July 11 Newsletter

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MI Lahore Newsletter Issue July, 2

PMI Lahore Chapter, 259 Upper Mall, Lahore [email protected] www.pmilhr.org.pk

PMI Lahore ChapterNewsletter

Director: Masood Said, PMP

[email protected]

Chief Editor: Samnan Ali

[email protected]

Editor: Farooq Afzal

[email protected]

IN THIS ISSUE President Message

Seminar on Managing Life by Identifying &Understanding its Players & Environment.

Project Communications: To Blog or Not to Blog

Team Sports and Project Management

New Members and PMPs

Pakistan National conference covered in PMIToday July 2011

PMP Examination Change Approaching

Upcoming Events

Presidents Message

Learning from our recent experience with the National Conference, the board decided in its July meeting to start

work on the next by August. The conference will be scheduled in January 2012 and will follow the existing format.

However the number of seminar tracks can be increased depending on the quality and number of speakers that we can get

for the conference. One of the key lessons from the last experience was the challenge of getting good speakers and this is

something that that board will be focusing on especially to encourage members to come and speak and share theirknowledge experience. Having had several chances to present at conferences including PMI Congresses, I can testify tothe professional confidence and growth this experience provides. And, of course there is the certificate, shield and the all-important 8 PDUs that come with the experience

Masood Said (Director at Large) took over from Asif Sadiq as the Chapter Secretary. Asif who has been

associated with the chapter for a long time and has been an important contributor to its various activities is moving to

Qatar to take up a Project Management consulting assignment.

This months seminar was a step away from the world of schedule, earned value, network diagrams. Asif AmjadAli took on the topic of Managing Life making the point that Life requires as serious and organized an effort as the

most complex projects. There is an interesting debate in the project community on the effect of managing projects on

teams and managers. While action, speed, conflicts and deadlines make project work interesting and challenging thedownsides are early burnouts. The challenge is to find a balance that can help to sustain long term interest and

commitment to project management.

I want to end by giving an early call to all members who are interested in presenting in the next conference (Jan

2012)there is lots of time to come up with good presentations ideas, and to take advantage of mentoring/guidance fromboard members in turning them into great presentations!

Best Regards,Khalid Ahmad Khan

[email protected]


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PMI Lahore Seminar

on

Managing Life by

Identifying &

Understanding its Players

& Environment on 27th

June, 2011

at Bistro 201, Upper Mall,


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Project Communications: To Blog or Not to Blog

By

Gareth Byatt, Gary Hamilton, Jeff Hodgkinson

We have all been told that communication with all stakeholders, particularly the core project team,is one of the central responsibilities of the Project Manager. We support this idea and have mentioned itin several of our previous articles. You may have seen a well-known communications formula of N(N-1)/2 used as proof that the addition of new members to any program or project team increases thenumber of communication channels exponentially. For example, if your team increases from 15 to 17, thenumber of possible communication channels goes up by 31; try the calculations and youll see what wemean.

Applying this theory, a small team may have ten to fifty communication channels, while a largeteam may have thousands. A Project Manager should understand that the time required to managecommunications grows with the number of channels, and begin to look for ways to effectively andefficiently communicate with their project stakeholders keeping in mind that different stakeholdersrequire different information at different times in the project. (Our article on Project Success Planningcovers this topic.) With the ease and availability of blogs in todays corporate setting, you may be asking

yourself, Is blogging a good communication option for my project?Because each project phase requires the appropriate emphasis at a given time, the number of

channels the program or project manager must manage varies throughout the lifecycle of a project. Forexample, in the early stage of a project lets call it Preliminary (or Discovery, the term we use in ourarticle Nine Essential Steps for Project Success) you may have a relatively low number of channelsbecause you are only working with a few key stakeholders. In contrast, in the Execution or Deploymentphase, your team will be fully engaged with many people. Further, communication by the project manageris a key area of focus as the project lifecycle draws to a close. Figure 1.1 below illustrates anexample/typical scenario. (Note: the lifecycle phases are examples; your organisation probably hasdifferent ones).

Clearly, managing communicationswith a large number of users can bechallenging. As program / project managers,

we are typically overly reliant on email to bothsend and receive written messages tostakeholders. This may entail managing adistribution list, and you can never be sure ifyou are over-communicating or under-communicating. In terms of communication,a good rule of thumb is that its better to over-communicate than to do too little. We strive tobe masters of our craft and, therefore, wewant to find a method by which we ensurethat necessary and sufficient information iscommunicated, and that we are notsaturating our team, customers, and otherstakeholders with ToMITO (Too Much Information Too Often).

