Written by: LeDerrick Bouknight, PE, PMP

Presentation Overview:

After a brief opening and introduction, the roundtable panelists (Lee Jordan, Joe Sisto, Diem Huynh, & Dana Moore) began the discussion with the stakeholder(s) definition and expectations.

A stakeholder is a person or group that can affect a project currently in progress. The panel advised to seek to understand stakeholder’s expectations, establish a positive working relationship, complete a stakeholder assessment, and heat map at project initiation.

The next discussion topic centered around how to identify stakeholder(s). Techniques such as reviewing the project charter, obtaining referrals from other stakeholders, and discussion with the project sponsor were discussed.

The last topic of discussion was how to manage stakeholder(s) who are not supportive or seek to sabotage the project. Project managers (PM) should use their political savvy and collaborative skills to understand/address the dissenting members needs and wants. The PM should understand and adapt to the type of organizational structure (matrix) to properly leverage resources with minimal disruption.

Overall, this was an informative meeting discussing stakeholder management along with tips for doing so.

Takeaways:

o Stakeholder is a person/group that can affect a project currently in progress
o Techniques to identify stakeholders
o Techniques to manage unsupportive or disruptive stakeholders

Next Event:

Join us at the next PMI Atlanta Governance forum in February!

Register at: https://pmiatlanta.org/events/event-calendar?default_month=0

Written by:Catherine Binuya, Ed.D.

Presentation Overview: 

Presenter: Darron Bailey, MBA, PSP, is the principal founder of Construction Data and Analytics. He is a planning and schedule professional with twenty years of industry experience. His company, CDA, provides project scheduling and cost controls services in major metro areas such as Atlanta, St. Louis, Dallas, Orlando, and Nashville.

Speaking from his experiences on both public and private construction projects, Darron Bailey presented on the key steps of project planning and scheduling.

Takeaways

• Major reasons for delays—inefficient management, implementation failure, weather, design flaws, scope increase, economic changes, failure to coordinate time schedules, failures in execution. The construction industry is notoriously known for project delays. Construction Planning, if planned correctly, project schedule usually runs smoother.
• Manpower, machines, materials, and money are the top four critical factors to monitor that impact project planning and scheduling. Other factors are space, time, and tasks.
• Control Cycle is an iterative process involving four key stages: Plan, Monitor, Compare, Action. Comparisons from project updates vs. expected baseline targets calls attention if an activity slips. During Action stage, it is key to monitor variances. Projects may require setting new baseline targets.
• Project Planning and Execution are Action stages. Reporting deliverables, cost, scheduling, etc. on a bi-weekly basis allows for PMO working teams to stay abreast of the project. On projects, CDA works with cost engineers, schedulers, project managers to form a PMO group. This allows all team members to stay accountable to project completion.
• Framework, PMO, updating scheduling, Schedule Reporting (SV) – gap between baseline and current schedule represents variance, Schedule Reporting (Compression) – accelerating certain phases of a project in an attempt to get scheduling back on track, Monitoring Costs, Monitoring Cost Variance, and Critical Ratio are all key steps to project planning and scheduling.

Next Event

Join us at the next PMI Atlanta Architectural, Engineering & Construction (AEC) forum on Tuesday, December 12, 2023.

Keynote Presentation: “The Stich” presented by Jack Cebe, Stitch Development Manager, Atlanta Downtown Improvement District.

 Register at:https://pmiatlanta.org/events/event-calendar

 Event Pictures

Written by: Alex Leonard, PMP

Presentation Overview

AI

Doug Ware is a Systems builder with over 30 years in the technology industry. He noted that as a kid, he was always very interested in AI. He explained about emerging technologies in AI that generate answers word-by-word. He also noted that there is a large misconception that AI can think and do things by itself, where as they actually need to be triggered by a person.

Oliver Yarbrough is a Project Management Trainer and works with AI in relation to project management. He also hosts the podcast “Not Your Father’s AI Show”. Oliver emphasized the importance of using automation to optimize workflows and minimize busy work.

HR Recruiting

Amy Chestnut is the director of HR at Rare Disease Research, LLC. Amy’s organization helps provide many services including talent acquisition, Pediatric Trials and Research. In the forum, Amy discussed the types of skills, experiences, and personalities that she might look for in clinical project management. Some of these skills include flexibility, being resourceful, and having a passion for healthcare.

Brett Horsely, with Legent Finance & Accounting, has a background in sales, marketing, and recruiting. He helps fill roles for Contract, Contract for Hire, and Full Time. Brett also hosts a podcast called “Straight From the Horsely’s Mouth” discussing tips on hiring, resumes, job seeking, and employee retention. Brett explained that we have the most diverse workplace, generationally, that the world has ever seen. He noted that the commonality between these generations is that everyone wants the same things – they just prioritize them differently.

Dana Neiger is the Co-Founder for HIVE Talent Acquisition Firm in Sandy Springs. HIVE can help in a number of areas such as fractional HR leadership and establishing HR compliance for small-to-medium business. Dana explained a few things to do when looking for a new job: 1) Track job you apply for in a spreadsheet. 2) Push the bar, but don’t put yourself in despair. 3) Understand your worth.

