Today’s project managers face the daunting task of doing more with less. While staff and capital budgets are being cut the costs for delivering projects escalate. Unfortunately, the traditional procurement methods to solicit and contract these projects don’t provide the project manager with the quick response and budget control required. However, there is an alternative procurement vehicle that truly has the possibility of being better, more responsive and more cost effective… three things all managers dream of. Job Order Contracting (JOC) is an integrated project delivery method that delivers projects within budget and on time.

This presentation will explain what Integrated Project Management and Job Order Contracting (JOC) is, how it works, and what its potential benefits are. The presentation will provide the following:

Describe Integrated Project Management
Job Order Contracting Delivery method
How Job Order Contracting works
Potential Benefits
How to Establish a JOC

Rick Farrag is currently the Director of Operations for KBR, one of the world’s leading construction services companies operating across multiple offices across the world. Risk has been with KBR for 23 years and has held roles of Project Manager, Sr. Project Manager and Operations Manager before his current role as the Director of Operations for On Call Construction.

Rick is both a certified Project Management Professional and a Professional Engineer. He is an active member of the Center of Job Order Contracting Excellence and currently serving as a board member. He holds a Maters of Engineering Management and Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering.

Event Location:
Mon Ami Gabi
11950 Democracy Drive
Reston, Virginia 20190
See map: Google Maps
Agenda and Cost:
11:30 am: Networking
12:00 pm: Program

PMIWDC Members $25
Non-Members: $25
*Lunch will be served

Register at PMIWDC – https://www.pmiwdc.org/reston-luncheon

Are you prepared for the highest levels of a career in information security? Is your staff compliant with Department of Defense Directive 8570 (DoDD 8570)? DoDD 8570 provides guidance for the certification of all government employees who conduct Information Assurance (IA) functions in certain job roles. These roles are required to be filled with DoDD 8570 compliant personnel. By becoming a Certified Authorization Professional (CAP), you will have the tools at your disposal to begin a career in federal agencies like the Department of Defense.

By completing the Off Peak Training CAP course, you will be prepared for the exam which will open doors into the IA field With this tool a your disposal, you will see countless opportunities open up in your career, whether you are considering a change of job or looking for a promotion at your current workplace. There is a big push in the Government to establish continuous monitoring of information systems. Will you be able to back up your skill set with an established, proven certification at your next interview?

CAP certification courses from Off Peak Training give you the preparation to complete the CAP exam online and on your time. Students get real examples of test questions and learn how to think like the top information security specialists. Each student must master concepts in risk management and security documentation while knowing how to implement proper security for systems of all kinds. New threats to government and civilian firms are popping up all the time. Off Peak Training courses help you stay on top of the field and follow the NIST Risk Management Framework guidelines.

The CAP certification program from Off Peak Training will enhance your overall marketability and give you the necessary skills to move ahead in your career. Whether you are technical or not, the CAP is the next step for you. Find out how to get started on the next phase of your career with certification through Off Peak Training.

The PMBOK® Guide (5th Edition) release

For over a decade project managers and candidates preparing for the Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification have used a book called, “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge”, or PMBOK® Guide, as their primary reference material to help standardize the processes and vocabulary of project management. On December 31st, while the rest of the world will begin counting down to ring in the New Year, the Project Management Institute (PMI) will also be celebrating the release of a new publication, the 5th edition of the PMBOK® Guide.

What’s new?

Considering that human beings have been managing project for thousands of years, there have not been major innovations in the field over the last 4 years. However, leading practitioners have collaborated on making changes to help enhance its organization, consistency, and application in an industry agnostic way. One of the most notable changes will be the addition of a new chapter, or knowledge area, for stakeholder management. Historically this was handled through the set of communication management processes. Some of these have been moved and a few new ones have been added. Another major change is the creation of 3 new planning processes to create management plans for scope, schedule and cost. Historically, these were an implied subset of the Integration process named Develop Project Management Plan. Other changes include minor revisions to the inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs for various process for improved process definition.

I’ve studied the 4th edition, but haven’t taken the exam – what does this mean for me?

