Project World on PMChat radio

I've written here before about participating in the weekly twitter chat #pmchat, and we were pleased to recently participate in their one year anniversary celebration the #PMChat Olympics. In case you missed it, you can catch me talking about the 2012 event and some of our exciting speakers on the on-demand radio show here:

Listen to internet radio with KellyProjectSolutions on Blog Talk Radio

The free PW&WCBA pass has now been given away, but you can still save 20% off the cost of the event. Check out the details on the PMChat blog here. I hope to see some of the #PMChat community at the event!

For more information on the ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts and to register, visit our webpage.

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

Power Up Your Agile Product Planning & Analysis

Did you miss our recent webinar "Power Up Your Agile Product Planning & Analysis: Collaborate to Deliver Value" presented by Ellen Gottesdiener, Founder, Principal Consultant, EBG Consulting, Inc.?

A recording of the session is available for your viewing here, be sure to check it out for insight into the "7 Product Dimension" and how they both transcend and deepen stories and personas.

Looking to learn more on this topic? Ellen Gottesdiener and co-author with Mary Gorman will soon be releasing their new book Discover to Deliver: Agile Product Planning & Analysis, sign up here to be notified when it is released.We're looking forward to picking up a copy at our ProjectWorld book store this September!

Ellen will also be presenting one of our workshops "Agile Essentials: People, Planning, and Product Practices" as well as our half day Agile Summit on Monday September 10th at ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts 2012. You must register for the pre-conference workshops to attend, make sure to reserve your spot now.

As a reader of our blog, you can receive 15% off the standard registration rate with Priority Code PW12BLOG. For more information on the ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts and to register, visit our webpage.

Last Chance to Save on ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts

There is just one question you have to ask yourself. And it's not why you should attend ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® in 2012. It's what you will miss if you don't?

Earn up to 36 PDUs/CDUs with just one conference investment: Within just one conference package you'll receive access to the 2012 on-demand Webinar Series, plus access to the live PW&WCBA conference in September. That's up to 36 PDUs/CDUs in one package! 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.

Complex Projects You Can Relate To: We've gone back to what matters most to you. Large-scale, complex projects delivered on-time and on-budget, including the World Trade Center, SEAL Team Six, Habitat for Humanity & Port Authority of NY & NJ.

The Latest & Greatest for All Your Hot Button Issues: The agenda covers: Risk Management for the PM & BA, Agile Essentials, Excellence in Project Portfolio Management, Transitioning Practices for Agile Delivery, Innovation in the PMO, Elevating the Role: From Manager to Leader, Creating a BA Center of Excellence, Social Communication, Innovation & Collaboration and Tools, Techniques & Trends. Download the brochure for details.

Re-Formatted Program Agenda: Our pre-conference summits and workshops no longer compete. Register for a workshop in the morning and a summit in the afternoon to maximize your learning. Make the most of your time at PW&WCBA!

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 to the office and share with your colleagues.

Continuous Networking: Through our exclusive networking site, ProjectWorld Connect, you will be able to connect with fellow attendees and speakers before, during and after the event.

And much more! Download the brochure for the full conference agenda. (AND the 2011 Executive Summary & exclusive web seminar "10 Traits of an Agile Product Owner")

