PM Magazine - Fall 2017 Issue 8

PM

FALL 2017 / ISSUE VIII

1010100000111111010010000 1010100011111100010100101 magazine 0010101101010101000100101 1010100010101001010101010 1001101010110011110001011 TIME 0101000110100101010000011 MANAGEMENT 1001000011100101010001111 Racing to the Finish Line 1010010101010001010110101 0010010100010101010001010 1010101010100100110101011 1000101111110010100011010 1000001111110100100001110 1000111111000101001010101 1011010101010001001010001 1000101010010101010101010 1010101100111100010111111 0001101001010100000111111 VIGILANCE: PROTECTING AGAINST 0000111001010100011111100 THE UNEXPECTED 0101010100010101101010101 0101000101010100010101001 Time Management Can Up for Bid: Racing Against 1010101001001101010110011 be a Nightmare! the Procurement Clock 1011111100101000110100101 A PUBLICATION BY MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY’S GRADUATE PROGRAM IN PROJECT MANAGMENT

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PM Magazine

PM magazine | FALL 2017

CONTENTS Message from the Editor Sanjay Bapna

EDITORIAL MESSAGE

Sanjay Bapna

Welcome to the eighth issue of PM Magazine which focuses on time management principles, a core area for managing projects. This issue is a result of a twelve-week project from seven students in the Masters of Science in Project Management at Morgan State University: Bisola Kasim, Chinwe Ihuoma, Dachelle Royal, Kirian Villalta, Olalekan Asaolu, Raechelle Floyd and Tyra White. Using all project management tools and methodologies, the students executed this from the conceptual theme, to author identification, feedback to authors, design and production of the PM Magazine. The articles in this issue come from various perspectives.

The significance of time management to keep a multi-million-dollar computer network project on schedule is well articulated by Gary Press, Director of Technology and Program Management at Morgan State University.

Time management aspects in projects for educational training are well enunciated by Rukiya Wongus, Project Manager at Faculty Physicians, and Olufunbi Falayi, founder of Passion Incubator. Irene Mathis, Project Manager with US Army Corp of Engineers discusses time management for an ERP implementation project. Richard Treharne, Program Manager at Technica Corporation articulates a case for the criticality of time management for procurement processes that are often overlooked when they should not be. Tony Gruebl and Jeff Welch, Principals at Think Systems, stress the concept that time management can’t happen without strategic alignment at a program level. Dr. Monica Kay, Adjunct Professor at Morgan State University, lays down a good framework for how finish dates for projects are determined. Although incident response to cyberattacks are not usually viewed as a project management activity, Kisshawn Williams, Desktop Governance and Compliance Technician at Navy Federal Credit Union, clearly points to the nature of the criticality of time management and the correspondence to project management principles.

We hope that you will enjoy this eighth issue of PM Magazine and come to appreciate the importance of time management for managing projects.

Sanjay Bapna, MBA, PhD Morgan State University Professor and Chair of Information Science and Systems Earl G Graves School of Business and Management

Message from Contributing Authors

Olalekan Asaolu, Raechelle Floyd, Chinwe Ihuoma, Bisola Kasim, Dachelle Royal, Kirian Villalta, & Tyra White

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Vigilance: Protecting Against the Unexpected Kisshawn L. Williams

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Out with the Old, & In with the New: Switching to a new Network System Gary Press

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Time Management Can Be A Nightmare Irene Mathis, CPSM

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Mapping Your Scarcest Resource

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Effective Time Management Techniques Essential for Project Success

Olufunbi Falayi

Rukiya Wongus, PMP

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Up for Bid: Racing Against the Procurement Clock Richard Treharne

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MESSAGE FROM CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS

As the yearlong celebration of Morgan State University 150th anniversary continues, the Master of Science in Project Management graduating class of Fall 2017 presents to you the eighth issue of the PM Magazine on Time Management: Racing to the Finish

Line. The articles in this issue focus on the essential skills used by project managers and inside tips that help produce an efficient way to push your project towards successful completion. When you and your project team are racing to the finish line to meet deadlines, every second counts during your project.

As the primary creators of this publication we have firsthand experience as we raced towards our finish line. Through our coordination, communication, and our drive to succeed we personally understand the importance of project time management. The authors in this magazine showcase the importance of implementing good time management techniques through various experiences, projects and knowledge – so that you, the reader, can be more efficient and productive in your future projects.

Great Time Management Can’t Happen Without Strategic Alignment: Let’s Give our PM’s a Fighting Chance Jeff Welch, Tony Gruebl

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Deadlines and more Deadlines: It’s More than Just a Date Monica N. Kay, D.B.A., PMP

10 Student Team Biographies 12 Our Program & Links to PMI Cover Graphic Contributor Felisha Griffin, MSU 2013 B.A. Graphic Design

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VIGILANCE: PROTECTING AGAINST THE UNEXPECTED Kisshawn L. Williams Desktop Governance and Compliance Technician, Navy Federal Credit Union

It is no secret that financial institutions struggle to keep up with constantly changing technology.

Current or lagging technology may directly impact the success or failure of an internal cybersecurity operation. What risks are faced when a cybersecurity operation cannot effectively defend against a cyberattack? Most commonly, loss of revenue, negative impact on reputation, and loss of customers, to name a few. In order to mitigate and avoid these risks, it is necessary to consider time management and time criticality as a primary factor to successfully defend against cyberattacks.

In 2017, there have been cyberattacks such as WannaCry, Petya, and the Equifax data breach.

Response to these types of cyberattacks involve quick assessment and protection of any potential impact. Handling cyber incident attacks include the following key stages: preparation, identification, containment, eradication, recovery, and lessons learned (Incident Handler’s Handbook, 2011).

Time management and criticality are essential to each of these stages. To further develop a schedule management plan, each of these stages can be further decomposed into smaller, more manageable parts. The manageable chunks of work ultimately become the basis for the activities that make up the work packages that are included in the formal schedule.

Preparation against cyberattacks involves developing the Organizational Process Assets (OPAs) that, when done thoroughly and in advance, may greatly reduce the amount of time it takes a cybersecurity operation team to respond. When planning schedule management, as it concerns cybersecurity, assets such as documentation on lessons learned from previous incidents; formal policies procedures, and guidelines; and risk control procedures are all taken into account. Of these assets, the establishment of policies, communication and response plans, and appropriate tools are the foundation for responding to cyberattacks. Well written plans and documentation are central to the successful execution of the stages if a cyberattack occurs. It is also important to note that all team members must be adequately trained in advance of a cyberattack so that they may respond swiftly and appropriately to contain, eradicate, and recover once a cyberattack has been identified.

