Differences Between Project Management and Product Management

This session will focus on discussing the challenge of working in organizations that do not understand the difference between project management and product management. The two roles often appear to be at odds with each other. A product manager may want to add features to meet customer needs while the project manager may want to limit the scope to ensure the project is delivered on time and under budget. Hector will discuss the major differences in the two roles and how they work together within organizations to transform product innovation to profit.

Despite the similar names, there are big differences between product management and project management. The confusion between the two roles is common and potentially harmful to organizations who do not acknowledge the distinction. This is often the case for companies that develop web-based and technology products.

A common challenge is that the two roles often appear to be at odds with each other. A product manager may want to add a lot of features to meet customer needs, but the project manager may want to limit the scope so that the project is delivered on time and under budget. Often traditional definitions mischaracterize the project manager as singularly focused on getting the product release finished on time and under budget without any concern as to whether it meets the needs of the market or customers.

A mapping comparing the Product Management Framework and the PMBOK will be presented. We will discuss the major differences in the two roles and how they work together within companies that have the organizational discipline to transform product innovation to profit.

Featuring

Hector Del Castillo

Product Marketing Director, Association of International Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM)

Registration

Date and time:
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
11:30 pm: Networking
12:00 – 1:00 pm: Lunch & Speaker
1 PDU Credit will be available for Certified PMPs

Location and Cost:

$30 *Lunch will be served
Paolo’s Ristorante – 11898 Market Street. Reston, Virginia 20130

Follow link to register with PMIWDC

Hector Del Castillo

Hector Del Castillo has over 10 years experience transforming products to profit for technology-based companies by directing the product and marketing strategy throughout the product life cycle. He has launched 25 high technology products and solutions resulting in over $25M in achieved global sales revenue.

Hector is Product Marketing Director at the Association of International Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM) where he is implementing the product and marketing strategy for various products. He is a highly accomplished, results-oriented, energetic and innovative professional with extensive full product life cycle management and product marketing experience, with a strong understanding of how to tailor the product management process to the specific needs and organizational structure of a technology-based company. He has expertise defining and launching products and solutions, creating product messaging and positioning, developing marketing collateral and sales tools, and performing comparative and competitive analysis based on market research. He provides services as a consultant, contractor, coach, or trainer to organizations that need to create and launch value-added products that customers demand. He also helps experienced managers understand the product management process and prepare for certification through practical training courses.

Download Event Poster

Reston Luncheon Series Resources

Every month, the PMIWDC Reston Luncheon series strives to bring you interesting and informative speakers from a wide range of professions. We present these speakers to you in a casual setting that allows you to network with other professionals of the PMI. Thank you for your continued interest and support in the PMIWDC Reston Luncheon series. If you are interested in attending one of these Luncheon’s, you can visit the Reston Luncheon Resources page

Reston Challenge Fall Festival – October 29

Each year Off Peak Training chooses a local non-profit to give back. We are proud to sponsor this year’s Reston Challenge Fall Festival to benefit the 4Paws Rescue Team. The Off Peak Training Team is looking forward to volunteering at and sponsoring such a worthy cause.

This free-to-enter festival along beautiful Lake Anne features local craft breweries (Lost Rhino brewery and more), local restaurants, a corn hole tournament with top prize valued at $500, and local music. There is also a costume contest for all ages and scavenger hunt for the families/kids.

This year’s event will be held at the Lake Anne Plaza on October 29th 11am – 4pm. Net proceeds benefit the 4Paws Rescue Team, the community nonprofit chosen by Northern Virginia residents.

Event Details

11402 Washington Plaza West, Reston, VA 20190
8:00AM – 12:00PM – FARMERS MARKET
11:00AM – 4:00PM – FALL FESTIVAL

Food and Beverages tickets $1
Beer tastings $2, Pints $6
*The first 999 people to purchase 10 tasting tickets get a free souvenir tasting glass.

To learn more about the festival, visit: RestonChallenge.org

Join Off Peak Training at the PMIWDC 5th Annual Career day. Providing chapter members, employers and vendors with an exceptional networking opportunity designed to match the interests, skills and experiences of our members to the needs of the employers. PMIWDC’s Career Day is the ideal forum to match quality people with quality organizations.

Location and Date:

Friday, October 7, 2011
All day program beginning at 8:00am

Fairview Park Marriott, Falls Church, VA
3111 Fairview Park Drive
Falls Church, VA 22042
Metro/Bus Accessible (2 miles from Dunn Loring station)
Free Shuttle service will be available during the day between the Dunn Loring metro stop and the hotel.

Register at http://www.pmiwdc.org/CareerDay

Career Day Program Agenda

Career Day 2010 features a diverse selection of career development programs, which be held concurrently with the job fair and networking activities. Up to 6 PDUs are possible and all attendees are encouraged to attend these educational sessions at no additional charge.

