Despite the continuous evolution of the project management discipline, projects repeatedly fail due to common project management mistakes. In a time when project managers are expected to do much more with much less, understanding these common mistakes and proactively preventing them is critical to project success. This luncheon presentation will identify the most common and most impactful project management mistakes; will address the root causes, indicators, and risks associated with these mistakes; and will describe multiple strategies for avoiding them.

Featuring

Yvette Rivers, PMP
Director, Cirdan Group, Inc.

Registration

Date and time:
Wednesday, November 16th, 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
M&S Grill – 11901 Democracy Drive. Reston VA, 20190

Follow link to register with PMIWDC

Yvette Rivers

Yvette Rivers is Director of the IV&V and Project Management Practice at Cirdan Group, Inc., a Maryland-based management consulting firm that specializes in project management consulting, independent verification and validation (IV&V), and PMO services. She is a PMI-certified PMP with over 13 years of experience in project management, IV&V, program management, quality assurance, and risk management.

She has provided consulting services for federal, state, and local governments such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Department of the Interior, and the State of Maryland, as well as Fortune 500 companies such as ExxonMobil and DuPont. Since starting at Cirdan Group in 2007, she has primarily worked on performing IV&V assessments for State of Maryland major information technology development projects.

Ms. Rivers holds a B.A. in Sociology with Psychology from Yale University and an M.B.A from George Washington University.

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

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

How to obtain PDUs in the new structure

Under the new structure, PMP® credential holders may claim up to 30 PDUs for ‘Self-Directed Learning’. This can include reading project management related book or articles, watching educational videos or listening to podcasts, or having formalized discussions or mentoring sessions with colleagues. Additionally, you may claim up to 5 PDUs per year for ‘Working as a Project Manager’. This leaves 15 hours that must be obtained through formal education or giving back to the project management community by being a volunteer, author, or teacher.

For those seeking PDUs through ongoing education, Off Peak Training offers free 1-hour webinars as well as 2 day classes on project management topics such as ITIL®, Project Scheduling (PMI-SP®), and Risk Management (PMI-RP®). All Off Peak Training courses will provide students with ‘Category A’ PDUs. Visit our website for a list of upcoming classes in your area. For more information on the new PDU structure, visit the PMI’s Website:
www.pmi.org

Chris Talmont, Partner at Off Peak Training

According to the PMI website, “this premier educational conference gathers thought leaders in project management to share new research findings and shape future directions for the profession. Participation in the event is limited to 500 scholars, senior practitioners and students of project management. It will feature upwards of 60 sessions and, in addition to traditional paper presentations, will include new interactive session formats, symposia and student poster sessions. Attendees will also use the latest in social media networking to further their participation and enhance their experience.”

PMI is the world’s leading professional membership organization for project managers and is the only project management association with an established academic research program. In order to become a Registered Education Provider, Off Peak Training’s course materials went through a rigorous review by PMI education experts to ensure that our course material is of high quality and in-line with PMI standards.

Sign up today for PMP Certification training in Tyson’s Corner Virginia August 23-27th, 2010. Full schedule available at www.offpeaktraining.com/pmp

Read testimonials at: http://www.offpeaktraining.com/category/testimonials/

Off Peak Training, a Reston, VA based company, offers public and private classes to help prepare business professionals for the PMP®, CAPM®, PMI-SP®, CISSP®, CAPM®, CISA®, and is a Registered Education Provider for the Project Management Institute.

In the Washington DC Metropolitan area alone there are several PMI chapters including the Silver Spring, Montgomery County, and Washington DC chapters. In addition there are many more chapters just outside the DC Metro area including the Central Virginia, Baltimore, and Southern Maryland chapters. The local chapters offer networking, a great body of knowledge to draw from, and the wisdom and experience of thousands of local Project Managers. The local chapters hold meetings, lectures, seminars, and all manner of gatherings to spread knowledge and experience. For example, the Silver Spring Chapter of the PMI will be having a guest speaker from the General Services Administration on November 11, 2009. The Washington DC chapter will also be having a dinner meeting with Tom Davis, The Director of Federal Government Affairs, on November 4, 2009.

Being a member of these chapters is the perfect way to connect to other Project Managers and companies in your area. As a member of your local PMI chapter, you will also receive their publication, full of useful information about what’s going on in the world of Project Management. In addition to this, members receive discounts on a variety of Project Management resources ranging from credential exams to books and materials.

In addition to the local chapters, PMI also has online Communities of Practice where Project Managers can build network opportunities around the world. This gives yet another useful source of information. The Communities contain wikis, blogs, online discussions and many other resources.

As a member of the local Washington DC chapter and a Registered Education Provider, Off Peak Training recognizes the value of local chapter membership and the ability to direct and lead project teams efficiently and within scheduling and budgeting limitations. Holding a PMP can also greatly increase a professional’s salary and reputation among potential employers. In fact ZDNET’S Tech Republic organization conducted a survey of the top paying certifications in the technology industry; the PMP came out on top averaging over $100k! Before you get your PMP, get involved in one of the PMI chapters! Doing this will put you in a position to gain the maximum amount of knowledge before you get your certification.

Off Peak Training will be conducting a 5 day bootcamp class for the PMP certification. The class will be taking place from November 16 to November 20 in the Northern Virginia area. Our educators are professionals that truly enjoy imparting their knowledge to others in order to help them attain their certifications. Training through the right educator is an extremely valuable experience and Off Peak Training can give you that experience through the quality of our educators and the convenience of our classes.

Off Peak Training, a Reston, VA based company, offers public and private classes to help prepare business professionals for the PMP®, CAPM®, PMI-SP®, CISSP®, CAPM®, CISA®, and is a Registered Education Provider for the Project Management Institute.

The PMI-SP® is a versatile certification ideal for both new project schedulers lacking the experience required to obtain a PMP®, as well as experienced project managers wanting to highlight their expertise in the knowledge area of project scheduling. The PMI-SP® focuses on the development, maintenance, analysis, and communication of the project schedule to the project team. In order to be eligible to take the exam for the PMI-SP® you must meet one of the two following sets of requirements based on experience and education:

A high school diploma or international equivalent.
5,000 hours of scheduling experience within the last five years
40 education hours completed with a certified educator.

- or -

A bachelor’s degree or international equivalent.
3,500 hours of scheduling experience within the last five years
30 education hours completed with a certified educator.

Earlier this year, Off Peak Training became the first training provider in the United States to have a PMI-SP® course registered under the PMI Registered Education Provider program. We are pleased to announce our first public PMI-SP® Exam Preparation course in November 2009. Two levels of the course will be offered:

Level 2 – Provides 24 hours of education to prepare students for the PMI-SP exam. This course is intended for students who already possess a PMP® or CAPM®. It will be held over 3 weekend days (11/14, 11/21, 11/22).

Level 1 – Provides 32 hours of education to prepare students for the PMI-SP exam. This course is intended for students who do not already have a PMI® certification. It will be held over 4 weekend days (11/7, 11/14, 11/21, 11/22).

To learn more or register for class, please visit:
http://www.offpeaktraining.com/courses/projectmanagement/pmi-sp/

Off Peak Training, a Reston, VA based company, offers public and private classes to help prepare business professionals for the PMP®, CAPM®, PMI-SP®, CISSP®, CAPM®, CISA®, and is a Registered Education Provider for the Project Management Institute.

1. Realize the importance of the schedule.
2. Identify the availability of team members.
3. Build the schedule around deliverables.
4. Include regular milestones.
5. Expect that the schedule will change.
6. Have a process for managing change.
7. Watch for “hangers.”

This is a great read. I recommend you share it with your fellow project managers.