The Project Management Podcast

Listen Now: {audio}http://traffic.libsyn.com/pmpodcast/PM_Podcast_236_2013_05_31_-_pmi_acp.mp3{/audio} This episode is sponsored by The Agile PrepCast for The PMI-ACP Exam: A little over a year ago I decided that I wanted to take a preparation course for the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Exam. I looked around and found a company that held a course in San Diego, which is about an hour away. I signed up and was sorely disappointed by the low quality training materials the class used. The only two good things about the class were the teacher who managed to keep it interesting despite the not so well designed curriculum and that I made a few new friends. (Note: The company that provided this training to us took the negative feedback they received seriously and have updated & improved the training in the meantime.) About a month ago one of these friends wrote and said that he had just passed his PMI-ACP exam. His name is Felix Rodgers, PMI-ACP (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/felix-rodgers/48/579/b) and I jumped at the opportunity to interview him about how he went from that classroom experience to actually passing the exam. And this is what I liked about his experience: We often hear from certified project managers that they had also taken disappointing classes but still managed to pass their exam. But so far I have never had a chance to speak to someone in that situation. Turns out that for Felix it was hard work and lots of studying. As you know, the rules of all PMI exams are such that we are not allowed to discuss specific questions from the exam. But we can discuss his overall experience, general thoughts on the process and his recommendations to you. So you can look forward to an experience and tip filled interview on how to prepare for and pass your PMI-ACP Exam.

Listen Now: {audio}http://traffic.libsyn.com/pmpodcast/PM_Podcast_235_2013_05_10_-_agile_and_ppm_part2.mp3{/audio} This episode is sponsored by The Agile PrepCast for The PMI-ACP Exam: This is part 2 of our interview with David Blumhorst (http://blogs.daptiv.com/author/davidblumhorst/ - http://www.linkedin.com/in/dblumhorst/) in which we discuss that combining Agile and Project Portfolio Managment is not really that much different than if you used traditional project management approaches. If you remember, in part 1 we discussed that there are four four exceptions you need to be aware of when integrating Agile with PPM and then we looked at how you need to adjust your PPM framework to include include 5 standard metrics for Agile. They were Scheduled Finish Date and Percent Complete. Here in part 2 we will move on to the other 3 metrics and then David and I open up the white paper from Daptiv and look at the graphic that clearly shows how straightforward integrating Agile and PPM can be. (A link to download the white paper is on our website. Please grab it from there.)

Listen Now: {audio}http://traffic.libsyn.com/pmpodcast/PM_Podcast_234_2013_05_03_-_agile_and_ppm_part1.mp3{/audio} This episode is sponsored by The Agile PrepCast for The PMI-ACP Exam: One of the seemingly larger challenges out there for corporation that use both Agile and Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is integration of what seem to be two very different philosophies. But more than that... you will have to overcome three fallacies about Agile and PPM. The first fallacy is that people think that Agile projects don’t provide executive visibility, the second that they don’t have reliable “Scheduled Finish Dates” and the third that Agile and traditional practices simply aren’t compatible. David Blumhorst (http://blogs.daptiv.com/author/davidblumhorst/ - http://www.linkedin.com/in/dblumhorst/) begs to differ. He co authored several articles and a white paper on this topic and he outlines a simple and straightforward way to realize the best of both worlds. This is part 1 of our interview with David. In it we discuss how integrating Agile with into a PPM framework is no different than integrating a more traditional project methodology, but that there are four four exceptions, which we’ll look at in detail. And then we move on to 5 areas of estimation how a PPM framework with standard metrics can be created for Agile. We will talk about the first two, which are Scheduled Finish Date and Percent Complete.

Click here to download the white paper... This is the white paper mentioned in the interview with David Blumhorst.

Listen Now: {audio}http://traffic.libsyn.com/pmpodcast/PM_Podcast_017_2013_04_29_-_call_for_assistance.mp3{/audio} Yes... you are not seeing things. This is really a call for your assistance with Episode 017, which was originally published about 6-7 years ago. In that episode we interview Sabrina Mancini Johnson and every 2-3 months we get a request from a listener if we could please send them the templates mentioned in that episode from way back when. Unfortunately... we don't have them. But maybe you do? So if you happen to be a long time listener to the podcast and you still have a copy of those templates from Sabrina, then please send them to info@pm-podcast.com and everyones gratitude will be yours!

Click to download the video: {youtube}rB4-YPpfv54|640|480|0{/youtube} http://www.agileprepcast.com The Agile PrepCast is a videocast for those preparing for the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® exam. It can also be used by PMI certified project managers to earn 30+ for their recertification. The Agile PrepCast covers all the knowledge, skills, tools & techniques that are described in the examination content outline and will be tested on the exam. It will be available for purchase on April 26, 2013 for the launch price of $129.99. To receive an additional 20% discount on this price simply go to www.agileprepcast.com and follow the instructions. In the coming days we will release three videos to the subscribers of The PM Podcast.

