The Critical Path

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:

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. **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.

You have the experience. You have the knowledge. You have a story that the community needs to hear. Project managers want to hear from you!

Last call to submit your proposal on or before 14 November 2016 to be considered for an education session speaking spot at PMI EMEA Congress, 1—3 May 2017 in Rome, Italy.

Congress attendees have expressed specific interest in practical to practice learning exchanges which can be applied immediately, and case studies of completed and ongoing projects. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Advanced Technologies
• Agile and Hybrid Approaches to Managing Projects
• Business Analysis
• Case Studies and Real-Life Experiences
• Effective Communication
• Disruptive Trends and Megaprojects
• Strategy Development and Implementation

Additional details and instructions can be found here. We look forward to hearing from you!

Can’t submit a proposal? You can still participate in the process – comment below with the top three topics you are most excited to hear about at EMEA Congress 2017!

Would you like to connect with your fellow chapter members here in the community with the touch of a single button?

We’ve made it easy for you! Click here to create online connections AUTOMATICALLY with other members of your local chapter. You have the ability to strengthen your local connections by:

• Recognizing accomplishments
• Collaborating on content
• Sharing knowledge through online discussions

Create a sense of community for your local chapter all through ProjectManagement.com!

Also, be on the lookout for your local chapter leaders who may invite you to connect and continue local conversations, globally.  Help them recognize the contributions of people like you, highlighting how local experts are impacting the global community by making them a part of your network.

Haven’t completed your profile? Let your colleagues know who you are! Get started today! Here’s how:

Click here to:

1. Upload a photo
2. Provide a basic profile description
3. Select a unique URL

Take these simple steps to begin reaping the rewards of this active community today!

PMI recently honored 11 finalists and three winners during the Chapter Awards Ceremony in September at the PMI® Leadership Institute Meeting 2016─North America in San Diego, California, USA.  These chapters were recognized for their volunteer efforts, for motivating chapter leaders, and for their contributions toward achieving PMI’s goals. 

Here are the finalists and winning chapters in each category!

Category I (25-300 members)

The four finalists in this category were as follows: 

• Asia Pacific: PMI Karachi Pakistan Chapter
• Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA): PMI Southern Italy Chapter
• Latin America: PMI Dominican Republic Chapter
• North America: PMI Inland Northwest Chapter

PMI congratulates all of these finalists and the winning chapter, PMI Southern Italy Chapter. You can view a video featuring all four of the finalists in Category I below. 

Category II (301-1,500 members)

The four finalists in this category were as follows:

• Asia Pacific: PMI Mumbai Chapter
• Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA): PMI Southern Germany Chapter 
• Latin America: PMI Minas Gerais, Brazil Chapter
• North America: PMI Buffalo, NY Chapter

PMI congratulates all of these finalists and the winning chapter, PMI Buffalo, NY Chapter. You can view the video featuring all four of the finalists in Category II below: 

Category III (1,501+ members)

The three finalists in this category were as follows:

• Asia Pacific: PMI Melbourne, Australia Chapter
• Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA): PMI United Kingdom Chapter
• North America: PMI Montreal Chapter

PMI congratulates all of the finalists and the winning chapter, PMI Montreal Chapter. You can view the video featuring all three of the finalists in Category III below: 

For more information about PMI chapters or to see how you can get involved with your local chapter, please click here. If you are already a chapter member and would like more information about the PMI Chapter Awards Program, please contact Chapter Support at [email protected].

We are excited to announce the ProjectManagement.com October 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. **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 October is Managing Stakeholders as Clients – Second Edition by Mario Trentim. 

Mario is Executive Director at Trentim & Associates, Programs Director at Project Managers Without Borders, and a member of the PMIEF Board of Directors. 

For more than 15 years, Mario worked as PMO manager, program and project manager in large engineering projects with multidisciplinary teams in different industries such as Aerospace, Defence, IT, R&D, Telecom, and Infrastructure. In 2014, he was the recipient of the PMI Harold Kerzner Award. Mario is also an MBA professor and he published five project management books, including "Managing Stakeholders as Clients".

About the book:

Projects often run adrift despite our best efforts. One of the most commonly overlooked pitfalls is inadequate and ineffective stakeholder management.

Gathering decades of research on communications and stakeholder relations, Mario Trentim, PfMP, CBAP, suggests a paradigm shift in the way project managers view their stakeholders.
Using the four “ships” (sponsorship, partnership, leadership, and citizenship), the author charts a successful path for identifying and communicating with stakeholders that will positively impact the way you view stakeholders and how they influence your project.
Managing stakeholders as clients is a new approach, moving away from traditional stakeholder management where the focus is managing expectations, to a proactive engagement and involvement of stakeholders.

In this newly revised edition, Trentim goes beyond theory to offer real tools and valuable resources focused on presenting what works when it comes to stakeholder management.
His light, conversational style pulls together a wide range of perspectives on various topics including: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), agile, PRINCE2™, emotional intelligence, and soft systems methodology.
Look beyond traditional project management schedules and work breakdown structures and enhance your stakeholder management skills to take your projects to the next level.

Also available in Spanish, La Gestión de los Interesados como Clientes - Segunda Edición. Click Here

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.