The Critical Path

It's summer here in North America and, while some are taking a break, we're still here giving you all the project management goods you can handle. We hope that you are taking a mid-year pause to reflect on the success that the first half of 2017 has brought you. We also hope that you have had the chance to catch up on a few things happening here in the community and in the profession. If not, we're here to give you a quick rundown of some things you might want to know about: 

PMI Organizational Agility Conference 2017: Registration is open for the virtual PMI Organizational Agility Conference 2017! With sudden market shifts and new priorities by the minute, agile transformation is an organizational imperative. You need to understand what agility means for your organization—and how to help lead it through change. This event is FREE for PMI members. Register today!

June Book Club: The book for the June Book Club is Integrating Program Management and Systems Engineering by Eric Rebentisch. Exclusive to the June Book Club, we are opening the closing webinar to all ProjectManagement.com registered users! You can find more information about June's book club (including how to get the book and where to join the discussion) by visiting this page.

Join us in Chicago 28-30 October: PMI Global Conference will be heading to Chicago! Project, program and portfolio professionals are leading their organizations to better outcomes while influencing change in an ever-changing global environment. Join us to connect with like-minded individuals to learn new ideas and approaches, form new relationships or strengthen existing ones while investing in your own growth. For information regarding sessions and to register, visit the PMI Global Conference event page.

Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap 2017–2027: Demand over the next 10 years for project managers is growing faster than demand for workers in other occupations. Organizations, however, face risks from this talent gap. Read more about PMI's latest commissioned talent gap analysis by Anderson Economic Group (AEG) which points to outstanding opportunities in jobs and career growth for project managers within the 11 countries studied.

That's all for now! If you have any questions about community events, user guidelines, or any other community happenings, feel free to reach out to any member of the Community Engagement team. We're happy to help!

If you have a PMI certification, we've made it even easier to display your accomplishment!

PMI has partnered with Acclaim to provide you with a digital badge that proudly displays your professional qualifications and achievements. Plus, your badge comes with valuable job market information so that you can keep your career moving forward.

Your badge is a digital version of your certification, skills and qualifications. It allows you to easily show your colleagues, friends or potential employers:

• When you earned the certification
• What key skills are associated with the certification
• What it takes to qualify for the certification
• The work you do to actively maintain the certification

You can share your badge on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, in an email signature or embed it in a website. And, you can share your accomplishment with anyone, anywhere—it’s up to you!

Don't want to share your badge? No problem! You can claim your badge without sharing it and still have the ability to access it whenever you need to quickly verify your certification status.

But how do you actually claim your badge? You will receive an email from Acclaim notifying you that PMI has issued you a badge. Click the Accept button below your badge image. This will take you to the Acclaim page, where you will create an account to claim your badge. Once you've confirmed your e-mail address, then you can sign into Acclaim to claim your badge and share your achievement!

For more information regarding PMI Certification Digital Badges and claiming your badge, visit https://www.pmi.org/certifications/digital-badges.

It's hard to believe, but the first half of 2017 is already behind us. As we look forward to the summer and the end of the year (gasp), let's take a look at things going on in the community and beyond that you'll want to be sure to check out.

Community Activity:

PMI Information Systems & Technology Symposium 2017: Risk, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things—as technology transforms project management, PM professionals are either ahead of the game, or falling behind. Stay current and competitive with the 2017 PMI Information Systems & Technology Symposium. Exclusive to PMI members, this free, virtual event delivers a full day of intelligence on innovation and its impact on your PM career. Join us on 14 June at 9am ET.

Share your knowledge: There are a number of great conversations going on RIGHT NOW in Project Management Central. Head over there, lend your expertise to help your colleagues through a problem and consider asking a question to get some advice on an issue you may be currently facing.

Watch a webinar: Several recent webinars were just uploaded our our extensive on demand webinar library. Sit back, relax, learn something new and earn some PDUs while you're at it.

Upcoming Live Events:

You have the opportunity to connect with your community in person at several live events throughout the year. Be sure to refer to our Events page regularly for information on upcoming project management events. Here are a few to consider as you plan for the remainder of 2017:

Mega SeminarsWorld®, 26-29 June - Orlando, FL, USA: It's not too late to register! Gain in-depth knowledge from PPPM experts in small group settings that you find at any SeminarsWorld program, plus the ability to earn additional PDUs outside the classroom and build your professional network through shared meals and receptions attended by more than 600 participants.

Project Management National Conference, India, 15-17 September - Guindy, Chennai, India: The conference provides a platform for Project Management Practitioners across industries, government, NGOs and academia, to exchange ideas on the challenges and opportunities in managing projects that will help translate a vision of India into reality.

PMI® Global Conference, 28-30 October - Chicago, IL, USA: It’s more than a meeting. PMI Global Conference is part of a week-long celebration, bringing together thousands of project and program managers, chapter leaders and business professionals from around the world to share knowledge, strengthen community and lead the evolution of the profession.