Since all financial institutions store sensitive information such as personal identifying information (PII), the speed with which a cybersecurity operations team can respond to a potential attack in order to resolve the incident is crucial to the viability of the establishment’s stakeholders. The

longer it takes to shutdown cyberattacks the more the potential impact of stolen information grows exponentially. Therefore, it is critical to establish the foundation for immediate response in order to move quickly through these stages. Documenting lessons learned is also an integral part of the continuous improvement process as it concerns strengthening defense systems and response plans.

“Most organizations

take between one month and three years to discover that they have endured some form of a cyberattack.”

Time criticality and time management play a large part in each stage of cyber incident handling.

When thinking about time criticality, consider the road to recovery: the longer it takes to contain a security breach the potential for a larger impact steadily increases. Most organizations take between one month and three years to discover that they have endured some form of a cyberattack. Generally speaking, this is a sign of a mediocre cybersecurity incident response and time management process. To avoid and mitigate the risks associated with these scenarios, it is necessary to keep track of schedule and work performance data in order to identify bottlenecks, gaps in existing processes, and required lead and lag times for certain activities. Some metrics used in time management for incident handling are (Computer Security Incident Handling Guide, 2012): • Total amount of labor spent working on the incident; • E lapsed time from the beginning of the

incident to incident discovery, to the initial impact assessment, and to each stage of the incident handling process (e.g., containment, recovery); • Elapsed time for the incident response team to respond to the initial report of the incident; and, • E lapsed time to report the incident to management and, if necessary, appropriate external entities.

There are often time gaps between the start of the cyberattack and the actual discovery. These gaps in time can range from a few minutes to several months.

The mere existence of these discrete time periods further highlights the importance of taking action immediately once a cyberattack is discovered.

In addition to the measures above, notifications and containment are essential examples of when to exercise proper time management strategies.

Early notification is critical because it allows for all stakeholders to start executing action plans immediately. Containment is critical because it is based on timely decision-making, which often requires the use of expert judgment. For example, a decision should be made as soon as possible on when a system needs to be taken down to minimize the damage and exposure to the organization.

Organizations must become proactive in order to use time management effectively with respect to the way incidents are handled. It is critical that time management is used to increase efficiency and effectiveness from the time a breach happens to the time the breach is contained. Time criticality and time management not only provides a plan of defense but are the keys to having a strong cyber defense, deterrence, and resilience capability.

References Computer Security Incident Handling Guide (2012). Retrieved from http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/ NIST.SP.800-61r2.pdf Incident Handler’s Handbook (2011). Retrieved from https:// www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/incident/incidenthandlers-handbook-33901

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PM magazine | FALL 2017

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW: SWITCHING TO A NEW NETWORK SYSTEM Before NGN Former Legacy Network Functionality Non-Convergence 480 APs

WAN

Gary Press Director of Technology & Program Management Office of Information Technology (OIT), Morgan State University

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MSU ADMIN LAN STAR-SWITCHED DESIGN

BACKGROUND: The legacy communication infrastructure at Morgan State University has been in place and has been adequately serving the business and academic needs of the university for the past decade.

However, with the steady increase in campus constituents over that time and the advent of efficient state-of-the-art technologies, an executive administrative decision was made to invest in a significant upgrade of the campus communication infrastructure resources. This upgrade would position the university to remain competitive and relevant in the delivery of academic and business services to support its unique strategic mission.

Specifically, the university sought to dramatically increase the speed, reliability, and security of its integrated wired and wireless networks and thereby dramatically increasing the functionality of its business processes. The university also sought to provide the infrastructure foundation for the increased delivery of online instruction, while seeking to constantly decrease the overall cost of maintenance and increase the level of reliability for critical campus systems and services.

REQUIRED TIMELINE: The initial development of the requirements for this project began in 2014, but was not mandated and funded until 2015. A cognizant team of Information Technology (IT) professionals researched stateof-the-art modern communications technologies and also examined current and near future market trends. This ultimately led to the development of a preliminary model that would successfully and affordably position the university to remain competitive for a minimum of 10 years. The chosen timeline goal was to use the remaining portion of 2015 to identify several state contract vendors capable of responding to a comprehensive “Request for Proposal” solicitation and vet the various technical solutions (using the input and recommendations of an industry respected consultant, Gartner, and the experienced feedback of other national and local educational institutions) to arrive at a comprehensive and affordable stateof-the-art solution.

The IT team chose to consider and compare the offerings and road map of the incumbent manufacturer, Cisco Networks, to other capable network infrastructure providers including AlcatelLucent, Foundry Networks, Hewlett Packard Corporation, Extreme Networks, and Enterasys Networks.

2 Gbps

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MSU ADMIN LAN STAR-SWITCHED DESIGN

MSU STUDENT LAN

To meet the required goal of having the new network infrastructure fully deployed and operational by the start of Spring semester classes in 2017, the following aggressive project timeline was adopted: 2nd Quarter 2015: Develop a comprehensive Request for Information (RFI) document, which defined the desired scope and functionality of the upgrade.

3rd Quarter 2015: Identify market leaders and manufacturer product lines that would address the defined requirements.

4th Quarter 2015: Evaluate technical solutions and satisfaction of similar deployment by other national and local educational institutions.

1st Quarter 2016: Identify qualified state contract

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resellers capable of delivering and implementing a multi-vendor comprehensive integrated turnkey design.

2nd Quarter 2016: Select a state contract integrator; examine manufacturers’ products and services design solution; secure preliminary budgetary pricing; agree on final design; award turnkey contract; meet with chosen integrator to formulate project team and project schedule.

3rd Quarter 2016: Begin phased deployment of parallel network on a building-by-building basis, while still maintaining legacy network with minimal service and resource disruption; testing and verification.

1st Quarter 2017: Formal total cutover of new network and decommission of the legacy network.

FALL 2017 | PM magazine

Time-Sensitive Activities That Could Have Impacted the Successful Delivery of the Project: During the life cycle of the Next Generation Network Project (NGN), the following time-sensitive milestones could have delayed implementation and possibly extended the projected delivery date if not properly mitigated.

1. O rder of Equipment: The central integrator contractor chosen was a reseller of the chosen vendor architecture platform. The contractor placed a large order of equipment with the manufacturer, based upon certain defined dates, to take advantage of discounted incentive pricing that the contractor was depending on to defray their purchase costs. As such, it was imperative that a timely agreement be reached between the contractor and the university for the equipment order to be processed and aligned with the implementation schedule. The contractor and university worked together to procure the requisite funding to allow the contractor to purchase the components in advance (to receive the discount), and the university provided a secure storage facility to house and inventory the components so that they would be available when needed, without loss of time to the project schedule.

