Friday, February 27, 2009

What Project Managers Love About Project Management

What Do Project Managers Love About Project Management?

We posted the following question on several websites (including our yahoogroup.com email list and our linkedin.com group) and we have some great responses!

Tomorrow is Valentines Day! What do you love about Project Management?

(If you want to know more about PMlessonsLearned.com see the note near the bottom of this message)

Here are responses we received:
(if you don't see your response or if you'd like to add your thoughts, please use the Contact Us link on our website to let us know)

Mara D. B., PMP
Using project management equates to having a state of the art GPS to guide anyone to their project goals. Yes, there are still pot holes to avoid, and a few speedbumps along the way, but where would we be without it? And I love it when I meet someone half way around the world, and find out they are a PM. There is an instant bond, because we speak the same language!

Penelope M., PMP:
The great people I've met, as most projects I've worked on involved pulling together teams in different countries. And the early phase of planning, before those same lovely people cause deviations from the plan ;-)


Andree E., PMP:
I love my manager and the team I work with.

Agus W, PMP:
The uncertainty part makes project management interesting and challenging. Even for seasoned project manager, some surprises can still be expected in every turn :-)

Joan B, MBA, PMP:
I love the various disciplines contained within the career field (The 9 Knowledge Areas). Each knowledge area is a career field within itself. Project Management is a never ending opportunity to grow and excel while learning new skills.

Marie L, PMP:
I love that I get an opportunity to be a hero!

NK S., PMP:
I love the challenges and opportunities that every project provides. It's a great experience to deliver projects successfully, very fulfilling and and very enjoying.

Sharad A.:
For me, its the sense of adventure. To take something totally new, think through the various facets (Risk, Cost, Schedule, etc), devise a plan for implementation (with the team) and then actually perform to the plan provides a tremendous thrill and feeling of satisfaction.

Sandeep K, PMP:
Project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to creat a unique product.
Project management is permanent skill developed over the year with experince and methodology, and is used to deliver a desired product

Abhishek H.:
To me, project management is all about managing the expectations of various stakeholders associated with that project (either directly or indirectly). And I love it because I find it as a great way of learning and developing my career.


Mohammed B.:

What I like about Project Management is its changing and challenging nature; it can never become a routine work for the skilled Project Manager (PM). In each new project the PM is challenged with new requirements, stakeholders, and constraints. He is challenged with managing new teams that he might have never worked with before. He must be a good leader for evolving teams! This is alone is great experience for PMs.
I love Project Management for the harmony it requires to get desired deliverables. You can’t play alone; you have to be part of a harmonized team in which every member complements other one’s skills.
Project Management goes out the norm but it matches human nature! It necessitates planning before implementation which is not really what people do in their daily jobs, and in the same context it agrees the human nature in giving enough time for planning. People are slow in thinking but quick in acting, so give planning a relatively big span of time in your project.
If you look at what I mentioned above, you will find that it is common sense that all of us are able to do, but only few who succeed in getting this harmony all together to achieve goals, and this is what I love about Project Management.

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About PMlessonsLearned.com

PMlessonsLearned.com is a group of Project Managers helping Project Managers and is open to all. The group is made up of all volunteers so everything we do has no cost to you to use for your personal development (in other words, it's all FREE). We host conference calls about PMP Exam study, PM Career development, and PM Best Practices. These calls are available as MP3s in our Archive section of our website and as podcasts on itunes (Registered trademark of Apple, Inc.).

Please join our yahoo group (details on the website) - We currently have 1300 members of this group.
We also have a PMLL group on linkedin.com with 423 members.
See our website at PMlessonsLearned.com

PMLL Episode 0053 PMBOK Time Managment (PMP Exam Study Subgroup)

Notes and Podcast from the PMlessonLearned.com Conference Call:
Topic: PMP Exam Study Group
Presentation Title: PMBOK Time Management
PM Lessons Learned Leader: Henry Will, PMP
PMP Exam Study Subgroup Host: David Radkovich, PMP, EVM
Presenter: Dana Safford, PMP, MCSE

Date: 04Dec2008
Podcast number: 0053
MP3 / Podcast: MP3 or Listen on Internet Archive or Listen on OurMedia or subscribe to our podcast on itunes

If you're studying for the PMP Exam, you may want to listen to the MP3s of past PMP Exam Study Group conference calls. They're located in our Archive (see the link on our website).

Notes from the call:
PMlessonsLearned.com PMPExam Prep sub-group host David Radkovich PMP, EVP leads this monthly call with Presenter Dana Safford; Complex Problem Manager, PMP, MCSE; Global Solutions Engineering; Hewlett Packard Company on Time Management

On this call Dana discussed chapter 6 of the PMBOK. Callers also shared their experience, tips and asked questions. Our goal is to make this as interactive as possible so participation is very important. Some of the topics discussed included:
• Activity Definition
• Activity Sequencing
• Activity Resource Estimating
• Activity Duration Estimating
• Schedule Development
• Schedule Control
A great Q&A session was held after the presentation.

Visit our Web site at: http://www.pmlessonslearned.com/

Note: Presentation material for this call and past topics are available in the files section of the PMLL yahoo group. The links to join the yahoo group and the link to the files section (you must first login to the yahoo group) are located on the left side of our website.

Please join us for a future conference call (they're all free and open to all). We currently have several calls a month. See our calendar of future calls via the link on our website.