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

Take a look at the companies who've already signed on to attend: 
AAA Carolinas, Academy of Art University, Alfa Mutual Insurance, American Chemical Society, Ancestry.com, Aseco Integrated Systems, Atlas Copco, Axa Equitable, Ball Corporation, BECU, Blue Cross Blue Shield of SC, Blue Cross Blue Shield of TX, Boeing Company, Carefirst Blue Cross Blue Shield of MD, Chevron, Cisco, Citizens Bank, City of Charlotte, Constant Contact, Coventry Health Care, EBG Consulting, Inc. , ECMC, Enbridge Pipeline Inc, Encore Health Resources, Entertainment Partners, Farm Bureau Insurance, Florida Power & Light , Follett Higher Education, Forrest Research, Georgia Health Sciences University, Geospatial Intelligence Agency, Gerdau, GlaxoSmithKline, Green Shield Canada, Habitat for Humanity Int'l, Harley Davidson, Health Dialog Services, Highmark Blueshield, IBM, IIBA, John Deere & Company, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Liberty Mutual, Lifeway Christian Resources, Lincoln Financial Group, M&I Bank, Marathon Oil Company, Merck Pharmaceuticals, Meridian Technologies, Metropolitan Water, Microsoft, NAIC, Nationwide Insurance, NAV Canada, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Perrigo, PetSmart, Pfizer, Physicians Mutual, PMCentersUSA, Poole & Associates, Port Authority of NY & NJ, Projility, Prudential Financial, Puget Sound Energy, Railinc Corporation, Rich Products Corp., Robbins & Robbins, Inc. , Robert Bosch, Scotts Company, SEAL Team Six, Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, SIGSA, South African State IT Agency, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, State Farm Insurance Company, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Texas Guaranteed, The Clorox Company, The Coca Cola Company, National Council on Compensation Insurance, The Travelers Companies, Inc. , Tishman Construction Corp., U.S. Cellular, Value Creation Associates, Verizon, Vistakon Inc. , Walt Disney World Company, WEA Trust, WinWholesale Inc. , World Vision Ethiopia , Wsp Flack & Kurtz

As a reader of our blog, you can receive 15% off the standard registration rate with Priority Code PW12BLOG. For more information on the ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts and to register, visit our webpage.

We hope to see you in Orlando this September!

The ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts Team

Follow the ProjectWorld Twitter: https://twitter.com/project_world

Become a fan on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/JAM9Yc

One Month Until PW&WCBA: Six Tips For The Attendee

If there is one thing we know about our Project World and World Congress for Business Analysts attendees, it's that they are planners, be it by nature or simply experience of the profession.

With that in mind, if you're planning to attend this September, you may already be tracking down the little details. Here are some tips for making the most of your experience at the upcoming conference:

1. Arrival: If you're arriving by air at Orlando International Airport, Disney's Magical Express Service is the easiest choice for reaching our event venue at Disney's Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World Resort.

This exclusive complimentary shuttle and luggage delivery service conveniently takes you from the airport directly to your Disney Resort and back again when it's time to return. To book, call 407-827-6777 or visit www.DisneyConventionEars.com/dme for more information. It is recommended that you book this service now if you haven't already.

For those who choose to drive or take a cab, the street address of the resort is 4600 North World Drive, Disney's Contemporary Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830. There is also free transportation within the parks once you've reached the resort, including the Monorail, boats and motor coaches. Magic Kingdom® Park is also a short walk away.  

2. Accommodations: For questions regarding Disney's Contemporary Resort you may contact them directly at (407) 934-763, mention that you are with the "IIR ProjectWorld Conference" group. Disney's Contemporary Convention Center is adjacent to the Resort, with entrances both near the hotel registration desk, and at the rear near the garden wing annex and pool. This is where all PW&WCBA sessions will be held, just look for the PW&WCBA signage when you arrive!

3. Connect: Our exclusive crowdvine networking site is the place online for all your PW&WCBA information - here you will access documentation from session as well as information on collecting PDUs. Additionally, you can use the site to connect with fellow attendees and network before, during and after the event.

4. Dining: Lunch and a light breakfast will be served during the event, and there are also several dining locations on site at The Contemporary. Dining Locations at Disney's Contemporary Resort include:
California Grill – Award-winning restaurant with market-inspired menu, stage kitchen and spectacular views
The Wave – Casual dining featuring American cooking blended with world flavors
Chef Mickey's – Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner
Food 'N Fun Center – Hot & cold sandwiches, salads and desserts
The Downtown Disney® area, available via free shuttles from the hotel, also offers several dining options.

5. Dress: We would like to create an informal atmosphere at the conference conducive to learning and networking- business casual dress is welcome. The main guideline is for you to wear what you feel most comfortable in.
With each attendee having their own ‘ideal’ temperature for conference rooms, it is not always possible to accommodate everyone. Assume the space inside will be air conditioned and the outside space will be warm. If you tend to feel cold you are encouraged to bring a sweater or jacket to the sessions.

