Fall 2016 / Issue VI
PM
magazine
A P u b l i c at i o n b y M o r g a n S tat e Universit y ’s G r a d u at e P r o g r am in Project Management
Project Maryland: Serving Others through Project Management
Paul Archibald & Halaevalu Vakalahi
Cultural Competency Training: It Takes Two page 3
Naijha wright-brown & Brenda sanders
Vegan SoulFest: Improving Urban Lifestyles through a Health Festival page 6
PM magazine | FALL 2016
PM Magazine
CONTENTS
Editorial Message Welcome to the sixth issue of Morgan’s PM Magazine, a magazine designed by the Masters of Science in Project Management students as part of their capstone course requirement. Considering that Morgan State University is a leading urban university in Maryland, this issue focuses aptly on some project based initiatives Sanjay Bapna that are impacting the residents of Maryland.The team for this Fall 2016 issue is comprised of four students, the instructor Dr. Monica Kay and the editor. The four students: Joshua Annan, Perry Barnes, Morrinah Kwekeh and Deja Matthews put in several hours during the twelve-week period to produce this quality magazine that primarily focuses on emerging diversity and urban service-oriented project management issues in our diverse and innovative State of Maryland. All project management principles such as planning, requirements gathering, resource allocations, cost controls, risk assessment, and execution were carried out to publish the PM Magazine. In this issue, two practitioners, Destiny-Simone Ramjohn and Kellie Jackson, offer insights into urban based projects: an education, social and health issue program launched by Kaiser Permanente and an after school program for at-risks youth in inner cities. Nasr Widatalla discusses lessons learned from the slope failure of Piscataway Drive in Prince George’s County. Paul Archibald and Halaevalu Vakalahi shed light on project principles applicable to bringing the community and the police together with the aim of providing training to the police force. Maryland is also the home to several large government agencies. Topics in government related projects include: transportation, contracting and communication methods which are covered by Rosemary Davis, Simiso Kabo, Donnell Josiah and Monica Kay. Other diversity issues are discussed in the health project management domain. An interview with Kathleen Page reveals insights on the implementation of healthcare improvement for the Latino Community, Naijha Wright-Brown and Brenda Sanders discuss project principles for the Vegan SoulFest event, while Charlotte Gaydos’s article on sexual based screening rounds off the important diversity and urban issues in Maryland. Our special thanks goes to the founding editor, Ali Emdad, Associate Dean of the School of Business and Management in championing the initial issues off the ground.Without his constant feedback and encouragement, we would not be where we are today. We hope that you will enjoy reading through the articles, interviews and come to appreciate the role of project management in meeting the needs of the urban environment in this sixth issue. Sanjay Bapna, MBA, PhD Morgan State University Professor and Chair, Information Science and Systems Earl G Graves School of Business and Management
Message from the Editor Sanjay Bapna
Message from Contributing Authors Joshua Annan, Perry Barnes Jr., Morrinah Kwekeh & Deja Matthews
1 The Power to Move You Rosemary Davis
2 Piscataway Slope Failure Nasr Widatalla
3 Cultural Competency Training: It Takes Two Paul Archibald & Halaevalu Vakalahi
4 Taking the Initiative to Enlighten Urban Environments Destiny-Simone Ramjohn
5 Project Management: Discussion From An Entrepreneur’s Perspective Donnell Josiah
5 Using Centro SOL to Improve Healthcare in the Latino Community Kathleen Page
6 Vegan SoulFest: Improving Urban Lifestyles through a Health Festival Naijha Wright-Brown & Brenda Sanders
7 I Want the Kit: From a Single Project to a Universal Program Charlotte Gaydos
7 The Right Way to Risk It
Message from Contributing Authors
L to R : Deja Matthews, Joshua Annan, Perry Barnes Jr., and Morrinah Kwekeh
The Project Management (PM) magazine you are about to read focuses on the role of Project Management in serving the residents of Maryland. Citizens, managers and regulators in Maryland have become a part of the service movement by emphasizing project management and how it impacts the lives of Maryland’s citizens every day. The articles contained in this magazine focus on improving services across healthcare, government, non-profit, and the private sectors. Using their skills in project management, whether formal or informal, these individuals are influencing society through a systematic body of knowledge and strategic implementation.
Simiso Kabo
8 Uplyft Me, Inc.: Taking a Project through the 5 Project Management Phases Kellie Jackson
8 Can You Hear Me Now? Communicating on a Maryland Based Project with a Dispersed Project Team Monica Kay
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Student Team Biographies
FALL 2016 | PM magazine
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The Power to Move You Rosemary Davis, PMP Assistant IT Director – Maryland Transit Administration (MTA)
Effective implementation of information technology (IT) projects in the MTA is critical to holding our widely interconnected transportation system together. As the Assistant IT Director for the MTA, I oversee information technology projects that our team strives to complete within the quadruple constraints of time, scope, cost, and quality. Everyday, hundreds of thousands of people across the state of Maryland depend on our bus, light rail train, metro train, MARC train and mobility modes of transportation to move from one place to another, and without the projects that sustain and improve the IT systems which support them, there would be chaos from all angles. We strive to develop IT products based on industry best practices and use the IT system development life cycle process of IT from the State of Maryland’s Department of Information Technology. This process is based off of the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) five phases of Project Management, which are initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing.
division is the procurement and installation of a new ComputerAided Dispatch and Automated Vehicle Location system (CAD/ AVL). CAD/AVL provides radio data channel expansion to improve the bus fleet’s voice and data communication. The project includes upgrades to the existing CAD/AVL system hardware and software as well as upgrading obsolete vehicle equipment with state-of-the-art replacements. The vehicle location systems will be used to provide real-time vehicle arrival information to patrons. This $3.9m project provides an updated and enhanced CAD/AVL system, with an expanded data channel, to improve the operational efficiency of the bus fleet. Major risks that influence IT projects in government transportation agencies include stakeholder changes and human resource coordination that plays a major role in acquiring members of our project teams. People are the most important influence on a project, and understanding how they can impact the project is needed.