If you're looking for a PM job, we invite you to join our FREE PM JOB SHOP conference calls.
Join the Yahoo Group here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pmjobshop

We highly recommend that you join the free PM Lessons Learned Yahoo group in order to get announcements of our calls and other information to further your PM career.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pmLessonsLearned

Join our Yahoo group for details, reminders of the calls, and information to help you in your PM Career. Visit the website for details.

PMLessonsLearned.com - Project Managers helping Project Managers. Open to all.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Did you know you can listen in to past calls?

Did you know you can listen in to past PMlessonsLearned.com calls?

There are several ways:

1. By Phone: Look at the top left of our website for the current phone number and access code to listen to our last conference call. The last conference call is available by phone until the next one is recorded.

2. Using your Computer (if it's equipped): We post our past calls in our archive (after a delay to edit them). The archive is reached by the link on the left side of our website. Click on the Media.org or "Internet Archive" link to listen online

3. By MP3 Player: Also in our archive (the archive is reached by the link on the left side of our website) are links to download the MP3 of each call (they are posted after a delay for editing time).

4. Using iTunes (see the iTunes link on the left side of the website)

Take advantage of our recordings, they're free!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Free Confcall Feb 19 (Thurs.) Project, Program, and Portfolio Metrics




What: FREE PM Lessons Learned PM Best Practice conference call
Topic: "Project, Program, and Portfolio Metrics"
Who: presented by Henry Will, PMP; Founder and Leader of PMlessonsLearned.com
When: Thursday Feb. 19, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Daylight Savings time
Where: Conference Dial-in: (269) 320-8300 Access Code: 767 616#

"Project, Program, and Portfolio Metrics"

In this session, we will cover:

* What is Project, Program and Portfolio Management
* Metrics: what are they, how are they effective
* Ways to use metrics to address your project issues
* Top Metric Tips
* Examples of Metric reporting

Conference Dial-in: (269) 320-8300 Access Code: 767 616#

Bio:
Henry Will is the Leader and founder of PMlessonsLearned.com, a volunteer organization with more than 1500 Project Managers from around the globe. The organization is made up of Project Managers helping Project Managers and those studying for their PMP. The group strives to help Project Managers with their careers and their application of PM processes.

Henry's credentials include a PMP [Project Management Professional] Certification. He currently is employed by a large global IT company as a Senior Program Manager.

Henry is a public speaker who has spoken on many varied technical and professional topics, including several presentations on Project Management.

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About the Conference Call:
Conference call participation is free and questions are encouraged. Long distance charges may apply depending on your carrier - some cell phone companies allow free long distance after certain times in the evenings.

PMlessonsLearned.com is all about Project Managers helping Project Managers and open to all.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentines Day - What do you love about Project Management?

Happy Valentines Day!
What do you love about Project Management?

Send your short answer (1 or 2 sentences) to this question and we'll post our selection of the best answers on our website at PMlessonsLearned.com by month end. Please include your name as you would like it displayed.
(Answers are the property of
PMlessonsLearned.com )

You can supply your answer in our linkedin.com group or by using the email address at our contact us link on our website.

Note: This was the subject of our Podcast #0008 "What We Love About Project Management" (in honor of Valentines day) - Lessons Learned conference call from 15Feb2007 (for details see the archive on our website)

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Free Confcall Feb 12 (Thurs.) 10 Commandments of the Job Search

February 12, 2009 (9:00 -10:15PM EST)
Conference Dial-in: (269) 320-8300 Access Code: 767 616#
This meeting is FREE! Registration is NOT required

February 12th Program: 10 Commandments of the Job Search.

Join us for the 10 Commandments of the Job Search.
Dr. Sally Wright will focus on the 10 things you absolutely must do to get not only ONE, but SEVERAL job offers. If the principles are followed, the person looking for a job will be head and shoulders above the rest of the field.

Don't miss an evening where you can expand your network, make new friends, share knowledge with your peers, and hear highly relevant and beneficial insights and perspectives from an expert in the marketplace.

Dr. Sally Wright is a licensed clinical psychologist who serves as the Director of Wellspring Resources, an organization which offers therapy, evaluation, and psychological testing in central New Jersey. She also serves as a staff psychologist in the New Jersey VA Health Care System, and is on the faculty of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, serving as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry.

Dr. Wright does speaking engagements throughout the area on stress management, as well as other adult, adolescent, and child mental health issues. She is a former lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, and has served in numerous key military leadership positions both here and overseas.

We're excited to have Dr. Wright on the call with us, and look forward to your participation!

Conference call participation is free and questions are encouraged. Long distance charges may apply depending on your carrier - some cell phone companies allow free long distance after certain times in evenings.

PM JOB Shop Northern New Jersey Chapter of PMLessonsLearned.com
Empowering Project Managers and people studying for the PMP test.

The Northern NJ Chapter of PM Lessons Learned/PM Job Shop provides a professional forum for participants seeking new career opportunities in project management. Our goal is to provide a space for networking, exchange of resources, contacts, information, mutual support and learning, as well as job leads for those seeking new career opportunities.

Membership in PM Lessons Learned and PM Job Shop is free to join.
Membership details and benefits are posted on:
http://pmlessonslearned.com

PM JobShop and PMlessonsLearned.com is all about Project Managers helping Project Managers.