The Pmo Podcast

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "Onsite Project Management Training for your PMO", an interview with Michelle LaBrosse, CEO, Cheetah Learning, presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. PMOs of all sizes face a few challenges as they go about acquiring, developing, and retaining both individual project management skills and organizational project management capabilities. Onsite training offers significant advantages to the PMO in terms of customization of the training, quality of the experience, convenience to the PMO team, and ability for a number of the team to participate who otherwise might not, including executives. And, the price of such training can be very attractive and competitive over other alternatives and venues. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo discusses, “Giving Back - Mentor a New Start." Do you make it a point and priority to take time to give back? For many people, giving back is a key part of their lives. Giving back is always a very rewarding endeavor t

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "Top Three "Go-to-Market" Mistakes That Sales VPs Make, an interview with Dave Larson (about Dave), Principal, BOT International, presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™." Dave discusses three common and key mistakes that Sales VPs frequently make that often result in the revenue plan and sales objectives not being attained. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo discusses, “Always Seek to Exceed Your Customers' Expectations." Meeting customer expectations might be enough to keep you in business, but it is usually not enough for your business to grow and thrive in a competitive marketplace. In order to do that, you must develop and commit to the habit of exceeding customers’ expectations. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listen question about good books to read for sales and account management processes and skills. The PMO Podcast™ is sponsored by BOT International, the provider of Processes On Demand, a PMO Setup solution used by more than 1,

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "Effective Document Management Policies for your PMO, presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™." Some of the compelling benefits of having an organizational project management process framework are to increase productivity, increase skills, and to save time. That is what processes and policies are all about, not bureaucracy. And for many organizations, an effective document management policy is very much part and parcel to the overall PM Process framework and does just that. It helps not just project managers, but all involved in the project management process, and in many ways. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo asks, “Do you have an ergonomic positioned project manager workstation?." Most people, knowledge workers, have poorly configured workspaces that result slouching, slumping, and bending forward at the waist of a chair all of which can and usually do lead to discomfort, fatigue, and backache. And not only does poor workspace design lea

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "Understanding Project Management - For Those Outside The PMO", presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. More and more PMOs are seeking to establish an understanding project management throughout the enterprise. This is not to have every miscellaneous and casual project come through or be managed by the PMO. Rather, this is to promote an awareness and minimal core competence so that anyone with such a project opportunity can plan and manage it successfully. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo asks, “Have You Empowered Yourself?" Empowerment sounds great, but when was the last time you were empowered, truly empowered, by management. Or, were you really just given unrealistic goals to achieve and told to fix it, or just do it, make it your business. Empower yourself to get things done and if you don’t occasionally cross over the line of your authority, then you don’t know where that line is. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listen question ab

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "ROI Model for your PMO Organizational Project Management Process Framework", presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. As a PMO Manager, you are likely to have a PM or two that can quickly put together your project management methodology. But an organizational project management process framework is quite a bit more than a methodology and it takes a quite a bit more time to contemplate and produce. So, the question naturally presents itself, what is the ROI of doing all of this? The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo suggests, “Ensure That your PMO Incentives Motivate Your Team." When incentives fail to motivate, or even start to de-motivate, corporate culture is often to blame and usually the blame. Incentives and bonuses should not be viewed or used as extra compensation, entitled compensation or taken for granted, rather they need to motivate people to succeed and to reach higher levels achievement. So, take time to review and ensure that the

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "Ten Suggestions for Project Management Maturity", presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. We all know what Project Management Maturity is and we all have our favorite PM maturity models and approaches to project management and capabilities maturity. So, today we have Ten Suggestions for Project Management Maturity taken from a variety of leading models and thoughts on the subject. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo suggests, “Take an inventory of your habits." Perhaps one of the most important discoveries in the field of business psychology is that 95% of what we think, feel, do, and achieve is the result of habit. According to the experts, beginning in childhood, we all develop a series of conditioned responses that make us automatically react in almost every situation. And remember, motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag announces the availability of a new podcast for project managers

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story provides and has fun with, "Ten Project Management Proverbs, presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. We all know what a proverb is, a short memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true. Have you heard a good one lately? Well, today we have Ten project management proverbs for you. We hope that you find these proverbs enjoyable and amusing. Perhaps you can use one of these to kick-off your next meeting. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo asks, “Do we need competency based certification for project managers?" Almost everyone strongly believes that there is a need for a competency-based credential in addition to the existing knowledge-based credential, the PMP. What do you think? Is there a bona-fide business need for competency based certification or are we all really talking about a solution looking for a problem? The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag responds to a listener question regarding whether or not the CAPM credential