The majority of our large-scale capital projects are outsourced to contractors who bid on the work based on the requirements of the agency. This encourages us to build strong relationships with the contractors who are performing the required work for the project and creates a need to integrate our internal workforce with our external, contractual work force. Our internal IT department handles various projects and tasks, but the great benefit of working with contractors is that they can solely dedicate their efforts to their assigned project. The goal is to come together with our similarities in order to create a unique extension of our internal staff capabilities who are still responsible for managing the project and communicating the progress to internal and external stakeholders. The fact that we use taxpayer dollars to fund these projects serves as a motivating force to manage our projects efficiently, and within scope, in order to satisfy our customers. Our central focus is to use technology to help streamline business processes, communicate information to customers, and provide support for our various transportation modes. The types of projects that the MTA implements span from scheduling transportation vehicles across our various units, supporting real-time systems, sourcing time and location data, and developing new systems to improve processes in our internal departments. For example, a major project that we are working on in conjunction with our bus
© George Vasquez-Pujalt 2013
Initiating, Planning and Executing in MTA
Closing with MTA Throughout my twelve years of experience working on state government transportation projects, I have grown to appreciate on a deeper level, the elements of the closing phase of project management. The first hand experience gained and recorded in a project’s “lessons learned” can prevent major issues in future projects. As project managers, developing our skills will not only benefit us, but will also help to develop our project teams, and ultimately, will lead to greater impacts on our society. Simply knowing that our projects have the power to move you, moves us to do even greater.
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PM magazine | FALL 2016
P i sc ataway Slo pe Fa i lu r e
in the budget. The $5 million budget contained a contingency reserve that was used to fast-track the schedule. The construction involved completing the relocations/replacements of 1,638 feet of 8-inch water mains and 1,677 sewer mains in two months. After designs were approved, Prince George’s County Government contractors alongside WSSC contractors were able to complete the reconstruction in six months.
Nasr Widatalla, MSM, Geological Engineering, PM Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) Mr. Nasr Widatalla is a Project Manager at Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), Maryland. He is responsible for managing and coordinating projects developed by Federal, State, County, WMATA, and municipalities or private developers to determine their impact to existing WSSC water and sewer pipeline systems.
On May 2, 2014,
cracks began appearing on the street of Piscataway Drive in Prince George’s County, Maryland. By May 4, 2014, the unthinkable happened as the crack escalated into a major slope failure (cracks in the ground that cause the ground to sink in). The magnitude of the road destruction ranged from about 4 to 20 feet deep into the ground. The roadway buckled, utility lines were ripped apart, and residents in twenty-two homes were forced to evacuate. About six homes were directly affected in this community and their daily lives were disrupted and turned upside down due to this failure. The extent of this slope failure was so large that it jeopardized the use of most of the roadway from 13700 Piscataway Drive to the southwestern part of the drive. Numerous homes on Piscataway drive that were affected were declared unfit and unsafe for occupancy by the county. After the Piscataway Drive slope failure on May 4, 2014, WSSC collaborated with Prince George’s County Government on this emergency project. After the slope failure, the existing 8-inch water and sewer mains along Piscataway Road were damaged beyond repair. Both sewer and water lines had to be permanently relocated and or replaced. However, WSSC and Prince George’s County Government created a temporary solution for both water and sewer services for residents by installing a temporary bypass for both sewer and water systems while the road was under construction. During construction, residents walked a quarter of a mile to their cars each morning for work since they were not allowed to park their cars in front their houses; this lasted for a duration of six months. In a race to return residents back to their daily lives as quickly as possible, $5 million were committed to the project. WSSC staff went into a rapid deployment and hired an engineering consulting firm to complete designs for reconstruction of the damaged sewer and water systems. While designs usually take six to eight months to be drawn, WSSC was able to compress the schedule down to two months. This was due to management making the project a high priority, meaning that all hands were on deck for the project. The design schedule of six to eight months was reduced to two months because the project
Worker at the scene
team was working around the clock to complete the project within the compressed schedule. This also included a shorter design review period of a week, to meet the shorter time frame. Also the consulting firm which usually takes a month to review designs were asked to review the design in two weeks instead of four weeks. Mr. Nasr’s other projects were reassigned to Associate Project Managers while he managed the Piscataway Project to complete it within schedule. While the schedule was fast-tracked, there was no increase
Damaged water pipes
The Aftermath Today, two years and four months later, residents of Piscataway Drive are still trying to overcome this incident. The roads are now stabilized and surrounding residents can once again park their cars in front of their homes. However, the six homes that were directly affected are no longer standing and residents of the 22 remaining homes that were affected are still trying to find alternative solutions. The residents are either staying in their homes or relocating. Some residents are in the process of a court hearing since the bank does not want to buy their homes back after the county has declared them unfit for occupancy. Prince George’s County Government is still working on stabilizing the slope of Piscataway Drive at the moment.
