Written by Glenn Boylan, PMP

PMI Atlanta’s February Technology Forum was held on Tuesday, February 28th, where Sarah Ming Hsi presented a very informative and interesting talk titled "Concept to Reality – Successfully Sell Ideas and Secure Executive Funding".

Steve Kruger started the festivities at the Hewlett-Packard Enterprise office in Alpharetta. Once again the Technology Forum enjoyed the amenities of HP-E’s fantastic new café. Our thanks to HP-E for sharing it with PMI.

Steve reviewed PMI Atlanta’s upcoming events and reminded everyone about the many volunteer opportunities available for the Forum and the Atlanta chapter. For the full schedule of events and more details on how you can volunteer (and earn extra PDUs!), go to the chapter web site at PMIAtlanta.org.

Steve introduced Ms. Hsi, who is the Chief Information Officer for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transportation Authority (MARTA). Sarah started her career as a developer at AT&T. Her first job at MARTA was as an Oracle database administrator. She moved from databases to project management and program management, earning her PMP and PgMP certifications along the way. Being a program manager ignited her interest in a more strategic role, leading to the opportunity for her to become MARTA’s CIO.

In the first part of her presentation, Sarah shared some background on MARTA and an overview of what the agency is working on this year.

MARTA is the ninth largest mass transit system in the country, averaging 450,000 weekday boardings. These passengers use 338 rail cars, 565 buses, and 211 vans which are kept running by over 5,000 MARTA employees. All this adds up to a $2.1 billion input to the regional and state economies.

Security is vitally important to the agency, and to that assist in that they have over 12,000 cameras installed around the system, which includes 2,000 cameras at rail stations and major bus stops. That’s a lot of video, so MARTA is in the process of implementing video analytics software to help keep track of it all.

Looking to provide more than just transportation, MARTA recently introduced some amenities to their ride services – things like food trucks at stations, a bicycle sharing program, jazz events, and the popular Pianos for Peace initiative that placed pianos at several stations, inviting anyone to sit down and play. In addition, transit oriented development is in progress around several rail stations, including the Edgewood and Avondale stations.

Innovation and technology play important roles is keeping MARTA competitive. MARTA is teaming with City of Atlanta on smart city initiatives as well as working to incorporating the power of the Internet of Things (IOT) into the system. One of the key innovation techniques the agency uses is their “Hackathon” which invite teams from the public to come up with ideas to improve MARTA’s services. Last year’s Hackathon had over 197 participants. Hackathons have resulted in system improvements ideas ranging from train scheduling to waste receptacle management.

As CIO, Sarah is at the forefront of MARTA’s technology initiatives. The Breeze fare card program is completing a significant upgrade this year. The next step for fares is a purchase and ride application for smart phones. This app is in the pilot stage now, with 500 pilot users. So far MARTA has is getting an 88% approval rating on the app from these users.

A major technology initiative, and the focus of Ms. Hsi’s presentation, was the distributed antenna and Wi-Fi network being installed throughout the system. Sarah is responsible for the project from concept to reality, and as you can imagine, there were significant logistical, technical, and funding issues to be resolved.

Sarah stressed the importance of simplifying the scope – and therefore simplifying the messaging to stakeholders, including vendors and management. Previous projects to implement the Wi-Fi network at MARTA did not get off the ground, largely due to complicated scopes of works (and the resulting complicated RFPs) and confusing messages to the stakeholders.

By thoroughly analyzing the scope and requirements, the MARTA team was able to simplify the scope of the project without compromising the overall requirements. This was critical to providing clear, concise communication to MARTA management, government authorities, and participating vendors. Effective communication was the key, Sarah said, to getting project approval and continuing the successful project implementation.

The programs and initiatives Sarah shared with the Forum seem to be striking a chord with MARTA’s riders. A November ballot proposal for a half-cent sales tax increase within the City of Atlanta to help fund the transit programs passed with a remarkable 71% approval by the voters.

The Technology Forum appreciates Sarah taking the time to share her insights with us. The Forum attendees, which included both long-time riders and those not familiar with MARTA, learned a lot about the system and the successful project management techniques Sarah’s teams use so effectively.

The Technology Forum meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month except in August and December. The next Forum will be Tuesday, March 28th. Come join us.