2. Logistical Scheduling Issues for Deployment: One of the deployment challenges, which resulted in delay risk in the project schedule, was the fact that the regular university operation (both business processes and academic instruction) had to continue while the new network was being deployed. As such, a requirement was that the legacy network and the new NGN network operate in parallel and be deployed in a phased manner. The university community was properly informed in advance (both by email communication and effective signage) that one or two buildings at a time would be targeted for upgrade. The new hardware was installed in those buildings, configured and secured, and checked out for proper operation, before being added and connected to the new NGN Network Core. After the new systems were validated, users in that building were migrated to the new NGN Network. Considerable attention and planning was given to performing the building cut-overs, without disrupting normal operations and connectivity to the legacy network.

Specifically, the application of the following project management principles, as well as the foresight of the contractor’s very capable project management team to incorporate extra time for certain tasks that had the potential to cause delay, were all instituted to minimize setbacks and ultimately deliver the project within reasonable expectations and minimal extra cost to the university:

2.

I dentification and use of existing MD state resellers significantly reduced solicitation and procurement time for the acquisition project schedule.

1. The MSU and Magothy Tech (main contractor) project teams instituted a comprehensive project meeting schedule which allowed constant feedback between the two parties to address any potential issues, thereby keeping the project on schedule. This included after-hours and middleof-the-night installation work to minimize service disruption.

4. Formulation of an aggressive but achievable installation roll-out plan to minimize university service interruption.

2. T he university developed a comprehensive installation support team schedule which

6. Establishment of effective marketing plans to increase customer buy-in for the project, which minimized potential negative perceptions that could have delayed the project schedule.

“The NGN project was

achieved in due time because several risks, which could have potentially disrupted the completion of the project, were identified in advance.” minimized delays in accessing building and telecom closets.

3. M ultiple installation teams were organized in parallel to reduce overall installation time and service disruption.

4. The university elected to use an established MD State contract pricing schedule to reduce the time for the vendor selection and verification process. By doing so, it could avoid opening the procurement process to a large list of vendors (which avoided the detailed review of many submissions), and thereby reduced procurement time for vendor contract validation.

3. Completing Core Build-out In a Timely Manner: One of the critical milestones that could have impacted the project schedule was the timely configuration of the new NGN Campus Core, which is the center routing point for the network.

All the various building distribution points are routed through the Core (switch/routers), so the completion of this milestone was critical to the rest of the installation schedule. The contractor wisely built in the proper amount of time and resources to get the Core build-out completed in a timely manner to avoid substantial delays to the project schedule.

5. T he university insisted on a “turn-key” implementation which allowed it to acquire integrated best-of-the-breed technologies that could be centrally managed under one umbrella.

Analysis of Effective Time Management in Keeping Project on Schedule:

1. D evelopment of a comprehensive Request for Information (RFI) specification that provided detailed and all-encompassing design requirements which satisfied specific goals for increased bandwidth capacity and converged integration for all the university’s disparate systems and services.

In the preceding section, several time-management aspects were implemented to mitigate any potential disruptive delays that could have impacted the timely delivery of the project.

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Based on the above practices, the NGN project was implemented in due time because several risks which could have potentially disrupted the completion of the project, were identified in advance. Preventive actions were employed early in the process that mitigated several potential risks that could have delayed the project schedule, including:

3. E stablishment of a secure on-site equipment receiving and staging area which expedited equipment configuration and validation.

5. Establishment of a coordinated project review team to mitigate schedule changes, logistical issues, resource allocation, and to reduce or eliminate potential delays in project schedule.

Moreover, the contractor’s Project Manager and the university’s designated Project Manager both worked closely together to ensure that adequate equipment and personnel resources were properly managed, allocated, and assigned to efficiently effectuate the comprehensive project deliverables, with minimal disruption to the university’s business and academic processes. Without proper adherence to a classic system engineering project model (including definition of contract deliverables, development of a coherent and achievable project plan, preliminary design review, critical design review, risk analysis, and subsequent installation verification and validation), the overall project management process would not have been able to deliver all of the comprehensive objectives on time, within budget, and ultimately with minimal disruption to the customer’s business.

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PM magazine | FALL 2017

TIME MANAGEMENT CAN BE A NIGHTMARE! Irene Mathis is an experienced Procurement Manager with knowledge and experience in project management specifically Information Technology (IT) and procurement.

Irene Mathis, CPSM Project Manager, US Army Corp of Engineers

Time is one of the most challenging aspects to control for a project. With so many variables such as scheduling, testing, documentation and retesting, the rollout time can become the enemy.

Additional resources and labor hours will need to be allocated to accommodate all the different project variables.

IT projects are notorious for cost and time overruns, which is why time is managed as closely as the budget. Having firsthand experience with projects like this, helps showcase how following good time management practices can either help make or break a project.

As a purchasing manager for a local homebuilder, my company hired a thirdparty provider to create an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system – a software-based system that integrates business functions such as accounting, procurement, and production. This capability provides analysis and detailed reports of integrated organizational data that improves the bottom line for an organization. With an information systems background, my responsibilities included creating test scripts, managing testing, and providing test documentation for the project. Working on a project like this helps showcase reasons why time management is a very integral part of all projects and that with proper planning, you can ensure the project will not become a nightmare.

MAJOR ISSUES: The activity list for this project was extensive and we could not afford to have any delays in the project schedule. The schedule management plan was very detailed and shared with all members of the team to ensure everyone adhered to their proper deadlines in order to move on to the different phases that needed to occur in developing the ERP.

often turned in after the deadline. Estimating activity durations should have been implemented for this project because this action would have established a clear sense of how long it would have taken the testers to complete tasks that were on the activity list. However, as a result, retests were requested to ensure that software developers were customizing the system to meet the organization’s needs. The delays proved to be an additional strain on the resources of the software developers to write and rewrite code needed for the next round of testing.

My responsibilities became very difficult to manage due to the increased daily workload. This made it stressful due to the lack of urgency and the mismanagement of the tester’s time. During weekly project meetings, I had to inform the lead project manager of any updates or delays that were needed to be added to the project management plan. Although slack time was provided, we still found that we were cutting it very close for testing completion with proper results to move forward with the next phase of the project. Figuring out a way to get everyone on the same page was necessary because they needed to understand the importance of this project and how it would directly affect their jobs once the system was implemented.

