The Transformation Reality

Advertisement [Contact Us](mailto:contactus@projectmanagement.com) [About Us]( [Update Profile]( May 16, 2018 Are we really transforming...or just upgrading? Plus, we explore business transformation without disruption, make plans to hit the road with our Unanchored PM, manage major risks and strive for diversity. Our Topic Teasers hunt for PMBOK® Guide eggs, while our blogs share budgeting tips, ponder "small cheating" and check in from PMI EMEA Congress. Plus, help readers asking for advice on outsourcing, contract management and ethics in our discussion forums! Advertisement [Triumph over project tracking challenges]( Catapult your PMO to ‘cross-company collaborator’ status instead of ‘governance police’ with a PPM solution that facilitates communication. Keep project teams on-track and stakeholders informed with unified project workspaces, time and cost tracking, and project collaboration. [Read Project Tracking](. "It's better to have a rich soul than to be rich." - Olga Korbut []PM HEADLINES [The Truth About 'Transformation']( Transformations are all the rage. We have agile and digital transformations, but do they truly transform or just upgrade? Chasing aspirations is a noble goal, but what can most organizations expect from them? [Business Transformation...Without the Disruption]( Business transformation has always been disruptive. But as it becomes more frequent, the need to manage and minimize that disruption has become even more critical. How do organizations do that? [The Unanchored Project Manager Vol. 2: Planning Life as an Unanchored PM]( When it comes to embracing life as an unanchored project manager, the planning phase is just as important as it is with your work projects. In the second installment of his series, our wanderer shares planning tactics he has used to minimize risk of failure. [Getting Risky with Project Phases]( Managing early-phase risks is akin to laying a solid foundation on which future project success can be built. The central theme of this article is to identify and create an awareness of major risks that can have a deleterious impact if not managed well—and propose some practical steps to manage them. Final Thoughts from Berlin! Will project and program managers be replaced by a supercomputer? Will the machines eventually turn against us? Read about the closing keynote speaker from PMI EMEA Congress in [It’s a Robot Revolution: Time to Embrace Your Humanity]( from our Voices on Project Management blog. Plus, check out our [PMI Global Insights]( blog for the latest from attendees! "When the reviews are bad, I tell my staff that they can join me as I cry all the way to the bank." - Liberace [Behavioral Skills to Translate Vision Into Reality]( Key behavioral skills that are inherently people-oriented form an important dimension. They complement the core technical and strategic skills of project managers and complete their arsenal to achieve project success. [Cultural Diversity and Business Performance]( An understanding of why diversity matters could help organizations devise strategies and tactics that drive business performance with the help of a culturally diverse workforce—especially in project-oriented organizations. [PMXPO 2018: Now On Demand!]( If you missed any of the 11th edition of our annual virtual conference, it's now on demand! Thanks for making this edition the biggest and best one yet—headlined by our keynote presentation from Joel H. Cohen, Emmy-winning writer and producer of The Simpsons! []TOPIC TEASERS Welcome to Topic Teasers, which tests your managerial prowess! In Vol. 106, we search for [Hidden Easter Eggs in PMBOK® Guide—Sixth Edition](: Question: I’m just slammed at work and I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t have time to go through the new A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). I know that they’ve added the Agile Practice Guide, but is there anything I absolutely must know in order to keep my job, do good projects and keep my skills up to date? I need the six simple steps version, especially since I’m thinking about applying for a new job in the next three months? A. Since the PMBOK®Guide is the international standard for our profession, a project manager cannot lead projects successfully until he or she takes the time to sit down and read the Sixth Edition from cover to cover. Otherwise you are violating your certification mandates and the PMI Code of Ethics. B. Sometimes the future of project management is anticipated, but buried in the overabundance of riches of information found in the PMBOK®Guide. If you’re a busy project manager, you may need some clues to interpret what is being projected for your future. None of us can afford to be members of the “One Sock Club,” trying to fulfill a customer need and manage a project as a single person. C. If you are too busy as a project manager to read the new PMBOK®Guide, it reflects poorly on you and your skills. Projects that are led by the latest agile techniques outlines in the Sixth Edition leave the leader of the team with so much time on their hands that they complain of boredom. D. In order to maintain its ANSI standard, the PMBOK®Guide must be published every four years. There is seldom new information to cover, so as long as you download your free copy and know that we are on the Sixth Edition, that is enough to keep you looking current. There have been no real changes in the way projects are run. Check the answer [here](, and [send in your own question for consideration]( []THE PM POLL Is there a question you've been itching to ask? [Create a poll]( today to get some PM help from your peers! [Q: Which is the Project Management Maturity level in your organization?]