The Project Management Podcast

Play Now: This Interview with Elizabeth Larson was recorded at the PMI Global Congress 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona. Many of us know that poor requirements management is a major source of failed projects. But who has time to manage requirements? Elizabeth's presentation "Still No Time to Manage Requirements - My Project Is Later Than Ever" and our interview answers frequently asked questions about requirements management. Why should we manage requirements? What is the definition of requirements management? Do we really need a requirements management plan? How does business analysis play into requirements management? Is business analysis just a synonym for requirements management? Elizabeth also dispels common misconceptions and provides tips for managing requirements when you don’t have the time. She gives us three time saving techniques for requirements elicitation and management. Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only. Podcast Introduction Coming very soon to a podcast near you... :-) Above are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only. Please subscribe to our Premium Podcast to receive a PDF transcript.

Play Now: This Interview with Frank Schettini was recorded at the PMI Global Congress 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona. Frank Schettini is Vice President of Information Technology for the Project Management Institute (PMI). But our interview has nothing to do with IT whatsoever. Instead, we focus on PMI's suite of professional certifications and their value to project managers in their careers. We begin by discussing the 30th anniversary of the Project Management Professional (PMP) credential and if the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) will ever overtake the PMP certificate. Then we switch gears and look at the talent triangle (which encompasses your technical skills, leadership and business acumen) and how the trend for "fast, online PDUs" is a bit counter to the central concept of the triangle. We close our discussion by taking a detailed look at both the Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP) and the PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA). Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.  Podcast Introduction Coming very soon to a podcast near you... :-) Above are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only. Please subscribe to our Premium Podcast to receive a PDF transcript.

Play Now: This Interview with Michael DePrisco was recorded at the PMI Global Congress 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona. Generally speaking, the Project Management Institute (PMI) focuses it's work on three markets: Practitioners, Organizations and Academic. Michael DePrisco is Vice President Academic and Educational Programs for PMI and so our discussion centers around the Academic Market. In the course of this discussion we touch upon The PMI Education Foundation (http://pmief.org/), PMI's large academic research programs, the Global Accreditation Center, and PMI's involvement in academic outreach. Michael closes the interview by reviewing a number of the benefits that PMI creates through all of these programs. My personal big takeaway from this discussion was that even though "Academic" doesn't sound like the "sexiest" of PMI's three markets it is the one that's at the cutting edge of project management. Through research programs, global accreditation and outreach PMI creates value for all practitioners in the world. Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only. Podcast Introduction Coming very soon to a podcast near you... :-) Above are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only. Please subscribe to our Premium Podcast to receive a PDF transcript.

Play Now: This Interview with Jack Ferraro was recorded at the PMI Global Congress 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona. Project leaders are needed to lead and sustain strategic efforts by creating experiences that initiate the transformation of people - starting with themselves - then systems and, ultimately, the organization. The qualities that make the strategic project leader unique are efficiency, customization, foresight, and connectedness. In our interview Jack Ferraro explains the five competencies that a project leader needs to lead strategic initiatives. These competencies enable building and managing relationships in the organization; using techniques to properly advise executives, sponsors, and stakeholders to increase to executive work efficiency; and driving good decision making that achieves goals that enable organizational strategy. We also discuss the fact that the role of the "traditional" project manager does not exist in many Agile frameworks/methodologies, and how becoming a strategic project leader is an alternative career option for us all. The strategic project leader requires courage, commitment, and alignment of convictions and purpose to succeed and to fill the talent gap. The interview takes you through the self-directed leadership steps to achieve this alignment and take your first action to begin transforming yourself into strategic project leaders. Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.  Podcast Introduction Coming very soon to a podcast near you... :-) Above are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only. Please subscribe to our Premium Podcast to receive a PDF transcript.

