3/5/13 1Q 2013 News from Desai Management Consulting https://ui.constantcontact.com/visualeditor/visual_editor_preview.jsp?agent.uid=1112560241100&format=html&print=true 1/4 Having trouble viewing this email? Click here Achieving your strategic vision through project and process management Welcome to the 1Q 2013 DMC Newsletter In This Issue From the Corner Office For the Practitioner At the Client Latest News Project Management Institute (PMI) - Champlain Valley Symposium DMC is proud to be a sponsor in part for this year's PMI Champlain Valley Symposium, to be held Friday, April 5th, at the Doubletree Hotel Burlington. The featured speaker is author Neal Whitten, who will share his experiences deploying PM best practices to ensure project success. Early registration ends March 27th. You can check out the PMICV Web Site for more information. We're looking forward to seeing you there. Consultant of the From the Corner Office Together, We Did It! Together with you, our valued sponsors, our 'Run DMC' team successfully participated in the recent Penguin Plunge fundraising event for Vermont Special Olympics in Burlington! Eight members of the DMC team braved the cold temperatures, bracing winds and frigid waters. Their efforts and your support combined to raise a total of $2,585 for Special Olympics. We thank our many sponsors, family and friends for their involvement, and we are already looking forward to next year's event!
Transcript
3/5/13 1Q 2013 News from Desai Management Consulting
Achieving your strategic vision through project and process management
Welcome to the 1Q 2013 DMC Newsletter
In This IssueFrom the Corner Office
For the Practitioner
At the Client
Latest News
Project ManagementInstitute (PMI) -Champlain ValleySymposiumDMC is proud to be a sponsorin part for this year's PMIChamplain Valley Symposium,to be held Friday, April 5th, atthe Doubletree Hotel Burlington.The featured speaker is authorNeal Whitten, who will sharehis experiences deploying PMbest practices to ensure projectsuccess. Early registration endsMarch 27th. You can check outthe PMICV Web Site for moreinformation. We're lookingforward to seeing you there.
Consultant of the
From the Corner OfficeTogether, We Did It!
Together with you, our valued sponsors, our 'Run DMC' teamsuccessfully participated in the recent Penguin Plunge fundraisingevent for Vermont Special Olympics in Burlington! Eight membersof the DMC team braved the cold temperatures, bracing winds andfrigid waters. Their efforts and your support combined to raise atotal of $2,585 for Special Olympics. We thank our many sponsors,family and friends for their involvement, and we are alreadylooking forward to next year's event!
Quarter AwardDMC is proud to begin a newtradition, as each quarter wehonor a member of our teamwho il lustrates throughexcellence the values andstrengths of DMC.This quarter,the honor goes to John (JR)
Miller. JR is along-standingmember ofthe DMCteam,currentlyengaged atGreenMountainCoffeeRoasters. He
wears many hats there - fromDMC representative, to ProjectManager and Business Analyst -performing each with dailyconcern for deliveringmaximum value to his clients. DMC would l ike to thank JR forhis hard work, great work ethic,and consistent high standard ofperformance.
New ConsultantsPlease welcome our latestadditions to the DMC family,Lisa Beilstein and Rob Bromley!Lisa and Rob bring extensiveexperience and skil ls to DMC,providing immediate value toour various clients in thearea. Our web site containsmore information about Lisaand Rob.
PMP Boot Camp - March 13-15, 2013Our classroom instruction isgoing strong! In the past yearand a half, 60 people haveattended these sessions, 99% ofthose who have taken the examhave earned their certifications.Take advantage of our leading-edge PMP certificationinstruction. Our 1Q offering isscheduled for March 13-15 inBurlington, VT. Learn moreabout it at PMP Boot CampCatalog. And remember, if youdon't pass the PMP exam thefirst time you take it, we'll give
The Desai Foundation - an update Our philanthropic arm, the Desai Foundation (DF) continues tomove forward. First, you'l l notice a change in the logo for ournewsletter and website, reflecting accurately the integration of DFwith DMC. As you will recall from last quarter, DF's objective is to bring the formal methods of StrategyPlanning & Project Management tonon-profit organizations. Our work continues with YouthServices of Windham County, helpingdevelop a formal s trategic plan andties to their portfol io of programs. We a lso continue to partner with Common Good VT to help spreadour message throughout the non-profi t community. With their helpDF wi l l be appearing on Burl ington loca l cable TV (CCTV, Channel17) in March, to discuss our Foundation objectives and serviceofferings . Interested non-profits can apply for DF services or contact VijayDesai for details.
For the PractitionerIntroducing Portfolio Management
In recent newsletters we'vetalked about Project andProgram management, assteps up the experienceladder, and the means bywhich you will encounterever-growing responsibil ityas a PM. Portfolio Management isoften portrayed as the3rd/next step on that ladder,and in some ways it can be.It is important, however, to
understand the major ways that the Portfolio Manager role differs,so you know the areas of experience that will be required and ofvalue. A Portfolio is defined as the totality of an organization'sinvestment in the changes required to achieve its strategicobjectives. Portfolio Management is thus a coordinated collectionof strategic processes and decisions that together enable the mosteffective balance of organizational change and 'business asusual'. Some of the objectives of Portfolio Management are:
an increase in the number of 'right' programs and projectsbeing undertakenremoval of redundant, duplicate and poorly performingprograms and projectsMore effective implementation of programs and projects viaconsistent approaches and improved dependencymanagement
you a seat in our next BootCamp class free of charge!
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As you can see, a Portfolio Manager requires a strong backgroundin Strategy Planning, to understand the business drivers to theirinvestment decision-making. They also must be well-grounded inProject/Program Management methods, to ensure that the resultsof their decisions will be successfully implemented. In practice, thePortfolio Manager is a pivotal role in bridging the gap betweenstrategy and execution - a gap not always closed or closed well. The need to successfully bridge this gap is one of the core tenets ofDMC's service offerings, expertise and beliefs. Please contact us Ifyou'd l ike to learn more about how to incorporate PortfolioManagement into your organization.
At the ClientRisk AssessmentsA recent DMC cl ient engagement experienced a s truggle in decidingbetween competing investment projects that would both draw onthe same scarce and va luable bus iness resources . A comparison ofs tandard decis ion-making parameters such as bus iness va lue werenot effective, as the motives for each project were s igni ficantlydi fferent. Discuss ions and esca lations to address the i ssue wereviewed by the s takeholders as subjective and biased. At this point, DMC faci l i tated a s tructured and objective assessmentof the components of ri sk in each project with the bus inessleadership and subject matterexperts . Items external and internalto the projects in question wererated, and led to comparative scoresby category. The resul ts of the analys is providedobjective clari ty on the relative ri sklevels between the two projects , andhelped s takeholders chose betweenthem, and begin work. Risk assessments such as these not onlyprovide va lue in a speci fic project instance, but are a va luableinput to managing an organization's overa l l portfol io ofinvestments , as described above (Introducing Portfolio Management).
Please contact us i f you'd l ike to learn more about applying RiskAssessment techniques in your organization.
For more information, please contact:Vijay Desai, MBA, PMP, P.Eng.
Principal ConsultantDesai Management Consulting, LLC