"DEI"  | "ESG" 

Solama Acolatse-Narnor, with a background in architecture, is a sustainability consultant with The Dragon Group. Solama emphasizes the need for sustainability as it humanizes the DEI & ESG Industries. She believes that performance comes from areas other than skill, such as environment, emotional safety, etc.

Dr. April Ripley, with Permier Image, is a trainer focusing on intercultural awareness. She works with clients around the world helping them bridge the gap between cultures and backgrounds in the workplace. April charged the audience to challenge assumptions and misinformation in the workplace.

Dr. Frank Lee Harper, Jr. is the Vice Chancellor at Cambridge Corporate University. Throughout the course of his career, he has had the opportunity to utilize project teams to study the effectiveness of the ways teams communicate and collaborate with each other. He discussed the importance of being a “Strategic Hustler”, or an innovative futurist.

Next Event
Join us at our final Forum of 2023,  PMI Atlanta AEC Forum on Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023.

Keynote Presentation: Learn about “THE STITCH” A VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT FOR THE CITY OF ATLANTA. Presented by Jack Cebe

Register at: https://pmiatlanta.org/events/event-list

Written by: Tana Glassford-Samuel, MBA, PMP

The Best of Both Worlds. How Waterfall and Agile can co-exist.

Presentation Overview 

Tamara McLemore, PMP, PMI-ACP, a 20-year project management veteran and sought after speaker, was this month’s presenter. The August event was held in-person at Matrix, the Agile Forum’s Sponsor. Tamara spoke to a packed room. The session was engaging and thought-provoking. Waterfall with Agile, in any combination, can be beneficial for project managers (PMs) and offer real value to the organization.

Agile is a mindset change and has standard terms and events/ceremonies. However, the Agile nomenclature can be a blocker in a strong Waterfall culture. In some minds, Agile is a bad word and PMs may need to work around it by using different terms to achieve the same results – value-driven delivery.

Takeaways

• The Benefits of Agile
  • Faster to Market
    • We are not in the microwave era; We are in the air fryer era!
  • Flexibility
  • Instant Feedback
  • Save Millions of Dollars and time
• The Four Values of the Agile Manifesto
  • Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
    • Emphasizes the need to deliver
  • Working software over comprehensive documentation
    • Do not show elaborate documents, demo the product
  • Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
    • Be flexible and accommodating
  • Responding to change over following a plan
    • Change is inevitable
• Incorporate Agile components in Waterfall projects
  • Minimal Viable Product (MVP)
    • Allows for early return on investment
  • Definition of Done
    • What does success looks like
  • T-Shirt Sizing
    • Relative estimation of the work
  • Kanban Board
    • Tells the true status/state of play

Next Event

Join us at the next PMI Atlanta Chapter Agile forum on Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Keynote Presentation: "Artificial Intelligence for Agile Project Managers: Are You Ready" by Scott Ambler, Author & Agile Data Coach, Ambysoft, Inc.

Register at www.pmiatlanta.org/events/event-calendar 

Event Pictures

Written by: Rishea Middlebrooks MHI, CAPM

When done well, transformations can be extremely impactful. When done bad, transformations can be detrimental to any intended entity. How do organizations do business transformations successfully? What determines a successful transition? What can deter and potentially destroy organizational transitions? Read below to gain some valuable insight into the delicate skill of business transformation!

Presentation Overview 

Attendees participate in a discussion regarding the concept of “transformation deficit”, how it’s been defined in the publications, and examples of what is considered good and not-so-good transformation efforts, and what learnings that can be considered for incremental improvements in this area.

Takeaways

• What is business transformation?
  • Business transformation involves breaking away from the “status quo” of standard processes and organizational activities of a business with the goal of improving the way they operate.
• What drives companies to transform?
  • External factors – response to change
  • Internal problems/technology disruptors
  • Desire to add value
• What and why are businesses transforming?
  • Improving efficiency
  • Enhanced customer experience
  • Better decision making/improved work culture
• How can organizations remain focus on business transformation?
  • Stay focused on what the value of the change will be
    • Organizations can hire Change Management professionals to align activities with the desired goal
    • Build a culture that is adaptive of change
  • Collaborate!
  • Gain buy-in early and ongoingly
• What are some obstacles to business transformation?
  • Resistance to change/poor communication
  • Legacy systems
  • Differing objectives
  • Wrong talent/lack of leadership
• What are potential deterrents to look out for?
  • Lack of shared vision
  • No collaboration
  • Competing priorities
  • Bad morale/low productivity
• How can organizations overcome obstacles with transforming?
  • Getting the right talent/hiring for the future skills needed
  • Having a proper change management program
  • Having focused teams/building collaboration around the new ways of working
• What makes a great transformational leader?
  • Having an understanding of the business
  • Having credibility and influence/interpersonal skills

Next Event

Join us at the next PMI Atlanta Chapter Technology forum September 26, 2023

Keynote Presentation: “Pragmatic Innovation” by Jeremy Smith, Sr. Product Manager at Honeywell

Register at www.pmiatlanta.org/events/event-calendar 

Event Pictures