The Critical Path

As we mentioned in an earlier post, we have officially migrated our webinar platform from Adobe Connect to WebEx! Going forward, all of our live webinars will take place on the WebEx platform. Due to that change, we want to outline some information that is sure to continue to make your webinar viewing experience an enjoyable one!

A few things that will change:

• You must connect your audio when you enter the platform. It is extremely important that you perform this step when logging onto the webinar, otherwise you will not hear the presentation. 
• The mobile experience for ProjectManagement.com webinars is NOT currently supported. We're currently working hard with WebEx to resolve this issue. In the meantime, you must watch the live webinar from a computer. We'll provide an update as soon as we have one.
• Questions will need to be entered into the Q&A panel (which appears to the right of the presentation) in order for the presenter to see them. 

A few things that will not change:

• We will continue to report PDUs on behalf of PMI members for both the live and on-demand sessions, unless otherwise indicated. 
• You will still be able to watch on-demand webinars the same way as you have in the past (even if they were initially presented on the Adobe Connect platform).
• Attendees will still be able to access the webinar platform 15 minutes prior to the start of the live webinar.

We have also put together a comprehensive list of Tips for Webinar Attendees to ensure that you're ready to participate when you login.

If you have any questions about viewing a live or on-demand webinar, make sure you reach out to us and we'll be happy to help.

Happy viewing!

SeminarsWorld® in Scottsdale

12 - 15 February 2018 Scottsdale, Arizona United States

There’s still time to register for the early bird discount rate!!!

Join our expert SeminarsWorld® instructors in Scottsdale to network and learn with your peers in small-group, topic-intensive seminars aligned with the PMI Talent Triangle® while you earn up to 29.5 PDUs and 2.95 Continuing Education Units.

Register by 8 January for early bird rates, and through 22 January, save on guest rooms at the Scottsdale Marriott at McDowell Mountains.

Registration includes breakfast and lunch. SeminarsWorld runs from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Click here for more details! We hope you can join us!!!

PMI Talent Management Conference 2017: Did you miss the 7 December 2017 virtual event? If so, no worries, you can now watch it on-demand! During these six separate presentations you will learn skills that will help you and your organization define what agility means to you. Check it out!

Save the Date - Registration Coming Soon! The PMI EMEA Congress 2018 will be in Berlin, Germany

• 4-6 May | 2018 LIM
• 7-9 May | PMI^® EMEA Congress
• 10-11 May | SeminarsWorld^®

Join hundreds of project, programme and portfolio managers from multinational organisations around the world to share best practises, identify new trends and reinforce core skills. Hosted by PMI, the world leader in project management advocacy, collaboration, education and research.

Take It Personal: Value-based Culture: It’s that time of year in which the sometimes dreaded performance reviews take place! In his recent article, Andy Jordan explains why leaders need to create a culture based on value for their teams, ensuring that everyone understands what their role is, how their work contributes to the organization’s success, and how they as individuals deliver value.

Still wondering how to maximize your time during the holiday when work tends to slow down, all while earning PDUs? Check it out Paul Pelletier’s recent webinar, Control Freaks, Queen Bees and Workplace Saboteurs: Preventing, Managing and Eliminating your Project Nightmare. The focus of this webinar is on providing leaders with tools for approaching and resolving disrespect issues, before they become full-blown conflicts. Participants will learn how to assess the situation early, maturely and how to change the context of the conversation.

 Did you know that help is just a click away? Our discussion forums give you access to the ProjectManagement.com community: more than 500,000 experienced minds and growing! Ask your question today or stop by to help out other members in need of advice, including these recent and ongoing discussions on...

The PMI Guide to Business Analysis
"The PMI Guide to Business Analysis has arrived...here's why it's important to business analysis professionals..."

Team Motivation
"What are effective ways to motivate a project team?"

Project Hindsight
"Was there something in a past project that you wish you had done differently?"

Construction KPIs
"What are effective key performance indicators for monitoring engineering services on construction projects?"

Status Options
"Team members are complaining about spending too much time in meetings to update project status...people often feel that this is not the best use of their time. What tools or solutions do you use that allows team members to report back on project tasks instead of just relying on project status meetings?"

We wish each and every one of you and your families a Happy and Healthy Holiday! Looking forward to making great strides in 2018!

Exciting times are ahead here in the community! As part of our commitment to providing community members an enjoyable experience, we regularly make updates to the user experience. Part of that update will be a new way to view webinars within the community!

Starting in January 2018, we will move from the Adobe Connect platform to WebEx to deliver all webinars on ProjectManagement.com. What does that mean for you? The look of the webinars will be different, but you will still experience the same great content. The chat pod will be available, as well as the Q&A pod; however, you will be able to choose whether or not you see that information as you're viewing the webinar. And, yes, we will still report PDUs on behalf of PMI members.

Now for the fine print...

At rollout, the mobile webinar experience will not be supported. This is because the WebEx mobile app does not authenticate member information from ProjectManagement.com when entering the platform. That means that unless you're viewing the webinar on a laptop or desktop computer, you won't be able to view it (that includes tablets/phablets). We are working to ensure that this issue gets resolved quickly, so please bear with us in the meantime.

We hope you're as excited about this update as we are! Stay tuned to The Critical Path blog for FAQs and additional information regarding this change in the very near future.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out!

We are excited to announce the ProjectManagement.com December 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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. 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 December is The Business of Portfolio Management – Boosting Organizational Value by Iain Fraser, PMP, PMI Fellow.

Iain Fraser is the author of 'The Business of Portfolio Management' book. Iain is globally recognized for his expertise, experience and in-sights on portfolio, program and project-based management approaches. He also has significant experience in PMO's. Iain sits on a number of 'for-profit' and advisory boards. He is a member of the globalScot business network and the Institute of Directors. He is considered a thought-leader, has featured on live radio, video and podcasts and is often quoted in the print media.

About the book:

Today there is a gap between organizational strategy and day-to-day management activities. To capitalize on new opportunities, or “getting ahead” rather than just “staying in business,” most workplaces need a radical transformation. This transformation can begin with how organizations devise and manage their portfolios. Long underutilized as a mechanism to provide value, portfolio management is now being recognized as an effective approach to bridging these critical business elements.

The Business of Portfolio Management offers keys to adopting a new approach to portfolio management that boosts organizational value. A veteran in the field, author Iain Fraser proposes a solution that lies in using the value management framework to link organizational strategy to portfolio content and to delivery mechanisms. In this expansive guide, case study examples illuminate in-depth discussions explaining the value management framework, implementation and delivery techniques, portfolio leadership qualities, key roles and professional development, and change management. Also included is an overview of organizational maturity models to evaluate project, program, and portfolio performance as well as tools and techniques to implement, execute, and measure their benefits and value contribution.

To capture success, every organization should ultimately thrive in a culture that embraces its purpose, people, and performance (or the “3Ps to success”), so that aligned activity and empowered people can achieve the confidence to deploy true portfolio management, which is how The Business of Portfolio Management does business that adds value to any organization.

Our December 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.