I have always loved the Game of Thrones TV series. What has fascinated me the most is the treatment of the Trusted Advisor, beautifully portrayed by Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion embodies important ingredients of a trusted advisor who influences decision-makers, as we’ll see below (WARNING: some plot spoilers ahead). To influence without authority, …
Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, CSM is a consultant and advisor for Watermark Learning/PMA. She has over 35 years of experience in project management and business analysis. Elizabeth has co-authored four books and chapters published in five additional books, as well as articles that appear regularly in BA Times, Project Times, and Modern Analyst. Elizabeth was a lead author/expert reviewer on all editions of the BABOK® Guide, as well as the several of the PMI standards. Elizabeth also enjoys giving presentations, and her speaking history includes repeat keynotes and presentations for national and international conferences on five continents. Elizabeth enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, theater, and spending time with her 7 grandkids.
We all think, every minute of every waking hour. Thinking is an internal mental process that takes the data and information received through our senses and combines the new information into our existing store of learned information. This activity can lead to either the formation of new knowledge, modified knowledge, or be disregarded as irrelevant. …
Dr. Susan Heidorn, PMP, CBAP, HSDP, CSM, BRMP is the Director of Business Solutions for Watermark Learning in Minneapolis. Susan is an experienced consultant, facilitator, speaker, and trainer, with over 25 years of business experience. Susan directs programs in business analysis, business relationship management, and leadership, including developing and delivering courses and providing consulting. She has been a speaker at a number of IIBA® and PMI® conferences as well as local and regional organizations, boards, and private clients. She is a lifelong learner whose passion it is to guide people into achieving excellence in their personal and professional lives and works on creating positive impacts to the organization.
Ten years ago, I wrote an article entitled, Can the Same Person Function as a PM and BA on the Same Project? I wrote that we need to distinguish whether the same person “could” (sure they could, but with sometimes questionable results) and whether they “should.” I explained that it made complete sense to have one …
Continue reading Can the Same Person Function as a PM and BA on the Same Project or Agile Effort?
Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, CSM is a consultant and advisor for Watermark Learning/PMA. She has over 35 years of experience in project management and business analysis. Elizabeth has co-authored four books and chapters published in five additional books, as well as articles that appear regularly in BA Times, Project Times, and Modern Analyst. Elizabeth was a lead author/expert reviewer on all editions of the BABOK® Guide, as well as the several of the PMI standards. Elizabeth also enjoys giving presentations, and her speaking history includes repeat keynotes and presentations for national and international conferences on five continents. Elizabeth enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, theater, and spending time with her 7 grandkids.
Influencing skills in today’s work environment are central to getting anything done. Consider what you do day in and day out. How much of your time is spent trying to get someone to think, feel, or do something they aren’t already thinking, feeling, or doing? We often think of the demand for influencing skills as …
Continue reading Influencing with Authority: Management, You Need Influencing Skills, Too!
Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-PBA, BRMP is the Director of Project Management for Watermark Learning. Andrea is an experienced trainer, facilitator, speaker, and project manager, with over 25 years of business experience. Andrea oversees certification and skills development curriculum in project management, business analysis, and leadership. She has been a speaker at IIBA® and PMI® conferences and is an active volunteer. She enjoys practicing what she teaches and has a steady stream of projects that she manages. Andrea is highly committed to partnering with her clients through projects, consulting, and training, and seeks to make every engagement enjoyable as well as valuable.
It’s always fun to read the reflections and prognostications this time of year about what’s happening in the project world. Indeed, we have our own collection of what we see as emerging trends in the fields of project management, business analysis, and Agile. We’ve been doing this for many years. With so many trends over …
Continue reading Project Management Fundamentals Never Go Out of Style
Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-PBA, BRMP is the Director of Project Management for Watermark Learning. Andrea is an experienced trainer, facilitator, speaker, and project manager, with over 25 years of business experience. Andrea oversees certification and skills development curriculum in project management, business analysis, and leadership. She has been a speaker at IIBA® and PMI® conferences and is an active volunteer. She enjoys practicing what she teaches and has a steady stream of projects that she manages. Andrea is highly committed to partnering with her clients through projects, consulting, and training, and seeks to make every engagement enjoyable as well as valuable.