( - L1 - Basic, unpredictable, reactive and disorganized processes - L2 - Repeatable, processes follow a regular pattern - L3 - Defined, processes are documented and communicated, proactive - L4 - Governance, measured and controlled processes - L5 - Excellence, focus on continuous improvement, good practices are followed and automated TRAINING SPOTLIGHT We are the Project Management Success Center. 'PMP® Certification' is only the beginning - partner with us on large 'IT Project Implementations' by joining the group of passionate 'PMP® Professionals' on a Mission to Deliver Value to our Clients. [Learn More]( [Search for your solution on our Training Finder]( []BLOG IT The Money Files by Elizabeth Harrin Wondering how to manage your first project budget? Product budgeting doesn't have to be difficult. In her latest entry, Elizabeth shares an infographic she created that has some simple [Project Budgeting Tips](. In the Trenches by Meade Rubenstein Meade recently attended a local chapter seminar on artificial intelligence, which made him think about the impact of AI on his role as a project manager. [What Can AI Do in the PM Role?]( He started to list his daily activities and thought through how difficult it would be for AI to take over... Easy in Theory, Difficult in Practice by Kiron Bondale Knowing how many concurrent projects can be delivered using agile approaches is important because if the organization attempts to execute more than its capacity to deliver, a slew of issues will emerge. Kiron shares more in his [latest entry](. Ethics Bistro by Alankar Karpe How much cheating can be allowed to win? Is it important to cheat to win, or is it okay to lose if you don't cheat? Some of us face these questions when leading—or when following a leader. Read more in [Cheating: Small or Big?]( PM Station by Riyadh Salih How can project managers benefit from Dr. Joseph Juran's "Juran Trilogy," which looks at quality planning, quality control and quality improvement? Riyadh explores these areas in [Part 1]( and [Part 2]( of his latest entries. Game Theory in Management by Michael Hatfield Do you want your organization to undergo a [Guaranteed Project Management Transformation](? Our blogger knows of a series of tactics that are part of an overall strategy that will, without fail, transform your organization in this area (but maybe not in the way you had hoped...). PM View from Rail Transit Programs and Projects by Henry Hattenrath Henry concludes his series with [Part 10]( of a blog about a book that most impacted his career —Excellence In Engineering by W.H. Roadstrum—and relates it to the Project Management Institute’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). []Q & A Did you know that help is just a click away? Our discussion forums give you access to the ProjectManagement.com community: more than 500,000 experienced minds and growing! Ask your question today or stop by to help out other members in need of advice, including these recent and ongoing discussions on... [Outsourcing Overseas]( "I'm looking for anyone who has outsourced work overseas and had a great experience, and then on the other end of the spectrum, had a bad experience. I'm looking to see what made something go each way, and any tips or tricks that may have been learned through the process." [Ethics Issue]( "What will you do if you see your manager/leader behaving unethically?" [Contract Experience]( "What is the value of contract management expertise in the PM world?" [Project Size]( "Are there any guidelines on how to determine the size of a project (e.g. small, medium, large)? What are the criteria used?" "Everything good that's ever happened to me came out of helping others." - Danny Trejo []PREMIUM PICKS Did you know that we have an extensive library of PDU-earning webinars? Here's just one of the latest valuable offerings you can check out... [How to Manage a Multi-Project/Multi-Teaming Environment]( If you work in a multi-project environment as a product developer, engineer or R&D expert, then the notion of multi-teaming is probably familiar. Most likely, you have key people assigned to multiple projects at the same time. Planning and managing these resources efficiently is almost impossible. In this webinar, Jan Willem will show you how resources should be managed in order to make multi-project environments successful. As always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome. How can we make your experience better? Is there something you haven't been able to find? Something you want to see that we don't have yet? [Let us know](mailto:cameron@projectmanagement.com). We'll handle it. If you do not wish to receive ProjectManagement.com's PM Insider Newsletter, you can [unsubscribe here]( or send an email to unsubscribe-pminsider@reply.projectmanagement.com and let us know. We will exclude you from future mailings. You can also change your e-mail address and other settings in [My Account](. ProjectManagement.com is located at 14 Campus Boulevard, Newtown Square, PA 19073.