One suggestion to aid project communications to certain stakeholders is to use a Blog or anonline forum, perhaps by utilizing the features of your companys intranet site or a secure site that offersthis functionality. Blogs are a great way to send a general message or update to your audience.Wikipedia defines a blog as:

A blog (a blendof the term web log) is a type of websiteor part of a website. Blogs are usuallymaintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or othermaterial such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronologicalorder. Blogcan also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog. Most blogsare interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other via widgets on


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the blogs and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites.Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more

personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs,Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in aninteractive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although

some focus on art (art blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (video blogging), music

(MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting).Microbloggingis another type of blogging, featuring veryshort posts.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlogAs of 16 February 2011, there were over 156 million public blogs in existence.

Stakeholders can choose or decline to subscribe to your blog updates. Forums are also an effectivemeans to provide feedback and generate discussion among your project team and users.

On a Blog/Forum Not on Blogs or Forums

Tip and Tricks Detailed Training

Committed Priorities and Schedules Priorities and Schedules in Development

Progress Updates User Acceptance Meetings

Indicators Confidential Data

Downtime Announcements

The benefit to you is that you can easily share one-to-many or solicit many-to-many messagesamong your base and rid yourself of your distribution lists. Use the following matrix to decide how to bestuse these mediums:

Are there downsides to blogging? For sure. Blogging will not be the communication mode of

choice for all stakeholders, and it is certainly not the only channel to use. As with any well-plannedproject, you should conduct a full stakeholder analysis and build your specific communication plan basedon the needs of your project team and their stakeholder circle of influence (using models such as theRACI one to determine who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed). We also all know thatstakeholders come and go on projects, so remaining current is vital. As stakeholder needs vary, a Blogwill not be The method for everyone, and you may have to duplicate information in different formats.This is a fact of life for projects, and not necessarily a bad thing. For example, if you have an IT p rojectin the Testing phase, or a construction project and are carrying out the punchlist or snaggingremediation works, a Bug/Issue/Defect report on a Blog may not be appropriate it may be too detailed.But a high-level summary may be appropriate for summary reporting to certain stakeholders. You willneed to agree on the appropriate use of a blog and determine what should be tracked in formaldocumentation and other mediums of communication.

In conclusion, Blogging can be a great string to the bow of the Project Manager for

communicating information about your project to appropriate parties. Blogging should not be used to

communicate all levels of information and its use should be planned, based on stakeholder

communication needs as identified and agreed upon in your project communications plan. Effective

blogging is a skill. Much guidance material is freely available on the Internet. If you are unfamiliar with

blogging, we recommend you review a few of these readily available resources by searching for "tips for

blogging". Lastly, always follow standard legal, business confidentiality and corporate guidelines and

ensure you respond daily to your blog comments.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog


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Team Sports and Project ManagementBy

Gareth Byatt, Gary Hamilton, and Jeff Hodgkinson

If you spend a reasonable amount of time working on projects, you are likely to hear team members usesports metaphors. This is a positive trait. Sports metaphors can be great motivators and examples ofhow to do things.Beyond the metaphors, can methodologies in team sports suggest core practices for projectmanagement? We think the answer to this question is yes.There are many similarities between project management and team sports. For the purpose of this article,we focus on eight areas that we feel are particularly relevant.

1. Individual talent does not guarantee a successful team or outcome. Individual talent does

not guarantee team success in any situation. It is the way the team performs as a unit that

matters the most. Team selection and how team members gel together are key to ensuring that

individual skills brought to the team merge to produce a successful outcome. To realize the best

result, this might include inciting some deliberate creative tension amongst team members.

Sports teams have opportunities to play and learn together over a season or longer. Project

teams are usually one-off in nature, so members must quickly learn to work together. In project

management, we typically create a Resource Plan that details the skills required for the project,

and at what point they will be required. It is crucial to consider the impact of the way in which

each individual who is selected will mesh with the whole team. This is as true in sports teams

(e.g., when a new player joins) as it is for project teams.

Next, consider the impact of having a superstar player on your team. Very few of us would say

No to having a high impact player or players. However, we must decide if the superstar or, for

that matter, any team member, is the right fit for both the project and the team that is, does their

personality mesh with others, will they be a fully integrated part of the team, and will they work

towards the common goal? You need to be certain that their impact is positive (exemplary

performances that help the team), not negative (behavior that causes team friction). Whether

staffing a project or a sports team, take the time to fully explore personnel resources anddetermine how each person will relate with their teammates. In some cases, either basic or more

extensive personality profiling before team selection may be appropriate. Careful team selection

(within the constraints you will have for available resources) is about managing the risks that, if

they occur, can prevent your group of individuals from becoming a high-performing team.

