Feb03PMO Symposium 2012 Call for papersPosted at 07:12 in Networking, Project Management

Here we go again! The PMO Symposium 2012 will be held in San Diego (CA), from 28th to 31st of October 2012, and the call for speakers is now open. You can submit your abstracts here until 15th of March.

Nov12PMO Symposium 2011Posted at 09:15 in Leadership, Networking, Project Management

It has been a while since last time I posted, and I apologize to the 43 readers of this blog :p. The reason for my absence from here is that I devoted all my "free" time (whatever that is) to the PMO Symposium 2011 that was held in Orlando last week. I have been involved in the organization of this event for quite some time, but this year I was privileged enough to be the 2011 Program Chairman. That gave me the opportunity to work with a fine cast of speakers for this year's event, and to build and deliver a program that I believe best depicts the current "state-of-the-art" of the PMO's for 2011.

Their thought-provoking presentations really make this event the worldwide reference in the field of PMO's; starting with our two Keynotes from Jim Furfari and Iain Fraser (pictured above on the left, with Rommy Musch, President of the PMI PMO CoP, myself and Craig Letavec, PMO Symposium Chair). For the first time, we have webcasted Iain Fraser's Keynote that you can replay for free during the next couple of weeks. If you could not attend, please give it a shot, it is worth your time.

Another first this year was the launch of the PMO Symposium mobile application, available on iPhone, Blackberry and Android platforms, with all conference details (floor-plans, schedule, speakers bio, and networking feature), which has been warmly welcome by the attendees, despite some challenges due to a late launch. I guess there is only that much we can do.

While I will try to take a couple of hours of rest before going back to my day-job tomorrow, I would also like to extend a big THANK YOU to the PMI PMO Community of Practice leadership team (Craig, Rommy, Art, Darlene, Dan); to the team of volunteers who supported us during the event (Karen, Audra, Elise, Debbie, Scott, Paul and Doug); to the staff of Swank AV and the Loews Royal Pacific for their outstanding service; to the fantastic audience that attended the Symposium this year; and of course to our sponsors and exhibitors who enabled us to bring this conference to you.

Stay tuned, for over the next couple of weeks, I will provide some insight on what has been discussed during the PMO Symposium this year, with some invited guest bloggers.

May06PMO Symposium 2011 Agenda publishedPosted at 06:09 in My Work, Networking, Project Management

The Agenda for the PMO Symposium 2011 has been finalized. Go have a look at the fantastic lineup of high profile speakers and interactive sessions, and if you did not already, register now!

Mar19PMI UAE Chapter is underwayPosted at 06:05 in Dubai, Networking, Project Management

PMI has officially announced the launch of a potential United Arab Emirates Chapter (as a spin off from the Arabian Gulf Chapter, who's serving the community for nearly two decades). This new Chapter will focus on enhancing the member experience and on supporting practitioners entering and advancing in the profession within the UAE. Beginning today, you may join the potential PMI UAE Chapter at no additional cost, and be a part of this adventure from the beginning.

This is an important milestone for the profession in the region, especially after 2007's rejection from PMI. I have witnessed the establishment of a potential Chapter in Czech Republic, and I'm glad to see this happening while I'm based here in the UAE.

Feb14Frederic, 318 connections changed jobs in 2010Posted at 06:48 in Chaos, My Work, Networking, Risk Management

Frederic, 318 connections changed jobs in 2010. Did you reconnect? is the title of an email I received yesterday from the well known business networking portal LinkedIn. I got lost for words. 21.24% of my network (on this site) changed job last year (me too). In other words, at this pace, in 4 years and 8 months ... statistically everyone I'm connected to would have transitioned...

Being optimistic by nature, I would assume that most of them made the jump by choice. But I cannot believe that, especially in the current economic context. The crisis did hit them hard. Really hard. It has completely reshuffled the cards, and I would assume that some of them now have a job they are not 100% satisfied with (it's a tough job market). One consequence of this situation is that as soon as the crisis is over, and there are better opportunities out there, they will be gone.

Now, let's assume for one second that you're a Project Manager, and that some of those guys and girls from my network are esteemed members of your project team. Let's look at the potential risk strategies available there...

• Avoidance: While this may typically be seen as the ultimate response to any particular risk, it also means losing the potential gain that goes along with that risk. Not hiring those "risky" employees, would mean not having someone doing some work for you, which is not really a practical solution.
• Reduction: This can take the form of reducing the severity (or likelihood) of a risk happening, or finding a balance between this risk and the benefit of the activity. You could look at outsourcing as a valid method of Risk Reduction in this scenario, if the outsourcer can demonstrate a higher capability at risk management than yours.
• Transfer Technically more of a Risk Sharing, this could take the form of and Insurance Policy that protects you financially from this risk (although not being able to perform a job has more than just a financial impact).
• Acceptance: If you can't do any of the above, well, you will have to accept the fact that they might just leave. Some risks just can't be avoided, reduced or transfered, in which case acceptance is a viable strategy, as long as properly documented, and a risk response accordingly formulated.