6. Fun: Sure, PW&WCBA is a place for learning and career development, but feel free to take advantage of the great nearby attractions after conference hours. Special Disney Meeting/Convention Tickets are available only to meeting attendees, their guests and family members, Disney's multi-day and half-day Meeting/Convention tickets are designed to fit any agenda and can't be purchased at the Theme Park gates. For more information visit www.disneytickets.disney.go.com/store/ifir/welcome.html. 

Lastly, make sure to stay connected here, on twitter or on Facebook for up-to-the minute updates. We'll be live-tweeting from the conference at hashtag #pwwcba - so follow along and add your thoughts!

Haven't registered yet? There's still time! As a reader of our blog, you can receive 15% off the standard registration rate with Priority Code PW12BLOG. For more information on the ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts and to register, visit our webpage.

What's The Project Plan For Your Career?

Yesterday I had the pleasure of moderating yet another of our PW&WCBA webinar series. This session focused on career development - both for the manager that wants to bring out the best in their team, as well as the "rock star" on the team that wishes to drive their career forward. It got me thinking about project management and business analysis career paths, (which is always one of the hottest topics at PW&WCBA.)

Browsing PMI’s 2012 Pulse of the Profession I was interested to read the following:

"2011 PMI Project Management Salary Survey found that nearly 70% of organizations now have a career path for those engaged in project or program management. However, the majority of these are still informal and not clearly defined and in writing."

Anecdotal evidence from speaking with various PW&WCBA attendees agrees. One particular example from yesterday's webinar stood out to me as well: While the "rock star" on a team may need to be encouraged and developed to keep them within the team and the company - not everyone is suited to moving to a people management role, and in fact it may not even be something they're interested in. Whether that "rock star" is you, or you are the one in the management position, it is important to establish communication and evaluate what those career goals are.

If this is something you struggle with, several of our sessions at this year's PW&WCBA focus directly on next career moves, employee development and team leadership including:
What is a Business Architect and How Might YOU Get There? with Cecilie Hoffman, Business Architect, Railinc Corporation
Developing Project Managers into Project Leaders with Mark Schlosser, Director, Enterprise Project Change Management & Analytics, U.S. Cellular Corporation & Jackie Staley, Director, Enterprise Project Management, U.S. Cellular Corporation
How to Create and Sustain a Culture of Innovation in Your Organization with Srini Penchikala, Security Architecture Program Manager, Texas Guaranteed and
New Frontiers in PM: Creating High Performing Teams with Silvanus David, Program Manager, South African State Information Technology Agency

Plus, simply attending the conference can help you gain the skills and knowledge needed to take that next step - be it a people management role or more technical.  Download the brochure to learn more about these and all of our other sessions.

In your experience, is it difficult to define a project management or business analyst career path? Once you've reached a certain point, do you find yourself asking "what's next?" Share your experience with us in the comments.

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

Increase Collaboration Between Your PM & BA Teams

Creating a collaborative environment is the starting point for creating an effective team building program. When you learn to collaborate internally, you are better able to compete externally. Are your project management and business analysis teams collaborating effectively for your business? Gain the skills you need to work better with your teams, and improve collaboration and communication at ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® next month!

Join Harvey A. Robbins, President of Robbins & Robbins, Inc. at PW&WCBA as he explores ways that you can create the kind of atmosphere where people feel free to share information, back each other up, and in general, act in a manner that encourages collaboration.

Plus, collaborate with your peers onsite at the event during the Your Space session. Channel the brilliance of a room full of PM and BA professionals and get answers to your most pressing questions from the collective knowledge and expertise of all attendees and speakers.

Take a look at the companies who've already signed on to attend:

AAA Carolinas, Academy of Art University, Alfa Mutual Insurance, American Chemical Society, Ancestry.com, Aseco Integrated Systems, Atlas Copco, Axa Equitable, Ball Corporation, BECU, Blue Cross Blue Shield of SC, Blue Cross Blue Shield of TX, Boeing Company, Campus Crusade for Christ, Carefirst Blue Cross Blue Shield of MD, Chamberlain Consulting, Chevron, Cisco, Citizens Bank, City of Charlotte, Constant Contact, Coventry Health Care, EBG Consulting, Inc. , ECMC, Enbridge Pipeline Inc, Encore Health Resources, Entertainment Partners, Farm Bureau Insurance, Florida Power & Light , Forrester Research, Georgia Health Sciences University, Geospatial Intelligence Agency Gerdau, GlaxoSmithKline, Green Shield Canada, Habitat for Humanity Int'l, Health Dialog Services, Highmark Blueshield, IAPPM, IBM, IIBA, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Liberty Mutual, Lifeway Christian Resources, Lincoln Financial Group, M&I Bank, Marathon Oil Company, Meridian Technologies, NAIC, Nationwide Insurance, NAV Canada, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, PepsiCo, Perrigo, PetSmart, Pfizer, Physicians Mutual, PMCentersUSA , Poole & Associates, Port Authority of NY & NJ, Prudential Financial, Puget Sound Energy, Railinc Corporation, Rich Products Corp., Robbins & Robbins, Inc. , Robert Bosch, Scotts Company, SEAL Team Six, SIGSA, Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, South African State IT Agency, Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide, State Farm Insurance Company, Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA, Texas Guaranteed, The Clorox Company, The Coca Cola Company, National Council on Compensation Insurance, The Travelers Companies, Inc. , Tishman Construction Corp., Toscanini Marble & Granite, U.S. Cellular, UIHNA, Ultimate Software, UPS, Value Creation Associates, Vistakon, Walt Disney World Company, WEA Trust, WinWholesale Inc. , World Vision of Ethiopia, Wsp Flack & Kurtz.

Visit our website and download the brochure for the full conference agenda.

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

As a reader of our blog, you can receive 15% off the standard registration rate with Priority Code PW12BLOG. For more information on the ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts and to register, visit our webpage.

We hope to see you in Orlando this September!

The ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts Team

Follow the ProjectWorld Twitter: https://twitter.com/project_world
Become a fan on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/JAM9Yc

PW&WCBA 2012 Joins The #PMChat Olympics

For the past year, each Friday whenever my schedule allowed I've eagerly tuned in to twitter at Noon EST to participate in #PMChat.

Where other hashtags on twitter often get overrun with unrelated content or are too filled with insiders to be welcoming to the casual observer, #PMChat simply provides a friendly community discussing problems and challenges they've faced, solutions they've found, and even what beverage goes best with a twitter chat. It doesn't hurt that participants can earn PDUs for participation, but I can't imagine that is the primary driver for many for chime in. Equally appealing for a PM newbie or someone who has been in the business for years, the chat provides a great place to build connections with the best and brightest project managers on twitter.

Similarly, PW&WCBA is about business and career development, yes, but it's also about finding that sense of community within the project management and business analyst worlds.

So, as soon as hosts Rob Prinzo and Robert Kelly announced the "#PMChat Olympics" to celebrate the one year mark of the chat, I knew we needed to get involved. "An online/social media scavenger hunt," the #PMChat Olympics is an opportunity to complete a series of tasks in order to win one of several prizes. I'm happy to announce that one free conference pass for our 2012 event in Orlando, FL is amongst those prizes!

You can read all the details here, but you'll need to follow along on the #PMChat hashtag all this month to enter. The contest officially starts at August 16th at 11:30 AM EST.

In the meantime, be sure to follow our twitter handle @Project_World for more updates.

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

Complete Your Projects On-Time & On-Schedule

Only 2.5% of companies successfully completed all of their projects.*
One in six projects have a cost overrun of 200% and a schedule overrun of almost 70%.*

There is a staggering percentage of technology projects that either fail, or are unsuccessful in delivering the expected value to the business. While there are many different inputs and reasons for this, one common thread appears to be present in varying degrees. The use and role of the BA.

Once a respected and valued piece of an IT project, the role of the Business Analyst has been relegated to a narrowly focused, task-oriented regimentation that seems to include no more than a production of required documentation.

PW&WCBA brings together both sides of the project team, project management and business analysis, to advance collaboration within your organization. Hear Janet Santacroce, former Senior Business Systems Analyst SAP from The Coca Cola Company share how to bring the business analyst back into the project and structure a business environment to facilitate the role of business conduit.