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, “SugarCRM Defines the New CRM Generation”, an interview with John Roberts, CEO of SugarCRM, presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Today, we have with us Mr. John Roberts, CEO of SugarCRM, the world's leading provider of commercial open source customer relationship management (CRM) software for companies of all sizes. John discusses where CRM is going, what are the CRM generations, and what exactly commercial open source software is. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo advises, “Make Your Project Managers Life Long Learners." What is Lifelong learning..? For many, Lifelong learning is more attitudinal than prescriptive; it is the idea that one not only can and should be open to new ideas, skills or behaviors, but that one should embrace and seek out these things. Lifelong learning is applicable professionally, and personally, and is the process of acquiring and expanding knowledge and capabilities to foster well-being. It goes beyond simply

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, “Guiding the PMO Using a PMM Framework”, an interview with Scott Hutchinson, CEO of LucidPM”, presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Today, we have with us Mr. Scott Hutchinson, MBA, CMC, PMP and CEO of LucidPM, a project portfolio management integrations firm. Scott has spent virtually his entire career involved with information technology and project portfolio management. Scott overviews PMM and discusses how to guide your PMO using a PMM framework. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo takes a look at, “The Law of Expectations and the PMO." The Law of Expectations states that whatever you expect, with confidence, becomes your own self-fulfilling prophecy. That is, you don’t necessarily get what you want, rather what you expect. And, if you confidently expect things to occur, this expectation has a tremendous effect on your attitude, your personality, and your relations with others. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag responds to a listener question r

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, “Five Habits PMO Managers Like Their PMs to Have”, presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. We all know or have an idea of the kinds of project management skills that PMO Managers like their project managers to have. And the PMP credential serves as a positive indicator that a project manager is like to have both knowledge and competence in the various skills and knowledge areas that make up project management. But what about habits and traits? What do PMO Managers like to see in the project managers in terms of habits? Well, recent research by The PMO Podcast™ team has revealed a number of habits that PMO Managers like to see in their project managers. And today, we will discuss the top five of these habits. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo suggests, “Don’t do things for the first time more than once." What did I just say? Don’t do things for the first time more than once. That doesn’t make any sense. My friend, you are right. It doesn’t

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, “PMO Dashboarding with Processes On Demand", an interview with BOT’s Dave Larson (about Dave), presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Today's guest talks about the requirements, approaches, and difficulties of PMO Dashboarding and how Processes On Demand, a PMO Setup solution used by over 400 companies, addresses these challenges. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo visits, “Famous Last Words”. Have you ever had a great idea that you took to your manager or someone else in the company and were discouraged when it was hot down on the spot or simply not supported or even listened to? Well, just to stimulate your thinking and renew your resolve, here are ten fine examples of famous last words that fortunately have not withstood the test of time. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag responds to a listener question about the PMO Policy for when to use EVM. The PMO Podcast™ is sponsored by BOT International, the provider of Processes On Demand, a PMO Setup s

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, “2006 Project Manager Salary Analysis and Recommendations for 2007", presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Today's show talks about project manager salaries referencing the salary data and analysis from PayScale.com, a trusted market leader in online salary and benefit information, providing reliable and accurate compensation data for both employees and employers. Specifically, we are going to look at the PayScale.com 2006 salary data and review project manager salaries along ten different comparison points. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo suggests, “How to ask for a Pay Raise”. Asking for a pay raise is something that everyone does from time to time. But salary negotiation can be difficult, and many people handle it poorly, causing frustration and ill-feeling on both sides of the table. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag responds to a listener question about how to get the management team and staff re-energized to focus on finishing what was st

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, “PMO Leadership: Dynamic Scheduling as a Key Business Skill", presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. More and more PMOs are expanding their vision and mission beyond the traditional views and approaches of the PMO as a department and stepping up their leadership position and value they deliver to others within the entire company. After all, project management is a skill that all business professionals, not only benefit from but in many cases, require. Hence, forward thinking PMOs are increasingly seeking to introduce and establish project management as an enterprise wide core competence and skillset. Dynamic scheduling is not just a fashionable term, but a key business skill that offers significant and compelling value over rigid and ad hoc scheduling approaches. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo suggests, “Customer Satisfaction Doesn't Happen By Chance”. Why is it that some PMOs are the darling departments of their companies, achieve hig

