2011

2011 December Presentation

Leadership with a Capital "D"

Many speakers have discussed the topic of leadership. Most will tell you that leaders are born and not made and vice versa. Some will say that delegation is the key to being a good leader. Others will tell you that without compassion for others and a vision for the future, then there is no way you can be a leader. In the grand scheme of project management leadership is a necessary skill and most aspects of leadership can be learned. In this presentation the speaker will demonstrate that the word "Leadership" is actually an acronym that depicts the key facets of a good leader.

Gregg D. Richie, PMP, CNP, MCTS

Gregg is a Senior Project Manager at Key Consulting, Inc., based in Tucson, AZ, which provides consulting and training in project management techniques, including advanced usage of Microsoft Project. He also teaches project planning at the University of Washington and other topics at colleges in Western Washington on a part‐time basis. With over 32 years of experience in the field of Project Management, he has worked on projects on almost every continent. One of the most challenging projects included the installation of solar‐powered (photo‐voltaic) electrical systems in some of the most remote parts of the world; from Adak, Alaska, to Midway Island to Antarctica. He joined the US Navy in 1979 and is a 20‐year veteran of the SEABEES, which is the only self‐sustaining, combat‐trained, construction force in the US Armed Forces. It was here that his love for both teaching and project management was discovered and developed. He began instructing in 1983, has taught more than 5000 people, in classroom environments, publicly spoken to groups of 1000 or more and developed many training courses. His education includes two technical degrees; one in computer programming and one in civil engineering & architectural drafting; he also holds a Bachelor of Science from Southern Illinois University in Workforce Education and Development; and a Master’s Certificate from Villanova University in Applied Project Management.

As a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist, one of his specialties is project planning and scheduling using Microsoft Project. His reputation for this caught the attention of John Wiley & Sons publishing, which led to a recently finished book in the Microsoft Official Academic Course series on Microsoft Project 2010, which was published in September 2011.

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PDU Category A, Component ID C331, December 20, 2011 (1 PDU) How to Register PDU's

2011 November Presentation

PMI Southern Carribean Sixth Biennial International Conference

Bridging the Gap: Strategic Thought Transformed through Project Management - The PMI SCC's 6th Biennial International Project Management Conference took place September 20 & 21, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad. Margaret will share her experience of attending the conference and showcase one of the presentations that she attended.

PMI North America Leadership Institute Meeting 2011

The North America Leadership Institute Meeting is the largest event held by the PMI Leadership Institute annually and is designed to inspire and support volunteers in the advancement of their leadership skills. Gordon will share his experience and nuggets of wisdoms from his time at the conference on October 20-22, 2011.

Margaret Ann Lee, MPA, PMP

Margaret Ann Lee-Harvison, MPA,PMP has experience working in various professional and administrative roles both in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) as well as here in the U.S. Margaret Ann’s various and diverse experiences include: President of the T&T national Dental Nurses Association in Trinidad and Tobago where she worked collaboratively with the local Dental Association (dentists) and private enterprise to establish the national annual dental week; member of the international team that worked to bring the first dental hospital in the Caribbean on stream ; Program Quality Specialist for the Washington Commission for National and Community Service where she monitored federal grant programs; and now Project Manager with Washington State Government.

Gordon Roycroft, PMP, PE

Gordon Roycroft, PMP, PE, Deputy Vice President at Large, has 25 years of experience in various project management, higher education and engineering areas with project ranging from $100 thousand to $200 million and a current program with a value of $1.6 billion. His industry experience has focused primarily on project development of transportation and infrastructure improvement projects. He has been instrumental in implementing leadership programs, knowledge transfer and skill development across a wide spectrum of learners.
Gordon has been an active PMI volunteer since 2007 and was recently appointed as Deputy of Professional Development.

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PDU Category A, Component ID C331, November 15, 2011 (1 PDU) How to Register PDU's

OCTOBER

Influencing and Leading

Influence - your best tool for leading effectively.

Becoming a leader of influence requires good relational skills to help your team see the vision and the significance they can add. It gives others hope, encouragement, confidence and excitement. When we understand our influence, we can leverage it to lead more effectively. In this presentation, skills for increasing your influence to help your team's success will be taught.

Christine Newby, PMP, CISA

Christine has thoroughly enjoyed managing IT Projects for companies such as AT&T, Boeing, Delta Air Lines and Microsoft. Her love of teaching and passion for helping people grow will provide an entertaining session on how to increase your leadership skills.

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PDU Category A, Component ID C331 (1 PDU) How to Register PDU's

SEPTEMBER

Demonstrating Value of PMO

It’s a challenge to show the value of implementing PMO improvements. Calculating the costs of failed projects or the benefit of successful projects is not easy. However, there are some ways to demon-strate the value. Learn how to use clear facts, tools and metrics to show the value of the PMO.

