PMI Westchester Chapter - Program Archive

Past Chapter Events - 2004

Chapter Meeting, March 11, 2004

Topic:

"Managing Successful Breakthrough Technology Projects", the structure and resources needed to do something truly new and unique. Bob will discuss his work with high tech clients and experience in Asia and the US and reflect upon the latest research in managing technology projects. This will focus on the issues of how a PM can draw the best in creativity, work focus and coordination from a cross functional team of professionals. He will also reflect upon where technology project work has evolved in the global environment and where it will transition to further.

Speaker:

Bob Fannin, Global Project Management, Old Greenwich, CT
Bob Fannin has been a consultant in Project Management and Technology Management with 25 years of experience working with IT and telecommunications projects. Assignments have included implementing, consulting, and seminar presentation in 'Practical Applications of Knowledge Management', technology assessments, managing technology projects, consulting on R&D, implementing E-Business systems for large IBM clients. He has developed seminars in 'Preparing your Business for the New Economy', given technology and business briefings to Western firms on Asia, and done "how to do business" and general State of the Art Technology briefings on Asia. Clients have included IPS Asia (Senior Consultant and Trainer (Singapore)); Siemens Information & Communications (Regional Director, Asia Pacific, Singapore); IBM Global Services Division (Senior Consultant, Networking, Director of Projects); and US government (consultant with network systems integrator). Bob has also been partner in Canadian R&D firm with a new digital telecommunication products; former Division Director for US Government Consulting firm; lecturer and Adjunct Professor for the Institute for Strategic Studies, University of Denver; Berne University; University of Queensland and the Singapore Institute of Management. Certifications include PMP from PMI; SCPM from Stanford University, and certified to teach Cambridge University program.

Vendor Corner:

Project Management Leadership Group hosted by Kevin Quinn, Northeast Program Director, 631-286-4997, kquinn@pmlg.com, http://www.pmlg.com

Career Corner:

Paradigm Partners, LLC, hosted by Jay Berger, President. PO Box 409, Bedford, NY 10506, 914-234-5525, jberger@ppllc.net, www.ppllc.net

Location:

PACE University, Pleasantville Campus, Kessel Center, Gottsman Room, 861 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY, Directions

Fees:

$15 Westchester Chapter Members, $20 Non-Westchester Chapter Members
NEW: First timers are free, and anyone bringing a first timer is free.

Highlights:

For our March chapter meeting, we were back in our normal stomping ground, the Gottsman Room at the Kessel Center of PACE Pleasantville. We held the February meeting in the Butcher suite upstairs and have tried to book it for our future meetings. This meeting was originally scheduled for Morgan Stanley’s new headquarters, but our speaker and host had a personal situation come up and had to postpone. We are currently working on rescheduling this presentation in the near future. Ed, John and Anita W screened a few potential presenters, as well as booking the room, while Duff and Jim scrambled to identify and book new career and vendor corner representatives. Sorry about the confusion!

Ed Mahler and John Murphy kicked off the meeting with the normal formalities, such as welcoming our members and talking about the benefits of being a member. Ed also introduced three new board members, Dorothy Sasscer and Mark Heminway, our new co-Directors of Communication and Jeff Linson, co-Secretary.

A minor snafu with our projector leant itself to a lesson in Risk Aversion. The projector seemed to short out, but we were prepared with a backup. The lesson is: identify risks like a projector failure and their cost (interrupted or cancelled meeting) and understand and commit to the cost of having a back up on hand every week is worth the effort. Bob Hyland helped with correcting the situation.

Anita Dhir, our Director of Professional Development, gave a quick overview of her special networking meeting on Monday, March 15, 2004. Check out the Past Chapter Events page for details.

Additionally, one of our main contacts at Morgan Stanley, Kiran Hari, told us a little bit about the Morgan Stanley move and about himself. He is a former PM who has moved over to the business side and is working as a Financial Advisor. (He is a member of PMI NYC chapter who will soon be a member of our chapter.) Kiran also helped to sponsor our meeting.