Visit our website and download the brochure for the full conference agenda.
(Plus, you'll also receive a copy of the 2011 Executive Summary & exclusive web seminar "10 Traits of an Agile Product Owner")

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

Take a look at the companies who've already signed on to attend:
AAA Carolinas, Academy of Art University, Alfa Mutual Insurance, American Chemical Society, Ancestry.com, Aseco Integrated Systems, Atlas Copco, Axa Equitable, Ball Corporation, BECU, Blue Cross Blue Shield of SC, Blue Cross Blue Shield of TX, Boeing Company, Carefirst Blue Cross Blue Shield of MD, Chamberlain Consulting, Chevron, Cisco, Citizens Bank, City of Charlotte, Constant Contact, Coventry Health Care, EBG Consulting, Inc. , ECMC, Enbridge Pipeline Inc, Encore Health Resources, Entertainment Partners, Farm Bureau Insurance, Florida Power & Light Forrester Research, Georgia Health Sciences University, Geospatial Intelligence Agency, GlaxoSmithKline, Green Shield Canada, Habitat for Humanity Int'l, Health Dialog Services, Highmark Blueshield, IBM, IIBA, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Liberty Mutual, Lifeway Christian Resources, Lincoln Financial Group, M&I Bank, Marathon Oil Company, Meridian Technologies, NAIC, Nationwide Insurance, NAV Canada, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, PepsiCo, Perrigo, PetSmart, Pfizer, Physicians Mutual, PMCentersUSA Poole & Associates, Port Authority of NY & NJ, Prudential Financial, Puget Sound Energy, Railinc Corporation, Rich Products Corp., Robbins & Robbins, Inc. , Scotts Company, SEAL Team Six, Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, South African State IT Agency, State Farm Insurance Company, Texas Guaranteed, The Clorox Company, The Coca Cola Company, National Council on Compensation Insurance, The Travelers Companies, Inc. , Tishman Construction Corp., U.S. Cellular, UPS, Value Creation Associates, Walt Disney World Company, WEA Trust, WinWholesale Inc. and Wsp Flack & Kurtz As a reader of our blog, you can receive 15% off the standard registration rate with Priority Code PW12BLOG.

For more information on the ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts and to register, visit our webpage.

For a sample of the PW&WCBA experience, join us for a free webinar:
Power Up Your Agile Product Planning & Analysis: Collaborate to Deliver Value with Ellen Gottesdiener, Founder, Principal Consultant, EBG Consulting, Inc.
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012, 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/264528265

We hope to see you in Orlando this September!
The ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts Team
Follow the ProjectWorld Twitter
Become a fan on Facebook

* Statistics pulled from the Business Insider article, Most Projects Fail Because the Employees Working on them Just Don't Care.

5 Reasons To Turn Your PMO Into An Innovation Hub

One of the half day summits at this year's PW&WCBA conference is entitled "Innovation in the PMO – What's Next?" and it's one I'm really looking forward to. Unfortunately I find that when many hear the word "innovation" they think it's just a buzzword or fluff. In fact in 2010, LinkedIn discouraged the use of the term "innovative" on profiles adding it to a list of terms that "can appear empty to a potential employer."

But what company isn't looking to innovate? "Innovate or die" is perhaps one of the most frequently tossed around phrases in today's business world. In January of 2011, President Obama even launched a "Strategy for American Innovation." I think the aspect of innovation that scares some of the project management world away is that "fluffiness" and the seeming inability to plan for or around it. With that in mind, here are some simple steps to take towards making your PMO a center for innovation in your company:

1. Your PMO can prioritize in line with changing business strategies. As this article by by Peter Mihailidis, Rad Miletich and Adel Khreich explains "Prioritisation of initiatives is rarely explicitly documented. This in itself can lead to inefficient use of resources."

2. Your PMO can smooth demands on labor, and staff innovation projects appropriately. This Forrester report expands: "Forrester is beginning to see the project management office(PMO) act as the “matchmaker” — the group that aligns innovation opportunities with resources and helps organizations remove barriers to innovation by managing the never-ending demand for labor."

3. Your PMO can create balance for risky projects. In our webinar series, Creating Value with Project Portfolio Management, Part 1 & 2 with Michael Menke (The 2011 sessions of which you can view on our resource page) we learned about balancing projects strategically - you can afford to take a risk on developing some "Pearls" as long as you have enough "Bread & Butter" projects.