Presented by Charlene Draine, PMP, Chief Sustainability Officer, Cheetah Learning

Charlene joined Cheetah Learning to promote energy self-sufficiency and overall sustainability techniques and training offered in the Cheetah curriculum. Transitioning from 12 years of direct PMO experience that supports Information Technology within manufacturing, makes the stage a welcomed platform for sharing best practices. Charlene has an MIS degree from the University of Detroit and has attended Bainbridge Graduate Institute of Sustainability in Seattle, Washington. Learn what PMOs can do to increase project success Uncover important PMO performance drivers Prioritize PMO performance drivers through the lens of various stakeholders Document benefits of PMO.

PDU # C331_092011 (1 PDU)

JUNE

Agile and Waterfall Metrics

Presented by Joseph Flahiff

Joseph Flahiff is an agile project delivery consultant who helps enterprise organizations implement and improve their project delivery through a unique combination of agile, lean and traditional project management. An experienced professional with more than 15 years' experience in agile and traditional project management, Joseph lectures internationally on agile and waterfall integration. Video, posts and free resources about current trends in enterprise agile project management may be found at his Whitewater Projects blog.

Joseph will present two surprising case studies demonstrating the business value of using agile in what you might not normally think of as an agile project;

· HIPAA 5010: A Federally mandated project with fixed requirements and fixed deadlines

· The Transparency Project: A high risk, high profile project, with zero ROI

You will come away with a deeper understanding of why agile is really the best approach for doing just about any software project; as well as some tips and tools for using agile in your mixed agile/waterfall context. A significant part of the presentation will be an open Q&A session so come with your questions about enterprise scale agile.

PDU # C331_062011 (1 PDU)

MAY

Managing The Most Important Program - Your Life

Presented by Peggy Lusk, MS, CPA, CIA, CISA, ACDA, PMP

Project Managers have a distinct advantage when it comes to ensuring they are able to meet their personal goals and objectives, if they apply their Project Management skills to managing their Life. Of course, just like a Program, there are multiple Projects that must be performed over the course of the "life" Program; many of which must occur simultaneously. A risk plan is needed to prepare for unexpected changes. And just like any Program, the individual Projects must be appropriately prioritized and resource‑loaded.

Just as companies prefer to initiate Projects without a Charter, schedule and budget; so do many of us prefer to live "life" without goals, and detail plans for spending time and money. We shouldn't be surprised then when the quality of our "life" Program isn't what we expected; when our lives don't reflect our values and beliefs. This presentation will show you how to use what you already know to ensure you are on-track for living an Abundant Life.

Peggy Lusk is a Certified Public Account and Financial Services Professional; and is the Owner of Abundance by Design. Her specialization is empowering people to take control of their Time and their Money to live a life of true Abundance. A cornerstone of her business is the belief that money is just one part of a much bigger life equation: How you spend your time to live an abundant life is just as important as how much money is left later. It won't matter how wealthy you become; if you sacrifice your health and personal life to build financial wealth.

No matter where her clients stand, she expertly trains them to make educated choices about how to wisely invest and align their time, money and values; so they can escape feelings of fear and scarcity, and feel happy and fulfilled. Helping clients fill the gaps between their current life and financial circumstances and guiding them to get where they want to go are always top of mind priorities. Through using her talents of translating and communicating complex and potentially confusing financial concepts, she ultimately seeks to empower her clients to make smart time and money decisions that fuel a vibrant, rich life with all its blessings - Both today and tomorrow.

PDU # C331_051711 (1 PDU)

APRIL

Back to the Basics

Presented by Pat Garrett, PMP, MCTS

The phrase “back to the basics” can be defined as an adjective which means “stressing simplicity and adherence to fundamental principles”. What do Dancers, Project Managers, Musicians, Golfers, and Business Analysts have in common? They are all professions that have a basic skill foundation that should be periodically re-visited the more “advanced” the practitioner becomes. Oscar Wilde stated, “Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes”. The more “experience” one gains, the more one recognizes the value and importance of the foundational skills. In “Back to the Basics” we will discuss the foundational skills of stakeholder analysis and communication of clear, concise requirements to both business stakeholders and product development stakeholders.