Play Now: This Interview with Kristy Tan Neckowicz and Dev Ramcharan was recorded at the PMI Global Congress 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona. In their presentation, Kristy Tan Neckowicz (http://www.linkedin.com/in/kristytanpmp) and Dev Ramcharan reviewed harnessing leadership skills necessary to advance your PM career and shine in your role, how to hone your interpersonal and communications skills to manage teams and stakeholders and discussed ways to realize the critical importance of coaching and mentoring in your career, to demonstrate value to your organization. And in our interview we open the presentation slides and review the following parts: Why you should care about interpersonal skills, behavior styles and motivators, emotional intelligence, the emotional wake, organizational culture and politics, and we close with the all important look at conflict management and coaching. Please visit http://yourtalentatwork.com to learn more about Kristy and http://www.arouca-coach.com for Dev. Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.  Podcast Introduction Coming very soon to a podcast near you... :-) Above are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only. Please subscribe to our Premium Podcast to receive a PDF transcript.

Play Now: This Interview with Kristy Tan Neckowicz and Dev Ramcharan was recorded at the PMI Global Congress 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona. In their presentation, Kristy Tan Neckowicz (http://www.linkedin.com/in/kristytanpmp) and Dev Ramcharan reviewed harnessing leadership skills necessary to advance your PM career and shine in your role, how to hone your interpersonal and communications skills to manage teams and stakeholders and discussed ways to realize the critical importance of coaching and mentoring in your career, to demonstrate value to your organization. And in our interview we open the presentation slides and review the following parts: Why you should care about interpersonal skills, behavior styles and motivators, emotional intelligence, the emotional wake, organizational culture and politics, and we close with the all important look at conflict management and coaching. Please visit http://yourtalentatwork.com to learn more about Kristy and http://www.arouca-coach.com for Dev. Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.  Podcast Introduction Coming very soon to a podcast near you... :-) Above are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only. Please subscribe to our Premium Podcast to receive a PDF transcript.

Play Now: This Interview with Frank Saladis, PMP, PMI Fellow, was recorded at the PMI Global Congress 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona. In his congress paper, Frank describes Positive Leadership in Project Management as follows: Despite the effort placed on planning, coordinating, and integrating the many components of a project, the project manager’s typical day is filled with challenge, Each day includes an unending stream of email, deadline issues, some frustrating events (and people), conflicting view points from stakeholders, and demands for changes at very inopportune times. We can also find within a typical day in the life of a project, some successes and victories (and maybe an occasional thank-you or other form of recognition. At the end of the day it is sometimes difficult to remember what actually happened and what was accomplished. The activities and accomplishments of the day are often blurred by the thoughts associated with the preparations and steps that must be taken to prepare for and begin another set of adventures just waiting for their chance to occur at the start of the next morning. Dealing with this intense mode of operation on a regular basis places a very heavy demand on the abilities of a project manager and there is a real need to find some way to balance the competing elements that go along with the job. This balance extends to one’s personal and family life also. The question then becomes “How can we (as project managers) find that balance?” In the book, First Things First by Roger A. Merrill and Stephen Covey, a suggestion is offered: “Know the direction in which you intend to go and your goals on a personal and professional level.” In other words, a clear sense of direction should be defined for your personal life as well as your chosen profession. To a practicing project manager, that advice should sound very familiar. In fact, it is essential for project success. Without direction and a set of objectives, how will we ever know where we are going? How can we lead a team if we don’t have goals to guide ourselves and our team? There is no question that goals and purpose must be defined upfront, refined, and then communicated with high level of energy and enthusiasm. Without this clarity and sense of purpose, we cannot effectively lead our team, our organization, or our own lives. This is where positive leadership becomes a critical factor. Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.  Podcast Introduction Coming very soon to a podcast near you... :-) Above are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only. Please subscribe to our Premium Podcast to receive a PDF transcript.

Play Now: This is the third and final of three interviews in which Dev Ramcharan (http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/dev-ramcharan-pmp/1/677/750) from AROUCA Career Coaching (http://www.arouca-coach.com/) helps you to optimize and boost your career. In this interview we focus on the late career phase and also touch upon consulting. Allow me to repeat my recommendation on listening to this series of interviews one final time: You will get the most out of this series of interviews if you listen to them in sequence, no matter if you are currently in your early career, mid career or late career. This is because each of the three interviews contains many nuggets of wisdom applicable to any career stage. And of course... Dev’s Career Optimization Package can be found on The PM Podcast website. Just go to www.pm-podcast.com/career and download the free version first. In this final interview you learn that the late career is really the peak of your experience, knowledge and wisdom. As well as the money you earn. But at the same time, this is also the moment to think back to the time when you started out in your career, and now you need to help out and mentor an eager young project manager at the start of his or her career. The one unexpected topic that you will also hear about is adversity in the sense of getting laid off or overlooked for a promotion during any of the stages in your career. Dev shows you that you can use adversity as your ally to move your career forward. And finally Dev closes with his suggestions for a structured approach to personal growth. Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.  Podcast Introduction Coming very soon to a podcast near you... :-) Above are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only. Please subscribe to our Premium Podcast to receive a PDF transcript.

