PDU Cracker Barrel, 26th January 2012

Today our first PDU Cracker Barrel took place. Jutta Staudach gave an interactive lecture on IS audits. How to start them and how to design the relationship between the project manager and the IS auditor. It was a good start into this series of webinars. Jutta will be online again on February, 23 and give some advice on how to perform a self-control assessment on an IS project. If you are interested in learning more about IS audits, then please join our virtual prep programs for the CISA and CRISC exam. You can register on https://my.edudip.com/event/How-good-is-my-project-doing-The-Answer%3A-Perform-a-Control-Self-Assessment/3872

We are very proud that the PDU Cracker Barrel started off very well and we like to thank our friends and clients for supporting us with this initiative.

I am looking forward seeing many more of you on February, 23rd from 16:00 to 18:00 CET.

Warm regards,
Ralf

Leonardo S-Cube project

On January 19th, 2012 we started the Leonardo S-Cube project in Plymouth. The project will prepare ready-to-use scenarios for interpersonal skills training within a 3D-simulator for social enterprises. The project team consists of four partners:

1. University of Plymouth
2. C.I.T. – Cork Institute of Technology
3. University of Naples
4. GeProS – German Project Solutions GmbH

The first step is finding social enterprises in all 4 countries. If you know a social enterprise or working in a social enterprise, then this a great opportunity for you getting interpersonal skills training for FREE! If you want to know more about this project and your opportunities, then please contact sandra.mueller@gepros.com.

PDU Cracker Barrel, 26th January 2012

Dear GeProS friend,

On January 26th from 16:00 to 18:00 CET we will have our first PDU Cracker Barrel. We are all very excited about this eSeminar. Sandra is busy contacting the participants, Jutta and Willi are practicing the eClassroom so that we have a high degree of interactivity. The whole team is busy to give our a participants a real good virtual experience. On top: Jutta will provide three 1-hour mentoring to the three top-scorers in the multiple choice test. What a treat! And we added one extra PDU in Cat A for these three participants. We have a good team spirit and it is fun preparing this event for our participants.

We are also busy providing new services in 2012. Jutta will be take care of ISACA certifications and we won a real expert as a facilitator. I cannot reveal his name now. So come back visiting this site and learn more about it.

Warm regards,

Ralf

Maintain your PMP Credential

Many of you studied hard for the PMP exam. And then, suddenly, after only three short years, it expires. You need 60 PDU’s maintaining the PMP! You are responsible for reporting the PDU’s and we will help you in maintaining your PMP!

As of 2012, we will organize a virtual monthly PDU Cracker-Barrel. If you participate in one cracker-barrel, you will earn 3 PDU. The structure of the PDU Cracker-Barrel is simple: 90 minutes interactive presentation about a hot project management topic, followed by a 30 minutes discussion. Then there will be a 40 question multiple choice test on our moodle system. At the end you will get the PDU-code and can report 3 PDU. This format will give you the opportunity earning 36 PDU each year and be in very good shape for your PMP renewal.

The first PDU Cracker-Barrel will be on Thursday, 26. January 2012. Jutta Staudach will give a presentation on IT-project audits. I am looking forward seeing you all there!
I wish you a successful and fulfilled 2012.
Warm regards,
Ralf
P.S.: The PDU Cracker-Barrels will be always on the last Thursday of the month from 16:00 to 18:00 CET. The participation fee will be €69,- plus German VAT

Virtual Team Experiment: Special offer for students

Soon our global virtual experiment will start, and as this topic is

an interesting item for students from various disciplines, we have a special student offer.

Students can get 50,- Euro back after completion of the experiment!

Just send your student card as a pdf or scan.

Contact: Isabell.Schmidtke@gepros.com

Training Virtual Teams with a powerful Simulator

I discovered a great training simulator for virtual teams. It is called GTS – Global Team Simulator from STS and it is hot!!!!

GTS has basically four functions:

1. You can share information about yourself and learn more about the other team members. This module is called „Know each other“.

2. Then there is a module called „Quiz“. This module is great in teaching team members on how to work together in a fun way. People have to little exercises in a collaborative mode

3. The module „Simulation“ is based on the well-known project management simulator SimulTrain. However, in its new version, it requires true collaboration. Another wonderful learning experience for real virtual teams

4. The last module is called „e-learning“ and it is a good knowledge base for virtual teamwork

GTS will allow real virtual teams to become more productive and learn about the strengths of each team member. It is for the first time that I have been presented a powerful training tool for virtual teams!

The bad news: It will only be available in March/April 2011. The good news: Participants in our Virtual Team Experiment will get free access to the beta version of the simulator. Another good reason for joining our virtual team eperiment.

What is good projcect coaching?