John then introduced our Vendor Corner representative and another meeting sponsor, Kevin Quinn of the Project Management Leadership Group. Kevin showed off the PMLG’s main product. To find out more, visit their website at www.PMLG.com.

Next John introduced our Career Corner representative, Jay Berger of Paradigm Partners, LLC. Jay spoke about the services that PPLLC offer. For more information about Paradigm Partners, please go to their website at www.ppllc.net or email Jay at jberger@ppllc.net.

Our main speaker, Bob Fannin, from Global Project Management in Old Greenwich, CT was introduced. He has just come back from a significant consulting assignment in Singapore. Bob’s topic, “Managing Successful Breakthrough Technology Projects", talked about the structure and resources needed to do something truly new and unique. Bob began his presentation with some reasons for good project managers, such as “Failed systems projects cost more than $100 billion” and “One out of every 2 projects overruns its budget by 180%”. He continued with 4 major points:

Avoid closet PM-ism

Start with the objective

Don’t get lost in the forest while counting the trees.

Don’t get stuck in a rut.

Bob has provided us with a copy of the presentation.

After Bob’s presentation, John presented the PMI Westchester Speaker Appreciation Certificate to Bob. Then Kevin Quinn of PMLG raffled off one of their mascot bears. Overall, it was a great presentation with many valuable nuggets of information.

Meeting Sponsor:

The Project Management Leadership Group, Morgan Stanley, and Pace University providing meeting space.

Breakfast Roundtable, February 26, 2004 Top of page
Topic:	Tips for Writing a Business Case Role and function of a business case How to develop a business case Challenges Lesson learned
Location:	Malcolm Pirnie, White Plains Directions
Fees:	None. Breakfast provided
Highlights:	On February 26, PMI Westchester's latest Breakfast Roundtable was held at Malcolm Pirnie in White Plains. The February topic, Tips for Writing a Business Case, was well attended with 19 people attending - one of the largest turnouts ever. The session was facilitated by Program Managers Joanne Guerriero, Tom Smith and Amy Schneider. Amy (left) starts the discussion on a light note with a Dilbert cartoon. Mary Gilmartin, PMO director at Purdue Pharmaceuticals, (right) discusses how business cases are needed in the pharmaceutical industry, especially to help prevent project changes from getting out of control. Bob Hyland (center) from GRT Corporation points out how difficult it is to accurately estimate costs because of the complexities of the project and organization. John Hall (left) from Martindale-Hubbell and Stanislav Gureyev (right) from GRT Corporation also added their thoughts to the discussion. Diane Senior from Spiderthread Consulting discusses her business case experiences with her current client while independent consultant Bob Evanko listens. A copy of the presentation used during the session can be viewed by clicking here.

