Cruise Line

Vincent Cirel joined Norwegian Cruise Line in March 2008. As Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Cirel is responsible for all aspects of Business and Information Technology, including both tactical operations and strategic planning. Before joining NCL, Cirel served as Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Regent Seven Seas Cruises. After joining Regent as its first Chief Information Officer, Cirel built a world-class IT organization facilitating the systems and process requirements to fuel the Regent brand expansion. Cirel also served as a key member of the executive team facilitating the Apollo acquisition of Regent. Prior to joining Regent, Cirel served as Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Grand Expeditions (GEI). As VP/CIO, he was a key contributor to the M&A activities of GEI as a roll-up of eight global luxury travel brands.

About PW&WCBA November 2009

ProjectWorld & the World Congress for Business Analysts - November Event
November 16-18, 2009
Disney's Grand Californian Hotel

www.projectworld.com

PW April Newsletter and Web Seminar

To continue our efforts to keep you up to date on the latest industry news, we’ve created a monthly newsletter that we invite you to view.

View the newsletter

Coming up next week is a complimentary webinar presentation by Ellen Gottesdiener who will describe how agile and requirements combine to form a sound and sensible union. You will learn how business analysis and requirements practices really work on agile projects; ways agile teams represent, verify and validate requirements; and how effective agile teams collaborate around requirements. Join us to learn how agile requirements provide the engine that drives successful delivery of business value.

Register for the webinar
Mention priority code: G1M2120W1BLOG

Project management forum

Are you looking for a place to collaborate for your project management online? Making Project Management Better has recently posted a list of free websites you can utilize for your management. Find out more about these at the MPMB web site.

1. allPM.com
2. gantthead.com
3. Project Management Knowledge Base
4. Professional Project Managers Networking Group
5. Tek-Tips Project Management Forum
6. ICPM Project Manager’s Forum

Tools on the web for project management

Are you looking to utilize cost-effective tools to keep your project management going? Here's a great slide show about all of the Web 2.0 tools available on the internet.

Web 2.0 Tools For Project Management

View more presentations from Douglas Tokuno.

Project Management 2.0

Are you, as a project manager, spending more time sifting through email upon email before you can truly begin to manage your projects? ZD Net Asia recently looked at how many PMs spend time going through email to collect the details of their new projects, often times missing key factors, due to reminders being lost in the email or if you don't get the email.

According to the article, PM 2.0 has three benefits:

• Reducing routine work
• Providing multiple project views
• Giving the complete picture of all projects

For an in-depth look at the benefits of PM 2.0, read the article here.

Dr. Firas Abouzaki talks about project management

In a recent interview at Business Today, Dr. Firas Abouzaki talks about his role in project management and how it has grown. He also looks at how it has changed over the years. For the complete article, read here.

When asked what was the future in project management, he responded:
I envisage a growth in demand. There will probably be such a great demand that as a standard requirement - every professional in the industry will be required to be certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP), or similar.

DeskAway: Project managment for small businesses

At the PC Mag, they talk about the software DeskAway. This simple project management software is set up specifically for small businesses, and gives them a way to manage their projects. Some of the problems that are resolved by using this software are: e-mail spam, multiple file versions, lost files, task accountability issues, lack of clarity, and work transparency.

What do you think? Have you had a chance to use DeskAway to manage your projects?

New PM Masters at Washington University

Starting Fall Semester 2009, students at Washington University of St. Louis will be able to obtain a Masters Degree in Project Management.

Tom Browdy, Ph.D, director of masters of information management had this to say about the new program:

"Project management has become a challenge for industry over the past decade or so, and we've seen the need for a master's degree program for some time. Historically, most people who ended up managing projects were pushed into it. But there's more to project management than learning things on the fly. Our organizations live and die on projects now. This is a master's degree program that concentrates on how to plan, organize and execute a project as well as how to deal with people on a project."

For more information, read the article here.

Project Manager Podcast

Stumbled upon this great site that provides free and paid podcasts for budding project managers or those looking to spruce up their skills. The PM Podcast offers free, regular episodes in the format of a traditional radio program that can be delivered to your iPod or computer.

Have you checked it out? What other digital resources are out there for project managers looking to sharpen their skills? Ideas appreciated!