 Lately I was sitting with a friend of mine, Peter, a seasoned project manager, in a café. We were
talking about many things, from friends and family. Then he asked me: “Ralf, what is this project coaching
you are doing?” Well, it is a very valid question. In today’s world where everybody call him- or herself
a coach. If I look at the profiles of my trainer colleagues, then everybody became a coach over night.
I have my own opinion about this trend. I went through  coach training, coach qualification and currently I
am very busy with my re-certification for the ICF  (International Coach Federation) and I notice how much
value this process adds to my coaching practice. Coming back to the question of Peter. The short
version is: Project coaching is about exploration. The project manager being coached has time to think
about his or her project. The coach will ask questions about the situation, the insights, give positive,
reinforcing feedback and the result of this process
is: The project manager find ways how to work more  effectively and efficiently, based on his or her own
strengths. This process of reflection and thinking  changes the inner attitude. This leads to a change of
the visible behavior. This is the true power of project coaching: A shift in the mindset of the project manager
for the good of the project.

Now, what is outside the coaching: As a coach, I am  keeping my own solutions out of the thinking and
exploration process of the coachee. This is sometimes very hard, as I have plenty of experience in project
management myself and some of the situations are a  déjà vue. Then, when I notice that I want to give some
advice I know that I am on the wrong way. By the way,  this approach is also well described in a book written
by a colleague of mine: Quiet leadership by David Rock. However, this is a topic for another blog.

Warm regards,
Ralf

Next round of the virtual Team Experiment – a complete new experience

One year ago, we started our first round of virtual team research. Based on all the lessons we have learned, we have created a completely new version of the experiment to create even a higher value for the participants:

1. All participants will receive a 2-year free membership in our Virtual International Project Manager Club. Entry to the club is only possible through an active participation in the virtual team experiment.
2. For the next round of the experiment we partner with STS, a swiss-based training company. They have developed an innovative training solution for virtual teams and all our participants are granted free access to the beta-version of their virtual team simulator.
3. Also, they will have access to an innovative collaborative virtual team tool developed by VEA

(http://www.ve-a.com/) . This will allow for good meeting management and follow-up of action items.
4. Our Learning Management System will be adapted and all participants will receive an environment which supports the experiment.
5. And of course they will be granted the benefits of the International Virtual Project Manager Club: Three 30 minutes virtual coaching session each year and six free webinars and 20% discount on our eSeminars…. and the most valuable: Being part of a lively virtual community.

The experiment will research the productivity of virtual teams and what are the key drivers in virtual teams. It will require about 60 hours of your time over a period of three months. This time we will ask for a commitment fee of €99,- for the full package. It is a small investment for the benefits of each member.

How curious are you to learn more about this unique opportunity to gain competitive knowledge on virtual teamwork? Please contact me. I am happy answering all your questions.

Warm regards,
Ralf

Virtual mobile workspaces

GeProS in collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt and VEA – Virtual Enterprise Architcts BV is researching how virtual team members can work from mobile devices such as Android Smartphones, iPhones, iPads or WeTab.
The research will interact with the virtual collaboration suite (VCS) of VEA. It is an innovative online platform that integrates seamlessly tools and functionalities for project management/team coordination, productive collaboration and communication towards comprehensive team support. Working from mobile devices brings opportunities and challenges for such team work, which we want to further research in the joint project.

Are you interested in learning more about the possibilities of mobile devices for virtual teamwork? Do you have already first hand experience in virtual teamwork using mobile devices? Then please contact us ….

Business Mapping als universelle Methode im Projektmanagement

Projekte sind komplexe, soziotechnische Systeme. Sie setzen sich in der Regel aus einer Vielzahl von Menschen, Meinungen, organisatorischen, inhaltlichen und technischen Herausforderungen zusammen. Es ist bekannt, dass transparente und gezielte Kommunikation in Projekten einer der ZENTRALEN Erfolgsfaktoren ist. Denn nur durch Kommunikation ist es möglich, die vielfältigen Informationen über Anforderungen, Ziele, Risiken, Aufgaben, Termine etc. zum richtigen Zeitpunkt an den richtigen Ort zu bringen.

Daraus ergibt sich, dass gutes Projektmanagement wesentlich auch mit der Fähigkeit verbunden ist, relevante Informationen

• rechtzeitig zu identifizieren und zu sammeln,
• zu strukturieren und aufzubereiten,
• mit den Betroffenen zu diskutieren und gemeinsam zu entwickeln und
• Informationen gezielt weiter zu leiten.

Business Mapping ist in diesem Zusammenhang eine HAMMER-METHODE. Ich habe mich in diesem Blog ja schon öfters als MindMapping (bzw. korrekter Business Mapping) Fan “ge-outet”. Denn die Methode ermöglicht es wie kaum eine andere, Transparenz und Struktur in den oft hektischen Projektalltag zu bekommen. Ich möchte dies anhand 5 konkreter Anwendungsfälle erläutern.