Top 10 Project/Portfolio Management Systems

The Forrester Wave: Project/Program Portfolio Management, Q4 2012, "How The Top 10 Providers Stack Up in a Newly Divided Market", by Margo Visitacion and Phil Murphy (December 20, 2012) was a very timely and useful read. Margo and Phil well capture our environment: organizations migrating through strategic analysis, supported by portfolios that are comprised of agile and waterfall projects.

They analyzed PPM (project/program portfolio management) tools that fall above the dividing line "Strategic Planning" and below the line "Work Execution". Margo and Phil highlighted the vendors that shine in both areas and commented on their wide range of capabilities. The reader will see how there is a dividing line in PPM tools and the need to consider a layered approach to mirror organizations that adopt multiple management practices.

You can download your reprint from the Forrester website.

John Curley
Director of Research
PMO Community of Practice

Gazza's Guide to Practical Project Management Online Book Study Now LIVE!

The Project Management Book Club has announced the online book study of Gazza’s Guide to Practical Project Management: Tips and Advice on Surviving the Project Management Journey. The study has been developed in collaboration with author Gary Nelson, PMP (Gazza)!

Wondering what it takes to make a successful project? The online book study will teach you the critical importance of soft skills on every project - after all, the best metrics and toolkits on the market will not help you succeed unless you work with your team and the customer to deliver a successful project. The people on your project teams are the key differentiator between a successful project and a failed one - and the difference between a high performing team and a poor performing team comes down to you, the Project Manager. The task of managing projects can seem quite daunting – but the truth is that managing successful projects can be broken down into practical, easy-to-understand concepts that will help you and your team deliver projects of any size.

Join in on the discussions at http://gazzasguide.pmbookclub.com/

Newly Updated PMI Standards Available

Announced today from Project Management Institute...

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This is an exciting time to be a member of PMI as we have released the latest editions of three key standards that have long been considered the most influential in the profession.

This month, PMI published:

• A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®Guide)—Fifth Edition
• The Standard for Program Management—Third Edition, and
• The Standard for Portfolio Management—Third Edition.

Member Access to Standards
As part of your PMI member benefits, electronic versions of these standards are now available to you on PMI.org. Access PDFs of these and all PMI global standards at http://www.pmi.org/PMBOK-Guide-and-Standards/Standards-Library-of-PMI-Global-Standards.aspx and log-in to your myPMI profile.

Exam Date Change Information
Also this year PMI will update our credentials and certifications and release 10 official translations of the PMBOK® Guide—Fifth Edition. You can find information about exam date changes and read our FAQs at www.pmi.org/standardsupdate.

Thanks to Our Volunteers
PMI is very appreciative and proud of the hard work of our dedicated volunteer committees. Our volunteers gave countless hours of their time to help PMI staff update and publish these standards during 2012. Without their expertise, knowledge and time, PMI would not be able to deliver a quality product that is the foundation of the profession.

Interview with Gary Nelson

Over the last couple of days I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Gary Nelson, author of Gazza's Guide to Practical Project Management. The Project Management Book Club is featuring Gary's book in an upcoming online study. Here's the interview.

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Hi Gary,

For starters, please tell me a little bit about yourself.

Well, I am Canadian, though I currently live in New Zealand. I was born in Alberta but lived most of my life in Vancouver, BC. I guess I am a technical project manager with a strong "T" - I have always had some technical aspect to my role, even when primarily managing projects.

I have also been quite fortunate to have been able to travel for projects as part of my work - I have done projects in Hong Kong, Taiwan, New Zealand, Canada and many states in the US. I even got to man a booth for a trade show in New Delhi in 1993. One of my favourite projects was an implementation in Nashville, Tennessee, which spanned three years. A great place, and a great group of people to work with.

My first overseas work trip was to New Zealand in 1990, where I met my wife. We moved back to Canada together, but after 17 years and three children, we decided that we could move "back" to New Zealand and I could still do the same job - for the same clients! I have been a virtual project manager since 2008, managing a team in North America and clients around the globe. When I first worked in New Zealand there was no internet, just a slow modem between the home office and the client site. I never could have imagined working the way I do today. I have local clients in New Zealand now, but am still involved with the overseas team.

50% Discount on Gazza's Guide to Practical Project Management

The author, Gary Nelson, is offering a discount on his book, Gazza's Guide to Practical Project Management, to Project Management Book Club members participating in its upcoming online study.

PMBookClub.com online study special! Gazza's Guide to Practical Project Management now 50% off Kindle and Paperback during the Project Management Book Study. (Original price $24.99 paperback/$9.99 Kindle). 

To get the discount, use the following links:

Order Kindle Version (read on almost any device!)
Order Paperback Version (Use code XRUSK3WH)

(Note that the paperback discount code only works on the above direct sales link, not on the Amazon store).

Thanks for participating in the study - I hope you enjoy the book!

Gary Nelson (Gazza)

You can also purchase the paperback version directly from Amazon or from Barns & Noble.

See the Book Study Outline

New Book: Customer-Centric Project Management

Click to Order!

Customer-Centric Project Management, by authors Phil Peplow and Elizabeth Harrin, is a short guide explaining what customer centricity means in terms of how you work and its importance for project performance. Using tools and processes to guide customer-centric thinking will help you see the results of engagement and demonstrate how things can improve, even on difficult projects. This book provides a straightforward implementation guide to moving your own business to a customer-centric way of working, using a model called Exceed. It also provides guidance for ensuring that customer centricity is sustainable and supported in the organization.

There has been a sea-change in the focus of organizations – whether private or public – away from a traditional product- or service-centricity towards customer-centricity and projects are just as much a part of that change. Projects must deliver value; projects must involve stakeholders, and Elizabeth Harrin and Phil Peplow demonstrate convincingly that stakeholders are the ones who get to decide what ‘value’ actually means.

This is a practical, rigorous and well-researched book. It draws on established models and uses the example of project implementation in a healthcare environment to demonstrate the impact of this significant way of thinking about value.

The authors can’t guarantee that the Exceed process will radically improve project success rates, and no process can. Adopting a customer-centric mindset and using the Exceed process to measure and monitor customer satisfaction will, however, help you move towards working with happier, more engaged stakeholders.

Order your copy of Customer-Centric Project Management today!