For PMP® candidates who have studied the 4th edition, you will have approximately 6 months to take the exam before it changes, on July 31st. Off Peak Training recommends taking the exam before the change as there will be some vocabulary changes and 5 new processes.
Existing Off Peak Training customers are eligible to register free review sessions, based on the 4th edition, to help refresh themselves before taking the exam. New customers will also be invited to register for review classes at a reduced rate. Further, Off Peak Training recommends scheduling the exam earlier in the year, as testing centers are likely to be fully booked in the last month or two leading up to the change.

I’m already a PMP® – what does this mean for me?

Existing PMP® credential holders will not be required to retake the exam, so long as they fulfill their continuing educational requirements, 60 Professional Development Units (PDUs) over a 3 year cycle. Off Peak Training offers many courses that award Category A PDU’s both in the classroom and online.

Conclusion

While the core of the project management body of knowledge remains the same in the 5th edition, exam takers should be aware of the differences, and consider timing of taking their exam accordingly.

I’m the General Manager of Business Unit for a management consulting firm. As we’re a small business, our investments are carefully assessed against risk, including investments in our practitioners. We spent a great deal of time shopping for training vendor to send our up-and-coming leaders for PMI certification preparation. Off Peak Training (Off Peak) clearly differentiated itself when compared to other training providers by going beyond just explaining when and where their PMP certification training classes were available. OffPeak invested in my company, taking the time to meet with our practitioners prior to the training class to explain how the OffPeak training methodology works, its effectiveness in preparing for the exam, and what they, the practitioners, could do on their own to prepare for the OffPeak class and the exam itself. In other words, by focusing on the needs of our practitioners, OffPeak became our training partner, not just our vendor. The training class itself was rated as “Excellent” and “Highly Recommended” by all practitioners who attended the training. In addition, the trainer “was knowledgeable, personable, clear, and very passionate about the subject matter.” Going forward, I am extremely confident in OffPeak’s ability to provide a high quality project management training experience for my personnel and would highly recommend OffPeak to any company leader considering the investment in their personnel.

Bill

Bill Elliott
General Manager – Mission Support
RCM Solutions
www.rcm-solutions.net

Reach Back / Push Forward
Improving communication between organizations and PM’s

Jarred Martus, PMP

Join the Reston Luncheon group on November 28th at Mon Ami Gabi and learn how to “Reach Back, Push Forward” – A conversation on the challenges of getting information and materials to and from your HQ to field PM’s

Reach Back means that not all field PM’s know what they can contact their corporate office or PMO for in the way of marketing tools, written assignment assistance, products and services.

Push Forward means that not all PMO or corporate offices push out information to their field PM’s when they think it is irrelevant, but more times than not that information can be used for company promotion on philanthropy, contract awards, products and services.

Join us in bringing this to light and coming up with other ways to get the word to and from your PMO/Corporate office to the field.

Agenda: 11:00-12:00 Networking, 12:00-1:00 Program
Cost: $26 (includes lunch & 1 PDU)
Location: Mon Ami Gabi

Pre-Registration: PMIWDC.org (Required)

Each month we strive 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. We meet every third Wednesday of the month at various locations throughout Reston. You can view Andrea Howe’s or any other past presentations here.

“Before I enrolled in Off Peak Training’s PMP bootcamp, I was intimidated by the PMP exam from all the horror stories I’ve heard. After the first day of class I knew I had chosen the right training provider. The instructor, Chris Talmont possess the qualities of an excellent teacher — knowledgeable, engaging and relatable. There wasn’t a question he couldn’t answer and the training material he provided was simple to understand and just “made sense”. Even after long days at work (the classes were nights and weekends) I was never bored and always felt engaged during classroom discussions, etc. Chris provided many “real life” examples that reinforces the fact that he’s not just regurgitating memorized facts from the PMBOK guide. He also gave valuable test-taking tips that definitely helped me pass the exam.”