2. Negative influences do exist. Within most projects, there are stakeholders with conflicting

agendas. It is difficult to avoid, because different stakeholders have different roles and views. We

must account for all stakeholders in our planning and consider their needs appropriately. This is

certainly true in team sports. For example, most spectators watching a team sports event will be

supporting their team; they will not be impartial. The psychological advanta ge to a team playing

at home is well known. At key moments, some people will hope that a player misses an

opportunity, and others will hope they use it. It is important to gauge the influence and impact ofeach stakeholder group. For example, during spectator sports, how loud will fans of the visiting

team be during the game? What impact will this have on team performance? Are there ways to

mitigate an adverse effect on performance? Most projects will have spectators. You need to

work out a way in which they can support and encourage your success. Teams that undertake a

full analysis of all stakeholders and take appropriate planning steps, such as simulating the

playing environment, are better equipped to handle their stakeholders and improve their

chances of success.


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3. Set people up for success by thinking as a team. Sports teams need to have good quality

equipment (such as the right shoes/boots, appropriate bats or racquets) to maximize their

chances of success. They also need appropriate training fac ilities. Regarding thinking as a

team, most sports teams play in a team kit; this can be a powerful visual motivator and an

identifier for team members. Sports teams often have a motto or logo signifying their

commitment to working together to achieve success. Some project teams have T-shirts with a

project logo and the like created for team members.

4. Create and execute the game plan. Analysis and research supports the view that a project is

likely to have a better outcome when there is a carefully conceived plan in place. Successful

sports teams work to a Game Plan. They decide how they will approach each game the tactics

they will deploy, what will happen if they need to change tack, their resource plan (perhaps based

on who is fit for the game). There needs to be a means of measuring progress against the plan

and to be prepared to change mid-flight if necessary. In sports, metrics for measurement during a

game could be whether Plan A is working or not and if not, do they change to Plan B? Over

a series of games or a season, the metrics may be the win/lose percentage, the number of points

scored/allowed, the number of tickets sold and revenue generated, or others. The metrics chosenmay represent the different core interests of stakeholders. The coach is primarily interested in

winning games. Team owners want to see good crowds and revenue generated for their business

as well as good team performances. In both projects and sports, leaders need to agree on the

plans, the metrics, and the way in which they will report and disseminate information related to

the plans. In a team sports game, working to a Game Plan must also include respect for the

decisions of the Umpire or Referee. In many ways, this is akin to a project team valuing the

opinions of key stakeholders.

5. Know how to execute the play. When you have a plan, every team member must know what it

is and the means to execute their role. A plan will consist of a number of plays, agreed to up

front. How well these plays are executed depends on practice and team familiarity with each

other. The optimized team knows the plays and has executed them successfully and repe atedly.Sports plays are things like Set Plays, Penalties and the like. Think of project plays as your

core activities. (Refer to our article The Nine Steps to Success as an example.) For instance,

how well do they execute a risk management plan, or the schedule, or detailing accurate

requirements? Creating optimized teams is not easy nor does it occur overnight; it takes practice.

Like the sports coach, the Project Manager must work with each team member individually and

the team as a group to increase the synergy level of the team. Like a championship sports team,

the winning project team stands out and the way in which they work as a team is a role model for

others.

6. Motivation and leadership are crucial. Plans for project execution rarely go exactly as scripted.

That should not be a surprise to anyone projects by their very nature produce something new,

and things change. How project team members respond when their plan is not working or if they

suffer from a lack of motivation is critical to eventual success or failure. In sports, coaches and

team captains are akin to Project Managers; the quality of their leadership is crucial for success.

What makes elite coaches, general managers and team leaders stand out from others? Those

who rise to the top tend to be individuals with genuine leadership skills. They need to know how

to position their team members for success, and how to motivate them to achieve their goals.

They know that they need to reward team members for good performance DURING the project,

not just at the end. Think of what happens when a team member scores a goal they are


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applauded there and then, with an on the spot celebration which quickly dissipates as the team

focuses on the rest of the game. Take the same approach for your project.