Pat Garrett PMP, MCTS has over 25 years of experience managing and consulting on Information Technology projects and programs. During her career she has worked primarily in the healthcare, manufacturing, retail sales, telephony, transportation, and law enforcement industries. For the last ten years she has also been developing and teaching project management, business analysis, and MS Project courses, plus volunteering her services as a speaker on project, program, and portfolio management and business/systems analysis topics. Pat has been a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) since 2000 and is the Director of the Enterprise Project Management Office for COMSYS, a Manpower Company. She was selected by PMI® to serve as Component Mentor for 2008-2010 for the 16 PMI® Chapters in the Pacific Northwest. During 2001- 2008 she served on the Puget Sound Chapter Board. She is currently a member of the ANSI Technical Advisory Group that is participating in the development of ISO 21500: Guide to Project Management and a member of the PMI Profession Award Program Member Advisory Group.

PDU # C331_041911 (1 PDU)

MARCH

Emerging Trends in Green IT

Presented by Don Long

As a leading topic in corporate sustainability today, Green IT management practices are drawing high interest across a wide spectrum of organizations. While some are motivated by a strong commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), others are embracing the practices because of the positive Return on Investment (ROI) that can result from these programs. The convergence of current environmental, financial and business factors is creating a “win-win” scenario for business, shareholder, community and environmental stakeholders for the first time.

Don Long is an Executive Consultant at CGI, a global IT services company. Don specializes in IT Management best practices and is certified in the IT Information Library and CMMI. Over a 30-year career, he has served as Senior Director of Global Service Quality for DHL; Director of Technology Planning and Operations at Airborne Express and in multiple IT planning, project and operations leadership roles at Qwest Communications. He is a member of the Curriculum Advisory Committee for the Sustainable Business Practices program at Bellevue College and is a guest lecturer for the program on the History of CSR and Green IT. Don can be reached at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or on his mobile at 425-890-3681.

PDU # C331_031511 (1 PDU)

FEBRUARY

Passive Agressive Behavior

How to deal with it before it affects your Projects

Presented by Rachel Paulson, PMP

How many times have you conducted a meetingwhereagreements were reached or a course of action was determined, yet within 24 hours someone has taken a different course or does not adhere to what was agreed? Have you had a stakeholder agree with you in a one-on-one meeting only to find them supporting a contrary view at the stakeholder meeting? When you witness these events you start to ponder why the change occurred. How about a note hanging on the work refrigerator in the break area or some other conspicuous place indicating a desire for a change in behavior or venting frustration?

These examples are signs of passive aggression or passive resistant behavior.

Traditionally a passive person shows little interest in getting what they want. Passivity brings out restraint, inhibition and very little challenge while aggression is an act of force that can build or destroy. Consequently, aggression is seldom seen as a positive because careful management of this trait is not always practiced. Resistance is the action of opposing something with which you disapprove or disagree.

How do you recognize passive aggressive or resistant behavior? How should we handle it? What are the consequences of ignoring this type of behavior?

In this session, we will explore the various personality traits that lend themselves to passive aggressiveness or resistance and ways to identify when this behavior on your project teams is present. More importantly strategies for handling the mild to severe forms of passive aggression and resistance will be addressed, and some of the consequences for not dealing with passive aggression or resistance will be identified. Finally, a review of different types of assessments that can help you build a high performance team that produces results and/or “fixes” a team that is not performing.

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PDU # C331_021511 (1 PDU)

JANUARY

Project Risk Management at WSDOT

Presented by Mark Gabel MSCE PE

Decisions have to be made when we do not have all of the information. Even if it were possible to have all of the available information uncertainty and risk are facts of life and are present, to some degree, on every project. Project risk management does not guarantee certainty but provides probability. Project risk management helps inform our decision-making. Simply preparing a risk management matrix or risk register is not sufficient; risks must be addressed and monitored and action plans updated regularly. Quality project risk management must be supported by unbiased project estimates and schedule forecasts partnered with independent review. Project risk management is an integral component of every good project management plan. In this presentation Mark will lead us through an interactive session that is sure to be a thrilling learning experience.

Mark Gabel MSCE PE is a licensed professional engineer who has been leading the Cost Risk Estimating Management (CREM) unit since 2005. Mark has been with WSDOT since 1991 and has worked in design and construction offices, planning, and project management training. Mark has been a featured speaker on the topic ofproject risk management at national and state conferences. Mark was also part of the technical panel for the National Highway Institute to develop a course on Addressing Uncertainty in Cost Estimating. Mark was awarded a fellowship for a Master’s Degree in Transportation Planning and Management at the University of Washington . Mark earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks . Mark has brought cost and risk management at WSDOT from its nascent form to its current state of development; he has authored the Project Risk Management Guide and Workshop guidelines as well as helping establish policy for risk based-estimating at WSDOT. Mark is a member of PMI and the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering International (AACEI).

PDU # C331_011811 (1 PDU)

PMI Olympia Chapter

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