RESOLUTION: To resolve the issues, top-level buy-in from stakeholders was going to be important if the project was going to meet its deadlines. These stakeholders needed to communicate how vital completing this project efficiently was for the future of the company. The ERP being developed would be a testament to their abilities to effectively carry out projects from beginning to end. Senior executives had to be shown how the delays were affecting the budget timeline for process improvements the organization was counting on for year-end settlements.

Management intervention was necessary to make the ERP deployment a priority and testers comfortable with pushing some of their own schedules, since deadlines were constantly being missed affecting the budget and quality of deliverables. One-on-one meetings with testers were also scheduled to ensure that results were accurate, deadlines were achieved, and documentation was thorough. The testing portion of the project was able to get back on track, with redundancy reduced.

It was December of 2008, during the holiday season when the majority of this project needed to be completed. During this time, resources were lacking and stakeholders could not be reached due to prior schedules and travel plans. This meant there would be a condensed project schedule, with less time to analyze

“Project Managers need to be

aware of the priorities of project participants and set realistic milestones and goals.” test results and meet with the project team. If there had been a resource calendar implemented in the beginning, that also included leave absences, we could have ensured that proper resources were in place for the project team members who would not be available during this time. The resource calendar would have displayed the duration of scheduled activities focusing on the availability of each project team member, whose skills were necessary to contribute to the overall success of the project.

Another major obstacle included testers not adhering to the developed schedule because they were not always available to run test scripts that achieved proper results, which meant Gantt charts had to be continuously revised. Developing the ERP was a task on the critical path, which meant any delays on this task would ultimately extend the project due date. One of the major risks identified in the project risk register included receiving test scripts that lacked proper results because if this happened, more time would have to be spent rewriting the code and could put the project team behind schedule based on the overall schedule management plan. Many of the testers were high-level managers with meetings and deadlines of their own. Testing and documenting results was not a priority for the testers, which caused missed milestone updates, late deliverables, and friction with coworkers. Test script results also lacked thoroughness and were

LESSONS LEARNED: Yes, time management can be a nightmare because of all the delays and accommodations you may have to allot for in any project, but who to say this is always a bad thing? From my experience, time management is an essential interdependent process that will rely on the proper participation of all project team members. Project Managers need to be aware of the priorities of project participants and set realistic milestones and goals. Take the proper amount of time in the initiation phase of your project to produce a good schedule management plan that includes a well-developed schedule, estimate the activity resources and durations so that you can get a general sense of what can and will be done to help ensure your project is completed by the required deadline. Implementing good time management tactics such as better planning, coordination, and communication will also help to keep a project on schedule. This experience also introduced me to organizational process assets that included learning how to properly control a project schedule, which contributed to enhancing my knowledge about the company.

FALL 2017 | PM magazine

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MAPPING YOUR SCARCEST RESOURCE Olufunbi Falayi Co-founder, Passion Incubator

Effective time management is a positive life skill for the 21st century and beyond. In the opinion of Peter Drucker (2002), “time is the scarcest resource and unless it is well-managed nothing else can be managed.” As technology gradually takes over human activities in the workplace, it has reduced stress, improved productivity, made time management easy and has increased the odds for business success.

At Leadspace, my role includes constantly searching for vertical business opportunities, identifying platforms to enable the business to scale up and partnering with organizations to achieve set goals. When one has a lot of responsibilities, time becomes a critical factor and this is where schedule management becomes important.

The success of a project is always measured against your scarcest resource (time). Successful completion of a project relies heavily on how well time was accurately mapped out from start to finish of each process phase. Being able to successfully complete a project gives my team and me a sense of accomplishment.

As an example, the 2017 Dutch-Nigerian Student Business Challenge was organized by TU Delft, the Dutch embassy in Nigeria, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and Passion Incubator. Passion Incubator was appointed the local implementation partner. The aim of the project was twofold; first, to improve entrepreneurial skills and second, to promote concrete solutions for the partners involved.

In order to balance the conflicting demands of time to accomplish set goals, the project had several phases which included the following: PROJECT INITIATION STAGE: We identified the need to tackle the challenges of energy, health and water-food. This was followed by an estimation of the cost to successfully implement the project. A risk assessment was carried out to determine the risks associated with the project.

We then prioritized the project and selected competent and self-motivated individuals responsible for executing specific tasks. The more time one spends on micro-managing people, the less time one can devote to the project and the higher possibility that project deadlines will not be met.

We identified stakeholders that included the project organizers and partners. Passion Incubator was the local implementation partner and dealing with multiple stakeholders requires project management tact to get maximum efficiency. Projects are always time bound and

include several deliverables. We created a work breakdown structure to decompose the project into smaller units and achievable phases. We assigned tasks that matched the team member’s skill sets to best ensure that team members work productively.

PROJECT PLANNING: Planning is essential, and it determines the steps needed to execute a project. After careful estimation of resources needed, we advertised the opportunity, received several applications which were reviewed, and 24 students were shortlisted. The physical pitch was held at Leadspace where 12 Nigerian students were selected and qualified to travel to Delft to team up with 12 Dutch students. The activities were defined and every student was given a specific task to handle in a given time frame. After completion of every task, a meeting was held to discuss the progress which allowed moving on to the next stage of the plan. We then

“The more time one spends on micro-managing people, the less time one can devote to the project and the higher possibility that project deadlines will not be met.” communicated these plans to all stakeholders.

All the activities were scheduled sequentially at a given time duration. Effective planning and the schedule baseline made the implementation stage go smoothly.

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION: Putting the right structure and process in place allows the team to know their responsibility without chaos. Everyone takes ownership of their task and are responsible for their actions or inactions. We launched the project and started to execute the necessary tasks as scheduled, paying most attention to the time frame.

PROJECT CONTROLLING AND MONITORING: In a myriad of personal and business situations, there is a need to develop effective strategies that suit the situation. In order to control the amount of time delegated to specific tasks, every member of the team prioritized the work schedule by creating a to-do-list. This helped the team to focus on important tasks as tasks were delegated to competent hands. The team monitored, evaluated performance during the project by comparing actual delivery to planned delivery, modified and closed out the project. At the end, we evaluated the deliverables of the project and we received feedback that helped us in subsequent projects.

Being able to effectively manage time helped us focus on the task of being the local implementation partner for the 2017 Dutch-Nigerian business challenge. Effective planning, and getting the right team with prerequisite skill sets helped reduce the cost and time spent on different phases of the project. It also helped us manage the resources effectively.

Due to effective schedule management deployed by breaking down the project into achievable phases, we were able to balance time commitment to the project with our normal routine of managing the co-working space, and the community of entrepreneurs.

