Best Practice Showcase - TOMORROW

We’d like to reinforce our invitation to all our readers, trainers, partners and clients to come and spend the day at The Best Practice Showcase tomorrow at the QE11 Conference Centre.

The Showcase, which is in its seventh edition, is FREE TO ATTEND. Its interactive format proves a real hit with delegates, who spend the day discussing issues, talking to experts and sharing experiences with each other.

Maven Training will be hosting five Birds of a Feather sessions at the event – these sessions entail sitting round a table with ten to fifteen delegates and grappling with pertinent programme and project management issues – our idea of heaven!

Melanie Franklin, our CEO, and Susan Tuttle, Associate Trainer, will be hosting sessions on where Project and Programme Management stand and what is happening next with these disciplines. They will present a step by step guide as to how to go about establishing and implementing a project and programme environments within organisations.

Melanie is also scheduled to deliver her popular presentation on Interpersonal Skills for Projects and Programmes at 10am at the BMP stand space.

In addition to these discussion groups, the Best Practice Showcase will also feature a full seminar programme. Emma Jones, Chief Examiner for PRINCE2® Qualifications will update delegates on the impact of the 2009 Refresh.

The event is free so we’d love to see you take part. Click here for details of all the sessions on offer, and to register.

The Best Practice Showcase
Tuesday 23rd June 2009
QE II Conference Centre, London
www.bestpracticeshowcase.com

Come to The Best Practice Showcase!

We’d like to reinforce our invitation to all our readers, trainers, partners and clients to come and spend the day at The Best Practice Showcase on Tuesday 23rd June at the QE11 Conference Centre.

The Showcase, which is in its seventh edition, is FREE TO ATTEND. Its interactive format proves a real hit with delegates, who spend the day discussing issues, talking to experts and sharing experiences with each other.

Maven Training will be hosting five Birds of a Feather sessions at the event – these sessions entail sitting round a table with ten to fifteen delegates and grappling with pertinent programme and project management issues – our idea of heaven!

Melanie Franklin, our CEO, will host sessions that will focus on Programme Management – where are we and where do we go next? Melanie will present a step by step guide as to how to go about establishing and implementing a programme environment in your organisation. The examples she’ll be exploring are derived from our work with public and private sector organisations. She’ll also ask delegates to share their experiences and challenges.

Melanie is also scheduled to deliver her popular presentation on Interpersonal Skills for Projects and Programmes – exact timing still to be confirmed, but watch this space for further details.

Susan Tuttle, Associate Trainer, will be hosting sessions on Project management – what next? Susan will discuss how project managers can get commitment from their sponsors, how to persuade line managers to release staff to work on projects, and how to engage support staff fully. The session will give those involved in project management a chance to share their experiences, and set this against our roadmap for increasing organisation wide project management capability. This is an opportunity to devise practical steps to address these issues. Using a combination of interactive examples and our in depth experience in resolving these issues, those attending this session will feel empowered to return to work and make a tangible difference.

In addition to these discussion groups, the Best Practice Showcase will also feature a full seminar programme. Emma Jones, Chief Examiner for PRINCE2® Qualifications will update delegates on the impact of the 2009 Refresh.

The event is free so we’d love to see you take part. Click here for details of all the sessions on offer, and to register.

The Best Practice Showcase
Tuesday 23rd June 2009
QE II Conference Centre, London
www.bestpracticeshowcase.com

Research proves that it pays to be qualified!

If proof were needed that it's well worth keeping your qualifications and skills up to date, some new research confirms that it's well worth the time and money you'll invest in getting your qualifications. What more, PRINCE2® and ITIL® come out high on the list of desirable qualifications.

The research was conducted by The IT Job Board and surveyed 139 IT Professionals in April 2009.

The findings show that 75% of recruiters believe IT candidates with additional qualifications stand a better chance of securing a job. This finding was also supported by the candidate response, where 84% of IT professionals consider that holding industry certifications will improve their employment opportunities. And a massive 87% of techies believe that recruiters and hiring managers would look for additional qualifications when recruiting for jobs in IT.