4. Your PMO can get innovation projects done on time, within scope. By providing a framework and relying on traditional best practices a PMO can avoid the dangers of pursuing too many risky projects, or even just too many projects. Project management methodologies provide a framework for workflow in what may be a constantly shifting business strategy. As this Forbes Insights report found: "Speed-to-market is necessary for successful innovation. More than 80% of survey respondents agreed that getting a product or service swiftly out to market is a critical business innovation tactic."

5. Your PMO can provide cultural change. Perhaps this is the biggest opportunity for innovation coming from the PMO. If your PMO provides a framework for idea generation and systems for evaluating the feasibility of those ideas, you may be providing your company with something it has never had before: space to come up with a wild or out-there concept.

Just forming a PMO? That organizational change is going to create a cultural change, too, and with it, room for innovation. Sure, not all ideas may turn into projects and some may turn into failed projects, but when there is a general business demand for innovation having this practical, structured manner of generating it may be just what you need.

Not sure where to start? Check out one of these on-demand webinars "Assessing the State of Innovation: How Does Your Company Rate? or "PMO Prosperity: What to Know, Do and Think About."

If you're still unconvinced, I hope you'll check out the PW&WCBA workshop with me this fall to learn more.

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

Power Up Your Agile Product Planning & Analysis: Collaborate to Deliver Value – Complimentary Web Seminar

Power Up Your Agile Product Planning & Analysis: Collaborate to Deliver Value
- Ellen Gottesdiener,  Founder, Principal Consultant, EBG Consulting, Inc.
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012, 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET Reserve your webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/264528265

For continual value delivery, stakeholders must partner to reach a shared understanding of the product needs. How does this partnership gain a focused yet holistic understanding of the highest-value needs? How to the partners effectively plan so that the delivery team builds the right product, at the right time?

Join Ellen Gottesdiener, co-author with Mary Gorman of the soon-to-be released book, Discover to Deliver: Agile Product Planning & Analysis, and learn how to engage in "structured conversations" that explore, evaluate and confirm product options.

Ellen shares the 7 Product Dimensions and shows how they both transcend and deepen stories and personas. She explains how you collaborate to discover options, assess options using the partners' value considerations and allocate options to delivery cycles. You'll learn how these conversations fuel your daily product discovery work, enable you to quickly plan and analyze to deliver high-value candidate solutions.

Bonus! One lucky attendee will win a copy of the just released book, Discover to Deliver: Agile Product Planning & Analysis.

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

By registering you submit your information to the webinar organizer, as well as the presenter, to communicate with you regarding this event and their other services.

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.

Friday Flicks: Kanban -- Limit Work In Progress and Go Faster

Here on the Project World and World Congress for Business Analysts blog, we sometimes like to share insights from our live event. For this week's video pick, enjoy a recording of our 2011 session Kanban -- Limit Work In Progress and Go Faster with Linda Cook. In this video, Linda Cook introduces Kanban and gives the audience at PW&WCBA some tips on implementing Kanban in their organizations.

We learn that Kanban can:
Help visualize the process with workflow models
Help to identify bottlenecks when the steps of the process are drawn on a model
Encourage continuous improvement
Minimize the initial impact of changes
and May help reduce the resistance to change

Have you considered using Kanban to improve the speed of projects in your organization?



Interested in learning more about Kanban? Join us for Agile: The Kanban Way with Gil Irizarry, Program Manager, Constant Contact in our half day Agile summit this September at PW&WCBA. Download the brochure for access to more information on the 2012 event, and more PW&WCBA 2011 videos and insights.

How to Go From a Positional Leader to an Influential Leader

If you’re in a leadership role, it’s always a good practice to assess how you got there and where you’re going. Are you satisfied with your performance as a leader, or would you like to hone your skills, and become more effective? Are the people who report to you productive and happy? Or do you feel disconnected from them?

One way to become more effective is to make the transition from being a positional leader to being an influential leader. Positional leaders are people who only lead because of their title or position. True leadership is getting people inspired because of who you are, not what job is listed on your business cards. Influential leaders can motivate through action, not title. It is important to know which type of leader you are.