Effective use of time can make the difference between the success and failure of any project and being aware of this, we focused on the tasks at hand and avoided procrastination. We had all our activities scheduled and every member of the team knew their specific role as activities were plainly defined to avoid wasting time. We were not overwhelmed with work because we planned the activities sequentially and adhered to it, utilizing the resources provided within the scheduled time.

The best thing that can happen to anyone’s project is to have a high performing capable team with different skill sets and with adequate resources.

This can go a long way in facilitating effective use of time to accomplish set goals.

Reference Drucker, F. P. (2002). The Effective Executive. Collins Business Essentials, p.53.

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PM magazine | FALL 2017

EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES ESSENTIAL FOR PROJECT SUCCESS The absence of effective time management can derail a project and result in negative impacts to cost and scope constraints. Furthermore, ineffective time management can cause undue stress for the project team and put the reputation of the manager at risk. I was involved in a recent Relationship-Centered Communication Training project to train approximately 1,000 organizational members on a specific relationship-centered communication curriculum. The project was highly visible, with cost implications, and impacted many stakeholders. The project team took on the project while managing other activities on a daily Rukiya Wongus, PMP basis. Day-to-day operations could not be negService Excellence atively impacted by taking on this time-sensitive Project Manager, project. If the project was not properly executed University of Maryland Faculty Physicians, Inc. in a timely manner, it would hurt the credibility of the team and other improvement initiatives that would be introduced to the organization. It is difficult to regain trust/credibility and rebuild momentum if you do not deliver results.

It is the project manager’s responsibility to lead the time management function through planning, estimating, scheduling, and controlling processes.

Throughout these processes, the project manager must fulfill key roles. When planning schedule management, a skillful project manager provides guidance and direction regarding the scheduling methodology and software to be used, rules for estimating the duration of an activity, and a clear strategy for schedule change control. In the Relationship-Centered Communication Training live workshop, this project used simple software to track tasks to completion.

Critical path items and milestones were identified, estimating duration of an activity required data gathering, such as reviewing organizational process as-

workshop materials, and web design platform being down. New tasks that have no point of reference for task duration is a challenge – you do not know what you don’t know. Padded estimates based on risks, as an example, could be doubling the typical duration of a known task; for example, marketing materials are usually finalized in three weeks including two revisions, but we estimate six weeks with no reason to inflate this revised estimate because the time period was not during the holiday season even with a skeleton crew and two other major campaigns in development at the same time.

With accurate estimates in place, the project schedule can be developed.

The project schedule, whether in the form of a Gantt chart or task list, should apply realistic time and resource constraints to the required project activities.

Once approved, the project schedule becomes the schedule baseline. The project manager must proactively control the project schedule and respond quickly when unavoidable schedule changes occur. Inclement weather and an unexpected snow storm could have impacted the schedule. The quick response was to work with facilitators to adjust training schedule to make up time and complete train-the-trainer process within necessary time frame.

There are several time management strategies that project managers can employ to control the schedule and keep a project on target.

“It is difficult to regain

trust/credibility and rebuild momentum if you do not deliver results.”

1. Identifying what’s in your “20” – The Pareto Principle, or 80/20 Rule, is the principle that 20 percent of work efforts produce 80 percent of the results. Identifying and focusing on the 20 percent of activities that create the most value will maximize the use of the project team’s time. Identifying what’s in your 20, means completing the train-the-trainer program, so that the curriculum could be rolled out across the organization, along with developing a communication strategy, and finalizing the CME approval process.

The other items could be moved to phase 2 – developing sustaining strategies for keeping participant skills current following the workshop.

2. Prioritizing complex, high demanding activities – Prioritizing complex, high demanding activities early in the schedule can prevent unnecessary delays and undue strain to the project team.

3. Eliminating time wasters – Project managers must be vigilant to guard

sets, and interviewing Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) with regards on how long a basic web build would take. This also included the amount of time it took for the Relationship-Centered Communication Training program to be completed before it could be rolled out to the 1,000 organization members, how long it took to complete Continuing Medical Education (CME) approval process, and how long it took for turnaround of marketing materials and communications.

Simple change control processes for small project teams included review from the project sponsor and executive for approval with schedule changes that did not impact budget.

Estimating the duration of an activity can be difficult to do with certainty. Therefore, it is important for the project manager to provide the project team with enough information to properly estimate each activity and generate padded estimates with realistic risk reserves. Determining risk reserves may take into account schedules of the limited number of human resource personnel available for the project team that include scheduled time off, organization-wide calendar conflict with major events, holidays, office closings or other priorities that may pull project team members away. A few types of risk reserves included the non-availability of physical resources such as classrooms/meeting rooms; possibility of re-work or system failures such as a vendor error in printing

against common time wasters: holding ineffective or unnecessary meetings, micromanaging, failing to delegate sensibly, and allowing avoidable distractions and interruptions. Eliminating time wasters will boost productivity and efficiency. Only meet when necessary to clarify complex items or make important decisions that require discussion; otherwise, use time to do project work and update by email. Using a file sharing system is helpful. Delegate to others as necessary; for example, I should have asked project sponsor’s administrative assistant to submit room reservation requests for identified dates in advance to help maximize time more efficiently.

4. Compressing the schedule – If a project goes off course or needs to

be completed sooner than planned without cutting the project scope, fast tracking or crashing are options for schedule compression. Project managers must weigh the pros and cons when deciding to compress the schedule.

Fast tracking the project means completing critical path activities in parallel which increases project risk, but not necessarily project costs. On the other hand, crashing the schedule typically increases costs, because it requires adding resources to complete project activities more quickly. We did not really have the option to crash the schedule – additional human resources and budget were not available. However, we did work on items in parallel, completing the CME approval process while the train-the-trainer program was in motion.

Adept project managers are careful to employ effective time management strategies to keep projects on target for successful completion. Keeping projects on schedule helps the project manager manage the triple constraint and reduces stress for the project team.

FALL 2017 | PM magazine

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UP FOR BID: RACING AGAINST THE PROCUREMENT CLOCK Q:

What are some of the first steps you and your team take to ensure that a response to a client request (Requests for Proposal, Request for Quote, Request for Information, or other documents) completed on time?

Richard Treharne Senior Program Manager, Technica Corporation

A: One of the first steps

is to assign a Proposal Manager or Capture Manager. It is the responsibility of the Proposal Manager to prepare all of the management documentation. Common proposal management documents include risk registers, schedules (including milestones), proposal outlines, proposal templates, business development presentations, and requirements matrices. It is also the responsibility of the Proposal Manager to plan and execute a kick-off meeting. It includes ensuring that all stakeholders have a strong understanding of expectations, roles and responsibilities, the solicitation instructions, and the risks involved with developing and submitting a completed proposal up front facilitates a smooth process.