FALL 2016 | PM magazine
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Cultur al Compe tenc y Tr ai n i ng: It Takes T wo An interview with Dr. Paul Archibald and Dr. Halaevalu Vakalahi as reported by Deja Matthews
Above: Organizers of the Cultural Competence Training L–R : Dr. Linda Darrell, Dr. Kevin Daniels, Dean Anna McPhatter, Dr. Paul Archibald. Right: Participants in the program
In a time of social unrest throughout the country, it was both interesting and informative to speak with Dr. Paul Archibald, Assistant Professor and Dr. Halaevalu Vakalahi, Professor & Associate Dean at Morgan State University (MSU) School of Social Work (SSW) as they discussed the plans for the school’s training on Cultural Competency within Urban Environments for the officers of the Baltimore City Police Department (BCPD) and Morgan State University Police Department (MSPD). Dr. Archibald focused on the need to have police clearly define police culture and asserted that the issue is not one sided but rather “...two fold, the police need to become culturally competent about the community and the community needs to become culturally competent about the police.” The training was to be the first of what the School hopes to be a sustaining commitment between Morgan’s SSW and BCPD. Dr. Vakalahi, Dr. Kevin Daniels, Dr. Paul Archibald, and Dr. Linda Darrell, as well as Major Martin Bartness and Sergeant Derek Loeffler planned this event for over a year. Most of the planning phase consisted of developing the content that would be delivered at the training. The team was adamant from the beginning that because the project’s quality was dependent on the quality of the content, that even without a large budget, the overall training would be a success because of the information provided. The basis of their rationale came from a report created by the Department of Justice’s report which listed culturally competency as a need for the nation. The training was held on October 12, 2016 at Morgan State University. Initially, the training was scheduled for the City’s Police Officers; however Morgan State University Police Department (MSPD) also committed their Officers to participate which increased the scope of the project. The train-
ing was co-sponsored financially by Dr. David Wilson, President of Morgan State University and The Annie E. Casey Foundation (ACF), Results Based Accountability Training Program. Dr. Vakalahi stated that, “it’s wonderful to have programs such as this, but ideas without a budget attached [the program] is not sustainable. There needs to be some type of resource to implement these ideas, otherwise our effort will be a one-time event. So, we are indeed grateful for the generosity of our sponsors thus far.” The SSW is currently planning a second training that will be held in 2017 to accommodate new Baltimore City Police Officers which is in line with the SSW’s initial goal to create a lasting commitment between the MSU School of Social Work and the Baltimore City Police Department. While meeting in Dr. Vakalahi’s office, the conversation swiftly shifted from the logistics of the event to an in-depth discussion of the content to be delivered. We watched a video filmed through the lens of an officer’s body camera as he was pursuing an assailant in a high speed chase. As the officer narrated the video, emphasizing his duty and obligations as an officer of the law, it highlighted an extreme disconnect between police and the community due to a lack of understanding on both sides. On the day of the actual training, on several occasions, Dr. Daniels said that the main purpose of this training is to “bridge the gap between the police department and the community by evoking a conversation on Cultural Competency.” This Results-Based Accountability (RBA) community project emphasized collaboration starting with the end result in mind. The School hopes that by engaging the officers and challenging the preconceived misconceptions between the two groups (community & police), that in the future, a stron-
ger bridge can be established with the police and the community that will allow both of them to begin to work collaboratively to resolve the procedural justice issues associated with generations, culture, and race. Recently, Dr. Archibald in connection with student organization S.M.O.O.T.H (Strong Men Overcoming Obstacles Through Hard Work), disseminated a survey to students on campus to explore their views of police within their community, as well as their overall views on police in general. This data was presented to the officers at the training as a means to evoke conversation from the student perspective. As a component of this RBA project, the team plans to have at least two students work on this program in the future. Recanting some of his experiences with racial profiling as an African-American man, Dr. Archibald insisted that the issues are not new, but because of social media, everything is available instantly to be viewed and judged by the world. The training included a discussion of this matter along with several other issues such as generational differences and community beliefs. It is the hope of the School of Social Work that these trainings will be considered invaluable to both the police departments as well as the community and ultimately become a national model that requires officers to attend trainings annually; similar to how other professionals have to complete a certain amount of continuing education per year to renew their credentials. Essentially, it is clear that the School of Social Work at Morgan State University has a vision that is forward thinking and proactive, not only with the community in mind, but also the Police Officers. Planning, executing, monitoring and controlling are essential elements for this program to succeed.
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PM magazine | Spring 2016
K aiser Permanente
Taking the Initiative to Enlighten Urban Environments– The Social Innovation Challenge Project
Destiny-Simone Ramjohn, Ph.D.
During Baltimore Innovation Week 2016, Kaiser Permanente hosted their annual Social Innovation Challenge for Baltimore residents. The event is described as a “two-day citizen social venture contest where developers, activists, idea generators, designers and more, came together to develop solutions to Baltimore City’s most complex issues such as: inadequate education and workforce development, access to health care and mental health.” The pace and intensity of the Social Innovation Challenge required participants to acquire, develop, and manage their project team while integrating valuable skills needed to produce a tangible product within 36 hours. It is heartening to see a healthcare provider take the initiative to improve the resources available for the population that they serve, while engaging the population within the process. When Kaiser Permanente’s 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment revealed that citizens residing in 14 Baltimore neighborhoods have a lower life expectancy than citizens of Iraq; it became clear to the organization that it was imperative to increase and expand the resources available to these communities as well as to involve the communities by collecting requirements and program expectations. After interviewing Dr. Destiny-Simone Ramjohn, Director of Stakeholder Relations at Kaiser Permanente, I learned about her involvement in the planning process as well as her overall views on the project management discipline. Q: What is the name of the event you are working on? A: T he Kaiser Permanente Social Innovation Challenge. Q: Have there been any particular challenges with finding participants for the Challenge? A: Kaiser Permanente wanted to ensure that our Social Innovation Challenge would be focused on Baltimore City residents. We believe that Baltimore City residents are in the best position to identify and address solutions to their health needs. We wanted to ensure that we are not merely providing information to them, but also that we are engaging them within the solutions process. However, messaging to registrants interested in this kind of program has been challenging. An additional challenge was identifying individuals in Baltimore who have the skill sets
Q: What solutions have been developed after encountering these challenges? A: We have also expanded the goals of our program. Our intent was to have a 75% threshold of Baltimore City residents; however we have now opened it up to Baltimore County and surrounding areas as well. We have also thought outside the box on different ways we can identify those Baltimore City residents. We have partnered with two local community based organizations, The Living Well and Innovation Village so that they can champion and evangelize the event because we recognized that they would be able to reach the community members in a non-digital way that would go just as far to boost our recruitment. Q: Were there any challenges with partnering with the organizations in relation to the program’s schedule? A: We engaged with our community partners from the very beginning for the planning of the event, so they were able to provide unparalleled insight, expertise, and professionalism to meet our objective. I will give you an example: we have received quite a bit of feedback about tone and style of the website or judging criteria for our structure to ensure that it meets, what we believe, or what our community partners believe is, the right fit for Baltimore. We did not anticipate that we would have to leverage our community partners in terms of recruitment and we probably should have accounted for that sooner because they played a critical role in the overall recruitment process. Q: How long have you been planning the event and do you believe the project will finish on time? A: We absolutely will [finish the project on time], we have no choice. We had a two-phase planning process which included bringing our stakeholders to the table to determine if this was a good idea and conceptualizing what [resources would be needed]. With our competing responsibilities, the duration of this phase was about six months. The latter six months is when we were in full drive, where all the partners were at the table, and we were able to finalize our budget, draft our scope of work, and where we were able to [begin thinking] of what it would take to have the event come to fruition. One of the things that was an unanticipated barrier was that some of our criteria had to go through several channels of reviews prior to approval. In the planning phase, the number of people that had to approve the planning documents served as a barrier to the project schedule, but it did not impede the schedule of the project. Q: Do you feel that the changes that the program underwent diminished or en-
hanced the quality of the event? A: I think the changes actually enhanced the quality of the program. For example, the community partners helped us to see that there may be some great ideas that have nothing to do with technology, and that those ideas could probably go towards advancing health benefits. This allowed us to shift from a code-e-thon to a social innovation challenge so that we could entice both tech solutions and nontech solutions. So that is definitely a departure from what we discussed in the planning phase, but I would contend that the departure enhanced the quality of the event rather than diminished it. Q: In respect of the constraints and challenges, was the team able to stay within budget? A: Yes, we absolutely were [able to stay within budget]. In some instances, we were able to rely on donations and resources from our partners. In other instances, we implemented cost constraints and quality procedures, ensuring that we were cutting down on costs when possible, being good stewards of our resources, and not splurging on things that did not advance the ultimate goal which was to ensure that the team members were well fed, having a good time, and focused. Dr. Ramjohn was confident that the project would be successful by remaining on time, within budget, scope and quality, but she “would argue that project management is an art just as much as it is a science. There are some intangibles that are required for the successful management of a community based program. [Those intangibles are as] important as staying in scope, budget, time, and within quality. It also takes care, concern, empathy, and emotional intelligence, as well as a willingness to step outside of the box. In some instances, you [should not] consider yourself boxed-in so that you can meet consumers where they are, and in turn advance your brand in the market place. It is the lens through which Kaiser Permanente conducts business, the values and the mission of our organization, and is consistent with everything that we do.”
