The PMO (Program Management Office) Webcast Series - Recorded Webcasts

Every project you manage needs a process of some sort, shape or size. If the project has the right process to start with, there is a fair chance it will come home successfully!  For many organizations the effort to develop a process for managing projects is just too large. Over the past 12 years Microsoft have worked with customers large and small and have developed a set of project management models that today are freely available to you to download from the Microsoft web site.  The models are contained in a family labelled the "Microsoft Solutions Framework".  These models cover traditional application development and also agile solution delivery. The models also have a Project Management discipline and a Governance model, much of which was influenced by the practices at Microsoft and their customers and other leading industry standards.

Presented By: Michael S. V. Turner, DSc, PMP from Microsoft
About the Presenter: Michael S. V. Turner has more than 18 years of engineering experience and is a senior manager with Microsoft Services headquarters where he helps develop tools, processes, and methodologies for solutions delivery. Mike will walk us through the MSF models so you know where the free treasures lie, that you can take, adapt and re-use.

Module 1 in the PMO webcast series reviewed the MSF models as a fast-start resource for teams who want to plan and manage projects in a process driven nature.  This webcast will review how SharePoint 2007 can be adopted and used to accelerate the management of one or more projects using MSF style processes and approaches. In summary, if MSF is providing the process foundation then SharePoint can provide the tooling foundation.

Presented By: Éamonn McGuinness, CEO, BrightWork

What is the best way to organize a team to maximize project success? But what is success? How you organize a team and divide up project work is critical regardless of how you define success. Refined over many years, the Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) offers a model and proven practices for organizing teams. This module will describe a scalable and extensible teaming strategy that comprehensively represents stakeholder interests while leveraging an inherent set of natural checks and balances to help increase quality, decrease risk and minimize bureaucracy.

Presented By: Michael S. V. Turner, DSc, PMP from Microsoft
About the Presenter: Michael S. V. Turner has more than 18 years of engineering experience and is a senior manager with Microsoft Services headquarters where he helps develop tools, processes, and methodologies for solutions delivery.

Module 2 in the PMO webcast series, “Optimizing Teams”, discussed how the MSF models and it’s proven practices help maximize project success. This webcast will demonstrate how SharePoint 2007 can help you get the most out of organizing teams effectively and dividing up project work efficiently. In summary, SharePoint is one of the best ways you can organize a team to maximize project success, increase quality, decrease risk and minimize bureaucracy.

Presented By: Éamonn McGuinness, CEO, BrightWork

What is the right level of process for your project? Too much process could hinder success - too little process might lead to chaos. This module will explore considerations to better understand what is an appropriate process and for different situations.

Presented By: Michael S. V. Turner, DSc, PMP from Microsoft
About the Presenter: Michael S. V. Turner has more than 18 years of engineering experience and is a senior manager with Microsoft Services headquarters where he helps develop tools, processes, and methodologies for solutions delivery.

Module 3 in the PMO webcast series “Pragmatic Process Management”, reviewed how the decision points to decide on the level of process needed to manage projects of various types.  This follow-on webcast will show how these decisions can be implemented in SharePoint 2007.  The webcast will show how process and governance decisions made once can be “baked-in” to the collaborative platform that is SharePoint.

Presented By: Éamonn McGuinness, CEO, BrightWork

Properly managing scope would be easy if the requirements were clearly stated at the beginning of a project and would not change throughout.  Unfortunately, that is rarely the case.  This module will explore sensible ways to manage scope to help avoid requirements creep, a popular and often harmful way of handling scope.

Presented By: Michael S. V. Turner, DSc, PMP from Microsoft
About the Presenter: Michael S. V. Turner has more than 18 years of engineering experience and is a senior manager with Microsoft Services headquarters where he helps develop tools, processes, and methodologies for solutions delivery.

Module 4 in the PMO webcast series “Managing Scope and Requirements Creep” discussed the tendency for product or project requirements to increase during the project beyond those originally foreseen.  Module 4 detailed sensible mechanisms of managing scope to avoid getting the project in trouble.  This follow-up webcast will show how SharePoint 2007 can be used to pragmatically implement these mechanisms and thus keeping the project out of trouble.

Presented By: Éamonn McGuinness, CEO, BrightWork

The phrase “agile project management” means many things to many people.  It does not help that one person’s “agile” is another person’s “formal”.  In this module, we will take a step back from the buzzwords and explore the practical side of being flexible, adaptable and iterative in a world that seems less than agile.

Presented By: Michael S. V. Turner, DSc, PMP from Microsoft

About the Presenter: Michael S. V. Turner has more than 18 years of engineering experience and is a senior manager with Microsoft Services headquarters where he helps develop tools, processes, and methodologies for solutions delivery. He is the author of Microsoft Solutions Framework Essentials (Pro-Developer) – Get the hands-on guidance you need to understand the proven practices and foundational principles of working with the Microsoft Solutions Framework, Version 4. Written by an expert, this essential reference offers practical examples and case studies.