Positional Leaders Often Lack the Human Touch

Positional leaders depend on their title, power or position to influence people and get them to listen to them. Because they have not developed the traits required to lead others, they are leaders in name only. They draw their importance from their job title instead of their job performance. Positional leaders simply don’t have the human touch when it comes to recognizing others’ goals, needs and motivations – and are therefore less effective, and in some cases, completely ineffective.

Influential Leaders Draw Others In

On the other hand, influential leaders are powerful, whether or not they have real power. They tend to be natural leaders, whom others go to for help, advice or just to have a question answered. Influential leaders are connectors who make those around them work harder. They tend to seek consensus, value others’ opinions and listen intently when someone is speaking. Finally, influential leaders draw people in, and are open to their ideas.

Influential leaders care about their work. Howard Schultz, founder and CEO of Starbucks returned to his position when the company began to struggle. Under his leadership, the company once again began to flourish. Schultz further exemplified influential leadership when he led over 140 top American executives to boycott contributing campaign funds to incumbents. Though these executives didn’t work for Schultz and were just as powerful in position, he was able to influence them.

Which Type of Leader Are You?

There are specific traits that can help you define your leadership style. Positional leaders tend to feel defensive when others’ opinions differ from theirs. They feel as though they should be more influential than others based on their higher position within the company. They are not always receptive to hearing ideas from lower level employees.

Influential leaders love giving credit where credit is due. They are big on collaboration and open to hearing the opinions of their team. Someone who is willing to mentor a young employee is most likely an influential leader.

To test what sort of leader you are, think back to the last time that you were complimented on the work of your team. Did you take all of the credit or praise everyone’s hard work? Positional leaders might feel that they deserve the credit simply because they were in charge. Influential leaders would feel proud of what the entire team accomplished. Fortunately, with some effort, positional leaders can develop into influential leaders.

Four Ways to Become an Influential Leader

·         Gain Respect By Giving Respect

Influential leaders give respect and are highly respected; positional leaders struggle to earn respect. So first, assess how much respect you demonstrate to others in the workplace. Do you respect your direct reports as much as you respect your boss? If not, you can be sure they know that. Focus on giving everyone the same respect you give your superiors.

·         Your Actions Speak Louder Than Your Words

Remember that your employees are watching you, even when you think they are not. Someone will notice when you take the time to say a few thoughtful words to an employee who’s having a tough time. Someone will see you holding a door open for the person behind you. Someone will most certainly notice when you cut someone off in the company parking lot. When you have the opportunity to do the right thing, by all means do it – and not just because you hope someone’s watching.

·         Build Trust By Being Responsible

Earning the trust of your employees is essential to being an influential leader. Trust is built when you clearly mean what you say, do what you say you’re going to do, and take responsibility for both – even when your words or actions turn out to be wrong.

·         Tell the Truth

Credibility is an undeniable trait of an influential leader. Whether you are selling a product, pitching a new idea, or motivating your employees to a higher level of performance, your audience needs to believe that you are telling the truth. Most people are simply bad liars – so to avoid completely losing your credibility, always tell the truth.

Make the effort to become an influential leader, and you will make it happen. You’ll earn the respect of your employees – and even more important – you’ll feel their respect. If you’ve been a positional leader thus far, the transition may take some time. Luckily, it will be well worth your effort, as you watch your team flourish under your influential leadership.

Ryan Sauer is a writer and editor for Bisk Education in association with University Alliance. He actively writes about project management and organizational leadership  with a goal of helping professionals succeed in leadership training.

On Leadership and Learning

About this time last month, guest blogger Peter Sloane posted here about leadership skills: how does one go about learning and actively building them? I also discussed the need for developing so-called "soft skills" in becoming a leader, and cited our "Elevating the Role: From Manager to Leader" track at PW&WCBA as one of particular interest.

Not satisfied, we opened the conversation up to our excellent community on the Project World & World Congress for Business Analysts LinkedIn group. One of our members stated:

"The first half of that time I would say I learned experientially but during the second half I become much more proactive in developing my leadership skills. During the first 10 years I was very fortunate in that my boss moved me around every 2 or 3 years and gave me organizations that needed “fixing”. Each had a different problem that required a unique solution. I learned a tremendous amount about leadership through this experience. Unfortunately, I see many managers that don’t learn much through this process because they aren’t given enough of a challenge." 