Photo Credit: @nellaware #nellawarephotography
An interview with Dr. Destiny-Simone Ramjohn as reported by Deja Matthews
to participate in the event. [We also] have a small core team, with very passionate members, who have other roles and responsibilities in addition to working on the Social Innovation Challenge. In addition to competing priorities of team members, there is also a problem about finding resources for the Challenge.
Spring 2016 | PM magazine
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Q&A with Donnell Josiah by Joshua Annan
Project Management: Discussion from an Entrepreneur’s Perspective What is the importance of managing IT projects for government agencies? There is a great need to provide technology and consultative expertise to Donnell Josiah, state departments to asPh.D., PMP, SA Founder & Managing sist in the implementation of technology and organiPrincipal at ChangeDynamix, LLC zational change projects. This is important due to the fact that most state agencies do not have an abundance of resident management expertise within their local state technology departments to independently lead projects to completion. Additionally, outside consultants are able to provide industry related perspectives that are transferrable to these state departments. What types of projects have you led that have impacted the state of Maryland? As a Senior Project Manager, I am currently managing the implementation of an enhanced Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) implementation for the deployment of a modern Automated Fiscal System technology application. The application
will be used statewide by local finance offices to support a number of accounting tasks, which include the setup, printing, and tracking of payments for various vendors, including payments to foster care providers, while maintaining a history of all financial transactions. Previously, as the Senior Project Manager, working for the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, I was responsible for the implementation of a modern technology solution to replace the Maryland Workforce Exchange (MWE) application. The enhanced application enabled the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation to expand current MWE capabilities and deploy a modern solution that provides enhanced web and mobile computing technologies thus enabling external and internal customers with the capability to perform relevant duties around case management, while meeting all Federal and State requirements. What experiences have you had on a project that changed your perspective in some way? A common experience of mine has been on facing the realities of state governments, in that a department’s culture is very pervasive, and is
Using Centro SOL to Improve Healthcare in the Latino Community Kathleen Page, MD Johns Hopkins University Infectious Diseases
Q: Dr. Page, what is Centro SOL? A: The Center for Salud/Health and Opportunity for Latinos (Centro SOL) project is a Center of Excellence in Latino Health at Johns Hopkins University ( JHU) Bayview hospital. Centro SOL’s mission is to improve access of care and opportunities to the growing Latino population in Baltimore, Maryland. The major projects associated with Centro SOL includes a high school summer internship for bilingual students, mental health support groups, and novel programming to diagnose, link, and retain Latinos in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) care. As the Director of the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) Sexual Transmitted Diseases (STD) clinics, I am also working on expanding Centro SOL’s services and improving access to care for the most vulnerable populations. To that aim, we have started to provide onsite Hepatitis C (HCV) treatment and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to at-risk individuals. By the end of 2016, it is estimated that 10,000 patients will have visited Centro SOL. As of now, we are looking for ways to provide substance abuse training to patients who attend Centro SOL and/or the BCHD. Q: Why did you decide to create Centro SOL? A: In Baltimore’s Latino community, there was not a proper communication channel established between patients and healthcare professionals due to language barriers. At the time, there were few doctors from Latin America or doctors who spoke Spanish that could understand a patient’s needs.
Maybe one or two individuals within a patient’s family could speak English and could translate for the doctor, but certain words would lose their meaning when translated into Spanish. To correct this problem, seven doctors and I decided to create a center for health for the Latino community in order to provide focused cultural and medical services. In addition to that, we wanted to create or identify communication channels among various healthcare centers in order to provide efficient care to our patients. All the work within the center started out on voluntary basis, the other doctors and I would go to the JHU Bayview hospital and offer free exams, advice, and medication to people that desperately needed medical attention. Another issue in the Latino community was that they did not trust doctors and nurses from Johns Hopkins University that did not or could not identify with them because Hopkins had an unsubstantiated reputation of abducting African Americans and Latinos at night in the 1950’s. Q: With a project this ambitious, the budget must have been substantial? A: When the project first started, we had a budget of $0, but as the project started to grow and attract more patients, institutions like JHU started to offer sponsorships and grants. I believe our budget last year was $200,000. Q: What’s next for the Centro SOL project? A: I’m currently trying to get create a joint venture with a institution like JHU, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the National Institutes of Health (NIH) before 2018. I would like for this project to turn into a program so it can be recognized as standard of care. If I can get influential stakeholders to meet with me and let me
not easily changed. In as much as new technology can improve business operations and outcomes, the human factor is most real, tangible, and volatile. I have seen individuals assume roles where they must face this reality and discover that they are not indispensable. To avoid this, treat human-social interaction as important as the implementation of technology systems. Which knowledge areas of project management have you grown to appreciate or focus on more? I have a great appreciation for two knowledge areas. The first is project scope management which are the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully (PMI, 2016). The second is Project Stakeholder Management which are the processes required to identify all people or organizations impacted by the project, analyzing stakeholder expectations and impact on the project, and developing appropriate management strategies for effectively engaging stakeholders in project decisions and execution (PMI, 2016).
