Live Webinar – August 27th, 2013 11:00 pm – 12:00 pm EDT
Live Webinar – August 28th, 2013 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM AEST (Canberra, Australia)
Duration: 1 hour webinar Credits: 1 PDU Category B – Free PDU
Sponsored by: APMG International

A well-prepared Business Case Is Essential For
Enabling Evidence-Based Decision Making

Better Business Cases is a systematic and objective approach to all stages of the business case development process. It supports management at key decision points along the investment lifecycle. It provides management with the opportunity to engage stakeholders to ensure buy-in for successful investment outcomes.

The Better Business Cases guidance is based on the Five Cases Model, the UK government’s best practice approach to planning spending proposals and enabling effective business decisions.

This provides a step by step guide to developing a business case, by:

• Establishing a clear justification for intervention – a case for change;
• Setting clear objectives – what you want to achieve from the investment;
• Considering a wide range of potential solutions – ensuring an optimal balance of benefits, cost and risk;
• Putting the arrangements in place to successfully deliver the proposal.

Register for this webinar to find out how Better Business Cases will enable your organization to reduce costs using a standard, scalable and consistent approach that supports effective and efficient decision-making.

Presenter: Geoff Rankins (LinkedIn profile) is an experienced consultant and project director with 35+ years of experience helping clients manage change with Inspiring Projects . His experience covers diverse industry sectors including Federal, State and local Government, ASX50 corporations, SMEs, Universities and not-for-profits.

Click to register for Laying The Foundations For Project Success

Live Webinar – August 27th, 2013 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm EDT
Presented by: Eclipse Project Portfolio Management
Duration: 1 hour 1 PDUs Credits: Category C 1 PDU- Free PDU

Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is a strategic decision making approach aimed at maximizing overall returns on project investments. By focusing on the “right” projects, it is expected that there will be improved organization alignment to strategic plans as well as optimized utilization of financial and human resources.

Unfortunately, there is a significant amount of misinformation in the marketplace about PPM and many organizations that have attempted to implement these practices have failed. Of course, vendors stand ready to “help” unsuspecting executives with snake oil claims of “silver bullet” process or tool purchases to achieve PPM nirvana.

This webinar will provide you with a solid grounding of PPM principles – costs, benefits, critical success factors and lessons learned. These will help you decide whether pursuing PPM improvement is a valuable and realistic goal for your organization. This presentation will also improve your knowledge of the PPM lifecycle and provide you with the key decisions and approaches necessary to launch a successful PPM initiative.

Who should attend this webinar?
C-Level Management, IT Directors and Managers or Directors of PMOs

NOTE: You may have to hit the MORE… link to register for this session on the registration page.

PDU Category C (PMBOK 5) documentation details:

Process Groups: Planning, Monitoring & Controlling

Knowledge Areas: 4 – Integration

• 4.1 Develop Project Charter
• 4.2 Develop Project Management Plan

As a Category C ‘Self Directed Learning Activity’ remember to document your learning experience and its relationship to project management for your ‘PDU Audit Trail Folder’

Click to register for Project Portfolio Management Simplified

Live Webinar – August 27th, 2013 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT
Presented by: Training Magazine
Duration: 1 Hour 1 Category C PDU – Free PDU

The Visual Cortex is the area of the brain we use to process visual information. We can communicate an action or perceived affordance on a computer screen by applying simple visual techniques.

The term, “less is more” is the key by allowing learners to use their imagination and experiences to complete the image or graphic and in turn results in higher retention.

As instructional designers we want our designs to be visually appealing and relevant.

• How much time do you spend hunting for images or that just right graphic?
• What if a few strokes of a pen or the arrangement of a few simple shapes could convey the same message more effectively?

Having an understanding of the basic principles of visual communication you’ll be able to replace words with pictures.

Kevin will discuss the visual cortex and how we use it every day to communicate. He will look at examples of perceived affordances, and how making subtle changes to your elearning graphics can be a powerful companion to the instruction. He will also also look at techniques for creating on-demand graphics following basic visual communication principles.

