We are excited to announce the ProjectManagement.com November book club! The book club provides an opportunity to participate in webinars and discussions around selected books relevant to the overall practice of project management. The book club occurs in three parts:
- Opening pre-recorded webinar which will be used to introduce the book. During this 30 minute pre-recorded webinar, the author will provide a high level overview of the concepts in his/her book, familiarizing participants with the information.
- Discussion thread on ProjectManagement.com with input from the book club host and author. During the last week of the discussion, questions will be collected to present to the author in the closing webinar.
- **PMI-member exclusive** Closing Q&A live webinar with the author responding to questions submitted both through the online book club discussion thread and during the webinar. The webinar will be a panel style discussion with open dialogue between the moderator and the author.
The first 25 PMI Members registered for the closing book club webinar will receive a complimentary copy of the book and will be notified via email. Additional participants will have the opportunity to purchase a copy of the book at their own expense. All community members will be able to view the book club opening webinar and participate in the discussion forum. PMI members will be able to participate in the book club closing webinar. We will evaluate the content of each opening and closing book club webinar to determine the eligibility and breakdown for PDUs.
Our book club book for November is Project Management Simplified: A Step-by-Step Process by Barbara Karten.
Barbara Karten, PMP, has over 20 years of management, project/product/program management, and consulting/training experience. Since 2003, she has been an independent consultant and trainer delivering project management and business systems analysis training, PMP (Project Management Professional) Exam Preparation, general project management courses for PDU (professional development unit) accumulation, PMI (Project Management Institute) Chapter sponsored study groups and project management courses both on line and on ground for graduate and undergraduate programs at local universities.
During her career, Barbara worked with nonprofit organizations (focused on human service systems development and operations), government agencies (including employment and training systems), consulting organizations, and technology companies.
In addition to her work with nonprofit human service agencies and for-profit technology companies, Barbara taught project management at local universities. She developed and updated PMP curricula and course materials for academia and local project management training providers. She has presented at industry conferences as a panelist and a presenter.
Barbara is the past president of the Central Mass PMI Chapter, and is the Central Mass PMI Chapter liaison to the PMIEF (Project Management Institute Education Foundation), which addresses the project management needs of nonprofit organization, educational organizations, and NGO’s.
Barbara supports project management skills as core competencies for life, education, career, and personal projects. People with project management capabilities are competitively positioned to succeed.
About the book:
There are a number of structured approaches that guide the successful completion of projects in business environments. This book translates these processes and techniques such that non-project managers can easily use these proven approaches in a nonbusiness context for their own projects. It removes technical jargon, the need for computer software and hardware, and complicated organizational environments, describing the essential project management processes in a simple, straightforward manner.
As you progress through the book, you connect the dots necessary to complete your personal projects. A sample project in the text and a case study in the appendices further illustrate the concepts explained in the text. The author challenges you to select a project and, working along with the book, be the project manager and develop a project plan. By working with customers and funders of the project, defining the project, identifying how long it will take, and determining its cost, you will develop the expertise to define project goals and create a plan to reach them.
Our 2016 book club host is Tolitha Lewis, PMP. Tolitha has been a PMI Volunteer Leader since 2008. She was elected as a Director to the PMI Information Systems Specific Interest Group (PMI-ISSIG) in 2008 and served until the completion of the transition to a Community of Practice (CoP) in 2011. In 2012, Tolitha was appointed to the Leadership Team of the Consulting CoP, now referred to as the Consulting practice area, and has been a leader in the webinar program ever since. Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Tolitha is a Sr. Project Manager.
To register for the closing live book club webinar, please visit the webinar page on ProjectManagement.com, find the book club closing webinar and click on the “Register for this webinar” link.
Please visit the book club information and discussion on the Project Management.com books page.
For additional questions, please visit the ProjectManagement.com Book Club FAQ page.