PMP Exam Prep Class February 17-18, 2004 Top of page
Description:	PMP Exam Preparation Course This highly sought after two-day class is designed specifically to help you pass the PMP certification examination. It is equal to or superior in quality to most prep classes you can attend, and it is brought to you by the Westchester chapter at a significant discount from the norm. Please enroll as soon as possible as we expect to be over subscribed. All class participants should have a copy of the PMBOK Guide. The course is based on the nine Knowledge Areas of the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge � and the five process groups - Initiating, Planning, Executing, Controlling, and Closing. The newly added domain of Professional Responsibility will also be reviewed. The course will also provide attendees with practical information and skill enhancing tips and techniques that can be applied immediately to the project work environment. At the completion of the course you will: 1. Have a greater understanding of the PMBOK Guide � and how to effectively use the document for study as well as practical application to your projects. 2. Possess the necessary information to develop an exam study strategy that will increase your comprehension and retention of the key elements of each knowledge area. 3. Be prepared to complete the detailed application required to qualify for the exam. Day 1 Introduction: The exam application process Overview of PMI's � Certification Program PMBOK � Chapters Chapter 1- Introduction: What is a project? Chapter 2- The Project Management Context: Project Phases and the Life Cycle, Organizational Influences. The PMBOK � and Professional Responsibility Chapter 3- Project Processes and Process Groups Integration Management- Plan development, Plan Execution, Integrated Control. The importance of each Knowledge Area as a part of the Project management System. Scope Management- Project Initiation, Project Selection, Benefit Measurement Methods (NPV, Payback IRR), Scope Definition, Scope Verification, Scope Change Control. Time Management- Activity Definition, Activity Sequencing, Activity Duration Estimating, Schedule Development, Schedule Control Day 2 Project Cost Management- Resource Planning, Cost Estimating, Cost Budgeting, Cost Control. Types of estimating- Analogous, Parametric, Bottom Up. Establishing the cost baseline. Project Quality Management- Quality Planning, Quality Assurance, Quality Control Project Human Resources Management- Organizational Structure, Staff Acquisition, Team Development. Conflict management, Types of Power, Motivation- Maslow, Herzberg, Theory X and Theory Y Project Communications Management- Communications Planning, Information Distribution, Performance Reporting (Earned Value), Administrative Closure. The communications channel Formula, Communications barriers. Project Risk Management- Risk Planning, Risk Identification, Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis, Risk Response, Risk Monitoring and Control. Monte Carlo Simulation, Decision Trees, Probability and Impact. Expected Value Project Procurement Management- Procurement Planning, Solicitation Planning, Solicitation, Source Selection, Contract Administration, Contract Close- out. Types of contracts, contract documents, key clauses, contract risks. Incentive contracts and sharing ratios. Course Wrap up- Quick review, Exam taking tips, additional reading recommendations, and sample questions. Feed back and evaluation forms.
Instructor:	Anita Dhir is the President of Medhira Enterprises, www.medhira.com and the advisor for the Project Management Certification program at NYU. and LIU.
Fees:	$495 for Westchester Chapter members. $595 all others.
Location:	Lower Hudson Regional Information Center - BOCES - Elmsford Directions