When it came to the certifications most valued by IT professionals in the current market, 25% believed that the PRINCE2® Certification was most important, followed by the ITIL® Certification.

Alex Farrell, managing director of The IT Job Board, said: "It is clear to see that both recruiters and candidates value certifications, and the fact that these can have a huge impact on peoples' IT job opportunities: during difficult times, when employment is harder to come by and the competition is fierce, holding additional IT certifications could be vital."

The Practice of Leadership

Blogging about we have found a very interesting blog called The Practice of Leadership, which is written by South-African George Ambler.

We particularly love his post on ‘No Communication No Leadership’ and we couldn’t agree more with that. Communication is key to leading people – after all, who’d follow someone they don’t understand?

George says that without effective communication one cannot lead and ends up talking a walk on his/her own. He argues that communication is essential to effective leadership and raises questions for us to consider:

How effective is your communication? How do you know?
Is your communication relevant?
How do you get within their (your staff) experience when your communicate?

We know from experience that many programme, project and risk managers are working under extreme pressure at the moment, with tougher targets, tight budgets and severe time constraints.

It’s not always easy to keep your one’s eye on the ball at times like these, let alone constantly keeping a team updated, motivated and working at optimum levels.

In a programme or project environment the elements of leadership (behaviours and competencies) need to be managed in a way that meets the needs of each step of the project or programme lifecycle.

We don’t want to seem opportunistic or use this blog for commercial reasons, but it just so happens that The Maven Training Skills Academy™ focuses on key interpersonal skills such as negotiation, conflict management, leadership and, of course, communication.

In our one-day Leadership Skills for Projects and Programmes course, we look at competencies and behaviours that successful leaders exhibit as well as at different leadership styles. We also explore the differences between leadership and management and discuss opportunities for establishing leadership credibility.

In our Communication Skills for Projects & Programmes course we addresses the specific management challenges associated with the communication needs of projects and programmes. These include communications that develop buy-in and support for the initiative and communications that provide progress information and reassurance of the achievements of the initiative.

These courses form just two of our specialist Skills Academy division. Each course is highly participative, giving delegates many opportunities to review their own skills-set and understand how their skills impact on their success at work. Our Skills Academy courses are designed to inspire, energise and motivate you so that you return to work better able to deal with all the challenges that you face.

What a training organisation can do for a client

By Susan Tuttle, Associate Trainer.

Earlier this year I was commissioned with the development and delivery of a bespoke Project Management course to a specific client. After running the series of courses successfully (there have been nine issues), I thought of sharing a summary end-of-event assessment with you.

The delegates – who ranged from never having been on a project to leading projects (especially events) – were open to the ideas and principles of the client’s own Project Management framework, as well as a generic PM approach. The three hours spent on each of the courses seemed enough time for them to try out important aspects of PM on a fictitious case study, as well as bring up ideas and issues of using a methodology/framework on real-life projects.

The course opened with a brief overview of the client’s own PM framework and how it could be applied to projects using a matrix of project categories. Most delegates understood this concept, but wanted more clarification on the categories and how exactly this would affect their current and future projects.

The client divides its framework in four phases: ‘Consider’, ‘Organise’, ‘Realise’ and ‘Close Down’.

The second topic of the course covered the ‘Consider’ phase, which concentrates on exploring options and justifying the project investment. Again delegates understood the value of a Business Case, but questioned the practicalities when the “decision had already been made” to do the project or pursue a certain option. No one had experienced comparing the project option with the “do nothing” option on 'real' projects.

The third topic, ‘Organise’, involved critiquing and adding to a Project Initiation Document. This was consistently met with apprehension from the name of the document to the level of detail required for a PID.

During the ‘Realise’ portion of the course, the delegates were asked to deal with risks, issues and changes, based on their scenarios. Information previously defined (or not) in the PID helped the delegates understand the importance of the information from the PID to assist them in managing the execution of the project.