8:00am
- Career Day Begins
- Exhibit Area Opens

9:00am – 5:00pm
- A selection of career-building educational programs. Speakers and topics will be posted as details are made available.
- You may earn up to 6 PDUs, or visit the employer and vendor booths in the Exhibit area
- Lunch will be provided in the afternoon

5:00pm
- Exhibit area closes and Career Day ends.

Register at http://www.pmiwdc.org/CareerDay

Project Management Doesn’t Start On Day One

In many institutions, big and small, public and private, the role of a project manager has typically been flanked by bookends; they have a cameo appearance during the final days of proposal development (well…. maybe), have a debut after a contract has been awarded and then seem to fade away after the customer has accepted delivery.

Even today with so many published articles and quantitative references that speak to how we can manage the end-to-end project cycle more effectively, the myriad of stovepipes and administrative bureaucracies within organizations often continue to intercede on behalf on added risk and inefficiency. Why? Well, there’s a fair distribution of gotcha to go around the organizational chart, but for the most part it’s really a lack of true project management experience within matrixed support entities and hesitation by senior management to invest the time and resources for project managers to have expanded visibility.

It seems simple enough to fix but if you’re like me, as a program manager or line of business manager, during the rush of the day there are distractions and competing priorities that pop up like squished bugs on a windshield. PM’s tend to fall victim to being a high valued commodity that simply can’t be in more than two or three places at the same time. Fortunately, there’s a remedy: People make the difference -They always do. This presentation will investigate how.

Featuring

Hampton Dowling
Managing Partner, The HCB Group LLC

Registration

Date and time:
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
11:30 pm: Networking
12:00- 1:00 pm: Lunch & Speaker
1 PDU Credit will be available for Certified PMPs

Location and Cost:
$30 *Lunch will be served
McCormick & Schmicks – 11920 Democracy Dr. Reston, VA 20190

Follow link to register with PMIWDC

Hampton Dowling

Mr. Dowling is the Managing Partner of The HCB Group LLC, in Northern Virginia, a professional advisory and services company that shapes and satisfies international opportunities primarily through partnerships focused on secure commerce & logistics, defense & homeland security, and client development. Services include design and implementation of business strategies and value propositions that help the public sector achieve policy and operational objectives, as well as, increasing private sector market exposure, revenue potentials and brand visibility within the framework of transparent business practices, lower risk and Web/ICT optimization.

Mr. Dowling recently served as a vice president for Aria International, and formerly as a director in companies such as L3 Communications and DRS Technical Services, and senior program management positions within Lockheed Martin Corporation and SAIC; each with responsibility for strategy design, contract value delivery and planned business growth across a broad domestic & international customer base. He has provided client advisory services within the private sector regarding risk management, leadership & protégé programs, mergers & acquisitions, and program management.

Download Event Poster

Reston Luncheon Series Resources

Every month, the PMIWDC Reston Luncheon series strives to bring you interesting and informative speakers from a wide range of professions. We present these speakers to you in a casual setting that allows you to network with other professionals of the PMI. Thank you for your continued interest and support in the PMIWDC Reston Luncheon series. If you are interested in attending one of these Luncheon’s, you can visit the Reston Luncheon Resources page

This is what Nathan Sanders has to say about his recent experience taking Off Peak Training’s Earned Value Management Course.

“I wanted to let you know that I found Off Peak Training’s two-day seminar on Earned Value Management to be an exceptional learning opportunity. My initial interest in the course was to brush up on the skills learned in studying for the PMP and various DoD training courses, but what Off Peak delivered was an end-to-end class that was suited for any level from seasoned program management veteran to someone taking their first steps in program analytics.

The instructor, Nik DeBenedetto, having clearly spent his career in the field of earned value and EVM consulting from both the commercial and federal sectors (civilian as well as DoD), put together a very logical and easy to understand progression of why and how EVM has become such an important tool to program managers today. His understanding of the real-life practices and pitfalls of putting the methodologies into action was invaluable, and his upbeat and easy demeanor really seemed to open up the classroom to free discussion. Each subject was delivered in plain language and easily relatable for all expereince levels and the interactive exercises did a great job of keeping everyone engaged and applying the topics in real-world scenarios. I was most impressed when Nik took a quick poll of the class’ backgrounds and then tailored the discussions and examples to be more directly applicable for the rest of the course.

Having taken similar courses on EVM in the past as recommended by the Washington DC chapter of PMI, Off Peak’s course did far more than providing the standard definitions and formulas and stands out as an outstanding return on investment. I highly recommend your program to anyone interested in EVM training for either themselves or their staff.

Nathan Sanders
Project Manager
The Tauri Group”