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Community Updates - April 2015

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Hello, Microsoft PPM Community.

This is our monthly blog post about what is happening in the PPM Community around the world.

This means webcasts/webminars, PMI and MPUG chapter events, and all about what you need to know to stay up to date about Microsoft Project, Project Server, and Project Online.

Microsoft Project Webcast Series

Planning Essential - 4 Key Steps to Creating Effective Project Schedules

April 21 @ 12:30pm – 2:00pm EST

Microsoft Project 2013 has easy to use, powerful planning tools. During this session you will learn best practices for planning using Project 2013 taking advantage of new features that better support modern day project management. Project 2013 puts you in control of the schedule with greater flexibility to create simple or more complex project plans at the level of detail that’s right for your project. You will learn an effective approach to creating plans the “right” way in Project and in the most efficient manner possible applying a proven 4 step planning process. Whether you are a professional project manager or an occasional project manager, with this tips and tricks session we will enable you to fully optimize the benefits of using Microsoft Project 2013 to plan your projects. You will be able to get up and running fast, while obtaining a foundation of success to enable optimal utilization of Project 2013.

Presented by Robert Happy, PM Practice.

MPUG Events

For MPUG chapter’s events, click here.

Webminar: Portfolio Management Made Easy with Project Online/Project Server 2013

April 8 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EST

Is your organization running the correct portfolio of projects? What value are your projects producing for your organization? Which projects give you the most value? Come learn the Portfolio Management benefits of Project Online and walk away with a plan to get there.

  • Benefits and Challenges of Portfolio/Demand Management
  • Project Online/Project Server 2013 Overview
  • Understanding project selection
  • Resource utilization and capacity/demand tracking across your organization
  • Scenario based analysis
  • Increased flexibility with Scheduling
  • Gain insight on resolutions to your portfolio management challenges
  • Ask Questions and understand how you can get to Portfolio Excellence

Presented by: Jacques Goupil, PMP, MCP, MCTS, is the Business Development Managing Director at PPM Works, Inc., a consultancy focused on delivering project, portfolio, and business management solutions. He has been implementing Microsoft Project solutions since 1998 and has over 15 years of professional experience in project management software design, implementation, and development. Coming from a Program Management background, Jacques has successfully implemented PMOs at many Top 50 firms and he shares his experience and knowledge as a guest speaker and panelist at several industry conferences (including the Microsoft Project Conference, PMI Conferences, and the Project Summit). He was selected by Microsoft as the Lead SME for the Microsoft Certification Exam, Managing Projects and is a Certification Instructor Microsoft Project Users Group. He is currently on the Board of Directors at the Boston YMCA and two Microsoft Project Users Group Chapters.

Webminar: The Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft Project: Part 1 of 3

April 15 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EST

In this initial session you will learn the following;

  • The questions you need to ask before you begin to plan your schedule.
  • Learn how the data components within Project relate to each other.
  • Learn how to navigate around the project interface.
  • Input a well formed project plan that represents the project work as you know it.

Presented by: Ben Howard - Awarded Community Leader for his very popular and comprehensive UK web training series. Ben Howard has over 20 years experience of implementing enterprise solutions such as MRPII, ERP, and latterly Microsoft’s EPM (Project and Project Server) solution. During that time he’s worked for IBM, DELL, and Microsoft, as well as several smaller organisations. He now runs his own EPM consultancy (Applepark Ltd), providing Project Server implementation and training services. His has been awarded the Microsoft Most Value Professional award for Project for the last 5 years, and has published the successful “Microsoft Project 2013 Plain and Simple” book.

Webminar: The Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft Project: Part 2 of 3

April 22 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EST

In part 2 we’ll take our schedule from part 1 and do the following

  • Enter dependencies, lead times and lag times
  • Model any external dependencies that impact our activities on the project
  • Enter deadlines for our key milestones
  • Assign resources to the plan

Presented by: Ben Howard - Awarded Community Leader for his very popular and comprehensive UK web training series. Ben Howard has over 20 years experience of implementing enterprise solutions such as MRPII, ERP, and latterly Microsoft’s EPM (Project and Project Server) solution. During that time he’s worked for IBM, DELL, and Microsoft, as well as several smaller organisations. He now runs his own EPM consultancy (Applepark Ltd), providing Project Server implementation and training services. His has been awarded the Microsoft Most Value Professional award for Project for the last 5 years, and has published the successful “Microsoft Project 2013 Plain and Simple” book.