Sarah Bassett
CPIC Analyst, CACI

Read More Testimonials Here

Innovation in Motion- November 13th

The Innovative Solutions Consortium (ISC) presents its one-year anniversary event, Innovation in Motion. Come collaborate with your colleagues, and see innovation presentations by representatives from Academia, Government and Industry, including:
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)
Georgetown University
MISTRA …and more

Enjoy live music and food catered by Passion Fish.

Seating will be limited to the first 125 RSVPs. Stay tuned for updates and registration in the coming weeks!

November 13th, 2012
3:00-7:00 p.m.
Center for Innovative Technology

Kevin and his team recently completed an in-house PMI-RMP training session. This is what he had to say about it:

“Several members from Richmond Public Schools Information Communication & Technology Services department recently received Risk Management Professional Training through Off-Peak Training. From our very first inquiry about the course, it was quite evident that the company held true to its name. Their team quickly reviewed their trainer’s availability and made adjustments to accommodate our needs during off-peak hours!

Chris Talmont did a wonderful job of assessing our staff’s capabilities, needs and project management experience before-hand to ensure that our time spent would be as productive as possible. He was very fluid in his ability to cater our training session around the real world scenarios that we proposed while covering all of the necessary content to prepare us for the actual exam. He exhibits expert knowledge in the arena of risk management and all of our staff left the session with a greater understanding of how to apply risk management skills to our respective projects and jobs.
Needless to say, we are expecting to have several PMI-RMP certified staff members in the near future that further assist with project management and implementation for the district.

Respectfully,

Kevin Page, PMP
Project Coordinator
Richmond Public Schools”

Interested in learning more about Risk Management?

PMI-RMP Online
PMI-RMP Hands-on
PMI-RMP Group Training Solutions

Read More Testimonials Here

You know how to manage your project, but can you lead your team?
Tips to get your team to work with you and for the project

Liana Edmiston, PMP

Join the Reston Luncheon group on October 17th at Il Fornaio Restaurant and learn how Project Managers manage our projects, work with budgets, schedules and client requirements. Get a better understanding of how much effort is put into building a common purpose and clear understanding of goals/objectives, fostering communication, growth and good relations among the project team members?

This session will focus on tools to keep the project team healthy, which contributes toward a more efficient and effective team. Ultimately this makes for better project performance and results. Some of the topics touched on will be:

Developing staff
Communication mentoring
Working with varying personality styles
What you can do to deal with conflict among team members
Why it’s important to be the buffer between your team and the client

Agenda: 11:00-12:00 Networking, 12:00-1:00 Program
Cost: $25 (includes lunch & 1 PDU)
Location: Il Fornaio Restaurant

Pre-Registration: PMIWDC.org (Required)

Each month we strive 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. We meet every third Wednesday of the month at various locations throughout Reston. You can view Andrea Howe’s or any other past presentations here.

Project Management Symposium 2012

The PM Symposium is featuring one of our own this year, Chris Talmont. He will be speaking as part of a panel in regards to Project Management Certifications. Chris’s experience as a trainer and PMP expert will greatly benefit the audience attending his presentation. The PM Symposium is full of extraordinarily knowledgeable people just like Chris that can give you useful information when in the job market. Not only are there going to be great presentations from field experts, but a job fair and networking will also be taking place. PMP’s can earn up to 7 PDU’s for attending the event.

About the Project Management Symposium

The 2012 Project Management (PM) Symposium, formerly called Career Day, is PMIWDC’s premiere annual event. During this all day conference, Project Managers and other industry professionals will exchange knowledge, make useful contacts, and receive valuable insights. The PM Symposium will provide professional development opportunities for project managers of all skill levels. The symposium is also an opportunity for companies to meet project managers seeking career transition and matching the interests, skills, and experience to their needs. If you are active in the project management community, don’t miss the premiere 2012 PM Symposium for the DC

The Specifics

Agenda:
8:00-9:00 Registration and Breakfast, Exhibition Area Opens
9:00-5:00 Presentations take place

Cost: $125 PMI Members (includes breakfast & lunch)

$150 Non-Members

$175 Walkins
Location: Hyatt Regency in Crystal City
Pre-Registration: http://www.pmiwdc.org/product/2012-project-management-symposium-individual-registration