Olympia Washington Chapter

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The Monthly Milestone, November 2006

Message from the President

Upcoming Events

Book Review - Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures

Article of the Month - Facilitating Projects: Tools and Templates

Meet the new PMP's

Job Notices

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Sharon Sikes, PMP, Chapter President

I just returned from attending the PMI Leadership Meeting and PMI Congress in Seattle from October 19 - 24. It was exciting to see several recognizable faces from the Olympia Chapter. What a great conference it was. There were over 3000 Congress attendees and they did have to shut walk-in registration down Monday afternoon. This was my tenth consecutive Congress and I still walk away learning new concepts, new people skills, great knowledge from case analysis and lessons learned; and enhancement of old tools. More importantly it was a time to rekindle PMI friendships from around the world.

One of the Olympia Chapter members I ran into was Lise Yale. She was our featured speaker at the April Chapter meeting. She and a team from the International Development Specific Interest Group will be traveling to Nigeria mid-November to help local communities build better lives. Look for more information about her trip in the December newsletter.

After attending ten consecutive PMI congresses and 22 consecutive PMI leadership meetings there are several observations of note from this meeting.

• These meetings provide an opportunity for touch points with friends from around the world that I usually only make connections with virtually. It is like a family reunion.
• During the leadership meetings, it provided me an opportunity to meet the component leaders from Region 1 (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, British Columbia).
• The sharing of information and tools between components (Chapters and Specific Interest Groups) will benefit our Chapter greatly. Central Illinois Chapter has graciously agreed to provide current materials our soon to be released PMP Prep Course. Look for more information about this opportunity in December.
• The networking and technical presentations were a tremendous opportunity to identify future Chapter speakers and seminar leaders. We have a list of interested presenters; so once again, look for these chapter offerings early 2007.
• After attending so many of these meetings there were times that I struggled to hear something new or exciting. Maybe it was just where I was in my life and maybe there really was not anything new. BUT, I can honestly say that there is a new breed of presenters with exciting information and case studies that certainly kept my attention (based on my multiple notes).
• I can't tell you how excited I was to NOT recognize so many attendees and presenters.
• PMI released the second edition of the Work Breakdown Structure Standard. The PMI onsite Bookstore sold out twice. I am excited to say that this standard will be our next give away at the November Chapter meeting.
• No matter what industry or what country core project management skills are still needed for project success. Every discussion with project managers working on troubled projects had similar stories, just different companies or different continents: poor/weak project charters for clear project direction, lack of stakeholder identification or ownership, challenges of multi-language teams, ineffective project schedules, ineffective or absent sponsorship/leadership.
• On the other hand, there were many success stories and case studies where things did go well with projects. Probably the biggest contributor to the project success, regardless on which continent, was a clearly defined charter and stakeholders. I have emails out to a few case study presenters to see if they would be willing to share their papers with our membership.

I have to admit that I am passionate about project management and have been for years. I think I keep going back to these events to re-charge my PM knowledge batteries. I am certainly good to go for another year.

And with all good things, it was time to leave, get in my car and drive back to Olympia. I was very glad for the grand adventure and equally glad to sleep in my own bed.

Other Upcoming Events

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2006-07 PMI Olympia Monthly Dinner Dates

• September 19, 2006
• October 17, 2006
• November 14, 2006*
• December 19, 2006 (corrected date)
• January 16, 2007
• February 20, 2007
• March 20, 2007
• April 17, 2007
• May 15, 2007
• June 19, 2007

* items indicate a change from the standard third Tuesday of the month.

Book Review - Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures

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Sharon Sikes, PMP, Chapter President

PMI released the second edition of the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures at the Seattle PMI Congress. The original standard was released five years ago and there have been very marked improvements in this latest edition.

This updated version "provides guidance in the initial generation, subsequent development, and application of the WBS. The target audience for this standard includes, project mangers, project team members, contract personnel, and others who participate or have an interest in any aspect of the management of projects or programs. The new standard is consistent with the PMBOK Guide - third edition. This updated standard also includes information derived from accepted project management industry sources."

The new standard is organized as follows:

• Chapter 1 - Introduces the WBS concept.
• Chapter 2 - Defines the WBS and its characteristics. Defines the benefits derived from using a WBS
• Chapter 3 - How the WBS fits with other project management practices
• Chapter 4 - Documents the characteristics of a high-quality WBS. It presents guidelines for determining if the WBS is sufficient for subsequent planning and control.
• Chapter 5 - Provides guidance and presents questions that can be asked during the development of a WBS to help ensure that the finished product meets all the needs of the project it will serve.
• Appendices A-D - Provides background information on the PMI Standards Program and the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures, Second Edition project.
• Appendices E-P - Provides documented industry examples to aid the reader in further understanding, creating, and using WBSs. Each appendix represents an approach tailored to a specific purpose, application, or industry. Examples are in different stages of completion and represent the evolutionary development of a WBS. None of the examples should be taken as the only suitable WBS for that type of project.
• Glossary - It provides clarification of key terms that exist in the project management profession, including those that have subtle or variable meanings depending on the organization and industry.

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This month's Article of the Month was discovered on FacilitatingProjects.com. Only this month I am not presenting an article, but a set of tools and templates for use in facilitating project meetings. I discovered this great website and tools and templates after attending a workshop by the authors, Jan Means and Tammy Adams, at the PMI Congress in Seattle last week.

Facilitating Projects: Tools and Templates. Please be sure to visit the rest of the website for more valuable information.

http://www.facilitatingprojects.com

Please send your suggestions for articles to highlight in future Monthly Milestone editions to the Editor.

Meet our new Project Management Professionals

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This section is dedicated to congratulating and highlighting the achievement of our members who recently passed the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam.

If you have recently achieved your Project Management Professional (PMP) credential or know someone who has, please contact the Editor to be recognized. This recognition helps promote project management as a profession, the Project Management Professional credential as a desirable item for any project manager, and gives the recipient proper recognition for a true achievement.

Project Management Job Announcements

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Send an e-mail with link or original posting to the Editor to include in the next edition. Please keep in mind that publication is targeted for the fourth week of each month. In the meantime, job postings can be made and found in our Online Community.

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