Chapter Meeting, February 12, 2004 Top of page
Topic:	CMM - CMMI Since its debut in the late �80�s the CMM has gained broad acceptance throughout industry in the United States and indeed around the world. Thousands of organizations have CMM based process improvement initiatives. Outsourcers routinely advertise their CMM levels to entice customers. How much is hype and how much is reality? What does a CMM level really mean? We provide an introduction to the CMM including its history and structure. We explain the role of assessments and levels. For those thinking about or already involved with a CMM initiative we explain how to avoid pitfalls, make quick progress, avoid creating overhead, and improve software development efficiency. For those considering using CMM level as a factor in choosing a vendor, we explain what the level really means and what it does not. Topics include: Model Based Process Improvement with the CMM History of the CMM Structure of the CMM Assessments Avoiding CMM Pitfalls Cost Effective Improvements Accelerating Progress Putting the CMM in Context Future Directions � CMMI
Speaker:	Steve Janiszewski, has over 25 years of experience in all phases of software development, management, and process improvement. As Manager of the Software Engineering Department in Teterboro New Jersey, Steve, together with Ellen George, led that site to become the first CMM Level 4 site within AlliedSignal. Starting in 1997, Steve led the introduction of PSP and TSP at AlliedSignal. Prior to joining PS&J Software Six Sigma, Steve was the Director of the Honeywell corporate System and Software Six Sigma organization. At Honeywell, Steve�s responsibilities included providing process assessments, training, management consulting, and improvement planning assistance throughout the corporation , servicing over 6000 software engineers in more than 100 locations world-wide. He has consulted on the application of software process to diverse domains including aerospace, medical instrumentation, industrial automation, automotive system, and financial systems. Steve is an SEI authorized PSP instructor and TSP Launch Coach. He holds a MS and Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from NYU.
Vendor Corner:	Steve Janiszewski, Vice President, PS&J Software Six Sigma www.SoftwareSixSigma.com
Career Corner:	MISI - www.misicompany.com - Sioux Logan, 212 355-5585 ext 320, slogan@misicompany.com
Location:	PACE University, Pleasantville Campus, Kessel Center, Butcher Suite, 861 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY, Directions
Fees:	$15 Westchester Chapter Members, $20 Non-Westchester Chapter Members NEW: First timers are free, and anyone bringing a first timer is free.
Highlights:	This was the first PMI Westchester chapter meeting to offer free entry to first timers, and a record number arrived at our registration desk, hosted by Director of Membership, Laura Jaeger, and Director of Communications, Brenda Horton, filling in for Treasurer Tony Weiner. Pace University provided us with the Butcher Suite, different from our usual room in the Kessel Center, smaller, with better acoustics, and more appropriate for the audience size. Attendees enjoyed a buffet mixture of sandwiches, chips, and cookies. Our Vendor Corner was hosted by Steve Janiszewski and Ellen George of PS&J Software Six Sigma, www.SoftwareSixSigma.com. Steve was also our main presenter for the evening. Our Career Corner was hosted by Sioux Logan of MISI. She spoke about her firm and what they offer as well as the value of the PMP in today's job market. She is pictured (right) with Duff Bailey, head of Recruiter Relations. Sioux has a list of people with PMP certification which she goes through when trying to fill a position that requires one. If you want to get on this list or just talk with her about job opportunities, send her an email SLogan@misicompany.com. Next our main speaker, Steve Janiszewski came back up and talked in depth about CMM and CMMI. While his firm, PS&J Software Six Sigma, offers training and consulting for CMM, he presented a 'vendor neutral' discussion about CMM, starting with its history and talking about its benefits and challenges and moving on to the key practices of CMM. He spoke of the different levels of certification and the value of each. He shared a few real world stories about the implementation of CMM at various companies. At the end of the meeting, co-Director of Publications, Chris Gaffney, told the group that our monthly newsletter is available in HTML (via our web site) instead of only in PDF format. This allows surfers on our site to link directly and web sites listed, especially our advertisers. He also made a request that people try it out and let him know if they find any bugs.

Education - PMI Application, January 24, 2004 Top of page
Topic:	Completing the PMI Application
Instructor:	Tom Smith, tsmithsr@rcn.com, has been an operations and management executive for over 20 years. He is a Registered Certified Project Management Professional(PMP), a Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD), and a Certified Quality Manager (CQM) Candidate.
Location:	PACE University, White Plains Directions
Fees:	$15 Westchester Chapter Members, $20 Non-Westchester Chapter Members

Breakfast Roundtable, January 22, 2004 Top of page
Topic:	Metrics for Success - Project-Management measurements can boost productivity by supporting process improvement and timely data for decisionmaking.
Facilitators:	Tom Smith tsmithsr@rcn.com, Joanne Guerriero jguerriero@pirnie.com, Amy Schneider amyss@us.ibm.com
Location:	Malcolm Pirnie, White Plains Directions
Fees:	None. Breakfast provided.
Highlights:	The January 22rd Breakfast Roundtable focused on Project Management Performance Metrics: Why Collect PM Performance Metrics? Types of Metrics Suggestions for collecting, reporting and frequency Tools Lessons Learned Even though metrics improve project control, flag for early warnings, and help estimate by analogy, many organizations are still reluctant to institute metrics programs. There is often a resistance by Project Managers to publish metrics for fear that metrics report on people's performance, not the processes behind them. Customers are sometimes reluctant to request metrics reporting for possible disclosure of non-performance, such as project slippage due to dependencies on their customer deliverables. Metrics definition ties back to the business case for internal projects, the Statement of Work for external projects and the Service Level Agreement for lifecycle IT projects. Metrics should be documented in the Communications Plan and include description of reporting frequency and stakeholder coverage. Even though there are automated tools to tie authorized work, authorized budgets and planned and actual task completion, one is still dependent on the project manager and other team members to input the progress completely and accurately. Earned value metrics are only useful if the WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) and tracking of work effort is accurate. Construction projects have repeatable methods for measuring work effort to derive at a cost; however, there is often an aura of mystery with IT Projects, especially if the solution requires the use of new technology. Refer to organization such as Software Engineering Institute and PMI� SIG on Metrics for more information about metrics.