PMO Symposium® 2017, 5-8 November - Houston, TX, USA: Join the world’s top PMO executives, organizational leaders and senior decision makers in your quest for greater agility in anticipating and responding quickly and appropriately to disruptive forces, competitive pressures, increased demands for greater innovation and better business results.

That's all for now! If you have any questions about community events, user guidelines, or any other community happenings, feel free to reach out to any member of the Community Engagement team. See you around the community!

We are excited to announce the ProjectManagement.com June book club!  The June book club will be open to all ProjectManagement.com registered users. 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 people 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. 

Exclusive to the June Book Club: All community members will be able to view the book club opening webinar, participate in the discussion forum, and 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 June is Integrating Program Management and Systems Engineering by Eric Rebentisch.

Eric S. Rebentisch is a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Lead Researcher of MIT's Consortium for Engineering Program Excellence. His primary areas of research include High Performance Enterprise Product Development, Lean Product Development, Lean Project Management, Enterprise Change Management, and System Architecting and Development Strategies. He is editor of “Integrating Program Management and Systems Engineering” and author of numerous other publications. He has played key roles in analysis, policy recommendations, and transformation initiatives within the US and other governments.

About the book:

Integrating Program Management and Systems Engineering shows how organizations can become more effective, more efficient, and more responsive, and enjoy better performance outcomes. The discussion begins with an overview of key concepts, and details the challenges faced by System Engineering and Program Management practitioners every day. The practical framework that follows describes how the roles can be integrated successfully to streamline project workflow, with a catalog of tools for assessing and deploying best practices. Case studies detail how real-world companies have successfully implemented the framework to improve cost, schedule, and technical performance, and coverage of risk management throughout helps you ensure the success of your organization's own integration strategy. Available course outlines and PowerPoint slides bring this book directly into the academic or corporate classroom, and the discussion's practical emphasis provides a direct path to implementation.

The integration of management and technical work paves the way for smoother projects and more positive outcomes. This book describes the integrated goal, and provides a clear framework for successful transition.

• Overcome challenges and improve cost, schedule, and technical performance

• Assess current capabilities and build to the level your organization needs

• Manage risk throughout all stages of integration and performance improvement

• Deploy best practices for teams and systems using the most effective tools

Complex engineering systems are prone to budget slips, scheduling errors, and a variety of challenges that affect the final outcome. These challenges are a sign of failure on the part of both management and technical, but can be overcome by integrating the roles into a cohesive unit focused on delivering a high-value product. Integrating Program Management with Systems Engineering provides a practical route to better performance for your organization as a whole.

Our June book club host is David A. Maynard.  Dave is a native New Yorker who after graduation from college, traveled to Houston to work for NASA at the Johnson Spacecraft Center, where he worked for many years. 

He participated in the Shuttle avionics architecture design, the “glass cockpit” development and in crew training.  Incrementally David’s level of responsibility increased, becoming a Senior Engineer, Project Engineer, Project Manager and Program Manager.

After leaving NASA, Mr. Maynard was asked to become the General Manager of Systems Management Inc. (SMI) in Orlando, Fl. whose mission was to turn-around troubled projects, programs or operations. 

David teaches Project Management at Purdue University, Fort Wayne (IPFW) aHe is active the PMI-Northeast Indiana Chapter of which he was a founding member.  He volunteers for PMI global in various capacities.

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 on the Project Management.com books page. 

For additional questions, please visit the ProjectManagement.com Book Club FAQ page.

Can you believe we are already more than halfway through the month of May? Where has the time gone? I guess it must have flown by me while I was having so much fun here in the community, amiright? We have a new practice area, a Hall of Keynotes, and some exciting content for you to check out! So let's get right to it...

PMXPO Hall of Keynotes: This year we celebrated 10 years of PMXPO! Can you believe it! In that time we've had some pretty amazing keynotes and we've curated them all for you to enjoy! Visit the PMXPO Hall of Keynotes to listen to sessions you may have missed in the past, or to revisit one that was particularly inspiring!

New Practice Area: We just launched a new practice area! We are proud to announce the PM in Academia practice area right here on ProjectManagement.com. This practice area is meant to serve faculty and staff who teach or are interested in teaching project management at the college/university level. Take a look and see what's there. If you'd like to contribute content to this new practice area, make sure you visit the Contribute Content page!

Global Virtual Projects: Have you ever had to manage a global IT project? What challenges did you face? In the article Insights for Managing Global IT Projects Virtually, Charmaine Karunaratne offers strategies and tactics to work in a virtual setting and achieving project success.

That's all for now! If you have any questions about community events, user guidelines, or any other community happenings, feel free to reach out to any member of the Community Engagement team. We're happy to help!