explain the importance of integrating Centro SOL into their institutions, I think we could reach an agreement. Q: What is the scope of the project? A: The scope of the project is to create a center for health for the Latino community. Before we even thought about creating a scope or starting this particular project, we just wanted to establish communication channels throughout the Latino and healthcare community. But after performing a risk analysis on the communication channels, we decided to initiate the project. I believe we achieved project completion back in 2014 and we are currently trying to get institutions like the CDC or the NIH to recognize Centro SOL as a standard of care. Q: What kind of insight did your risk analysis offer? A: The analysis showed that even if the proper communication channels were established, people in the Latino community were still going to be distrustful to people in the healthcare community that did not identify with them. Q: What are the benefits of Centro SOL? A: I hope that Centro SOL is improving access to much needed services and bringing the highest standards of clinical care available at JHU to the community. Q: Does Centro SOL and the BCHD bring change within Maryland? A: The BCHD STD clinics diagnose and treat over 15,000 patients a year. We continue to be busy even after people obtained insurance through the Affordable Care Act. I think this is because of the ease of services (same day walk-in) and the wrap around care we provide (e.g. for STDs, we conduct contact investigations, our HCV/PrEP/HIV patients get extensive case management and peer navigator support). At Centro SOL, we are working to advocate for health policy changes that will provide equitable access to healthcare for all Marylanders, regardless of their immigration status.
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PM magazine | FALL 2016
V e g a n S o u l F est : I mp r o v i n g U r b a n L i f e s t y l e s t h r ou g h a H e a lt h F e s t i va l by Naijha Wright-Brown and Brenda N. Sanders
Vegan SoulFest is a celebration of culture and vegan living in Baltimore. It is an annual free event featuring delicious vegan food, nutrition experts, vegan cooking demonstrations, a children’s area, live entertainment, giveaways, and special guests. Everyone is welcome at this event—vegans, the vegan-friendly and anyone who’s curious about this lifestyle and would like to learn more. In 2014, Naijha Wright-Brown, co-owner of The Land of Kush, a vegetarian soul food restaurant in Baltimore City, formed a joint venture with Brenda Sanders, executive director of the public health organization Better Health, Better Life, to plan the first annual Vegan SoulFest. Better Health, Better Life touched a small population through workshops in churches and community centers. The Land of Kush reached people all over Baltimore through marketing and community outreach. By forming a joint venture, the founders are able to attract the attention of a larger audience. The first Vegan SoulFest turned out to be more successful than they imagined. The expectation was to attract a few hundred people to a free festival about food. Instead, more than 1,200 people attended, resulting in its initial media coverage by The Baltimore Sun who described the event as a “new food festival in Baltimore.” People came from all over
Crowd enjoying Vegan SoulFest 2016 at Baltimore City Community College
L to R : Naijha Wright-Brown and Brenda N. Sanders Founders of the Vegan SoulFest
Baltimore City and the surrounding counties —even as far away as Philadelphia, New York City and Virginia—to learn more about the nutritional benefits of including more plant based foods in their diets. During its first year, the festival outgrew The Downtown Cultural Arts Center resulting in the founders having to expand the festival outside the venue. For the past two years, Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) has been the new home for the Vegan SoulFest attracting 3,000 attendees in 2015 and close to 7,000 in 2016. Each year, the founders survey potential locations for the event focusing on underexposed venues with access to public transportation, major highways, and adequate parking. Attendees at the festival hear lectures from experts and learn to prepare healthy meals from local chefs. A couple of benefits to communities in Maryland residents include gaining exposure to industry leaders and information on veganism at no cost to the attendees. In addition, the Vegan SoulFest increases awareness of veganism in lower-income communities and local businesses that offer services or products related to veganism, they in turn, gain exposure by partnering with the project. Venues selected to host the festival are usually in need of additional exposure as well. Additionally, attendees traveling from New England to the Carolinas converge in Baltimore to attend this event, which can potentially bring more businesses into the community.
The Vegan SoulFest’s scope is to inform people about the benefits of eating healthy foods made from fresh fruits and vegetables. The goal of the program is to spread awareness about how the vegan lifestyle can improve personal health and our relationships with other people, animals, and our natural environment. Objectives include educating our attendees on nutritional value, proper storage and handling, and investigating how a store or farm obtains their fruits and vegetables. The Vegan SoulFest strongly relies on funds from stakeholders (sponsors, vendors, exhibitors and individual supporters) which allow the founders to plan and execute the Vegan SoulFest’s one day event and helps keep admission free of charge. They also welcome the support of organizations that handle special activities at the festival such as the children’s area (Nsoroma Academy’s “Veggie Village”). Some of the programs major financial sponsors are animal rights organizations such as A Well Fed World and Vegan Outreach. They are the programs top leading stakeholders. The founders have also been successful with securing funds from local corporations such as Harbor Bank Community Development Corporation. The budget for the Vegan SoulFest varies from year-to-year and usually runs over ten thousand dollars. Their major purchases are live performances, special guests, rental space for the festival, rental space for parking if needed, and advertisement. Before the founders spend any funds, they create a cost management plan to help them track their budget over a duration of six months. Every year, the founders perform a parametric estimation to determine rental space, a bottom-up estimation to determine activity cost, and a reserve analysis to account for known-unknown risks. During their first year, they planned and organized the Vegan SoulFest within three and a half months and that required them to make quick decisions and move efficiently. From their lessons learned, they allow themselves six months to initiate and plan the next event before they execute the festival.