Play Now: This is the second of three interviews in which Dev Ramcharan (http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/dev-ramcharan-pmp/1/677/750) from AROUCA Career Coaching (http://www.arouca-coach.com/) helps you to optimize and boost your career. In this interview we focus on the mid-career phase, which starts about 2-3 years into your life as a project manager. In this interview you learn that there is an early mid-career and also a late mid-career, and that both require a different optimization approach. We talk about when and how often you should update the Career Optimization Package and how to perform a career risk assessment. As part of this interview, Dev also recommends the following two books (Amazon affiliate links): Carol S. Dweck: Mindset - The New Psychology of Success Kegan / Lahey: Immunity to Change My recommendation is still the same: To get the most out of this you should listen to all three interviews in sequence, no matter if you are currently in your early career, mid career or late career. And don’t forget to get Dev’s Career Optimization Package from The PM Podcast website. Just go to www.pm-podcast.com/career and download the free version first. Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.  Podcast Introduction Coming very soon to a podcast near you... :-) Above are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only. Please subscribe to our Premium Podcast to receive a PDF transcript.

Play Now: If you are listening to this podcast, then you are most likely either someone who wants to start a career in project management or you are already working in the project management field and you want to advance in your career. Well… you have come to the right place. This is the first of three interviews that will help you optimize and boost your project management career. My guest is Dev Ramcharan (http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/dev-ramcharan-pmp/1/677/750). Dev is not only a PMP certified project manager, but he is also a professional career coach with AROUCA Career Coaching (http://www.arouca-coach.com/) in Canada. That means he not only understands the profession of project management but he also has the coaching background to guide you and me into successful project management careers! And my oh my is he good! We have recorded three interviews and each focuses on one stage of your career. The stages are early career, mid career and late career. My recommendation is that you listen to all three interviews in sequence, irrespective of your current career stage. So no matter if you are an absolute newcomer to project management or if you are a highly respected and senior VP of project management… you should listen to all three interviews starting with this one here. Also, Dev has developed the Career Optimization Package for you. This package is just over 30 pages long and contains templates, workbooks, tools and plans to help you review, optimize, plan and boost your project management career. You can download this package for free in both PDF and Microsoft Office format from The PM Podcast website. Just go to www.pm-podcast.com/career. You’ll see that there is a 32 page long free version (that’s the one we talk about during the interview) and there is also a premium version. The premium version is a much more complete package, because it contains additional career tools, checklists and workbooks. So compared to the free version, the premium gives you a comprehensive, full career-life-cycle coverage with a powerful toolset. We are launching this  premium version initially at the price of $29.99 but we are also giving away FOUR copies. As always… two copies are reserved for our Premium listeners and two copies are open for grabs. Please go to www.facebook.com/pmpodcast and participate in the giveaway. We will draw a winner at the end of October 2014. And with all that out the way here's an overview of our first interview with Dev Ramcharan: We start out by looking at the benefits that a career in project management gives you, discuss the key factors and skills that will help you make your project management career a success, then we move on to discussing how to optimize your early career and we close the interview by looking at how to use the Career Optimization Package. Note: During the interview I say that the free package is about 50 pages long, but the correct number is 32 pages. I'm sorry! I was looking at the wrong file. My mistake! Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.  Podcast Introduction Coming very soon to a podcast near you... :-) Above are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only. Please subscribe to our Premium Podcast to receive a PDF transcript.

