The Critical Path

If you are new to the community, it might be tough trying to figure out where to go next. How do I find the information I need? How do I connect with others? What do I do if I want to contribute an article? 

Fear not! We're here to help!

An easy way to get started is to contribute to the conversation in the Project Management Central discussion board. Find answers to common issues and share best practices with other practitioners within the community. While you're there, start connecting and networking with other community members! Seek assistance with a problem you might be facing or offer solutions to someone else!

If you are looking for specific information, make sure you visit the Practice page! Here you will find information specific to industries and disciplines within the profession that will help make your job easier. From Consulting to Requirements Management, you will find templates, articles, and subject matter experts that will help expand your project management knowledge.

Are you looking to contribute content? We'd love to hear from you! You can visit the Contribute Content page to learn how to submit a content proposal right from the site. Whether you wish to propose an article or a webinar program, a Community Engagement Specialist will be ready to help walk you through the process.

But before you get started, make sure to familiarize yourself with the community user guidelines that you can find at the bottom left of each page. This will help ensure that you have the best experience possible while you're here!

If you find that you still have questions, feel free to contact any of the Community Engagement Specialists listed above. We would be happy to hear from you!

Welcome to the community on ProjectManagement.com!

*photo by Steven DePolo via Flickr http://flic.kr/p/oKuzAB

Welcome to today's Open House - It's BA, All Day! We're excited to open up our community today to all project managers around the world to talk about business analysis and connect members to valuable resources and knowledge. Here's what's on the agenda:

Two Amazing (and Free!) Templates:

• Download this valuable worksheet from expert Richard Larson, President and Founder of Watermark Learning - perfect for project managers who are interested in obtaining the PMI-PBA certification.
• Interested in managing risk requirements more effectively? Then make sure you download this template created by expert Cheryl Lee, Business Analysis & Project Management Consultant & Instructor.

Two Free Webinars (great way to earn PDUs!)

• (RESCHEDULED TBD): Richard Larson presents PMI-PBA: From "What Is It?" to "I Did It!". Join us for an overview on PMI-PBA® certification. Attendees will come away with a clear idea of what the exam covers, and tips for applying for, preparing for, and passing the exam. A special focus is on how the PBA exam maps to the PMP to show candidates how to apply their existing knowledge to the new certification. 
• 5:00 PM ET: Cheryl Lee presents Uncover Gaps in Your Requirements Using Requirements Risk Management Techniques. This interactive session will explore the hand-offs between project and requirements risk and arm attendees with information to begin addressing the #2 reason of why projects fail – inaccurate requirements - immediately within their workplace using requirements risk management techniques.

One (1) PDU will automatically be reported for PMI credential holders who view either the live or recorded version of this webinar. Please allow 10-14 business days for processing. 

Please note: Pre-registration does not guarantee access. Our webinars are on a first come, first serve basis with a maximum room capacity of 1500 attendees. These webinars will be recorded and available On-Demand within 48 hours.

 More Free Resources Unlocked!

Our premium content is reserved for PMI members and ProjectManagement.com premium members.  To celebrate today's Open House, we've unlocked the following resources and webinars for a limited time! Get started on downloading these resources and watching webinars on Business Analysis (free PDU alert!) here:

• Strategic Requirements Template
• Requirements Gathering Guidelines and Checklists
• System Requirements Specification
• Requirements Management Plan
• Effective PM-BA Role Collaboration (webinar)
• Relationship Between the PM and BA (webinar)
• Business Requirements Techniques for Delivering Value While Controlling Scope (webinar)
• What's Hot  and What's Not: Trends in Business Analysis (webinar)
• Forward Thinking for Tomorrow's Projects - Requirements for Business Analytics (webinar)
• Requirements Definition - Project and Outcome Success Drivers, PMI's Road Map (webinar)
• EMEA Congress Highlights - Business Analysis and Requirements Management (webinar)
• Requirements Toolkit: Top Models for Complete Requirements (webinar)
• PMXPO 2015: PMI's Annual Pulse of the Profession: An In-Depth Look at Requirements Management (webinar)

First Ever PMI Business Analysis Virtual Conference 2015

• What: This all-day virtual event is designed for business analysts in all industries—and it’s absolutely free! It’s the only event where you’ll find the world’s expert BA and agile speakers together—with live Q&A. You’ll have the opportunity to engage with industry experts while earning up to six (6) free PDUs.
• When: TOMORROW! 4 November 2015 from 8:30 AM ET to 4:45 PM ET.
• Where: From the comfort of your own home or office! Register now at PMI BA Virtual Conference.

Amazing Giveaways (sorry, open to US residents only)

If you're interested in learning more about business analysis, are preparing to take the exam, or just like to win prizes, make sure you enter our giveaway below by Monday, November 9, 2015, 12:00 AM ET.  To celebrate today's open house, we're giving away the following prizes:

• One (1) PMI-PBA Study Guide by Richard and Elizabeth Larson of Watermark Learning. Covering all five domains of business analysis knowledge in depth, this guide provides the structure and explanation you need to comprehend and absorb that knowledge. Retail value $69.00

• Two winners will receive one (1) 30-day subscriptions to Watermark Learning's PBA Online Study Exam. A 3-in-1 tool that lets you warm-up, drill on each domain, and take unlimited exam simulations. Practice on realistic exam questions to help prepare for the PMI-PBA exam. Retail value $99.00!

• PMI-PBA Study Tables by Watermark Learning. These colorful, robust tables are designed for independent study or for use with study groups or training classes. They also are a valuable aid on the job as a quick-reference resource. Retail value $27.00. 