Written By Glenn Boylan, PMP

The January Technology Forum was held on Tuesday, January 31st, and featured a very interesting keynote presentation titled “We Have Met the Enemy, and He Is Us: Cyber Security Issues and What You Can Do About Them” presented by David Scott.

Steve Kruger and Nancy Berlin kicked off the event which was hosted by Hewlett-Packard Enterprise in their new café at their office in Alpharetta. The café has been completely re-done and is a beautiful facility for both HP-E and HP employees. Our thanks to HP-E for sharing it with PMI Atlanta.

The Forum also wants to thank the Rezult Group which sponsored the food for the event, and provided some great swag for the meeting attendees. The Rezult Group provides staffing solutions for companies seeking talent in healthcare IT, finance, accounting, and of course, technology. They have just opened an Atlanta office. For more information, go to their web site at www.rezultgroup.com.

Steve and Nancy reviewed PMI Atlanta volunteer opportunities and events, including this year’s Technology Forum schedule. The Tech Forum will meet on the fourth Tuesday of the month except for August (when Nancy will be at the beach) and December. Melody Cookson announced that there will be an Alpharetta series of the popular “PM in the AM” breakfast meetings on the third Wednesdays of each month, starting April 19th. For more information on volunteering and upcoming events, go to the chapter web site at PMIAtlanta.org.

Nancy then turned the meeting over to David Scott of Mission Advantages, LLC. David got everyone’s attention by asking the question “Are you aware of the greatest threats and risks to your organization?” and he kept it by linking The Varsity, a rubber duck, and Mountain Dew to the key basic principles of cyber security.

Written by Tarun Sethi

Joshua Jack was the speaker at the Agile Forum on Nov. 15. Joshua is the Agile Leader for the Eastern Region with Matrix Resources. He discussed how he has used games as an Agile Leader. Games can be used to teach adults 21st century skills such as: overcoming challenges, problem solving, leadership and responsibility, teamwork and flexibility and adaptability. Benefits of games on the brain include: Increased motivation, increased testosterone, Improved memory, increased brain size (increase in volume of white matter which helps form connections), increased empathy and increased efficiency.

Joshua used Speed Uno and Penny Points to teach concepts like "one thing at a time", pull system, bugs/waste and teamwork. He also used Build It games to teach lessons re: trade-offs and negotiations. Simple game like Picture Taboo can be used to illustrate communications challenges among teams. Additional games ideas can be found on sites like TastyCupcakes.org and funretrospectives.com and Innovationgames.com.

By Alex Blench, PMP

The PMI Atlanta Governance Forum hosted Dan Petell, Senior Director at Equifax. Dan delivered an interactive seminar designed to teach attendees how to identify and build value in projects. Over his 37 years in the industry, Dan has experienced project management at all levels and walked members through 4 unique PMO case studies.

Overview: Identifying and building value is one of the most important goals of project management. Dan emphasized the importance of gauging value by creating a measurable benefit delivered to stakeholders, and whether or not that value was within scope. Dan outlined a few key ingredients to improve the delivered value of projects this during his seminar this month:

•  Define Value
   o Confirm expectations of the deliverable.
   o Measure value based upon recipient’s level of satisfaction with the results.
   o Define work that will contribute the most benefit to the customer.

Written by Lasondria Hill

PMI Atlanta’s October Healthcare Forum was treated to a fascinating tour of an operating room during construction. Deitra Erickson, Operating Room Manager at Grady Memorial Hospital, was the speaker for the evening and gave an engaging presentation detailing the challenges and processes involved with constructing not one but 18 new operating rooms at Piedmont Hospital, where Deitra formerly worked.

Founded in 1905, Piedmont Atlanta Hospital began as a 132-bed, five-story annex. Today, it’s a 488-bed acute tertiary care facility that has more than 4,000 employees and more than 1,100 physicians.
Deitra has worked in the operating room since 1993 and has held various leadership positions, both in the U.S. and abroad, since 2001. She has served as a clinical liaison for many construction projects, most notably a three-year reconstruction of the entire perioperative services at Piedmont.

Deitra began her presentation by identifying the challenges associated with the construction project:
    1. Started with 20 operating rooms
    2. Construct 18 new operating rooms
    3. Keep 19 operating rooms operational
    4. 36-month completion schedule
    5. Maintain the highest level of infection control
    6. Keep the peace