Download PDF Version... Download DOC Version... The Free Career Optimization Package is developed and provided to you by Dev Ramcharan from AROUCA Career Coaching. It gives you the basics you need to optimize your career. Note: In episode 287, 288 and 289 I say that the free package is about 50 pages long, but the correct number is 32 pages. I'm sorry! I was looking at the wrong file. My mistake! Get the Premium Career Optimization Package The Career Optimization Package is also available as a Premium version. The Premium Package with its powerful toolset provides comprehensive, full career-life-cycle coverage. Click here to compare Free and Premium side by side...

Play Now: This episode is sponsored by The Agile PrepCast for The PMI-ACP Exam: Are you a project manager or do you consider yourself to be a project leader? And what are the steps in order to go from manager to more of a leader? My guest today is Shawn Dickerson (www.linkedin.com/pub/shawn-dickerson/1/97/607). He is the GTM Director for AtTask, Inc. (www.attask.com) and AtTask recently published an eBook titled “Project Leadership - Lessons from 40 PPM Experts on Making the Transition from Project Management to Project Leadership”. And so we’re going to review what it means to be a project leader. From the eBook introduction we learn the following: Strong project leadership can make the difference between success and failure. When it comes to project management, we tend to talk about the tactical the assignments, the tasks, the approvals, and so on. But business is evolving, and many of us are now being asked to lead change, instead of just managing timelines and milestones. This change is not only happening, it’s accelerating. Please click here to download the eBook... Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.  Podcast Introduction Coming very soon to a podcast near you... :-) Above are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only. Please subscribe to our Premium Podcast to receive a PDF transcript.  

Play Now: Are you an accidental project manager? You know, someone who was thrust into the project management role without much fanfare, introduction or even education? Well… you are not alone. It happened to you, it happened to me and it continues to happen to thousands of other project managers throughout the world. Wouldn’t it be great, if there were organizations out there who introduced young people to the concepts and approaches of project management? There are! And that’s good news for the future of our profession. Joan Vincent (www.linkedin.com/pub/joan-vincent/4/902/531) is President of the Wideman Education Foundation (www.widemaneducationfoundation.org) whose goal is to promote sound project management principles and skills, especially among young people. As part of this the Wideman Education Foundation is dedicated to attracting young individuals into the project management profession and helping them develop the organizational and leadership skills they will need to succeed in today’s job market. Through workshops and competitions the foundation fosters essential, basic, practical skills like preparation, planning, teamwork, communication, and delivering presentations. It’s all about getting the next generation of project managers interested in the profession. Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.  Podcast Introduction Coming very soon to a podcast near you... :-) Above are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only. Please subscribe to our Premium Podcast to receive a PDF transcript.  

Play Now: This episode is sponsored by The PM PrepCast for The PMP Exam: Communications is just something that we project managers do… right? It’s not something that we normally design, measure or use to manage performance… right? Well… Mark Phillips (http://www.vertabase.com - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markphillipspm) says “wrong”. In his new book titled Reinventing Communication he proposes that project communication can indeed become a rigorous performance management tool and, further, that managing communication as a performance management tool is essential for delivering desired outcomes. It is essential because all projects are social environments. In the interview Mark introduces us not only to how to use project communication as a performance management tool, but also to the elements of communication design, how a hard tool can help project communication, how good communication determines project outcomes, and he introduces us to two checklists included in the book that will help you design your project communication for performance management. Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.  Podcast Introduction Cornelius Fichtner: Hello and welcome to Episode # 282. This is the Project Management Podcast™ at www.pm-podcast.com and I'm Cornelius Fichtner. Communication is something that we project managers do, right? It's not something that we normally design, measure or use to even manage performance, right? Well, Mark Phillips says wrong. In his new book titled "Reinventing Communication" he proposes that project communication can indeed become a rigorous performance management tool and further that managing communications as a performance management tool is essential for delivering desired outcomes. It is essential because all projects are social environments. This episode is sponsored by The Project Management PrepCast™ at www.pm-prepcast.com. If you are thinking of becoming PMP certified, then why not do what you are doing right now - use a Podcast. Over 25,000 project managers so far have watched the PrepCast video lessons to prepare for their exam. Give it a try at www.pm-prepcast.com/free. In the interview, Mark introduces us not only to how to use communication as a performance management tool but also to the elements of communication design, how a hard tool like software can help project communication, how good communication determines project outcomes, and he introduces us to 2 checklists that are included in the book that will help you design communication to performance management. If you would like to win a copy of his book, then all you have to do is to participate in the giveaway. Just go to www.facebook.com/pmpodcast. As always we have 1 copy of the book that is reserved for our Premium subscribers and the second one that we are giving away to Facebook to anyone who leaves a comment in the book giveaway announcement. Good luck everyone! And now, communication may be a two-way street. But right now, you just have to listen and enjoy the interview. Podcast Interview Female voice: The Project Management Podcast’s feature Interview: Today with Mark Phillips, author of "Reinventing Communication". Cornelius Fichtner:Hello, Mark! Welcome back to The Project Management Podcast™! Mark Phillips: Thank you, Cornelius! Pleasure to be back! Cornelius Fichtner: It's been awhile. I just checked and I think it's been 4 years since we had you on last. So this is overdue. This is overdue. So there are already dozens of books about project communication out there. Why did you have to write another one? Mark Phillips: That's a great question. There is certainly no lack of books about project management certainly on communication. But what I saw was there was preponderance of focus on the soft side and the soft skills related to project communication, and communication in general. And those are incredibly important and certainly, it's that so