• Three (3) winners will receive one (1) signed copy of "Project Pain Reliever) by Dave Garrett, founder of ProjectManagement.com. Retail value $49.95.
• Three (3) winners will receive this handy spiral bound notebook that can hold your business cards and a pen. Perfect for taking notes! Retail value $3.00.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spread the word – ProjectManagement.com is hosting an Open House all day long on 3 November!  Just come to the homepage at Projectmanagement.com and you'll see information about the event and how to participate.

All day long we'll be sharing knowledge and networking on the topic of business analysis. Whether you are a business analyst, work with business analysts, or are just curious about how business analysis fits into the world of project management, you won’t want to miss out. The best part? It's FREE to attend!

What can you expect? Well, experts Richard Larson and Cheryl Lee will be conducting webinars to help boost your BA knowledge.  We’ll have giveaways, free downloads, informative articles, and more! While you’re there, don’t forget to sign up for the first ever (free) PMI Business Analysis Virtual Conference that is on 4 November! You’ll have the opportunity to engage with industry experts while earning free PDUs.We hope to see you there!

We all have days at work where we want to bang our heads against a wall and we ask ourselves, “Why am I even doing this?!” 

You know those days.  Where things that should be simple turn out to be complicated in unforeseen ways.  Or where you just can’t seem to clearly communicate the amazing idea you have in a way that gets heard.  You know that everyone is trying to do more with less, and sift through all of the “nice to have” ideas in order to get to the “must have” requirements.   You know everyone is really on the same team and that not everything can be “priority #1” – but it’s still frustrating.

Even community managers can have days like that – and we have a pretty fun job!!

The great thing about being a community manager here is that we get to attend events like Congress and the answer to my previous question comes crashing into us like a runaway train…  We do this because our members care just as much about the community as we do.  Because the profession makes a real impact on the world around us and on the people working to make a difference.   Because when we have the privilege of connecting with the members of our community, they never fail to energize and inspire us all over again.

I had the opportunity to support nine members of the community who spent their time at Congress connecting one-on-one in informal “consulting” sessions with attendees.  They were there to serve as expert advisers from the community, and by the end of our time together, every one of them had told me how much they had learned and benefited from their time talking with members of the community.  After being booked solid for two days, they too, were re-energized and inspired!

We had a great interactive space to facilitate all of these conversations, complete with chalkboards for quick collaborative discussions and idea sharing.

On a whim, I had posted the following statement to one of the peripheral boards, as a kind of conversation starter:  “Why I Became a Project Manager”.  At the end of the first day, I did a quick tour of the boards, and when I saw this one, my jaw literally dropped.  It was nearly filled with responses.  By the end of the last day, there wasn’t room for any additional postings. 

There were your expected answers, of course, like:  “I fell into it” / “Boss made me” or “Job security” / “The money is good”.  There were some fun answers, too:  “Too short for modeling”, “Because I want to predict the future and learn how to control it”, or “I have been taken into the maelstrom”.

The ones that really got me, though, and reminded me why I love my own job so much, were the ones that spoke to the passion for the profession and the impact it has on the world around us – and there were almost too many of these to count.  “To make a bigger impact on the organization”, “It’s what I was born to do”, “To change the world” (which got three votes), “It’s who I am”, “My calling”, “I discovered what I want to be when I grow up”, “Taking ideas to reality”, and “It felt like a fire inside – passion”.  I don’t really know what more to say to that, other than, “WOW”.

Your passion is our passion.  It inspires us and keeps us looking for new and better ways to support you, to connect with you and to help you to be successful in your careers.  Thanks for all that you do to, in turn, support your community and to keep that fire burning!

So, who out there is going to #PMIcongress this year?

The community team is especially excited for this year's conference because we've changed things up a bit. While we knew that we needed to use our exhibit space to encourage Congress attendees to register and get involved on ProjectManagement.com, we also really wanted to show just how close-knit we are as a community.

So, we decided to bring some of the community to Congress. This year, nine of our most active community members (Gina Abudi, Mike Adams, Naomi Caietti, Dan Furlong, Bruce Harpham, Dave Maynard, Priya Patra, Beth Spriggs, and Michelle Stronach) will be live and in person, sharing their knowledge in the ProjectManagement.com "Ask an Expert" sessions. Attendees can sign up for 15 minute one on one sessions with a project management expert and get questions answered, get advice, support, brainstorm and more. Spaces are limited, so it's on a first come, first serve basis. We'll have a sign up sheet at the ProjectManagement.com booth beginning Sunday evening. Don't miss out on this chance to get expert advice and guidance - whether it's for a project problem/issue, figuring out the next step in your career, or anything project related. Even if you miss out on signing up for a one on one session with one of our experts, they'll be easy to find at the conference because they'll be wearing black shirts that say "Subject Matter Expert" - be sure to stop them and introduce yourself.

Our experts will also be leading more "freestyle" type group discussions to help bring the project management community together to discuss hot topics.We'll be collecting group discussion ideas throughout the conference and it's a great opportunity to weigh in on a topic or issue you feel passionately about.

The Community Engagement Specialists will also be on deck to help attendees with creating profiles, setting up accounts, and showing them how to get more involved in the online community. Even if you are already an active member, please stop by and introduce yourself - we'd love to meet you in person! And for those of you who can't make it this year, don't miss out on our blog post and social updates. We'll be sharing the experience in the online community and on Twitter and Instagram using hashtag #PMIcongress. 

Looking forward to chatting community!