The second round of webinars were much more engaging than the first. They are listed below in order of preference.
Creating “Risk-Ready” Project Schedules
- Wesley Gillette
- Rated: 5.77/7
- Duration: 56:03
Gillette focused on how constraints, lags, and schedule logic can be hidden in the project plan and cause false results in your risk analysis. He explained that we need to challenge the way our schedules. We need clear assumptions and risks should be called out properly. This was the best webinar that I’ve seen on the Project Management site. There was an excellent balance between explaining new concepts and examples.
5 Essential Insights for Maximizing your Limited Resources
- Jerry Manas & Maureen Carlson
- Rated: 5.43/7
- Duration: 61:10
I am a fan of big data and this presentation was centered on the 2014 State of Resource Management and Capacity Planning Report conducted by Appleseed Partners. They honed in on the idea that top performing companies had a holistic view of their demand pipeline and resource capacity by utilizing Project Portfolio Management software. Manas and Carlson did a great job co-presenting and it was obvious they had practiced.
4 Common Rookie PM Mistakes & How to Avoid Them
- Dana Brownlee
- Rated: 6.34/7
- Duration: 59:22
She spent a lot of time on anecdotes, but it was an interesting and engaging presentation. Her tips to address the “slacker” on the team were practical. Those interaction are never easy so I appreciated her insights on creating a culture of accountability. Brownlee’s 3 magic questions for clarifying task assignments are:
- What is your understanding of the task?
- What will the deliverable look like?
- What are the 1st 3 steps you’ll take to begin working on this?
I would highly recommend this presentation to any PM or manager.
Avoid the Three Major Mistakes of Organization Wide Change
- Barbara Trautlein
- Rated: 6.18/7
- Duration: 45:46
This was a great topic for change management. My primary project is going to have a significant amount of process changes. Knowing that we have a blend of heart and hand change leadership styles will help me to leverage our strengths and avoid common pitfalls. I found Trautlein engaging, but this presentation was repetitive and oddly paced.
This was four hours well spent. I’ve come away with a wealth of resources and some great tips for keeping my projects on track.
Do you have a favorite webinar or instructional video? Please share the link in the comments.
plannedpreoccupation.com 