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I Want the Kit: From a Single Project to a Universal Program “I Want the Kit” is a free Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) home testing device that screens individuals for Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, and Trichomonas which are sexual diseases. Through the website, iwantthekit.org, individuals can order gender specific kits like, a vaginal kit for women, a penile kit for men, a rectal kit for men and women, or a Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) kit. According to Dr. Gaydos, “individuals who are symptomatic or asymptomatic for STD’s might not seek treatment or screening because they lack health insurance, no proximity to a clinic, or [have] privacy issues.” Developing the Project In 2004, Dr. Gaydos launched the “I Want the Kit” project in order to screen asymptomatic women throughout Maryland. “At the time, we didn’t have a website, so women had to call a secure phone line to request a kit that [information] was added to a database.” With only one person on the project team, “I Want the Kit” was able to screen two hundred women by 2006. In addition to that, men were included into the project and the project started to expand into other states like Illinois, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, and New Jersey; but during 2012, the Illinois, West Virginia, and New Jersey health department’s overspent their budgets. The project was under a time and materials contract and the financial advisors for the health departments did not conduct an in-depth cost analysis that would allow the health departments to pay for the project team’s work hours or the cost of materials used to create the kits. Dr. Gaydos terminated the project and the contracts with those health departments. After that incident, Dr. Gaydos negotiated new contracts with the health departments in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and later added Alaska in 2013. Project to Program Transformation With no end date in sight and a budget of
federal inspections, perform change requests to keep up-to-date on current healthcare policies, and laboratory staff must monitor and control their trainings such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and The U.S. Department of Transportation and the International Air Transport Association (DOTA/IATA), just to name a few. “I Want the Kit” started as a project offering free sexual screening to potential stakeholders of various interests, and now it monitors and controls sexual based screening for Maryland, The District of Columbia, and Alaska. To get to this place, as appreciation of the regulatory environment for project management in the healthcare domain is critical. Charlotte Gaydos, M.P.H., Dr.P.H. Johns Hopkins University Infectious Diseases
$50,000, there was no telling what was going to happen to the project until the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) recognized the project as standard of care in 2013. The CDC realized that the project could be used to reach men and women who couldn’t get to a clinic, did not have insurance, or refused to be swabbed by a clinician. With that recognition, the project started to transition into a program; and the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC determined that the Johns Hopkins University Chlamydia Laboratory was eligible for the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) waiver. After that, “I Want the Kit” started to receive grants and funding from stakeholders like Johns Hopkins University, the CDC, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The program has formed joint ventures with health departments throughout Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Alaska to provide treatment for individuals who test positive for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Trichomonas after using “I Want the Kit”. In order for the Chlamydia laboratory to retain its CLIA waiver, the lab must pass biannual
Contents of the collection kits for the “I Want the Kit” program
T h e Ri g h t W ay t o Ris k I t
Simiso Kabo, PMP, CPA, CMA, CGMA Director of Forensic and Litigation Consulting at FTI Consulting
Project Risk Management from the consultant perspective can provide incredible benefits and knowledge to not only private companies across various industries, but government agencies in Maryland as well. My company conducts audit projects on behalf of government agencies in and outside of Maryland to ensure that the contractors engaged by the agency are not over-recovering costs on the indirect rates they apply to change orders and other costs. This saves both state and taxpayer dollars and ensures contractor’s compliance. The importance of managing and reducing the amount of tax dollars spent cannot be underestimated. We must take seriously the necessary precautions to monitor and control activities in order to wisely manage the money that people contribute to our government for the benefit of society. The more money that is improperly spent for unnecessary reasons, the more will need to be recovered with taxpayer dollars. My role focuses on construction and litigation related matters, providing contract claims assistance and litigation support services related to the calculation of damages on a project such as delay and disruption, breach of contract, lost profits, and fraud related issues. My primary focus is in the construction and government contracting industries, where risk management in connection with cost, time, and procurement management is of critical importance. Indirect cost determination, cost threshold reviews, assistance with Defense Contract Audit Agency audits, bid protests and the preparation of claims and
equitable adjustments in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations are some aspects in projects that interface with government agencies. In litigation consulting, you are trained to have professional skepticism. This is especially helpful during an investigation or examination of data during a project or considering the aftermath. Most of the information on the surface seems accurate, but can be misleading when you examine the veracity of the underlying data. Asking questions and finding evidence to support or dispute the information provided is key. Data is typically collected throughout the project, but proper collection and interpretation of the data for utilization after the project completion, can lead to effectively recovering losses and seeking justice for the stakeholders of the project. It is necessary that project managers spend more time during the planning, execution, and monitoring and controlling phases on risk management. It is common to focus simply on time, cost, scope, and quality management, but neglecting the effort on risk management can easily destroy substantial progress made in other areas, which in turn leads to cost increases, schedule delays, and reduction of scope and/or quality. Whether it is from a contractor’s or owner’s perspective, project risk management and the mitigation of determined risks are key. Always make sure that your project team understands the importance of risk management, and supplement your project with knowledgeable consultants if necessary.
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PM magazine | FALL 2016
Uplyft Me, Inc.: Taking a Project through the 5 Project Management Phases by Kellie Jackson, BSW. Founder, Uplyft Me, Inc. Mrs. Jackson is the founder and CEO of Uplyft Me Inc. where she works with at risk youth throughout the western and southern parts of Maryland. She provides at risk youth with educational training tools that prevent them from entering the Juvenile Justices System rehabilitation programs. Mrs. Jackson believes the state rehabilitation programs are not beneficial for the youths because it causes them more harm than good, and that is where Uplyft Me. Inc. comes into place. To change the way juvenile rehabilitation programs are administered. Mrs. Jackson serves as the Resident Service Opportunity Coordinator for the City of Rockville Housing Authority. She is responsible for managing and providing housing resources for her clients.
Initiating: Uplyft Me, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that was founded on the ideology of preventing teens of all races from entering the Juvenile Justice System. Uplyft Me, Inc. provides at-risk youth with educational training tools that aim to prevent the youth from entering the Juvenile Justice System rehabilitation programs. Mrs. Jackson who is the founder and CEO of Uplyft Me, Inc. believes that the state rehabilitation programs are not beneficial for the youths since they cause more harm than good. Uplyft Me, Inc. challenged the approach of the juvenile rehabilitation programs, by providing early prevention strategies. Planning: Mrs. Jackson was a student at Morgan State University School of Social Work. As part of her graduation requirement, she had to complete an internship for her program. Her internship assignment was at the Department of Juvenile Justice System (DJS) in Baltimore City. During her time at DJS, she learned about the plethora of rules and programs set aside for juveniles. One major program that stood out the most to Mrs. Jackson was the rehabilitation programs for juveniles. While the State mainly focuses on rehabilitation as opposed to prevention, Mrs. Jackson believes that youth can be rehabilitated, she also wonders how long rehabilitation will last before a juvenile goes back into their old habits. With that thought in mind, she gained an interest in creating an organization that would cater to at-risk youth, with a focus on prevention rather than rehabilitation. Executing: After months of researching, attending seminars, completing surveys and gathering data, Uplyft Me, Inc. was founded. The company was registered as a US tax exempt nonprofit organization because Uplyft Me, Inc. meets the requirements for being an educational and charitable program. With a budget of $800 at the time, Mrs. Jackson used her funds to file the nonprofit US tax exempt 501(c3) form and Uplyft Me, Inc. became a nonprofit organization in September 2014. The mission of Uplyft Me, Inc. is to take a holistic approach and provide wrap around services for at-risk youth and their families; which makes this organization one of a kind.
