PMI March Meeting
March 4, 2009

Hello Project Management Professionals,

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Our on-line reservation system is up and online.  To use it go to our web site at http://www.PMIMontgomeryCountyMD.org and click on the pull-down "Meetings" and click on "Register".  Follow the instructions to RSVP for this dinner meeting.  If you register on-line then you do not need to send an email to me.  We have allowed for payment in advance by using either a credit card or PayPal when registering on-line. We will not accept either of these payment types for paying at the door.
 
Specifically, if you elect to pay at the door we will only accept either cash or a check.
 

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We are proud to offer our next dinner meeting at Normandie Farm Restaurant located at 10710 Falls Road, Potomac, MD (Phone: 301-983-8838, web site http://www.popovers.com ) on Wednesday, March 4, 2009.
 
Directions: Take Rt 270 to the Falls Road exit.  Proceed south towards Potomac.  Normandie Farm is 3 1/2 miles on the right.
 
Alternate directions: take the beltway, RT 495 to exit 39.  Proceed west on River Road 3 1/2 miles.  Turn right onto Falls Road and proceed 3/4 mile to Normandie Farm on the left.
 
Our Meeting agenda is as follows:
 
5:00 to 6:30 PM  Informal Social/Networking - A cash bar will be available
6:30 to 7:45 PM  Dinner
7:45 to 8:00 PM  Announcements and Introductions
8:00 to 9:00 PM  Presentation by Dr. Jimmie West, PMP- Strategic Project Management: Aligning Programs and Projects with Organizational Strategy
 

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Note: Please plan to arrive by at least 6:15 PM so that we can process everyone in and be able to start serving dinner by 6:30 PM as planned.

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Bio:          Dr. Jimmie West, PMP
Jimmie L. West, Ph.D., PMP, is the Director of Professional Development for the University of Maryland’s A.J. Clark School of Engineering.  Dr. West gained his project management experience working in the fields of telecommunications and systems integration.  Dr West has worked with executives in several Fortune 500 companies in the area of strategic alignment, portfolio management and project governance.  He has conducted hundreds of courses for thousands of students in the US, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Australia, in the areas of strategy, leadership, and project management.  He has served on several accreditation review teams for PMI’s Global Accreditation.  Dr. West has authored several articles on team building, conflict management and schedule analysis and has served as a contributing author for a project management textbook as well presenting several papers at the Project Management Institutes annual symposiums.

Topic:     Strategic Project Management: Aligning Programs and Projects with Organizational Strategy

Project management is the fastest growing discipline in the world today.  At least it seems that way.  Research done by the Center for Business Practices indicates that 70% of the Fortune 500 organizations places a high value on project management and in almost every organization, there is a recognition that part of your job is to either manage a project or be a team member on a project.  Project management is seen as a technical field with its own set of tools, techniques, methodologies, and yes, don’t forget our own professional body, PMI!  There is another side to project management, (not the dark side) that is beginning to gain respectability and value, the use of project management as a business tool.  Strategic project management goes beyond the selecting, planning, executing, and closing of a project or program.  Strategic project management is becoming the means for organizations to align their portfolios, programs and projects with organizational strategies and objectives.  In this discussion, you will learn of the Strategic Execution Framework and how it will help organizations begin to align their 3Ps with their strategic intent.  You will gain a new perspective of more effectively managing the finite resources of an organization (money, people, and time) to achieve higher levels of project efficiency and effectiveness.  Using this concept of alignment will ultimately result in targeting these assets on portfolios, programs, and projects that will yield the highest results for your organizations.

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NOTE: If you know an interesting speaker with a topic on Project Management who you think would be good for presenting at a future dinner meeting please tell our VP of Programs, Ellen Greenfield at elgreenfield@gmail.com.
 

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Our mission is to provide a forum for Professional Project Managers to promote the principles of Project Management Institute (PMI) through networking with other Project Managers, sharing project experiences, providing and receiving training, and supporting Project Management Professionals in their certification efforts.  Our intent is to provide this forum in a place that is convenient to those who either live and/or work in Montgomery County, Maryland.