Since 2009, we have enjoyed reflecting on what’s happened the previous year and making predictions for the upcoming year. Here are some of the recent trends we have discussed: The digital BA Lean business cases BAs and PMs in a Dev Ops environment Agile successes, challenges, and use beyond software Strategic thinking as a key …
Continue reading Five Trends in Business Analysis, Project Management, and Agile for 2019
Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, CSM is a consultant and advisor for Watermark Learning/PMA. She has over 35 years of experience in project management and business analysis. Elizabeth has co-authored four books and chapters published in five additional books, as well as articles that appear regularly in BA Times, Project Times, and Modern Analyst. Elizabeth was a lead author/expert reviewer on all editions of the BABOK® Guide, as well as the several of the PMI standards. Elizabeth also enjoys giving presentations, and her speaking history includes repeat keynotes and presentations for national and international conferences on five continents. Elizabeth enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, theater, and spending time with her 7 grandkids.
Earning your Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification from PMI requires a thorough understanding of the primary standard in project management, the PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition. Developing the degree of familiarity needed is no small undertaking, however. This video breaks down what to expect when you wade into the pages of the PMBOK® and presents …
Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-PBA, BRMP is the Director of Project Management for Watermark Learning. Andrea is an experienced trainer, facilitator, speaker, and project manager, with over 25 years of business experience. Andrea oversees certification and skills development curriculum in project management, business analysis, and leadership. She has been a speaker at IIBA® and PMI® conferences and is an active volunteer. She enjoys practicing what she teaches and has a steady stream of projects that she manages. Andrea is highly committed to partnering with her clients through projects, consulting, and training, and seeks to make every engagement enjoyable as well as valuable.
Updated 07/19/2018. Originally published 04/13/2016. In the 2016 edition of our annual articles about the seven trends in business analysis, project management, and Agile we noticed they have one thing in common—they are all about value. We see and hear the word “value” in articles, blogs, on videos, and even in the definition of business …
Continue reading Realizing Value – The Latest Trend or Here to Stay? (An Update)
Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, CSM is a consultant and advisor for Watermark Learning/PMA. She has over 35 years of experience in project management and business analysis. Elizabeth has co-authored four books and chapters published in five additional books, as well as articles that appear regularly in BA Times, Project Times, and Modern Analyst. Elizabeth was a lead author/expert reviewer on all editions of the BABOK® Guide, as well as the several of the PMI standards. Elizabeth also enjoys giving presentations, and her speaking history includes repeat keynotes and presentations for national and international conferences on five continents. Elizabeth enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, theater, and spending time with her 7 grandkids.
I’ve been working with and doing data modeling training for many years, more than I want to recount. I feel like the essential principles of data modeling are now baked into my thinking. I haven’t done much data modeling training lately, but I do find myself using the concepts and terminology in my day-to-day business …
Continue reading How Data Modeling Has Helped Me in Business. No, Really!
Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, was the founder of and is now a consultant for Watermark Learning. He is a successful entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in product development, business analysis, project management, training, and consulting. As an internal entrepreneur, Rich led the development of several Watermark Learning online products as a business analyst and product owner. Rich is a frequent speaker at Business Analysis and Project Management national conferences and IIBA® and PMI® chapters around the world. He has contributed as a lead author to the BA Body of Knowledge version 2.0 and 3.0 and was a lead author on PMI’s Business Analysis Practice Guide. He and his wife Elizabeth Larson have co-authored five books on business analysis.
A recent trend that has emerged this year since we published our annual trends report is the renewed interest in facilitation skills. We are getting more requests than ever from companies, individuals, and small groups looking for classes that give people an opportunity to learn and practice facilitating events of various types. Why all the …
Continue reading Trend Update: Facilitation Skills are Hot (and 3 Keys to Doing it Well)
Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-PBA, BRMP is the Director of Project Management for Watermark Learning. Andrea is an experienced trainer, facilitator, speaker, and project manager, with over 25 years of business experience. Andrea oversees certification and skills development curriculum in project management, business analysis, and leadership. She has been a speaker at IIBA® and PMI® conferences and is an active volunteer. She enjoys practicing what she teaches and has a steady stream of projects that she manages. Andrea is highly committed to partnering with her clients through projects, consulting, and training, and seeks to make every engagement enjoyable as well as valuable.
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Project Management Professional® (PMP)® Certification Training
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner® (PMI-ACP)® Certification Training
PMI Scheduling Professional® (PMI-SP)® Certification Training
PMI Risk Management Professional® (PMI-RMP)® Certification Training
The PMI Talent Triangle® Bundle
Visit Project Management Academy®
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