Live Webinar January 7th, 2015 – 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm EST
Duration: 1 Hr webinar Credits: 1 PDU Category A – Free PDU
Sponsored by: Change Management CoP (REP #S056)

Winston Churchill famously observed that: “The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, while the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”.

Churchill could have been talking about mentoring as a mentor can assist program and project professionals in seeing opportunities and helping to use these opportunities for program and project success as well as overall organizational success.

Using a mentor, or serving as a mentor to others, can assist us in our quest for success.

It further is important to do things right – this does not mean only following a process, but it means using processes and procedures to help us succeed and improving upon them as best we can. The mentor can help direct us in this endeavor as we strive to meet and exceed success criteria as defined in our organizations.

In both the public and private sectors, increasingly organizations are developing mentoring programs for a variety of reasons.

In program and project management, using mentors is a best practice as organizations are recognizing programs and projects as key strategic assets, and the movement to becoming project based continues at a fast pace, meaning there are more opportunities than before to become a program or project manager and more opportunities for a career path in the field.

This presentation several definitions for mentoring, describes various types of mentoring relationships, explains how to set up a mentoring program, and emphasizes when mentoring is appropriate. It concludes with five skills to consider for effective mentoring.

Presenter: Dr. Ginger Levin (LinkedIn profile) is also author of several Project Management books and materials including:

• Interpersonal Skills for Portfolio, Program, and Project Managers
• Program Management: A Life Cycle Approach (Best Practices and Advances in Program Management Series)
• Implementing Program Management: Templates and Forms Aligned with the Standard for Program Management, Third Edition (2013) and Other Best Practices,
• Program Management: A Life Cycle Approach (Best Practices and Advances in Program Management Series)
  
• PgMP® Exam Practice Test and Study Guide, Fourth Edition (ESI International Project Management Series)

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

Click to register for Mentoring: Key Competency For Program/Project Professionals

Live Webinar – January 7th, 2015 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm EST
Offered by MPUG WebnLearn ( REP 1369 )
Duration 1 hour + Q & A 1 PDU / 1 CDU
Mpug Member Free – Member Only Event

Join Microsoft MVP Ben Howard and spend an hour of your time learning to use Project like a Pro.Ben will show you a mixture of tips and trips, shortcuts, and best practices that he uses to ensure that you can create and manage a project schedule with the minimal of hassle and fuss. Presenter: Ben Howard (LinkedIn profile) is author of “Microsoft Project 2013 Plain and Simple” and has worked for IBM, DELL, and Microsoft,and now runs his own EPM consultancy (Applepark Ltd).Ben’s current Microsoft TechNet webcast, User Controlled Scheduling in Project 2010, is ranked in the top 10. Ben is a regular contributor to the Project Server newsgroups, and publishes a blog based on Project Server scenario. Ben is also a Microsoft MVP award for Project Server.

If you are NOT ALREADY a member JOIN MPUG!

This event is for members only BUT… You can take one of the MPUG Certificated Masterclass (Usually 6 Category A PDUs) Or over 30 other Category A PDUs for free each year.  The $129 Per Year Membership Fee is a terrific value!

MPUG Membership includes:

1. MPUG’s Project Server and SharePoint certificated courses available to members
2. Over 30 other virtual PDU events per year
3. You can network with other MPUG (Microsoft Project Users Group) members at in person meetings and events.
4. Work with Microsoft MVPs in MS Project Project Server & SharePoint
5. And so much more ….

Seriously consider joining MPUG if you work with SharePoint or Project & earn all the PDUs you will need as a member of MPUG!

Click to register for New Year’s Resolution: Use Project Like a Pro!

Live Webinar January 7th, 2015 11:00 am – 12:00 pm EST
Duration: 1 hour  Credits: 1 PDU Category B  – Free PDU
Presented By: PROJECTinsight (Metafuse Inc)
In Cooperation With: Core Performance Concepts (Rep #1399)

Note: Please record this as a Category B Presentation – You will receive a Category B certificate from PROJECTInsight

How long will it take?

This is the question that puzzles project team members, sponsors, end users, clients, functional managers, and subject matter experts. Estimating time is one of the more difficult aspects of project planning.

In this webinar, you will learn some techniques to help you estimate better and provide more confidence to your stakeholders.

Webinar Objectives:

• Identify techniques for estimating time
• Differentiate between effort and duration
• Use team members’ estimates more effectively
• Define best practices to implement within Project Insight

Who should attend:

• Project managers, Portfolio managers,
• Project team members, Project Leads,
• Project sponsors & function/business unit managers,
• Subject Matter Experts, Business Analysts, Scheduling Specialists and ….
• Other business stakeholders.

Click to register for Estimating Time

Online Webinar – Recorded October 2014
Duration:1 hour Webcast Up to 1 Category C PDU – Free PDU
Hosted By:  QSM

When evaluating proposals, any good project manager knows it doesn’t do any good to charter a project if the right people aren’t available or if the cost and schedule are unrealistic.

It becomes very important early on in the proposal process to be able to run accurate feasibility estimates that produce skilled staff outputs, matching resources needed for a project to the resources you have.

This webinar, presented by QSM’s Andy Berner (LinkedIn profile) and Keith Ciocco (LinkedIn profile) demonstrates a powerful top-down approach, which allows organizations to do early resource planning and powerful what-if analysis without breaking out the work breakdown structure (WBS).