Education, January 21, 2004 Top of page
Topic:	Making Sense of the PMBOK� A fast paced introduction and review of the PMI� 2000 edition of the Guide to the Project management Body of Knowledge. The program provides the attendee with an explanation of how the PMBOK� can be effectively used to develop a project management methodology, prepare for the PMP exam, and adds additional information to the PMBOK� to make it a more useful project management tool. Morning agenda: - Introduction to Project Management- A brief overview - Creating an effective project environment. - Detailed review of Chapters 1-6 of the PMBOK� Guide Afternoon agenda: - Core Competencies of a Project Manager - Detailed review of chapters 7-12 of the PBOK Guide - Reading recommendations - Open discussion
Instructor:	Frank P. Saladis PMP, president of Project Imaginers, past president of the PMI NYC Chapter, past president of the PMI� Assembly of Chapter Presidents, and featured repeat presenter at PMI Symposiums, World Congress, Project World, and Frontiers in Project Management. Frank has over 30 years experience as a Senior Consultant and Instructor (most recently with the International Institute For Learning Inc.) and in the telecommunications environment as National Project Manager for AT&T Solutions Information Technology and Cisco Systems Professional Services. Mr. Saladis is a Co-Publisher of ALLPM newsletter and a contributor to the ALLPM project management website. He is a member of the International Executive Guild and the NRCC Business Advisory Council. He has also held the position of Vice President of Education for the Global Communications Technology Specific Interest Group of PMI � and holds a Masters Certificate in Commercial Project management from the George Washington University
Prerequisites:	None. A copy of the 2000 edition of the PMBOK� Guide is recommended to be brought to the class. Order PMBOK
Location:	BOCES Lower Hudson Regional Information Center - 44 Executive Blvd., Elmsford Directions
Fees:	$99 for PMI Westchester Chapter members. $129 all others.

