Joint Dinner Meeting with Silicon Valley Chapter

Topic 1: Managing Product Development with Metrics
Presented by Jonathan Propp

Description:
How effective are your company's product development efforts?  Amazingly enough, many companies cannot answer this question.  Yet there are excellent metrics that have been developed to help companies understand whether their investments in R&D are effective.

This talk will introduce participants to ways of measuring product development at different levels:

• Individual project metrics
  • Retrospective metrics for process improvement
  • Predictive metrics for improving outcomes
  • Striking a balance among cost, schedule, and quality objectives
• Portfolio metrics
  • Balancing risk and return
  • Achieving strategic objectives
  • Managing within the resource envelope
• How to implement metrics within an organization
  • Selling metrics
  • Overcoming resistance
  • Matching the metrics to the skills of the user community
  • The role of information systems

This session will provide you with practical tools you can use as a program manager leading individual development projects or as part of a Program Management Office managing a portfolio of development projects.

Topic 2: Reduce Project Stress and Complications: Critical Communication Factors Beyond the Project Plan
Presented by Cheryl Mann

Description:
In order to successfully execute on project deliverables, project management professionals must rely on their teams to function at full capacity to achieve needed results - high-performing teams are critical!  High-performing teams have achieved highly-effective levels of communication.  Special tools such as team agreements, understanding how to avoid non-toxic behaviors and many other communication tools for success create these effective communication dynamics.

Most project teams are comprised of cross-functional and sometimes virtual team members, as well as different personalities and communication styles, which can make team communications challenging.  In addition, team members are often burned out from the stress and pressures of multiple projects, which results in communication breakdowns among team members because they are hurried and busy, causing unnecessary project delays and stress.

For all of these reasons, it is imperative that project managers develop and utilize the critical communication skills necessary to build the solid relationships needed for their project teams to excel.  Attendees will see that improving their project teams' communication isn't only possible, but is critical to reducing stress and averting unnecessary complications.  Attendees will be re-energized to more effectively communicate with and lead their teams when they return to their projects after this session, and they'll have specific tools to do so!

*Save $5 by registering by midnight Thursday, August 12, 2010. 

Instructor Biography:

Jonathan Propp

Mr. Propp is a leading local expert in the field of new product development.  As a principal in Red House, he consults to technology firms throughout the Bay Area.  He currently teaches OMIS 390, "New Product Development" in the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University.  He is a certified New Product Development Professional (NPDP) and a former board member of the Northern California chapter of the Product Development Management Associatiion (PDMA).

His 23 years of experience in Silicon Valley includes companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Acuson, Mitsubishi Electronics, and Sun Microsystems.  Mr. Propp is a graduate of Harvard College and the Yale School of Management.

Cheryl Man, MBA, PCC, CPCC

As President and Founder of Goals InSight, Cheryl Mann is a popular national speaker, and team development specialist based in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Cheryl specializes in helping teams regain and expand their productivity to reach their highest potential.  Positively functioning project teams, strategic planning, proactive change management and work life balance lead to greater productivity, garnering powerful results for clients.  She has helped improve team dynamics, performance and productivity at organizations such as Johnson and Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, Vision Service Plan and numerous others.

She has delivered hundreds of workshops and speaking engagements for public and private industry events, conferences, corporate meetings and off-site retreats.  Leaders and teams alike have been captivated with Chery'ls engaging and interactive style that helps them lead, motivate, and transform their teams to peak productivity and cohesion.

With MBA and BA degrees, and more than 22 years management experience, Cheryl understands the daily challenges faced by today's organizations and specializes in motivating and helping them achieve their objectives.  She works with all types of project teams - newly-formed teams, existing teams, agile teams, traditional project teams, intact teams, virtual teams and others.  Cheryl has delivered many workshops and team development sessions for several chapters of the Project Management Institute, all of which have yielded extremely positive feedback.

In addition, Cheryl is the author and publisher of a Team Development Audio Workshop Series, as well as two audio and workbook programs that are helpful for project managers titled "Powerful Goal Setting: 6 Steps to Meaningful Business and Personal Achievement" and "Work-Life Harmony: Create the Balanced Life You Desire".

Complete details can be found at www.goalsinsight.com!

Program Agenda:
5:30-6:15: Registration and Networking Reception
6:15-6:55: Dinner and Continued Networking
6:50-6:55: PMISV Chapter Presidents' message
6:55-7:00 SFBAC President's message
7:00-7:45: Cheryl Mann, Reduce Project Stress and Complications: Critical Communication Factors Beyond the Project Plan
7:45-8:00: Break
8:00-8:45: Jonathan Propp, Managing Product Development with Metrics
8:45-9:00: Raffles and Adjourn

Registration ends August 15, 2010.
Advance online registration by credit card only (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover). Once advance registration closes, we will permit walk-ins at the door only if space is available (no credit cards accepted at the door.)

Cancellation and No-Show policy
If you have made a reservation and find that you will be unable to attend please send an email to programs@pmi-sfbac.org and cancel as early as possible. All cancellations are subject to a minimum $10 cancellation fee if done 5 days before the event.  Cancellations after August 15, 2010 are subject to the full charge to ensure the Chapter does not incur excessive expenses.

If you have any questions, please contact Carolyn Crockett at programs@pmi-sfbac.org