What would you do?

May28The Next Generation PMOPosted at 08:25 in Networking, Project Management

The Next Generation PMO is the official weblog of the PMI® (Project Management Institute) PMOSIG (Program Management Office Specific Interest Group). You are encouraged to submit your articles about PMO processes, standards, tools, software, templates, people, skills, value proposition, strategic alignment or any other relevant topic. Please review the article submission guidelines and send your submittals to the PMOSIG Communication Committee for review.

Project Managers holding a credential from PMI can now earn PDUs for articles published on The Next Generation PMO weblog. You can earn from 10 PDU (under Category 2A, Co-Author of Non-refereed Journal Article) to 15 PDU (under Category 2B, Author of Non-refereed Journal Article). Below is the information required for your PDU submittal:

• Program/Title description: Enter Article Name (15 characters max)
• Date Started: Enter posted date
• Date Finished: Enter posted date
  (a notification is required from PMOSIG to submitter that the article has been posted)
• Process: Select specific category, or ">Select All"
• Knowledge Area: Select specific Knowledge Area, or ">Select All"
• Industry: ">Select All"
• Provider Name: PMOSIG
• Address: PO Box 41567
• City: Dayton
• State: Ohio
• Zip/Postal Code: 45441
• Country: USA
• Phone Number: 1-(616) 392-2292
• URL: http://blog.pmosig.org
• Email Address: dir_communications@pmosig.org

This PDU submittal information also applies for articles posted in The PMOSIG Newsletter under Category 2A (Co-Author of Non-refereed Journal Article - 10 PDUs) or 2B (Author of Non-refereed Journal Article - 15 PDUs). For more information, please contact the PMOSIG Communication Committee.

Jan17Are you Nice or Likable?Posted at 11:10 in Networking, Project Management

I have recently discovered through one of Guy Kawasaki tweets Cube Rules, the blog hosted by Scot Herrick. I particularly liked this post about being likable and not nice on the workplace.

As a Project Manager, I know business is not just about facts and figures, but it's all about people and their ability to interact and collaborate. People who are conscious of this reality will often have a natural tendency to be nice to encourage positive mindset around them. In reality, nice is not that positive after all: You are perceived as someone who does not say "no!" and you get dumped on for work tasks; You are perceived as someone who is not confrontational so your problems don't get resolved; you are perceived as someone who is quiet so your opinions are not heard and others define issues.

The list could go on forever, but in short: Nice Is Commonly Exploited. Instead, what you want to be, is be likable: You can say "no!" in a pleasant way; you voice your concerns without necessarily raising your voice; you can resolve issues by searching for solutions even through confrontation when required. I am a likable person (no, seriously, I am) and I like to work with likable persons, much more than I like to work with nice persons. What label do you have in your company?

May23Developer ForumPosted at 14:39 in Networking, Strasbourg

La prochaine rencontre de développeurs, chefs de projets et architectes en ingénierie logicielle aura lieu le 12 juin 2007 à l'IUT d'Illkirch-Graffenstaden. La grande nouveauté de cette édition: 10 sessions choisies parmi l'ensemble des propositions qui ont été faites. Une sélection variée, basée sur des langages de programmation, des méthodes, des API, des "Best Practices", etc...

Informations et inscriptions sur le site du forum: http://www.developerforum.eu.

Apr25SdB+PMPosted at 21:22 in Networking, Project Management

After being a (not so active) member for quite a long time, I recently have been invited to join the admin team of SdB+PM, founded by Serge de Bock. This online Project Management community is aimed as Senior Project Managers who are also members of LinkedIn (for those who are not yet, remember it is free). In our understanding, a "Senior" Project Manager has managed projects across multiple functional areas and also across different cultures and countries.

If you find it hard to find other Project Managers to talk with, if it's such a relief to find someone else who even understands you're not talking about submarines when you say "scope", then join SdB+PM. We're an international group of Project Managers who love to talk about Project Management. We ask questions, pose theories, express opinions, share experience - and so much more on the SdB+PM Forum.

Mar12BarCampAlsace3Posted at 10:17 in Networking, Strasbourg, Web/Tech

Le BarCampAlsace3 est programmé pour les 13 et 14 avril 2007 à Strasbourg. Cette troisième rencontre d'innovateurs est encore plus ouverte que les précédentes. Elle est organisée par Optim-us, en partenariat avec Créacité, couveuse d'entreprises à Strasbourg.

Premier BarCamp en France à se dérouler sur 2 jours complets, c'est une expérience inédite pour les innovateurs, entrepreneurs, acteurs innovants du monde social, économique, culturel et politique de la région. Inscrivez-vous ici et suivez toute l'actualité de l'événement.