PMChat

PMChat has been gaining popularity and is a great way to stay updated, interact and learn more. Today's post is all about PMChat- details, where to join and what to expect.


This is a guest post by Robert Kelly;  Founder and Managing Partner of Kelly Project Solutions.  He has over a dozen years of experience leading complex, enterprise projects at companies including Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Lenovo and currently at Red Hat.  Robert’s blog, Kelly’s Contemplation, was shortlisted for Computer Weekly’s Top 10 Project Management Blogs for 2010, named a Top 10 Up and Coming Project Manager on Twitter, and contributor to ‘A Peek Into The Life of Project Managers’.

Regardless of their experience level, Project Managers are always on the hunt for new ways to grow, learn, and stay on top of their profession.  It may be learning a new technology to join a new project.  Some are looking to break into the field of project management and want to learn the basics, while others are PMPs and need PDU’s to remain that way.  Wherever you may be in your professional career as a Project Manager, I would like to introduce a new medium to your development portfolio...#PMChat


Project Management Chat (#PMChat) is a weekly discussion hosted by Robert Kelly and Rob Prinzo each Friday from 12-1pm (EST).  The topics focus on Project Management & Leaderships techniques, best practices, and so on.  In addition to both Rob’s being named to the Top 10 Up & Coming Project Managers on Twitter, their partnership offers nearly 30 years of diverse experience to the #PMChat participants.  To further add value to this platform, they will invite thought leaders from a range of project management and leadership arenas to co-host the forum.  Additionally, KPS hosts a #PMChat Pre-Game show, via KPS Chatter on BlogTalk Radio, every week from 11:30-11:45 am (EST).  During this quick, 15-minute radio show, you will hear both Roberts and their guest for the week discuss the topic that will be discussed during the Twitter chat.


Here is what folks are saying...
·“Thanks for inviting me to the #pmchat. Great stuff, SMART people! Have a good weekend!”
·“It was fun! This was my first-ever Tweet Chat. Went very well and learned. Excellent use of time! Thanks for hosting it.”
·“Thanks @rkelly976 & @robprinzo for an interesting #pmchat today. Great topic! Wish I’d had more time to participate. Next time!”


The #PMChat is truly a great opportunity to talk with some tremendous Project/Program Management professionals about leading challenges in this space.  While other hashtags have become 1-way communication and retweets, #PMChat is truly a collaborative environment where people are sharign ideas, networking, and developing relationships. 


Join us and see what all the talk is about! 

Time Off

I am taking a week off from blogging, while I do a fall clean up and travel for one of the Indian festivals thats very close to my heart.

My friend from New York is coming over for a 3 week visit to India and we have lots of catching up to do.

I'll be back in October.

Scrum

Details on Scrum and everything you need to know.

CSM (Scrum Certified Master) 

Requirements include:

·         Familiarize with scrum basics

·         Attend CSM course

·         Asses your progress through online evaluation.

CSP (Scrum Certified Professional) 

                Requirements include:

·         Download the application  and illustrate hands on experience

·         Send the complete application for review and approval to the Review committee.

·         On approval you pay $250  for certification fee

CST (Scrum Certified Trainer) 

Requirements include:

• Have a solid understanding of the Scrum framework, a deep understanding of the principles and values that are the foundations of Scrum, and a clarity on what belongs to Scrum and what is an extension or complement;
• Have extensive experience of implementing and/or coaching Scrum inside organizations;
• Be active in the wider Scrum community, through actual and virtual interaction with other Scrum and Agile thinkers and practitioners;
• Have training experience beyond just Scrum, be willing to explore new ways of working and be committed to continuous improvement.

SCC (Scrum Certified Coach) 

 experts in Scrum, both in theory and in practice. They have an in-depth understanding of the practices and principles of Scrum and have real experience on actual Scrum projects.

• Does your ScrumMaster need a mentor?
• Does your Product Owner need help learning how to work with a product backlog?
• Are you having trouble breaking sprint backlog items into task lists?
• Are your sprints consistently ending with unfinished work? 
• Is estimating so hard that your sprint planning lasts beyond its timebox?
• Does your management underestimate the scope of organizational change necessary for Scrum to be successful?
• Are you facing challenges with multi-team Scrum projects?
• Is your organization having difficulty implementing the Scrum framework in conjunction with other methodologies?
• Is the team encountering obstacles with organizational impediments?
• Does your organization need coaching and guidance on scaling Scrum?

And there are more, you can also be a Certified Product Owner or developer.

More on Kanban. 

Trainings in Town

PMI Agile Practitioner Certification Prep Class

Derek Heuther is offering training classes now globally. Registration is open for Balitmore/Washington DC (Oct 17-19) and Phoenix from November 2-4. To register, click here 

Cost $1495 per attendee and it covers the 1500 trainings hours required to appear for the certification. 

Ruby On Rails- Training

A two day workshop on "BDD with Ruby on Rails" organized by Ostrya Labs on Sept 24/25th at Hyderabad (India).

The details of the workshop are available here. Contact  Arun at at arun@ostryalabs.com for more information. 

Scrum Certification- Lessons Learnt

“Having coached many software development teams, I tend to value my contribution by what a team does when I’m not with them over what the team does when I’m with them.”
                                                         - Dhaval Panchal, Agile Coach and Trainer (source)

Trainings are supposed to be boring.

Unless something wakes you up. Or you are in a class that is surprisingly interesting.

Last week, I happened to be in one.

It was training and interesting-a scrum certification class (CSM) conducted by Solutions IQ.

If you are already certified in scrum or have taken courses you know the drill. If you haven’t, you can look over here .

You don’t have to choose either/or between a PMP and a CSM/CSP- you can be both. Scrum training actually offers you PDU’s as well for attending these classes. Cool!

I have heard so much about Agile and Scrum that I genuinely got interested and decided to go for it. You can check for nearby classes based on your location by looking into the website.

That’s how I found mine and it’s been a treat and I’m sold to Scrum. So much so, that I started my own board at work to monitor my work and see if it helps. Oh, I also have one at home for my personal goals stuck behind my study door.

Seattle based Dhaval Panchal  has been an awesome trainer for the 2 days of training in Hyderabad, India – informative, knowledgeable, patient, helpful and always approachable. Given a chance I’d train with him again.

My favourite part of the class was the Paper Ball game- it teaches you more about the team dynamics than you would think. A group of random people who met 15 mints ago  and has to abide by the rules of the game, severe time constraints and expectation of an end result can take the so called managers in for a spin. Who takes the control, who listens to whom, whose idea should be implemented, why am I being Ignored......the behavorial drama continues.

A class worth attending for sure. Thank you Dhaval.

(Disclosure: I paid for my certification; it wasn't sponsored by any organization). 


Pic Courtesy: Google Images.