Play Now: This episode is sponsored by The PM PrepCast for The PMP Exam: What makes you happy in your work? To some it’s a promotion, a big salary or being able to telecommute and work from home. Thomas Juli (http://motivate2b.com/ - https://www.linkedin.com/pub/dr-thomas-juli/0/338/799) who has been on the podcast before talking about project leadership identified that there is a way to combine leadership, happiness and project success. He puts this under the heading of focus, strategy and alignment. In this interview, we are going to see why happiness is important in this equation, how it fuels success, how to get WOW projects, what the MVP is, and we get his tips on how all of us can apply this right away on our projects. Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.  Podcast Introduction Cornelius Fichtner: Hello and welcome to Episode # 281. This is the Project Management Podcast™ at www.pm-podcast.com and I'm Cornelius Fichtner. Before we get started, I once again have a quick favor to ask you. You know, do you like The Project Management Podcast™ and you like it well enough to take 2 minutes and write an iTunes review? If you do, then please go to www.pm-podcast.com/review or just open the iTunes store and tell others what you think. Thank you very much. Now back to today's topic which is: What makes you happy in your work? To some, it's a promotion maybe a big salary or being able to telecommute and work from home. Thomas Juli who has been on the Podcast before talking about project leadership identified that there is a way to combine leadership, happiness and project success. He puts this under the heading of Focus, Strategy and Alignment. In the interview just now, we are going to see why happiness is important in this equation, how it fuels success, how to get 'wow' projects, what the MVP is and we get his tips on how all of us can apply this right away on our projects and be happier. And now, put on your happy face and enjoy the interview. Podcast Interview Female voice: The Project Management Podcast’s feature Interview: Today with Thomas Juli, author, speaker and consultant. Cornelius Fichtner:Hallo, Thomas! [foreign language] Thomas Juli: Hallo, Cornelius. [foreign language] Cornelius Fichtner: So we want to talk about leadership, happiness and project success. Let's start at the very top. Why is happiness important in this equation? Thomas Juli: Well, that's a very good question. Yes, it's there for a reason. Not just like as a stumbling block but it kind of reflects my philosophy. I think there is some common sense in that which we have forgotten in project management and that is the human dimension in projects. When we talk about leadership and project success, we talk about some skills and some tools and our projects and so on, but we tend to forget essential element and that's us. Happiness stands for the human dimension. That's why happiness is very important. There's one thing I have to say it right at the beginning, it's not that if you want to be happy, you have first have to be successful. It is the other way around. So if you want to be successful, you need to know something about leadership and happiness, in that order. Cornelius Fichtner: Okay! It sounds a bit esoteric maybe to some people and they may already be hovering their thumb over the stop-play button here. Why should people keep listening to our discussion? What will they learn? What will they get out of the next 20 minutes or so? Thomas Juli: Yes, well, they can learn something about a new, maybe a new simple but very effective equation for project success which they can apply immediately in their project. Why can they apply it? Because it works on the spot. If they ever been happy in their life before and not in their job, then they should continue listening because they will learn something how they can be happy again I believe. Cornelius Fichtner: Okay! Let'