This process matches the supply to the demand and is easy, credible, and correct.

PDU Category C (PMBOK 5) documentation details:
Process Groups: Executing
Knowledge Areas: 4- Integration 9 – Human Resources

• 4.1 Develop Project Charter
• 4.2 Develop Project Management Plan
• 9.1 Plan Human Resource Management

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 From Proposal to Project: Getting Resource Demand Early

Register now for Live Webinar Interviewing Testers  January 2, 2015, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM EST

Register now for Live Webinar Interviewing Testers January 6, 2015, 9:30 PM – 11:00 PM EST

Online Webinar – Recorded May 30th 2014
Duration: 1.5 Hr Webinar Credits: 1.5 PDU Category A – Free PDU
Sponsored by: RBCS (REP #2986)

Note:  When you watch the recorded session, your attendance is not tracked by the provider.  Keep excellent records of your attendance – you are  on your honor in accordance with the PMI®’s Code of Ethics.

This is a repeat presentation of one of our most popular webinars and workshops. If you missed it before, you can catch it now. Did you know that dealing with a single problem employee can consume as much as 50% of his or her manager’s time?

Imagine how that reduces the manager’s effectiveness!

This is why making smart hiring decisions is one of the most important and central roles for test leads and test
managers. However, it’s also one of the hardest roles we face.

In this webinar, Rex Black, having hired dozens of testers and coached managers around the world on how to improve their hiring practices, will share some of the techniques you can use to ensure that your next hiring decision is
the best one you’ve made—so far.

Presenter: Rex Black (Amazon profile) is President of RBCS, a leader in software, hardware, and systems testing. RBCS employs the industry’s most experienced and recognized consultants, RBCS conducts product testing, builds and improves testing groups and hires testing staff for hundreds of clients worldwide. As the leader of RBCS, Rex is the most prolific author practicing in the field of software testing today.

Check Out some of Rex Black’s Great Books:

1. Foundations of Software Testing ISTQB Certification
2. Managing the Testing Process: Practical Tools and Techniques for Managing Hardware and Software Testing
3. Advanced Software Testing – Vol. 1: Guide to the ISTQB Advanced Certification as an Advanced Test Analyst (Rockynook Computing)
4. Advanced Software Testing – Vol. 2: Guide to the Istqb Advanced Certification as an Advanced Test Manager
5. Advanced Software Testing – Vol. 3: Guide to the ISTQB Advanced Certification as an Advanced Technical Test Analyst
6. Critical Testing Processes: Plan, Prepare, Perform, Perfect
7. Pragmatic Software Testing: Becoming an Effective and Efficient Test Professional
8. ISTQB Foundation Exam Preparation Guide
9. ISTQB Advanced Test Manager Exam Preparation Guide 2nd edition

Click to view on YouTube the  presentation of Interviewing Testers   Or….

Register now for Live Webinar January 2, 2015, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM EST
Register now for Live Webinar January 6, 2015, 9:30 PM – 11:00 PM EST

Online Webinar – Recorded February 13th, 2014
Duration: 1 Hour Credits: 1 PDU Category C – Free PDU
Presented by: Decision Management Solutions

Decision management and business rules management systems are the ideal platform for an agile and cost-effective compliance approach.

In regulated industries like financial services, leading companies are building compliance into every process and system with consistency and transparency across the entire organization and with the agility to meet ever more challenging deadlines.

Companies that fail to do so incur huge costs with manual checks and balances and risk significant fines.

In this webinar James Taylor and Jan Purchase (LinkedIn profile) Director and Founder of Investment Banking Specialists Lux Magi, share know-how and best practices from their extensive experience of helping clients implement decision management and business rules management systems to conquer complexity, improve agility, lower costs and measure ongoing effectiveness in financial compliance.

You will learn: 

1. Why a business rules driven approach is an advantage, but it’s not enough in isolation; decision management is the essential ingredient
2. An approach to decision modeling that eliminates confusion and inconsistency, even in the face of mounting complexity
3. How implementing decision models in business rules delivers automated, reliable compliance.

The webinar includes illustrations of how the decision management approach has been applied in compliance projects and a walkthrough of real decision model from one of these.

Presenter:  James Taylor (LinkedIn profile) is the CEO of Decision Management Solutions, and is the leading expert in how to use business rules and analytic technology to build Decision Management Systems. If you are looking for information on decision Management Systems Sign up for his newsletter – Decision Management News. Read his blog: JT on EDM; or Follow him on Twitter: jamet123. James is passionate about using Decision Management Systems to help companies improve decision-making and develop an agile, analytic, and adaptive business. He has more than 20 years working with clients in all sectors to identify their highest-value opportunities for advanced analytics, enabling them to reduce fraud, continually manage and assess risk, and maximize customer value with increased flexibility and speed.

For more great information read James’ books Decision Management Systems: A Practical Guide to Using Business Rules and Predictive Analytics and Why You Need Smart Enough Systems.

PDU Category C (PMBOK 5) documentation details:
Process Groups: Planning, Monitoring & Controlling
Knowledge Areas: 7 – Cost

• 5.2 Collect Requirements
• 5.3 Define Scope
• 7.1 Plan Cost Management
• 7.4 Control Costs

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 Agile & Cost Effective Financial Compliance: Going Beyond Business Rules With Decision Management

https://www.linkedin.com/in/janpurchase