Since its founding, Uplyft Me, Inc. now has 30 children at three locations where they provide youth empowerment programs such as life skills, literacy workshops, career shadowing, job/college application assistance, and much more all at no cost. Services are provided both locally and internationally. Nationally, Uplyft Me, Inc. provides services in Rockville MD, Washington DC, Prince George’s County, and internationally in Lagos, Nigeria. In May 2016, Uplyft Me, Inc. donated items such as a computer, clothes and books to a local orphanage in Lagos, Nigeria. With this effort, Uplyft Me, Inc. has developed a rapport and plans to send the items on a yearly basis to the orphanage in Nigeria. Locally, the organization is partnered with other organizations that assist with effective after-school programs for at-risk youth. Monitoring and Controlling: With the help of donations, volunteering services, and personal funds from Mrs. Jackson, Uplyft Me, Inc. plans to continue helping the youth of the community. At this time, Uplyft Me, has five regular volunteers that assist with the program. While monitoring and controlling the donations provided, Uplyft Me, Inc. is able to distribute the necessary resources to youth in the communities. For example, Uplyft Me is currently in the process of collecting hygiene products for boys and girls that will be given to the children each time they visit the facility. Uplyft Me, Inc. is also in the process of partnering with Miss Liberia USA in her efforts of providing youth in Liberia with basic sanitary and hygiene products as well as the youth in other communities. Uplyft Me is built on the premise that our youth are the future and we must do our part to provide them with the essential tools they need to successfully progress through life. Therefore, Uplyft Me, Inc. is constantly working on new techniques and skills needed to assist at-risk youth. Closing: The project is still ongoing; the organization is still working on ways to reach at-risk youth. Uplyft Me, Inc. plan for the future is to provide a safety net for atrisk youths and their families. In this small non-profit organization, the scope keeps on expanding thus a specific closure may not come because the program is still in its infancy.
Participants within the program Uplyft Me, Inc.
Mrs. Jackson at the Lagos Orphanage in Nigeria
Can you hear me now?–Communicating on a Maryland Based Project with a Dispersed Project Team How do you communicate with over 108 people in different geographic locations? The answer to that is “very carefully.” My current project involves a national effort where I must utilize the expertise of many different team members who are both Monica Kay, D.B.A., PMP U.S. Department of Health onsite and dispersed across the United States. It also inand Human Services volves communicating with dispersed stakeholders that will be served by the efforts of the project. In a Project Management Institute (PMI) whitepaper, PMI cited the importance of communication, “Whether it’s in person or via email, with a sponsor or a stakeholder, effective communication serves as the very bedrock of business. It can sway public opinion, give teams a sense of purpose, persuade executives to increase funding—and boost project success rates.” (PMI, 2013) PMI has identified that organizations who employ successful communication methods are successful in meeting project goals, are typically on time and usually stay within budget. (PMI, 2013) For a geographically dispersed team, it involves even more coordination and communication. So let us talk about what that means for my Maryland based project. My project is a legislatively mandated initia-
tive with a $219 million dollar appropriated budget. This effort involves the coordination of my counterparts in different regions in the US and includes reaching out to States and territories such as the Northern Mariana Islands, Samoa and Guam where it is difficult to marry up our work time with theirs. So how, as a project manager, do I get and keep them engaged in my project? Again, the answer is very carefully. Our project communication for this initiative involves a number of project management processes that seek to keep our team informed, included and integrated within our project scope. They include: • Weekly integrated project team meetings, typically once a week, at a time that meets most team members’ needs, at 1 p.m. (remember, Pacific coast team members are three hours behind); • Virtual meetings with stakeholders at times that are convenient to them (Guam is 10 hours ahead of us, so our meetings are usually held late in the evening); • Collaboration site usage (e.g. SharePoint) where members can download key deliverables, status reports, meeting minutes as well as ask questions; • Stakeholder email box that is managed by staff members to respond to questions and inquiries; • Daily morning “hopper” calls with my internal team where we discuss the items that need to be completed, challenges and urgent needs from senior management;
• B i-weekly senior executive meetings to provide them with status and where they weigh in on key decisions and challenges that we may have; and, • P roject batphone a.k.a. my work mobile phone where key stakeholders and staff have access to me since I am usually never at my desk (texting has become my best tool in the communication arsenal). So it begs the question, how does work get accomplished if we are meeting all the time? The balance as a project manager is to communicate early and often but being mindful that we all have work to do to fulfill our project objectives. Where possible, we end meetings early, and if I can cancel a meeting that is no longer needed, I communicate instructions via a call or email. During the early project phases, we were communicating daily to establish infrastructure and cadence for the project. Now that we have an understanding of our project goals, and team member roles and responsibilities have been established, we as a team, are reassessing the frequency and need of some of our communications, identifying lessons learned to see what communications are working effectively and what needs to be tweaked. In the end, if a project manager can communicate the right information, at the right time, with the right tools to their project members and stakeholders, then the challenges of a dispersed project team are lessened. Hopefully, with a concerted effort, they will not only be able to “hear me now”, but understand and implement.