7. Common goals. Every member of any team should be working toward a common goal that

everyone understands. In projects, we establish this through project success planning (refer to

our previous article Project Success Plans Planning for Success for details), just as sports

teams always solidify their goals and set expectations during season opening activities and

specific games. Whether the goal is to improve on last season, just finish, or to win a

championship, it needs to be established and clearly communicated to the team, with all

members working toward that goal. Roles and responsibilities are key to establishing goals in a

specific game or project. Just as in sports teams, where each team member performs a particular

function, so should project teams have fully delineated and acknowledged roles.

8. Lessons learned. Few will dispute the fact that capturing lessons is fundamental to any project

and to the growth and maturation of the performing organization. Sports teams are great

examples of learning from what happened last time. Watching and dissecting the last game for

what we did right, what we did wrong and what can we do better in the next game is

something all good sports teams do. The sports coach plays a key role here. They connect theteam lessons learned to their Game Plans, and the integration of their lessons learned into the

strategic goals of the team is usually intrinsic to the way things are done. Players need to be

willing to learn from their own experiences and the observations of their coach. Project teams

need to adopt this same approach. Yet, because we are all busy, it can become all too easy to

ignore the lessons during a project, and only focus on them right at the end. As we suggested in

our article on learning, try to make time for quick team reviews before, during and after a project,

not just at the start and the end. You may want to consider the use of an impartial facilitator to

capture and analyze lessons.

In closing, project management processes and concepts are similar in many ways to team sports. All

teams, whether for a sport or any other type of pursuit, can benefit from applying a project-orientatedapproach.


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New Chapter Members!

At your earliest opportunity, please extend a warm welcome to the

following new members of the PMI Lahore Chapter.

PMI Id Name Organization Join Date

1 1544716 Mr. Muhammad Zakir Hussain Stiefel Labs Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd 01-Jun-2011

2 1005161 Mr. Abrar Khurram Nokia Siemens Networks 02-Jun-2011

3 2089922 Mr. Kashif Ali Pervaiz Suparco Pakistan 02-Jun-2011

4 2101854 Mrs. Beenish Wajih Mobilink 02-Jun-2011

5 1499454 Mr. Khurram Shahid Huawei Technologies 03-Jun-2011

6 1996864 Mr. Muhammad Abid Aleem Millat Equipment Limited 04-Jun-2011

7 2101786 Mr. Zahid Manzoor Descon Engineering Qatar L.L.C. 06-Jun-2011

8 2105454 Mr. Aamir Hasan Portfolio World 06-Jun-2011

9 2105537 Mr. Adil Ahmed Telenor Pakistan 06-Jun-2011

10 2108942 Mr. Fawad Zia Awan Western Union FSI 09-Jun-2011

11 1189005 Naveed Abbas Naqvi Mentor Graphics Corporation 11-Jun-2011

12 2108790 Mr. Muhammad Asad Imran PIE 11-Jun-2011

13 1936646 Mr. Muhammad Abid Razi Gul Descon Engineering Limited 13-Jun-2011

14 2029603 Mr. Ahmed Ali Khan Presson Descon Internation Limited 14-Jun-2011

15 2107705 Mr. Adnan Farid Wi-tribe Pakistan Ltd. 14-Jun-2011

16 2108708 Mr. Muhammad Faisal Nokia Siemens Networks 14-Jun-2011

17 1870852 Mr. Nisar Ahmad Saqib, P.E. 15-Jun-2011

18 2099998 Mr. Yousaf Zakir Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited 15-Jun-201119 2112437 Mr. Asif Ali Descon Engineering Limited 15-Jun-2011