Another stated that building leadership skills "takes:
1) a personal acknowledgement that you must learn to lead at least yourself
2) observation of the areas in which you work and live (there are examples all around)
3) a decision to change (or not) with which you can live." and added " Leaders lead, no matter what position they hold." 

And yet another member noted that "An effective manager can drive day to day operations, but an effective leader can convince and inspire the team towards achieving the strategic vision, through their daily efforts."

In a PW&WCBA webinar with Peter Saddington today, Saddington stated that he focuses on the "squishy" side of things, which is to say, soft skills, the ability to build trust and to find the strengths and weaknesses of your team members and bring out those strengths. It recalled this conversation to my mind. It seems that regardless of the scope of your project or your goal, the need for leadership skills remains the same.

Some seem to feel it is relatively inherent, others learned, but regardless everyone seems to agree that it is something an individual needs to step up to and actively take on, evaluating your teams needs and facing challenges.

Would you agree? The conversation continues, join us on LinkedIn to share your thoughts. 

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

The Project Management Event You Can't Afford to Miss - Earn Up to 36 PDUs

The new frontiers in PM are addressing the issues such as measuring the PM maturity level of companies and institutions; building effective teams; managing risks; capitalizing failures into assets; communicating the vision without ambiguity and ultimately putting passion into work profile to convert vision into reality and abstract into concrete.

Stay up-to-date with the latest tools, techniques and methods being used in the new frontier of project management at ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts®. Plus, earn up to 36 PDUS.

PW&WCBA is the leading event for project management professionals. Stretching far beyond the fundamentals, PW&WCBA will provide you with the skills you need to succeed in today's high-pressured business environment.


Sessions designed for the project manager include:

• New Frontiers in PM: Creating High Performing Teams, South African State Information Technology Agency
• How to Add Value to Organizations through PM & BA Collaboration, PepsiCo
• Large Scale Crisis Management and Recovery: Integrated Project Management at Work, The Boeing Company
• PMOs: Keeping Pace with a Growing Company, Green Shield Canada
• Are Your PM Tools Keeping Up with the Latest Innovations, Trends & Techniques?, The Travelers Companies, Inc.
• Transition from Project Manager to Portfolio Manager, NAV Canada

And much more! Download the brochure for the full conference agenda (Plus, you'll also receive a copy of the 2011 Executive Summary & exclusive web seminar "10 Traits of an Agile Product Owner")

We've already had an overwhelming response to PW&WCBA - don't miss your opportunity to set the foundation to achieve your career goals and become a leader within your organization. As a reader of our blog we'd like to offer you an exclusive 15% discount off the standard registration rate with code PW12BLOG. For more information on the ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts and to register, visit our webpage.

For more information on the ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts and to register, visit our webpage.

We hope to see you in Orlando this September! The ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts Team


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Friday Flicks: What The Jargon?

Sometimes the project management and business analysis world can feel like wading through an endless stream of jargon, especially for a newcomer. PM, PPM, IIBA, WBS, Gantt, PMBoK, Kanban and so on. Add in our twitter hashtags like #PMOT and #PMChat and you have another level of complexity. Yet we're always focusing on ways to improve communication, doesn't this jargon get in the way?

Well yes, I imagine sometimes it does, and for someone new to the field it may seem an insurmountable challenge to also learn a new language to go with your new skills, but one value that this language creates is that it allows for less ambiguity. Having widely agreed upon project management-specific words codified helps the process by putting team members on the same page. When you're on a tight deadline the last thing you want is to be tripped by up unnecessary misunderstandings. Take our piece last week on scrum meetings: one of the real benefits of the strict structure of a scrum meeting is that it is dictated how this meeting will go: no getting caught up in side conversations or derailed by interpersonal issues allowed.

Still feeling a bit lost? This week's video pick might help, in this video Jennifer Whit, Director of ProjectManager.com explains her Top 10 Terms Used By Project Managers. Check it out:

Do you struggle with jargon, or do you find that it helps understanding? Let us know.

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