The Critical Path

We are excited to announce the ProjectManagement.com April 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 April is Collaboration Tools for Project Managers: How to Choose, Get Started and Collaborate with Technology by Elizabeth Harrin.

Elizabeth Harrin has over fifteen years’ experience in leading IT, business change and process improvement projects in the UK and France. Today she works in healthcare and also runs her own company providing copywriting services to project-related businesses. Elizabeth is the author of four books and the award-winning blogger behind GirlsGuideToPM.com. Find Elizabeth on Twitter @girlsguidetopm.

About the book:

Today’s project leaders face the challenge of managing projects effectively using tested and reliable methods while innovating with new methods to meet the demands of their global and technology-savvy team members and stakeholders.

Information travels faster than ever before. Project managers are called upon to produce relevant and up-to-date project information, increase productivity, and deliver results through top-notch communication tools.

Social media and online communication tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have rapidly changed our world outside of the workplace. These platforms and other tools such as wikis, instant messaging, and big data repositories offer exciting possibilities to improve project team collaboration and stakeholder communication in the workplace as well.

Since project managers rely on communication and effective team management skills, they need to keep up with the fast pace of change, technological trends, and the latest business drivers that help move organizations forward.

In Collaboration Tools for Project Managers, Elizabeth Harrin builds upon her 2010 book, Social Media for Project Managers, by providing the latest information, success stories, and an easy-to-follow guide to implementing online collaboration tools and helping to overcome obstacles.

In order to communicate faster, work virtually with people across the globe, and get better business results, project teams should explore how online collaboration tools can deliver project success and improve business value.

Our April book club host is Tara McCallum. Tara A. McCallum is a CEO and founder of Tara A. McCallum Inc.; a minority woman owned business. As a strategic consultant she has partnered with such organizations as Bank of America, CHEP, VF Corporation, Accenture, and The Department of Defense.  Having worked as a consultant with various organizations Ms. McCallum has used her talents to complete projects in SAP, ERP, and OCM; often with a focus on Project Management. Ms. McCallum has also worked in Development, Training and Delivery, as well as Procurement. Additionally, she is a member of Project Management Institute, ASTD (American Society for Training and Development) and Scrum Alliance. Ms. Tara A. McCallum graduated from The University of Phoenix with a Master’s degree in Management with a specialization in Human Resources Management. She currently holds certifications from Purdue University in Lean/ Six Sigma, Instructional Design and is also a Certified Scrum Master.  In her spare time  Tara enjoys volunteering for The American Red Cross, The Boys and Girls club as a  big sister, Portamento’ of Hope – a homeless outreach kitchen, as well as her church.

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.

It's April and, here in North America spring has finally arrived...we think. We had a pretty decent snow storm a few weeks ago and we're hoping that's the last of it until winter comes around again. In the meantime, we hope that you've taken some time to reflect on your project successes during the first 3 months of 2018 and maybe even gathered some valuable lessons learned that will help make your future projects even more successful. With that, here's what's going on in the community:

• A United States Senator Visits PMI Global Headquarters: On Friday, 6 April, U.S. Senator Bob Casey visited PMI Global Headquarters in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania to see firsthand the impact of the project management profession across the United States and around the world. PMI Government Relations Manager, Tommy Goodwin, highlights the Senator's visit in a recent post.
• PMXPO 2018 is on-demand: If you missed PMXPO 2018 (or were not able to attend all of the sessions), you can still catch them on-demand! Hear keynote Joel H. Cohen (Emmy-award winning writer and producer of The Simpsons™) speak about key lessons from the show's culture of innovation that you can take away and apply to your projects. The event is on-demand until 22 June 2018 and you can view it here. 
• The CAPM® is now more accessible than ever: Are you preparing to test for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®) certification? If so, you should know that you can now take the exam online anywhere in the world! Online proctored exams allow you to conveniently and easily take an exam in the comfort of your home or office while being monitored by an offsite proctor. To learn more, visit the CAPM® certification page on PMI.org. 
• Stakeholders and project cost: Does the number of stakeholders affect the cost of your project? If so, how? Community member Mostafa Nour could use your input in his most recent discussion post. Join the discussion!

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!

Additionally, if you're working on something really exciting, we'd love to know about it. Leave a comment below and let us know what's going on in your world!

Are you looking to improve your leadership skills? Maybe you’re struggling with implementing change within your organization. Whatever the case, the PMI Store has resources that will help you move the needle on your projects and in your career.

• Research has told us that all change happens within organizations through projects and programs. Find out how you can bring about change through projects and programs with titles such as How Successful Organizations Implement Change, The Business of Portfolio Management (our December 2017 Book Club selection), and The Practitioner’s Guide to Program Management.
• Great project teams are led by great project leaders. In turn, this helps you deliver great projects. If you’re looking to enhance your project leadership skills, check out Responsible Leadership in Projects: Insights into Ethical Decision Making or 9 Habits of Project Leaders.
• Want to test your knowledge of The PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition? Check out the official Q&As for the PMBOK® Guide-Sixth Edition to see how you measure up. Or master the art of supplier management with Project Procurement: A Real-World Guide to Procurement Skills.

Whatever you need, the PMI Store has something to help you succeed!

We are excited to announce the ProjectManagement.com February 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 February is Implementing Positive Organizational Change – A Strategic Project Management Approach by Gina Abudi, MBA.

Gina Abudi has 30+ years' experience in providing consulting services and training/education with a focus on projects, process and people to mid- to large, global organizations. She is President of Abudi Consulting Group, LLC and an adjunct faculty member at Granite State College. She blogs regularly at GinaAbudi.com. Gina is the lead author of Best Practices for Managing BPI Projects (J Ross Pub, 2015) and author of Implementing Positive Organizational Change (J Ross Pub, 2017).

About the book:

In today’s increasingly competitive global marketplace, organizations that do not regularly undertake change initiatives will find it difficult—if not impossible—to continue to be successful in the long term.

Most organizations only launch change initiatives when forced to address some pain, such as decreased revenues or profits, where the sole focus is on the benefits to the organization. Often, the people side of change management is overlooked, causing 60-70% of these efforts to fail.

Implementing Positive Organizational Change explains how to develop a continuous improvement culture of change that will be perceived by employees as a positive opportunity to create something new, exciting and valuable, instead of something negative to confront and resist. This comprehensive guide describes how to communicate with and engage stakeholders and employees to gain buy-in and support, and outlines a strategic project management approach that helps ensure successful implementation and desired results.

Our February book club host is David A. Maynard, PMP.  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). He is active in the PMI-Northeast Indiana Chapter of which he was a founding member. He volunteers for PMI 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 and discussion on the Project Management.com books page. 

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

Frequent visitors of ProjectManagement.com’s “Knowledge & Tools” tab may notice something new in the bottom left corner of the tab’s links. That something is PM Port, a reference to show you what is being said about project management on websites and publications around the world.

PM Port, which also can be accessed directly at PMI.org/PMPort, is powered by LexisNexis, a leading business research service. Staff curators select articles twice a week that are valuable and useful to project, program and portfolio managers. Turn to PM Port if you are interested in economic trends that can affect your career; if you want to see tips that have worked for your colleagues and can help you succeed; or if you want to read the latest “buzz” on what’s hot in the profession, such as agile approaches or gig-based project managers.

Additionally, this resource provides stories that might not be front and center now, but could affect the future. One example is an article written by a middle-school teacher who incorporates project-based learning whenever possible. Another is a news item about a solar power project in Sierra Leone.

PM Port provides a wide spectrum of interesting reads about your profession. Check it out today and bookmark it so you can keep up with the latest project management news!