20 2020900 Mr. Aasif Maqsood Descon Engineering, Abu Dhabi, UAE 16-Jun-2011

21 2115519 Mr. Hassan Raza Wateen Telecom Limited 18-Jun-2011

22 1521781 Mr. Arsalan Masood Enterprise for Business & Development 21-Jun-2011

23 2103837 Mr. Agh Ali Arif Pak Telecom Mobile Limited (UFONE) 21-Jun-2011

24 2117514 Mr. M. Saleem Shahid Multinet 21-Jun-2011

25 2117766 Mr. Syed Rashid Saleem gillani Ericsson Pakistan 22-Jun-2011

26 1015193 Mr. Shahid Zia Qaisrani Interactive Group of Companies 24-Jun-2011

27 2062013 Mr. Mohammad Asim SUI Northern Gas Pipelne Limited 27-Jun-2011

28 1757013 Mr. M. Shoaib Farooq IB&M, UET, Lahore 30-Jun-2011


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New PMPs

Congratulations to following individuals in Lahore

Chapter who recently achieved their PMP

Certification

Sr. Id Name Organization PMP Date

1 1525803 Mr. Hafiz M Zahoor Ahmed, Sr., PMP Nokia Siemens Networks 08-Jun-2011

2 1215504 Mr. Mohsin Ali Zain, PMP Abacus Consulting 18-Jun-2011

3 2036148 Mr. Muhammad Irfan, PMP Auqaf Department 28-Jun-2011

PMI Lahores PMP Certification Test

Preparation CourseCourse Deliverable

1. PMP Exam Questions Booklets 1000+ QAs

2. PMI Lahore Resource Book

3. Participation Certificate by PMI Lahore

Chapter as a Global Registered Education

Provider (REP) of PMI

4. 35 Professional Development Units (PDUs)

accepted by PMI, USA

Course Fee

Course fee is 30,000/- per participant. PMI Lahore Chapter

members will be provided discount of 3,000/- and for them the

course fee is 27,000/- per participant.

Upcoming Course

6-10 September, 2011Nomination may be sent to:

Farooq Afzal

Chapter Coordinator

PMI Lahore Chapter, 259 Upper Mall, Lahore

Email:[email protected]

Phone: 0333-4475828, 042-5753298

Volunteers Required!

Dear Members,

PMI Lahore Chapter is going to organize

PM conference in December 2011/January

2012. Any member willing to volunteer for

organizing the conference will need to send

his/her name and contact no. to the

undersigned. Thanks

Regards,

Farooq Afzal

Coordinator

PMI Lahore Chapter

|0333-4475828||042-35753298|
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Pakistan National conference covered in PMI Today July 2011


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PMPExamination Change Approaching

Dear Reader,

As you know, the new Project Management Professional (PMP)examination will be released on31 August 2011 as a result of the recent Role Delineation Study (RDS). The PMP

RDS is the

foundation on which this professional certification is based.

The RDS defines what project managers do, how often they do it and how important their work is.As the RDS is updated, there are resulting updates to the examination questions and processareas in the PMP examination application.

Because there are changes coming to both the exam and the application, we wanted to make youaware of what is new so you can answer questions for your chapter members.

We are strongly encouraging PMP candidates who have prepared for the current exam to

schedule their exam on or before 30 August.

Delivery of Exam Results

As we transition to the new examination, PMI must update its examination reporting processes.This means for a short period of time examination results will not be available immediatelyfollowing the examination. There will be a 46 week period between taking the examination andreceiving the results via email. We know this will be disappointing to candidates, but please letthem know the delay is necessary any time an exam changes to validate the new examinationstructure. In particular, please note the following details about the delivery of the examinationresults.

Candidates who take the updated computer-based examination on or after 31 August willnot receive immediate results at the Prometric testing center.

Candidates taking the updated paper-based examination can also expect a delay inreceiving their examination results.

Once PMI validates the new examination structure (by mid-October) we will be able toresume providing individuals with immediate results at the Prometric testing center.

Each PMP candidate will receive a communication to notify them when their results areavailable at PMI.org.

All candidates can expect to receive their examination results by mid-October.

Changes to Application

In addition, for candidates who are getting ready to apply for the PMP, the application will beupdated to reflect the current role of the project manager revealed in the new RDS.

In the past, PMI has required candidates to track and report their hours of experienceleading and directing projects for each task within the RDS.

On 31 August, PMI will update the PMP application to require candidates to track andreport their hours for each domain (Process Group) within the RDS.

Any candidates who have an application in progress at the time the change is made will


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have their experience hours migrated to the new application, so that no data is lost

Please refer to thePMP Handbookon PMI.org for more detailed instructions.

We are excited to transition to the new PMP examination and thank you for your continuedsupport to the global community of project management professionals. Should you or any of yourChapter members have any questions, please contactCustomer Care.

Sincerely,

PMI Certification Team

2010 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved. "PMI", the PMI logo, "PMP", the PMP logos, the PMI Educational Foundation logo,"PMBOK", "Project Management Journal", "PM Network", "PMI Today", "CAPM", "OPM3", "SeminarsWorld", "eSeminarsWorld" and Makingproject management indispensable for business results are marks of Project Management Institute, Inc. For a comprehensive list of PMI marks,contact the PMI Legal Department.

Upcoming Events

Primavera P6 (102)

15-17 September, 2011

Mastering Microsoft Project 2010


PMP Certification Preparation Course


PMI LAHORE CHAPTER259 Upper Mall, Lahore

www.pmilhr.org.pk

Emai: [email protected]

Contact # |042-35753298||0333-4475828|
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