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, “Hosted or Installed PPM, @task Lets You Choose", an interview with Abraham Knell, VP of Sales, @task, presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Abe is an expert in project management, portfolio management, and software delivery models both software as a service and the traditional enterprise installed. Abe has been with @task since its inception and provides a wealth of insights and advice regarding the PPM market, issues and opportunities project organizations face, and how best to go about implementing PPM capabilities. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo suggests, “Pay Attention To Grandmother”. Do you have the kind of grandmother that gives you advice? As kids, we always enjoyed visiting grandmother and we especially enjoyed all of the good eats grandmother made for us. And, when we sat down to dinner, she would always tell us to finish our vegetables and to chew ten times before swallowing our food. Now, what do vegetables and chewing yo

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, “International Project Management, a Great Way to Advance Your Career", an interview with Shane Conroy, of Misys International's Asia Pacific organization, presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Shane is an Australian native, PMP, and veteran of project management in the Asia Pacific region. Shane lives and works in Singapore and is currently with the Misys International, a leading global software product and solutions provider with over 6,000 employees serving customers in more than 120 countries. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo suggests, “Pay Project Managers More Like Sales People”. How do you pay your project managers? Do you pay them a fixed salary with maybe an end of year bonus? Does the way you pay your project managers support how you want them to perform or is their take home salary really irrelevant. And are those bonuses really helpful or are they viewed more as an entitlement by the project manager rather than something tha

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, “Project Management in Singapore", an interview with Shane Conroy, of Misys International's Asia Pacific organization, presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Shane is an Australian native, PMP, and veteran of project management in the Asia Pacific region. Shane lives and works in Singapore and is currently with the Misys International, a leading global software product and solutions provider with over 6,000 employees serving customers in more than 120 countries. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo suggests, “Take Time to Do It Right the First Time”. Why is it that there is never enough time to do it right the first time, but there is always enough time to do it over, and over, and over? Taking the time to do it right often means more and better planning as well as more and better monitoring and control. These activities do take time. But to avoid them or to rush through them almost always results in miscues that lead to project delays, incr

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "Team Building: Part II - Tips for Team Members”, presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. As a PMO Manager, if you had the opportunity to start a new team and select anyone from your company to be on it, who would you pick? Assuming everyone has the right technical skills for the work to be done, what other characteristics would you like to see the team members have? It is no surprise that teams need strong team players to achieve their objectives and perform well as a team. But what are these team member characteristics? Well, today we have ten good traits, or tips, that would well serve any member of just about any team. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo suggests, "Be more concerned about the steps." Don’t just think about your ultimate goal and how to get right to it. If you were painting a house or cleaning gutters, you would no doubt find good use of a ladder. And, once on the ladder, you would proceed up the ladder going step by step

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "Team Building: Part I - Tips for PMO Managers”, presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Positive office dynamics add great strength to a PMO, while negative dynamics lead to many problems. As a PMO manager, you simply can't afford to leave such an important aspect of the PMO to chance. There are many ways for PMO managers to bring the PMO team and extended team together and foster their ability to work effectively. Today, we have 10 tips can help build your PMO team. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo suggests, "Learn from the mistakes of others. " Very few things that we attempt have not been tried by others before us. But, how often to we learn from what others have done. And, in particular how often have we learned from the mistakes of others. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag responds to a listener question asking when a project starts. The PMO Podcast™ is sponsored by BOT International, the provider of Processes On Demand, a PMO Setup solution

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "PMO Setup with Processes On Demand", an interview with BOT’s Dave Larson (about Dave), presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Processes On Demand delivers customer driven features for the PMO. Processes On Demand is intended to save an organization such as an IT Department, a PMO, or a Project and Planning Office the time and effort typically associated with setting up, using, and maintaining just about any project office. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo suggests, "Don't present ideas to management. " Most of the time, when people present ideas to management, let’s day a project manager has a great idea to present to the PMO manager, they pop into the office unannounced and ask, “Do you have a minute?” The PMO manager probably doesn’t, but replies anyway, “Sure, what’s up?” With that, the project manager describes his idea and when finished says, “What do you think?” Well, almost always, the idea is good. And, almost always, it is more

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story presents, "An Overview and History of the Agile Manifesto", presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. About five years ago, on February 11th, seventeen people, each experts in their own rights, met for two days at The Lodge at the Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah to build relationship, find common ground, discuss software development techniques, and no doubt to do a little snow-skiing. What emerged from this significant event in history is now known as the Agile Manifesto. The Agile Manifesto provides specific ideas for software development and there is a deeper theme to all of it that drives the members of the Agile Alliance. That is delivering good products by operating in an environment that truly values people and the culture that results when people come together as a team and produce product, not reports or documentation, but product. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo ponders, "The demise of the Waterfall SDLC model is immiment, or is it?" The Waterf