Q: What are some of the major tasks required

to develop a proposal from a seller’s perspective?

What types of time management monitoring and controlling techniques are put into place to ensure these tasks are done in a timely manner based on potential customer requirements?

A:

Many companies follow a similar process of pursuing an opportunity. Preliminary steps include proposal management tasks such as conducting a kick-off meeting and submitting questions to the customer. With regards to writing the proposal, the Proposal Manager will lead authors and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in writing responses in accordance with the proposal template. Once the proposal is drafted, it is priced. Next, the drafted and priced proposal will undergo some form of review. One commonly known quality assurance (QA) process is the Shipley Proposal Process. During this process, “color reviews� are conducted, with each color representing a different level of quality and completeness. The last steps of the actual proposal production process include the physical production and delivery of the final proposal. In this case, monitoring and controlling is tied into the process itself. Everything down to the deadline of the internal color reviews are scheduled and closely managed.

Q:iDoes

Technica Corporation use any Organizational Process Assets (OPAs) such as templates, plans, policies, procedures, when preparing proposals? If so, what types of OPAs are used? Do you believe that the use of these products has a significant impact on the amount of time it takes to prepare a proposal?

A: In my experience, all organizations have some

form of OPAs that they use when developing proposals. As previously mentioned, Proposal Managers frequently use risk registers, schedules,

and proposal templates, which are usually preexisting artifacts of the organization. Being a Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) certified organization, all of the processes, tools, and templates within Technica Corporation fall under the CMMI umbrella and have been developed over many years. All of these artifacts or OPAs ensure repeatable processes that lead to consistent outcomes. This helps reduce the amount of uncertainty, increase the chance of success, and minimize the amount of time required to complete a proposal.

Q: What are some tips that you would give to

project managers, procurement specialists, and other contracting professionals regarding minimizing the amount of time between contract award and contract start date?

A:j During

the RFP development process, it is usually a requirement to estimate the resources required to implement the proposed solution. Following the procedures that have been predetermined by your organization and understanding the resources involved upfront will allow your organization to be better prepared for a discussion with the customer. Sometimes, especially with repeat customers, expert judgment is key to minimizing timeframes between the contract award and contract start date. In this instance, customer relationship management tools are helpful in knowing customer expectations that may expedite the process. Otherwise, it is just important to move quickly. At the beginning of the proposal process, a kick-off meeting with necessary stakeholders should be scheduled.

While communication between the seller and the buyer are continuous throughout the process, there may be some outstanding issues that have been identified post-award. It is at the kick-off meeting that those issues should be discussed. In my experience, this type of professional dialogue is always necessary, even on smaller contracts where outstanding issues may not be identified.

Understanding expectations early after a contract is awarded minimizes time for transition and onboarding.

Q: Have you ever experienced a time when a

proposal was not completed in the timeframe specified by the potential customer? If so, from

that experience, what would you have done differently to ensure that the timeline was met?

A:

No. I am fortunate enough to not have any procurement nightmares. Not to say that things do not go wrong during the process, however, in my experience, there is no such thing as not completing a proposal. As someone that has been part of the management of these processes, I understand the monetary risks involved with proposal development, and am often times personally willing to fill gaps to meet deadlines.

However, if a proposal was not completed on time, I would recommend that the company perform some discovery techniques to understand what should be incorporated into the processes and techniques to avoid this problem in the future. While this is usually done after every proposal, this step would be critical for an organization that failed to meet a proposal deadline. They should start by reviewing the activities and milestones associated with their process, and perhaps compare it to a more mature process. Next, they should consider the resources (whether time, human or monetary) involved with completing each activity. Sometimes resource calendars can be helpful since they clearly allow me to visualize the availability of the required human resources; however, I have found it most useful to perform bottom-up estimation to develop a schedule. A combination of the resource calendar, expert judgment, bottom-up estimation through the use of a work breakdown structure (WBS), and schedule network analysis will allow an organization to better understand all activities and resources required, as well as the relationships between those individual activities. I would recommend that any organization failing to meet proposal deadlines develop a bottom-up schedule, associating each task and milestone with a person and an estimated amount of time. While the schedule may need some adjusting or compression depending on the caliber of the proposal, having something that can be clearly communicated and followed is the key to success. Failure is costly and potentially career ending to the individual(s) responsible. Procurement management and proposal development are the lifeline to many businesses. Heavily managing the process and incorporating best practices are the key to beating the procurement clock.

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PM magazine | FALL 2017

GREAT TIME MANAGEMENT CAN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT: LET’S GIVE OUR PM’S A FIGHTING CHANCE Tony Gruebl President, Think System, Inc.

Jeff Welch Vice President, Think System, Inc.

Part of being an effective project manager is understanding that there are a number of things that need to be done in a short period of time. Consider that time management for a project manager involves both personal time management and team time management. However, is that all there is to being a great time manager? Personal time management is not unique to an organization, as it drives individual performance and effectiveness everywhere. Project Managers (PMs) also have their own unique set of activities that must be completed in order to be effective. They push through while drafting documents and reports, updating project plans, meeting with team members and sponsors to gauge risks, dealing with personality challenges and over-commitments and under-deliveries. They start new projects and help sponsors determine scope, budgets and plans. To some degree, they may also manage cross functional technical and performance teams.

PMs also coach and influence the time management of their team members. Can you count the number of times you have questioned a technical team on the sequencing of their task or clarified their understanding on what needs to be delivered versus what must come later? Work faster, smarter, and produce what needs to be produced in time for the next person to advance the progress of the project forward.

Time management for both the PM and the team, regardless of how much actually gets done, can be ineffective in making sure projects are successful.

Why? Here’s an example of an organization with a time management problem: Lackwater-Wally Partners is a fictional publishing company in Baltimore, Maryland. They have a Project Management Office (PMO) with seven full-time project managers, each operating at the level of an advanced project coordinator. Very few of the PMs have developed the skills needed to operate at the tactical PM level – they are just too early in their careers, but they are learning quickly, and this place provides great experience.

The PMO leader at Lackwater-Wally has a traditional view of the role of the PMO (See PMI, Crawford Model) with an experienced tactical PM and the Executive Vice President (EVP), who oversees the PMO and the Information Technology (IT) department. They want a number of things done: demand a high level of serviceii, and drive the teams with deadlines. The

technical team uses a modified agile system with the belief that every project needs to be completed differently and that the existing approach should be done according to the project requirements. In agile systems, activities are divided into time boxes to deliver specific features for releases. It allows an iterative approach to software development from the start of the project instead of delivering it all at once.