Click to download the video: This is the Low Resolution video of our announcement that http://www.agileprepcast.com is coming. (This is the version that will automatically sync to your iPod or iPhone.)

Click to download the video: {youtube}I5gN66KFtaI|640|480|0{/youtube} http://www.agileprepcast.com - This free lesson of The Agile PrepCast will be describing the Agile method called Lean. The term "Lean Software Development" was first used in the book Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit, written by Mary and Tom Poppendieck. Lean Software Development is a translation of lean manufacturing and lean IT principles and practices used in the Toyota Production System and then adapted for software development. Seven basic principles form the foundation of Lean Software Development, which in turn are implemented on Agile projects by employing a set of 22 supporting tools.

Click to download the video: {youtube}rhCWnk5y3Rc|640|480|0{/youtube} http://www.agileprepcast.com - In this free Agile PrepCast lesson, we review The Declaration of Interdependence. The Declaration of Interdependence was published in 2005 by a group of Agile practitioners to help implement guidelines set forth in the Agile Manifesto. It contains six principles essential to "management' in general, not just to "project' or "product' management, and outlines leadership methods used to manage the interdependency of people, processes and value in order to perform work.

Click to download the video: {youtube}sROBERoQoXk|640|480|0{/youtube} http://www.pm-prepcast.com/agile - In this free Agile PrepCast lesson, we present to you one video from our discussion of the different Agile implementation methods in which we look Scrum. Scrum is by far the most popular method used today by the world's Agile project development teams, and is also one of the most rigid in terms of recommended practices and procedures. At the heart of Scrum is the Agile iterative cycle called the Sprint, which is supported by different types of project team "Roles", meetings called "Events", and documentation and tools called "Artifacts". Scrum is embraced by most organizations that not only want to implement Agile principles quickly on their projects, but are also interested in implementing Agile principles across their entire organization.

Listen Now: {audio}http://traffic.libsyn.com/pmpodcast/PM_Podcast_232_2013_04_18_-_allen_matheson.mp3{/audio} This episode is sponsored by The Agile PrepCast for The PMI-ACP Exam: More and more people are preparing for their PMI Agile-Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Exam. And you may have noticed that in the past 2 years the topics here on The PM Podcast have seen more and more Agile influences. This is partly because of my personal interest in Agile and partly because as a company we decided to develop and launch The Agile PrepCast (www.agileprepcast.com) that helps you prepare for this exam. In today’s episode we interview Allen Matheson (http://www.linkedin.com/in/allenmatheson) who recently passed his PMI-ACP exam. What I liked about his experience on the exam was the fact that his exam application got audited, which is something that so many people dread. But you will hear from Allen that if you are truthful in your application and approach it right, then being audited is a simple and straightforward process. As you know, the rules of all PMI exams are such that we are not allowed to discuss specific questions from the exam. But we can discuss his overall experience, general thoughts on the process and his recommendations to you. So you can look forward to an experience and tip filled interview on how to prepare for and pass your PMI-ACP Exam.

Click to download the video: This is the Low Resolution version of The Free Agile PrepCast lesson on Lean. (This is the video that will automatically sync to your iPod or iPhone.)

Click to download the video: This is the Low Resolution version of The Free Agile PrepCast lesson on the Declaration of Interdependence. (This is the video that will automatically sync to your iPod or iPhone.)

Click to download the video: This is the Low Resolution version of The Free Agile PrepCast lesson on Scrum. (This is the video that will automatically sync to your iPod or iPhone.)

Listen Now: {audio}http://traffic.libsyn.com/pmpodcast/PM_Podcast_231_2013_04_07_-_scaling_agile.mp3{/audio} This episode is sponsored by The Agile PrepCast for The PMI-ACP Exam: This week I am meeting with Craig D. Wilson (http://www.matincor.com). Craig is an experienced and very senior project manager who has been involved in the management of many large, enterprise wide programs that also included Agile teams. Because of this background I asked him to meet me in a coffee shop for an interview and answer the following “simple question”, which is: How do you scale Agile to the enterprise? While Craig does not have a silver bullet for us that solves all our problems in scaling agile to the enterprise, he does have a lot of insight that comes directly from the enterprise front. Before we get started with this interview here is a warning: If you are an Agile purist - that is to say someone who feels extremely strongly about implementing Agile or Scrum “by the book” and will is easily offended if someone suggests a different approach - then please press stop now. That is because Craig will give us his definition of Agile, will discuss the Agile approaches that he has applied on the programs that he managed, and present ways in which he scales Agile for an enterprise initiative. And he doesn’t do it 100% by the book. Instead he mixes and matches those approaches that makes sense for his environment.