Chapter Meeting January 8, 2003 Top of page
Topic:	PRINCE2� and PMBOK� - How the PRINCE2� approach to project management compliments the PMBOK� PMBOK� is the recognized (de facto) standard of project management knowledge. In the UK and Europe, the PRINCE2� project management methodology is looked to as the methodology of choice and is required by the UK government for all projects it commissions. Americans are hearing more and more about PRINCE2� but don't know much about it. Do PMBOK� and PRINCE2� relate to each other? Do they cover the same ground? Are they competitors? Can they support each other? This presentation will provide a brief overview of the PRINCE2� method (history and content) and discuss the primary similarities and differences between PMBOK� and PRINCE2�. Most importantly the presentation will discuss how these two, which are respected in their own worlds, can complement each other, and how the PRINCE2� approach to project management can provide added value to your PMBOK� knowledge base and your PMP certification.
Speaker:	Jay Siegelaub, is the Principal Consultant and owner of Impact Strategies LLC, a firm consulting to the for-profit and non-for-profit sectors in Organizational and Professional Development. He has over 30 years of professional experience leading projects in the areas of information technology, insurance systems development, utilities, banking, nonprofit strategic planning, and transportation. He has partnered with a number of Fortune 500 companies in the pharmaceutical, financial service, consulting, and consumer products industries, both in delivering and supporting the delivery of major projects. As a recognized educator, over the past 19 years he has trained over 2000 project managers in courses running from 1 to 9-days, including 13 years as the Project Management tutorial instructor for the Drug Information Association's National Meeting. Jay's recent responsibilities include leading the North American Change Management and Training practices for a UK-based management consulting firm, training corporate consulting professionals in project & program management, team effectiveness skills, and supporting clients in managing the "people" issues of their business change initiatives. Other interesting work has included the development and delivery of training to support FDA Computer Systems Validation requirements, and managing knowledge transfer for a major SAP project. Jay has authored articles on training, project management and information technology for various publications (including the Auerbach series), and frequently presents at conferences, including a session on "Product Descriptions: The Heart of Quality Control (and Change Control)" at the 1999 PMI Conference. As the first accredited PRINCE2� Trainer in North America, Jay worked for the company (and with the authors) who wrote the current version of PRINCE2�. In the US, he has delivered PRINCE2� education to companies such as IBM, Philip Morris USA, Credit Suisse First Boston, General Electric Information Services and Purdue Pharma. Through his "British connection," he is accredited as an IT Project Manager by the British Computer Society. He is also qualified to administer and consult in the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, and is certified to consult in Human Synergistics International's team- and organization-building tools. Of course, Jay also has his PMP certification.
Vendor Corner	J. Michael Ault, Partner and President of Satori Consulting Inc. www.SatoriConsulting.com
Career Corner:	Paula Kennedy, CDI Corporation, Phone: (845) 471-9335, www.cdicorp.com
Location:	PACE University, Pleasantville Campus, Kessel Center, Directions, Map
Highlights:	On a rather cold January evening, we kicked off our 2004 Program with our Chapter Meeting in our normal stomping ground, the Kessel Center of PACE Pleasantville. We were proud to present one of our members as our main speaker, Jay Siegelaub. The topic of the evening was "How the PRINCE2� approach to project management compliments the PMBOK�". Our networking allowed many of our members to talk, make new friends and make connections in our professional circle. John Murphy kicked off the meeting with the normal formalities, such as welcoming our members and talking about the benefits of being a member. He also introduced two new board members, Duff Bailey and Anita Wilton. Based on his experience and contacts, Duff has joined the board as the Director of Vendor Relations. Anita has joined John Murphy as Co-VP of Programs. Anita has significant experience in the project management arena and is a welcome addition to help John in the role as his life is getting busy now. John introduced our Vendor Corner representative, Satori Consulting. Justin Ockenden spoke about Satori's offerings and experience in the management of Programs and how they offer a unique perspective to their clients. Our meeting was also attended by the president of Satori, J. Michael Ault. To learn more about Satori Consulting, please check out their web site at www.satoriconsulting.com. Next John introduced our Career Corner representative, Paula Kennedy of CDI Professional Services. Paula was kind enough to attend our meeting after a last minute cancellation. Paula drove down from Fishkill for our meeting. She spoke about the offers that CDI Professional Services offer. For more information about CDI Professional Services, please go to their website at www.cdicorp.com, or e-mail Paula at Paula.Kennedy.CDICorp.com. Our main speaker, Jay Siegelaub, is the Principal Consultant and owner of Impact Strategies LLC, a firm consulting to the for-profit and non-for-profit sectors in Organizational and Professional Development. He has over 30 years of professional experience leading projects in the areas of information technology, insurance systems development, utilities, banking, nonprofit strategic planning, and transportation. As the first accredited PRINCE2� Trainer in North America, Jay worked for the company (and with the authors) who wrote the current version of PRINCE2�. Of course, Jay also has his PMP certification. Jay's presentation discussed the PRINCE2� project management methodology which in the UK and Europe, is looked to as the methodology of choice and is required by the UK government for all projects it commissions. Jay discussed how the PMBOK� and PRINCE2� relate to each other and how they can they support each other. A copy of Jay's presentation can be viewed by clicking here. After Jay's presentation, John presented the PMI Westchester Speaker Appreciation Certificate to Jay. Then our friends at Satori Consulting raffled off a beautiful pen. The raffle was won by PMI Westchester's own Laura Jaeger!