Webminar: The Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft Project: Part 3 of 3

April 29 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EST

Part 3 is all about communication and tracking of the project.  We’ll make sure that

  • We are able to print off the project, exactly in the format we want to
  • The project is updated using the appropriate method and frequency
  • We can create and print off relevant reports
  • We can add new tasks, and mark ones we no longer need

Presented by: Ben Howard - Awarded Community Leader for his very popular and comprehensive UK web training series. Ben Howard has over 20 years experience of implementing enterprise solutions such as MRPII, ERP, and latterly Microsoft’s EPM (Project and Project Server) solution. During that time he’s worked for IBM, DELL, and Microsoft, as well as several smaller organisations. He now runs his own EPM consultancy (Applepark Ltd), providing Project Server implementation and training services. His has been awarded the Microsoft Most Value Professional award for Project for the last 5 years, and has published the successful “Microsoft Project 2013 Plain and Simple” book.

Chapter Event: Project Online- Is It Right For Me?

April 17 @ 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm CDT

Microsoft Project Online has been with us now as an online solution for two years. In fact, many organizations, large and small, have migrated their PPM business to this subscription based platform. Yet, amongst the PPM community, questions remain in regards to Project Online. Can this online tool in fact simplify my IT by migrating to the “cloud?” How is my data stored and how do I get access to it? How is it different than using a traditional hosted solution? In short, is Project Online a viable option for my organization?

In this session, we will explore the following topics:

  • Project Online advantages and limitations compared with a traditional on-premises or hosted Project Server solution
  • What organizations would primarily benefit from this simplified deployment strategy
  • Talk about the latest and greatest features in Project Online, Microsoft’s roadmap and some exciting partner solutions (App’s) that are transforming how people use Microsoft’s PPM solution
  • Pricing structure of Project Online

Presented by: The session will be delivered by Jason Rice (PMP, MCTS), Consultant with Milestone Consulting Group of Milestone Consulting Group, a Microsoft EPM Gold Partner based in the Twin Cities.

Chapter Event: Start a Project in Project Online

April 26 @ 09:30 am - 1:00 pm IST

At the end of this session, you will be:

  • Introduced to Project Online
  • Aware of the features and benefits of Project Online
  • Able to initiate a project in project online using SharePoint task list

Agenda:
09:30 – 10:00 Networking & Registration
10:00 – 10:10 MPUG Introduction
10:15 – 12:00 Topic: Start a Project in Project Online
12:00 – 12:50 Try it yourself – Practice session & Quiz
12:50 – 01:00 Questions and Closing

Presented by: Shivakumar is a PMI certified PMP and RMP who has immense experience in Tutoring, e-Learning and Healthcare industries. He has 12+ years of overall all experience out of which 8 years have been dedicated to Project Management, Process Implementation and Improvement. Shivakumar has completed his graduation in Electronics but due to his high interest in teaching, he moved into an e-learning company where the scope for teaching and training is high. He has conducted a lot of training sessions in his previous organizations on core concepts of tutoring, Project Management Processes and Approaches. Mentored and trained a lot of peers on PMI way of Project Management. He has more than 5000 hours of tutoring experience in his basket along with 100+ hours of face to face training sessions provided on Project Management and Risk Management concepts.

Partners Events

Discover: Microsoft Project Online / Server
April 30 @ 03:00 pm – 04:00 pm GST

In particular the webinar will be of interest to organisations that are currently only using Microsoft Project Standard or Professional. The webinar will demonstrate how you can leverage the wider benefits of Project and Portfolio Management (PPM).

Presented by: Wellingtone

Fast track project management success with Project Online
April 29 @ 12:30 – 13:15 GMT

Deployment and uptake of PPM solutions has traditionally been complex, time consuming and expensive. See how all that has changed with Project Online. ?Aimed at Business leaders, PMO Managers and Project Managers this 45 minute webinar will focus on the ease of deployment, configuration and adoption that the project online platform provides and showcases an effective standardised configuration to support best practice.

Presented by: CPS

Events from Projects at work (powered by PMI)

If you are aware of some event that will occur this month and it is not listed here, please, leave a comment with the link.