The PMO uses a custom developed robust SharePoint Portfolio Management tool designed by the IT department. It lists 153 active projects in some state of scoping, planning, or active project control and tracks progress for any interested party to see. Projects run a few weeks to almost a year in duration with many being several months long. The PM team works frantically every day, and never seems to catch up.

For the project manager at Lackwater-Wally, projects fall into three categories: • Projects that focus on and apply adequate effort because they must not fail; • P rojects that apply the minimum effort necessary, to maximize the effort available for those projects that are most important, and; • P rojects to ignore for now that are on autopilot, slow to start, stalled for reasons outside of the PMs’ control, or abandoned in some way by the sponsor.

With effort and review, under the leadership of the Lackwater-Wally EVP, the number of “projects” were cut by over half. The kinds of projects that were removed were: • P rojects that were sponsor requests, had inadequate scoping, and had no indicator of urgency (except that the sponsor was a very important executive in the company); • S egments of prior projects that should have previously been transitioned to IT but were not because time was too short to close them out properly; • P rojects where scoping revealed a fundamental flaw in the initial project assumptions about benefit, cost, and time, and where re-scoping was not decisively reconsidered, and; • P rojects that had otherwise stalled at some point in the project life cycle.

The PMO team and the Executive Vice President also added strategic vetting to the scoping and approval for all new projects. Project sponsors would need to argue and justify the rationale for their projects within the context of the larger business purpose, every single time.

The time management impact for the PMO team was substantial. Here are some of the noticeable improvements that followed this shift to strategically aligning all projects: • L imit the number of projects undertaken to only those important for the business; • F orce the focus on the projects with the greatest impacts, and; • A lign the projects to executive focus and sponsor outcomes The ability of a project manager to apply good time management principles requires them to first define activities for the project and then use the scope baseline to keep team members on track. This will help them understand all the activities listed in the work breakdown structure in order to identify major work packages needed for the project. The project manager can also use decomposition techniques to divide and subdivide the project scope and project deliverables into smaller parts for the project completion. All this will rely on their own skills, training, ability, and operational focus, and will also rely on the executive team making good project choices. A PMO overburdened with a high number of projects with no strategic alignment and at various states of progress, is bound to end up largely ineffective. However, forcing justification of projects by aligning them strategically, allows the project manager to determine the level of service necessary for the project to be successful.

Lackwater-Wally produced a significant performance impact, leveraged through its project management team once unshackled effective time management was enabled and allowed to work properly.

Crawford, J. Kent, The Strategic Planning Office: A Guide to Improving Organizational Performance, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 2002. i

“Level of Service” is a node in Think’s PMO maturity matrix that defines cultural expectations of project management. High levels of service require more meetings, broader PM span of control, and higher degrees of fidelity in project management artifacts ii

FALL 2017 | PM magazine

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DEADLINES AND MORE DEADLINES: IT’S MORE THAN JUST A DATE Monica N. Kay, D.B.A., PMP Adjunct Professor, Morgan State University

How do you determine the finish date on your project and have you planned it out with a team? Is it a date that has been given to you from your executive sponsor? Or is it a date where you have to be compliant with policy or regulation? More often than not, project managers do not have the luxury of time to establish a team to adequately plan the time-phases of a project, nor do they have adequate Organizational Process Assets (OPAs) that provide guidance on how to properly structure and provide the schedule management methodology, level of accuracy needed or schedule maintenance that would dictate reporting frequency and controls that would need to be in place for effective program management.

Here are some effective scheduling strategies that have, from my experience, proven to help with the scenarios listed above.

“More often than not, project

managers do not have the luxury of time to establish a team to adequately plan the time-phases of a project...”

SCENARIO 1:

DATE GIVEN BY EXECUTIVE SPONSOR First tip, establish if the date is non-negotiable. Ask your executive sponsor if the date is his/her first priority or if costs or quality would supercede the time factor. Ask if you need to increase resources or if quality would suffer in meeting your deadlines. Determine what goals will be met with the date: will it enhance profitability, or does it meet a performance goal set by the executive or his/her boss. During my experience as a project manager (PM), executives typically have goals and priorities that they wish to achieve during their tenure. Some projects have included accounting systems, strategic plan development and project management training for an Agency. In each of the cases, the driver was the date that was derived from the senior executive.

Once that was determined, I proceeded with schedule planning utilizing a schedule management plan, and with the knowledge that other areas may be re-prioritized since the project and the date given was the driver of the work.

SCENARIO 2:

COMPLIANCE OR REGULATORY DATE SET BY LEGISLATION In some cases, a timeframe may be set that is required by law. This includes Compliance or Regulatory Date set by Legislation.

In some cases, a timeframe may be set that is required by law. This includes legislative and regulatory dates that cannot move. The PM in this situation must backward plan using activity resource estimates to ensure that they are

meeting the requirements set forth under the law and identify any constraints that may make it difficult to meet the date. This includes utilizing time management techniques, such as using the expert judgment of your project team, and/or historical information from previous projects. Inevitably, some projects may not meet the required compliance timeframes simply because they were not realistic from the inception. For those projects that cannot meet the deadlines, significant conversations need to occur to either de-scope the project or to apply for waivers that typically outline the plan and schedule for meeting the compliance date in the future. An example in this case included a major legislative mandate to begin a health program for certain populations by a certain date, which meant that we had to marshal resources across the organization to implement.

“Deadlines are more than just a date, it is the resource such as people, equipment and budget that must be encumbered for a favorable project outcome.”

In either scenario, a project manager must be aware of the motivating factor in the triple constraint, whether it is time, cost or schedule. If time is indeed the driver, a project manager must employ practices such as planning schedule management, defining the activities, sequencing and ultimately controlling the schedule. Deadlines are more than just a date, it is the resource such as people, equipment and budget that must be encumbered for a favorable project outcome.

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PM magazine | FALL 2017

STUDENT TEAM BIOGRAPHIES

Olalekan Asaolu MSPM c/o 2017

Raechelle Floyd MSPM c/o 2017

Olalekan obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Pure and Applied Physics from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Nigeria in 2010. He gained professional working experience in the Information Technology (IT) field which includes, IT support with the Amin Ibrahim Mousalli Group Nigeria, and radio frequency optimization as well as a data center management for Airtel Telecoms Nigeria.

Raechelle Floyd graduated from Morgan State University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education. She is an experienced personal trainer of four years, with proven client commitment to progress and results. Although she has a background in physical education and fitness, she enrolled in the Master of Science Program in Project Management at Morgan State University to effectively manage health and fitness related projects.

