PMP Thoughts From the Field

Project Management Professional (PMP)® Thoughts From the Field: To Certify or Not to Certify?

To certify or not to certify, that is the question. I certainly have my own perspectives on the topic, but I thought I’d take the question on the road to see what others have to say about their certification pursuits and how it has or hasn’t helped them. I interviewed two Project Management Professional (PMP)® …

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, BRMP

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.

BA Guide to Essential Agile Techniques Q&A

BA Guide to Essential Agile Techniques Q&A

The following questions were asked by participants in our recent webinar, BA Guide to Essential Agile Techniques, which is now available as an on demand recording. Keep reading this post for answers to our participants’  great questions! Themes & Epics Sounds to me like themes and epics could really be interchanged under certain circumstances. This is confusing me somewhat! Would …

Marsha Hughes, CSM, CBAP, PMP

Marsha is a senior instructor and consultant for Watermark Learning, and has more than thirty years of experience in the software, technology, telecommunications, and Internet business sectors. She has numerous accomplishments in Agile methods, project management, business analysis, software development, methodology development, process improvement, and courseware development and training. She is a Certified Scrum Master and Professional, a Certified BA Professional, and a Certified PM Professional. She is also a contributor to the IIBA’s Agile Extension to the BABOK, and the agile perspective in version 3.0 of the BABOK.

Webinar Recap BA Guide to Essential Agile Techniques

Webinar Recap: BA Guide to Essential Agile Techniques

Comments on this post are closed.  To see questions and answers about this presentation or to ask you own questions for the author, please visit the Q&A post.  In our February 13 webinar presentation, BA Guide to Essential Agile Techniques, we delved into following topics that are essential for an Agile team member with BA skills. Vision …

Marsha Hughes, CSM, CBAP, PMP

Marsha is a senior instructor and consultant for Watermark Learning, and has more than thirty years of experience in the software, technology, telecommunications, and Internet business sectors. She has numerous accomplishments in Agile methods, project management, business analysis, software development, methodology development, process improvement, and courseware development and training. She is a Certified Scrum Master and Professional, a Certified BA Professional, and a Certified PM Professional. She is also a contributor to the IIBA’s Agile Extension to the BABOK, and the agile perspective in version 3.0 of the BABOK.

BA What is the Most Important Relationship You Have

BAs: What is the Most Important Relationship you Have?

In all of our business analysis training classes, we usually cover the importance of relationships in doing BA work. They are key to us delivering products that the business values and can put to use. Quick – which is the most important relationship you have in your work as a BA? The PM or Scrum …

Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA

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.

Agile Estimating and Planning Q&A

Agile Estimating and Planning Q&A

During our recent  Agile Estimating and Planning webinar, we received many fabulous questions, and we were thrilled by the energy and engagement of the participants! Unfortunately, we were unable to answer all of the questions during the scheduled webinar. So, here we are providing answers to many of the submitted questions that we didn’t have …

Marsha Hughes, CSM, CBAP, PMP

Marsha is a senior instructor and consultant for Watermark Learning, and has more than thirty years of experience in the software, technology, telecommunications, and Internet business sectors. She has numerous accomplishments in Agile methods, project management, business analysis, software development, methodology development, process improvement, and courseware development and training. She is a Certified Scrum Master and Professional, a Certified BA Professional, and a Certified PM Professional. She is also a contributor to the IIBA’s Agile Extension to the BABOK, and the agile perspective in version 3.0 of the BABOK.

Announcing PMP Certification Boot Camp

Announcing PMP Certification Boot Camp!

Watermark Learning is excited to announce that this month (January 2015) we are expanding our PMP Certification Prep into a 4-day PMP Certification Boot Camp that will provide all 35 required contact hours for the PMP exam! The first class will be held as both virtual (live online) and in-person options starting January 26, 2015. …

Watermark Learning

This is the corporate source for Watermark Learning posts. Watermark delivers engaging and practical training and coaching in Business Analysis, Project Management, Agile & Scrum, Business Process Management, and Influencing Skills since 1992.

Webinar Recap Agile Estimating and Planning Best Practices

Webinar Recap: Agile Estimating and Planning Best Practices

Three Agile Planning Horizons Agile estimating and planning involves three “horizons” : Release Plan, around 2-6 months Iteration Plan,  2-4 weeks Daily Plan, every day Below is a brief overview of these horizons, as explained in our latest Watermark Learning webinar: Agile Estimating and Planning Best Practices.  The webinar is now available on demand and it includes …

Marsha Hughes, CSM, CBAP, PMP

Marsha is a senior instructor and consultant for Watermark Learning, and has more than thirty years of experience in the software, technology, telecommunications, and Internet business sectors. She has numerous accomplishments in Agile methods, project management, business analysis, software development, methodology development, process improvement, and courseware development and training. She is a Certified Scrum Master and Professional, a Certified BA Professional, and a Certified PM Professional. She is also a contributor to the IIBA’s Agile Extension to the BABOK, and the agile perspective in version 3.0 of the BABOK.

2015 Trends in Business Analysis and Project Management

2015 Trends in Business Analysis and Project Management

Update: This article was the #1 viewed article on BA Times and the #3 viewed article on Project Times for 2015. Each year we like to reflect on what’s happened in the business analysis, project management, and Agile professions and make our predictions for the upcoming year. To summarize the trends we saw in 2014: Continued excitement …

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, CSM

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.

What's missing from your business cases

What’s Missing from Your Business Cases?

You may have seen the TV commercial for a credit card company with the tag line “What’s missing from your wallet?” Well, with all due respect, I’d like to tweak that line to ask “What’s missing from your business cases?” My wife Elizabeth and I gave a tutorial on business cases at the most recent …

Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA

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.

Making Change Control Easy

Making Change Control Easy

If you struggle with a lack of sustained discipline in your project change control practice, one opportunity may be to clarify the distinction between controlling performance and managing change. As we move through a project, two types of triggers prompt us to reach for that change management plan and tap into our change control process. …

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, BRMP

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.