FALL 2016 | PM magazine
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Student Team Biographies Morrinah S. Kwekeh MSPM Class of 2016 Morrinah S. Kwekeh graduated from Morgan State University (MSU) in 2014 with her bachelor in Social Work. She currently works for MSU as a Graduate Assistant and is enrolled fulltime in the Masters of Science in Project Management Program at MSU. As a graduate of this program, she plans to work with international firms in other parts of the world to help improve their economic infrastructures and advance the use of technology particularly in Africa. She believes her knowledge of Blockchain will allow her to work with firms in Africa, North America, Europe, and South America, to elevate the use of technology in Africa and improve the resident’s daily living. She plans to take the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam in the near future. Perry Barnes Jr. MSPM Class of 2016 Perry Barnes Jr. attended Morgan State University (MSU) in 2008 to obtain his bachelor of science in psychology. He currently works for Johns Hopkins University as a research coordinator and is enrolled in the project management program at MSU. As a graduate of
the Masters of Science in Project Management (MSPM) Program, he plans to help restructure the technological advancements of healthcare in the private and public setting. He believes his knowledge in statistics, psychology, general healthcare technology, and project management will allow him to innovate the private and public healthcare field. He plans to take the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam during the summer of 2017. Joshua Annan MSPM Class of 2016 Joshua Annan is a Capital Program Analyst at the Maryland Transit Administration where he is actively involved in budget and contract management for capital transportation projects across the state of Maryland. In 2011, Joshua graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Goldey-Beacom College, and afterwards, had various professional experiences including as a Business Sales Representative in the industrial supply and payroll services industries, a teacher of multiple subjects to 3rd-8th graders, and as an analyst roles in healthcare and government. Joshua regularly performs public speaking engagements to adult and youth audiences and believes that everyone’s life has incredible potential, regardless of their current situation. After graduating with a Masters Degree in Project Management,
his career goals are to attain a Project Management Professional certification and utilize his education in order to pursue a consulting role where he can work on a multitude of projects that serve society’s greatest needs. Deja Matthews MSPM Class of 2016 Deja Matthews is currently enrolled in the Masters of Science in Project Management (MSPM) program at Morgan State University and will graduate in December 2016. Being an alum from Morgan’s undergraduate English program, as well as an employee for the School of Social Work, she has a strong desire to advance the mission of Morgan through the use of project management. Currently she is working to establish an international field placement in Ghana for the Masters of Social Work program. In addition, she has been expanding the School of Social Work’s presence within the field of continuing education and has established a series of on campus workshops, as well as different off campus workshops for organizations looking to learn from the School of Social Work faculty. After graduation she plans to use her degree in Project Management to further her career in project related work, as well as to focus on her dream of expanding her clothing line with the hope that one day it will become an international staple in the fashion industry.
Our Program and Links to PMI Morgan State University’s graduate programs in Project Management are offered by the department of Information Science and Systems in the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management. The MSPM program is suitable for professionals that want to develop their knowledge and skills to move up to senior planning, consulting, and project management positions. Applicants are required to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university, at least two years professional level work experience, and meet the MSU Graduate School admission requirements. The program requires 30 credits and a comprehensive examination. Program participants complete courses as a cohort. The interdisciplinary feature of the MSPM allows students to take three supporting courses that form the focus areas in a wide range of fields.
Engineering; Industrial Engineering; Information Technology; Science; and Transportation. The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers membership to full time students in degree-granting programs at a college or university that has U.S. accreditation or the global equivalent. A PMI student membership also offers discounts on certifications such as the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) and the Project Management Professional (PMP). Additionally, PMI in collaboration with MSU has held CAPM and PMP exam prep workshops on the campus of Morgan State and continues to offer the workshops every spring. Please visit us at www.morgan.edu, then proceed to Academic Programs.
Samples of courses offered include: n n n n n
Foundations in Project, Program, and Portfolio Management Project Integration and Scope Management Building and Leading Successful Project Teams Project Time and Cost Management Managing Project Procurement, Quality, and Risk
Students choose three courses from a list of over 40 courses to integrate project management skills in a specific subject area from Architecture; The Arts; Business; City and Regional Planning; Civil
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PMI Baltimore Chapter
Project Management Professional Training Series
The Baltimore Chapter provides its members the opportunity to take Prep Courses in order to qualify for the following PMI Credential Exams: • Project Management Professional • Certified Associate of Project Management Project Management Professional • Risk Management Professional Training Series • ITIL Foundation Visit: www.pmibaltimore.org The Baltimore Chapter provides its members the opportunity to take Prep Courses in order to The Baltimore Chapter provides opportunities for corporations, academia, qualify for the following PM I Credential Exams:
non-profits, and government organizations to promote their product, services, or organizational image throughProfessional its sponsorship programs. The Baltimore Chapter is offering the Project Management following promotional and networking opportunities: Certified Associate of Project Management • P remier Sponsorship Risk Management Professional Program – Several advertising & promotional opportunities bundled together Visit www.pmbaltimore.org • S ite Meeting Sponsorship – Available throughout the year at many area PMI The Baltimore Chapter provides various opportunities for corporations, academia, non-profit BC sitesorganizations to promote their product, services or organizational image and government through programs. At –this time, corporations and organizations can sign up each • Pits MIsponsorship BC Annual Meeting Well attended “State of the Chapter” held for one or more of the following promotional and networking opportunities we offer: November • G olf Tournament for the Community Fund – Play golf and network with area PM’s PMI is the world's largest not-for-profit membership association for the project management profession. Our professional resources research empower more than 700,000 members, credential holdersBC and volunteers in nearly every • P and roject-of-the-Year Award Ceremony – Join PMI in recognizing andcountry supporting in the world to enhance their careers, improve their organizations' success and further mature the profession. PMI's the best managed projects worldwide advocacy for project management is reinforced by our globally recognized standards and certification programs, • P academic rofessional Development Event (PDE) – Held annually extensive and market research programs, chapters and communities of practice, and professional development opportunities. • Y oung PM of the Year – Recognize & support our young PMs Visit our PMI atup www.PMI.org,www.facebook.com/PMInstitute and on Twitter @PMInstitute • M entor Program – Meet & greet and coming PMs PMI is the world’s largest not-for-profit membership association for the project management profession. Our professional resources and research empower more than 700,000 members, credential holders, and volunteers in nearly every country in the world to enhance their careers, improve their organizations’ success, and further mature the profession. PMI’s worldwide advocacy for project management is reinforced by our globally recognized standards and certification programs, extensive academic and market research programs, chapter and communities of practice, and professional development opportunities.
Visit PMI at www.PMI.org, www.facebook.com/PMInstitute, PMI Baltimore Chapter LinkedIn Group, and on Twitter @PMIBaltimore