Finally, when working on ‘Closing Down’ and evaluating the case study project, delegates made several connections to identifying, confirming and agreeing the information from the PID in order to achieve a successful outcome at the end of the project, especially in the three areas focused on during the PID exercise – Risks, Communications and Product Descriptions.

As it’s clear from this example, tailoring well-known Best Practices methodologies to the needs of each specific client is something that can be done – and in the case of Maven Training, that’s where we excel!

Solutions sought – Solutions provided: Project Challenge March 2009

By William Franklin, Client Relations Director at Maven Training.

Two days in Birmingham NEC with close to 1000 delegates attending and we came away with a clear picture of the state of the UK project & programme management world. Simply put, individuals are seeking qualifications to evidence their existing skills set through accredited examinations such as PRINCE2®, MSP™, M_o_R® or PMP®, while organisations are looking for support in structuring their project and programme environment. Both groups are feeling the pressure of the current economic environment but also both groups found solutions through discussions with Maven Training.

As part of the event, Melanie Franklin, CEO of Maven Training, gave a talk on the importance of Interpersonal Skills for Project Managers. This 45-minute talk exceeded not only our expectations but also that of the organisers. The 110 seats were filled well before the start time and a further 60 delegates gathered in any space they could find to listen to what is being described as the 4th Dimension of Project Management (the other three being:-
- i) Application of Best Practice methodologies
- ii) specialist industry skills
- iii) technical project management skills).

Without going into depth as this subject is covered in Melanie’s Darwin blog, the 170 delegates greeted the talk with enthusiasm as while some of the subjects made uncomfortable listening, they all hit home and gave a route map to follow when returning to the office. To those reading this blog, thank you for your participation – and watch this space for our one-day Interpersonal Skills course. If you are interested in finding out when Melanie is speaking again, just send an email to info@maventraining.co.uk.

Returning to solutions, our corporate enquiries focused on how to structure internal systems and procedures to ensure maximum impact using restricted capital. Use of Programme Offices and the new P3O qualification was high on the agenda as was development of bespoke 1-day events enabling whole organisations to gain access to a common approach. Unsurprisingly, most enquiries were driven by the mid-senior level management and not the Board but with downward pressure on budgets and increased expectations on delivery, organisations have to operate as a single unit if they are to succeed. We have many conversations to be followed up over the coming weeks but if we have not called you, feel free to chase us.

As a thank you to those delegates that visited our stand, we are offering special discounts on a wide range of our open courses and bespoke programmes. Just make sure you that when you call us you mention the fact that you visited our stand last week. On a final note, we will be exhibiting at the next Project Challenge, which will be held in London on 30th September 2009. We look forward to seeing you there!

Qualifications and Skills Briefing: Programme Management within the NHS

We thought we should use the blog to help spread this news: our CEO, Melanie Franklin will be conducting a free half-day briefing for NHS Senior Managers, Senior Project Managers, Programme Managers and Directors on why project, programme and change management are relevant and important to the changes currently being made within the NHS. An experienced Project and Programme Manager herself, and having worked with PCTs at both Board level and Clinical Board level, Melanie understands the challenges they face.

The briefing will explain how the requirements resulting from the Darzi recommendations and the impact of World Class Commissioning (to name but two initiatives) will necessitate changes to working practices in the NHS, and the resulting increases in the types of service and the location in which services are offered. Another key initiative that PCTs are expected to deliver is the Tackling Health Inequality programme, whose aim is to ensure that everyone has access to adequate medical and social care. Care Pathways are part of this programme and are designed to ensure there is an appropriate response to patient’s needs.