Olalekan is currently enrolled in the Master of Science in Project Management program at Morgan State University. He is learning how to integrate IT into project management to achieve a lifelong goal of rehabilitating the IT infrastructure in Africa.

Raechelle’s areas of interest in project management include cost management, procurement management, and human resource management. She plans on building and refining her skills and believes that the knowledge she has mastered during her tenure at Morgan State University will provide a platform to a wide range of career paths.

Olalekan’s skills includes Linux, data analytics, cloud computing, software and hardware installations, and problem solving. He obtained his Project Management Professional (PMP®) in November 2017, and plans to take the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL v3®) exam in fall 2017.

Raechelle is consistently seeking new opportunities to gain experience, and upon graduation, plans to explore the best way to apply her diverse knowledge and expertise as it relates to project management. Currently her industry interest is public health, with a concentration on prevention.

This combination of physical education and project management knowledge will allow her to initiate and manage projects that focus on prevention of illnesses through fitness.

Chinwe Ihuoma MSPM c/o 2017 Chinwe Ihuoma is an Information Technology (IT) Technician with the Office of Information Technology at Morgan State University. She graduated from the university of Lagos, Nigeria in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and is currently enrolled in the Masters of Science in Project Management program.

Chinwe has worked on several IT projects, which includes the Next Generation Network (NGN) where Morgan State University’s Network was migrated from Cisco to an Alcatel provider. She manages several other daily projects like re-imaging of systems, setting up office phones and collecting phone data analysis, assisting with trouble shooting devices and any other issues that may require her assistance.

As a member of PMI, Baltimore chapter, Chinwe volunteers by organizing and facilitating PMI events at Morgan State University. She plans on obtaining her Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification by the end of the year. Chinwe is dedicated and a high achiever, she wants to further her education by pursuing a Doctoral degree where she plans to use all technical and business skills to achieve a long-term career goal.

FALL 2017 | PM magazine

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Bisola Kasim MPSM c/o 2017 Bisola Kasim graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Banking and Finance at the Lagos State University. She is enrolled in the Masters of Science in Project Management program at Morgan State University. She works for Resources, LLC, Bowie, MD as a Business Analyst and a Certified Scrum Master (CSM®). Where she facilitates requirement gathering sessions with internal and external stakeholders using methods such as business process reviews and requirement workshops.

She has worked with various Non-Government Organizations (NGO) in Nigeria and was able to facilitate scholarships for graduating elementary students into high schools. Her passion includes helping children using project management knowledge areas. This allowed her to successfully setup a non-profit child care center in Nigeria. This project will provide after- school supplies and educate parents on how to provide healthy living processes for their children in rural areas.

After graduation, Bisola plans to further her career in a well-established project management firm that will further her goals for her NGO project in Nigeria.

In the near future, she is looking forward to taking the Project Management Professional (PMP®) exam.

Dachelle Royal MSPM c/o 2017 Dachelle Royal is a Project Manager at the Washington Suburban Sanitation Commission.

She currently reviews design plans for project construction in Prince George’s and Montgomery County. Dachelle graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Architecture and Environmental Design from Morgan State University in May 2013.

In December, she will graduate from Morgan State University with a Master of Science in Project Management.

Dedicated to learning all the tools and skills necessary to become a prominent Project Manager, Dachelle became a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®) in December 2016 and plans on taking the Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification in the near future.

After graduation, Dachelle would like to become a Project Manager for commercial and residential design projects. She would like to help design structures that will not only hold a place in this world forever but also benefit those that will get great use out of these structures.

Kirian Villalta MSPM c/o 2017 Kirian Villalta is an award winning graphic designer at Morgan State University for the Public Relations Department. She manages and coordinates graphic design projects from concept to completion. Kirian obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C. in 2006.

Kirian has hands-on experience planning budgets, negotiating sponsorships from private business as well as other organizations to demonstrate her analytical and tactical skills to become a project manager. Mastering her craft has led her to pursue the Master of Science in Project Management degree at Morgan State University. She plans to obtain her Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification in Spring of 2018.

As a graduate of the program, Kirian plans on having a successful career transition into a project management role, using her experience with vital processes and techniques to execute project plans to achieve results at a much higher level, that will give her a distinct edge in the field.

Tyra White MSPM c/o 2017 Tyra White graduated from Morgan State University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Information Sciences and Systems.

She works for Technica Corporation in support of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) as a Technical Project Manager. Prior to her current employment in the project management field, Tyra gained technical experience through planning, analyzing, and developing software solutions for government clients. Formerly a software developer, Tyra realized her passion for Information Technology (IT) project management in 2015, and decided to pursue a management-based degree to pair with her technical degree.

As a graduate of the Masters of Science in Project Management program, Tyra plans to apply her acquired knowledge to her current career to pursue a role in program management while continuing her present role in providing support on government contracts. Tyra eventually plans to gain experience in private industry in order to broaden her project and program management experience. She is a firm believer that formal education and work experience in conjunction with professional credentials are essential to be a professional. Tyra became a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®) in October 2017.

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PM magazine | FALL 2017

Our Program and Links to PMI

100% ONLINE GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT 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.

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, PMP, PMI-RMP, Agile, and ITIL exam prep workshops on the campus of Morgan State and continues to offer the workshops every spring and fall.

Please visit us at www.morgan.edu, then proceed to Academic Programs.

Samples of courses offered include: 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 Engineering; Industrial Engineering; Information Technology; Science; and Transportation.

1700 E. Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, Maryland 21251

FALL 2017 | PM magazine

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Advanced Courses 6-8 hrs.

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Certification Prep Courses

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Project Management Professional Training Series The Baltimore Chapter provides its members the opportunity to take Prep Course in order to qualify for the following PMI Credential Exams: • Project Management Professional • Certified Associate of Project Management • Risk Managment Professional • ITIL Foundation Visit: www.pmibaltimore.org The Baltimore Chapter provides opportunities for corporations, academia, non-profits, and government organizations to promote their product, services, or organizational image through its sponsorship programs. The Baltimore Chapter is offering the following promotional and networking opportunities: • Premier Sponsorship Program – Several Advertising & promotional opportunities bundled together • Site Meeting Sponsorship – Available throughout the year at many area PMI BC sites • PMI BC Annual Meeting – Well attended “State of the Chapter” held each November • Golf Tournament for the Community Fund – Play golf and network with area PM’s • Project-of-the-Year Award Ceremony – Join PMI BC in recognizing and supporting the best managed projects • Professional Development Event (PDE) – Held annually • Young PM of the Year – Recognize & support our young PMs • Mentor Program – Meet & greet our up 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