Presenter: Kevin Thorn (LinkedIn profile) is the owner and Chief NuggetHead of NuggetHead Studioz, a design, development, and consulting business including elearning design & development, illustration & graphic design, and training & consulting. He can be found around learning communities on Twitter as @LearnNuggets, or at LearnNuggets.com where he writes opinions, reviews, and tutorials.

Click to register for PowerPoint as a Graphics Editor: Simplified Visual Design for Elearning

Live Webinar August 26th, 2013 – 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm EDT
Duration: 1 hour webinar Credits: 1 PDU Category A – Free PDU
Sponsored by: PMI Quality CoP® (REP #S019)

PMI® Quality Community of Practice: Our mission is to increase members understanding of Project Management Quality by exploring the Quality Processes as defined in the PMBOK and encouraging members to network by sharing experiences, knowledge and tools.

Concepts of quality were derived from work developed for repetitive operations, however, a project is defined as a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

The low repeatability, dynamics, and conflicting interests of various stakeholders post challenges to quality management model in projects where project managers do not always enjoy position power in functional and matrix organizations.

Project success depends on developing a cohesive team, exercising influence, managing conflicts, and managing the expectations of stakeholders. This presentation will analyze the nature of quality management in projects, and address how quality management in project context can be improved through team building processes.

Note: You do have to be a PMI® member to register for this opportunity.

Presenter: Yang Fan PMP PhD, is an Associate Professor of Project Management at the Global Management and Strategy Department of Western Carolina University (WCU) in Cullowhee, NC. Yang has over 25 years experience in business planning and management, and has instructed professional PM courses since 2008. His current research interests include project stakeholder management, organizational structure analysis, and global project management. Yang was a council member of the PMI® Quality Community of Practice from 2009 to 2012.

Click to register for Quality Management in Projects and Team Building

Live Webinar – August 27th 2013, 9:30 am – 10:30 am EDT
Offered by: Global Knowledge UK (REP 1999)
Duration: 1 hour 1 PDU / 1 CDU Credits: 1 PDU Category A – Free PDU

Note: Although Global Knowledge is an REP this opportunity may not have a course number Contact Global Knowledge for further information.

At times we find ourselves in situations where we may need to deal with challenging people.

The challenges can be the result of difference in communication styles, the past difficult situations or simply because the other party is difficult to deal with.

Having strategies to deal with different or difficult people is critical to ensuring that we can achieve results and not damage relationships.

In this one hour webinar we will explore topics such as:

• Understanding communication styles and natural differences
• Common ‘difficult’ personality types
• Strategies to produce positive outcomes even in the most challenging situations

Click to register for Dealing with Difficult People: Leadership and Business Skills for IT Professionals

Live Webinar – August 22nd 2013, 12:00-1:00 PM EDT
Offered by ASPE (REP 2161) 1 Category A PDU – Free PDU
Note: Although ASPE is an REP presentations may have to be recorded as a Cat C PDU Event – Contact Traci Lester Marketing Specialist at ASPE for more information

Prior to implementing Scrum, many of us are classically trained project managers. We are taught to master the tools and techniques of the profession. Unfortunately, many of us are not taught key leadership skills and we struggle to fulfill the purpose of the ScrumMaster role.

When we manage, rather than lead, our teams can feel controlled and their productivity can suffer.

We need to learn the core behaviors of a leader, so that we can help foster the kind of environment where hyper-productive Scrum teams can flourish.

In this session we will examine the fundamentals of Agile Leadership as they apply to the ScrumMaster role.

PDU Category C (PMBOK 5) documentation details:

Process Groups: Executing

Knowledge Areas: 4- Integration 6 – Time 8 – Quality 9 – Human Resources

• 4.2 Develop Project Management Plan
• 4.3 Direct and Manage Project Work
• 5.3 Define Scope
• 6.2 Define Activities
• 8.1 Plan Quality

As a Category C ‘Self Directed Learning Activity’ remember to document your learning experience and its relationship to project management for your ‘PDU Audit Trail Folder’

Click to register for How to be a Great ScrumMaster