In Melanie’s words: “The impact of these changes will lead to another change in the structure of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and their relationships with Acute and Mental Health Trusts, Ambulance Services, the voluntary sector and the local authority. They have big implications for how the PCTs organise themselves and the timetable for delivery is both tight and non-negotiable. World Class Commissioning is a large-scale change programme whereby PCTs are expected to separate providers and buyers services in order to be able to commission the best service providers. Practice-based commissioning (PBC) is part of this programme, allowing groups of family doctors and community clinicians to develop better services for their local communities. All of this work can most effectively be defined, agreed and implemented using MSP™ (Managing Successful Programmes) underpinned with a strong project management ethos,” Melanie says. “But without this approach, staff at all levels are likely to find themselves confused about the direction of the organisation and the contribution they are expected to make. We’ll be examining the strategic importance of programmes, and the structure that needs to be in place to support the successful definition, management and completion of programmes. We’ll also compare and contrast the definitions for project and programme management, change management and business as usual, and see how these different areas of work contribute to the success of an organisation.”

The briefing will address how the implementation of programme management demands a culture that supports matrix management and performance management – delegates will be able to see examples of how this has been achieved in different organisation and to review the strategic importance of defining and implementing projects and programmes, as well as seeing how the origin of the different projects and programmes is likely to affect those involved.

The briefing will also give delegates a feel for our services, venues, trainers and their approach to training. Attendees will gain an understanding of different types of qualifications and skills-based courses available for individuals and organisations, and how these fit into the development plans for people performing different management roles within their organisation.

This event will benefit Senior Managers, Senior Project Managers, Programme Managers and Directors. The schedule will run from 8:45 for a 9:30 start to 11:30 followed by a questions&answers session.

Event details:

Where: Manchester Business Park, UK
When: 26th February
Time: 9.30-11.30
Cost: Free
Details

Want to book? Contact Sam Tuckey on 020 7089 6161 or email sam.tuckey@maventraining.co.uk

Qualifications and Skills

Our CEO, Melanie Franklin, talks about her newest project - our Qualifications and Skills Free Briefing and how it will help people find their way around Project and Programme Management related training for 2009.

"A new year and new presentations to write. Today I am back from my holiday, and my first task is to write a compelling and relevant briefing that explains the different project, programme and change management examinations. This feels like a useful spend of my time, because as the CEO of this company, I am receiving so many queries from people in and out of work about how to improve their CVs and how to make themselves more marketable to potential employers.

In part, this is driven by fear – I think there is a genuine concern, by many people who appear to have stable jobs, that redundancy is just around the corner. Even though they are overworked and under pressure, and leaving the office for a few days feels risky, people realise that if they have to apply for new roles, a CV that only says they have been on a couple of internal training courses over the last couple of years is not going to make them that marketable.

Employers look favourably on people who are already qualified, as it gives them a sense of comfort. An examination qualification is external validation of what the CV is saying about the person - making them a much less risky hire. Also, it means that the employer will not have to release them for training once they are employed, which is a bonus when times are tough.

My job is to help people identify what training and development activities are most relevant for their situation, and that’s why I enjoy the open forum that we create at our briefing evenings. I really enjoy the two way flow of questions and answers between myself and those that attend the briefings, because at the end of the evening, I feel I have been able to answer questions that often employees don't want to ask their employers.

Having re-read this article, I am even more committed than ever to making the briefings a great event – so I had better stop writing this and get on with putting my presentation together. Hope to see you there!"

"No train, no gain"

This is the headline of a report published on today’s issue of ‘Metro’, on the London Education section (page 19). The article talks about Train to Gain – a government service that aims to improve companies’ skills sets. This scheme works by providing organisations with the services of a skills broker, whose job is to identify the training needs within the organisation, find training companies that offer these courses, and help with funding information. Maven Training is on the verge of becoming a part of this scheme – both by having a broker analyse our own training needs (we are meeting the broker at 1pm, exciting!), and also by being one of the training organisations on their list, which we already are: on one of our courses this week there is a delegate whose training has been sponsored by the organisation he works in, and funding was helped by Train to Gain. We’ll leave him to his course (he’s got to concentrate on the exams!), but expect an interview to talk about the benefits of this scheme very soon!