More Content - Including Podcasts
I thought I'd start a new series of posts to follow my personal journey in obtaining my Project Management Professional certification (the PMI PMP certification), as I get a sense this is an area where many can learn from my experiences and avoid their own mistakes!
Very brief background to set the stage - I'm a 20+ year veteran of IT, primarily IT infrastructure and IT Service Management focussed, with 10+ years of project management experience. Currently I'm looking for my next role but I never did "bother" to get my PMP certification. So now I am.
Getting the PMP cert has always been in the back of my mind, but never made it onto my career roadmap as I figured my experience & education in the area outweighed the need for the three letters to put on my resume & business cards. Well, this particular certification has been well accepted by the industry in general and having the experience PLUS the certification is what employers are looking for.
So my journey started by having coffee with friends and associates who currently hold the designation and asking them about their journeys, and where to start. There are nearly as many approaches to this as there are people I spoke with, but in the end I chose this approach:
Research
- Then go to the Certifications page and read up on the range of certs available to decide which is best for you. If you are reading this, likely that'll be the Project Management Professional (PMP).
- You will also learn about the Application Process for your PMP certification. That's a detailed form you'll need to fill out. I've only just started mine, but follow this blog for any advice I have for you as I progress through my application.
Learn
- Start with self-study unless you have the time/money to take a full-on PMP course. Then once you are comfortable with the basics, take a PMP exam bootcamp and study until you're ready for the exam.
Certify
- This part I haven't gotten to yet, but if you follow my posts you'll hear how it goes and any advice I have for you.
So those are the high-level quick steps I'm following toward my goal of PMP certification. I'm looking forward to continuing my path to certification and sharing what I learn with all of you.
If you have any advice or input from your experience I'd really love to hear about - feel free to contact me at itManageCast on Twitter, Gmail, or Jason J Kennedy on LinkedIn to share your thoughts and experiences.
This week on the itManageCast podcast we were fortunate to join Paul Robinson of Corporate Oasis at his home on Mayne Island, and sit down for a great chat that ranged across a few topics but included the value proposition of project management knowledge, the importance of and how to apply an interdisciplinary framework of best practices, and various certifications, particularly the PMP.
We hope you get as much value out of listening to this as I did spending the time with Paul, and encourage you to contact him directly or via our show if you have any further questions or feedback.
In addition we discuss a new Internet of Things (IoT) enabling technology from Chinese chip manufacturer RockChip, the HP Discover 2015 conference, and how to access webinars on IT Security and Privacy.
To download this weeks podcast, click on the link below:
itManageCast Podcast Episode 8
Links from our show notes are:
Paul Robinson's email: Paul.Robinson@corporateoasis.com
Corporate Oasis Website
Project Management Institute
RockChip
HP Discover 2015
Vivit Worldwide
SANS Webcasts
Listen on Stitcher Internet Radio:
For episode 7 we didn't have any guests for you, but we did cover a variety of IT news and events of interest to our listeners.
Host Jason Kennedy discussed the Procurify brand launch event he attended a couple of weeks ago, and most notably shared about that cloud-services innovator's bold move of launching a trade magazine - weird eh? But cool, and a good read.
Company website
Procurify blog articles
Procurement Sense magazine downloads
Click the link below to download the audio for this podcast.itManageCast Episode 7
We also discussed the recent NDP majority election in Alberta, CA and are interested to hear from YOU what ripple effects that may have in the energy and tech sectors in Alberta and beyond.
Send us your feedback via email itManageCast@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter! @itManageCast
Then we spoke about a few conferences and events of interest to IT professionals including:
ITSM High Performance Service Management Workshop
Thursday May 28 in Vancouver BC
http://www.itsmf.ca/events/
HP Discover
June 2-4 in Las Vegas Nevada
discover.hp.com
The 15th Annual Healthcare Summit
June 22-23 in Kelowna, BC
SANSFIRE 2015
June 13-20 in Balitmore, Maryland
Registration: http://www.sans.org/u/464
Event Information: http://www.sans.org/u/464
The itManageCast podcast is available for download on Stitcher Radio by clicking this link.
Have you heard about Vivit Worldwide? Well apparently 30,000 of your peers around the globe have and are using the HP Software User community to hone their skills and knowledge - not just with the HP software products but with the workflows and practices that make the use of those tools into a business solution.
Rocky Pisto, the Engage Coordinator for Vivit Worldwide joins us to discuss the user community, how people can leverage the knowledge and experience of 30,000 peers, and the value you get with a free membership to this group.
All this and more in 30 minutes of fun and informative audio perfect for the commute of any busy IT professional.
Click the link below to download the audio for this podcast.
itManageCast Episode 6 - The Vivit Worldwide with Rocky Pisto
For feedback on this or any episode of the itManageCast podcast, or to recommend topics or guests for future shows, please contact us via Twitter @itManageCast or email us at our GMail account.
Links:
email Rocky at: rocky.pisto@vivit-worldwide.org
Vivit Worldwide HP Software User Community
For more information on Rocky's paintings:
roccopistoart@gmail.com
www.roccopistopaintings.com
Listen in to learn more about how to engage your business and support your development teams with deeper insight into the function of Quality Assurance with guest Christopher Scharer, in today's podcast.
Christopher holds deep experience in software development and automated software testing, working in the field since 1980. With experience in data-driven, keyword-driven and hybrid methodologies, Christopher has helped companies achieve testing success in a wide variety of business applications in the banking, finance, & healthcare industries.
In our conversation we define in clear terms what the expected function of QA (Quality Assurance) within the Software Development LifeCycle (SDLC) is, contrast that against Quality Control, and look at implication of different development methodologies and the application of QA.
At a higher level, we also explore how to engage your IT function and business units in the support of developing QA skills or functions, discuss the merits of in-sourcing and out-sourcing QA, and discuss the most important skills and traits to seek out or develop for Quality Assurance professionals in today's IT marketplace.
All of this in 30 minutes of engaging conversation that will appeal to any IT or business professional.
Click the link below to download the audio for this podcast.
itManageCast Episode 5 - The Quality Assurance Consultation
For feedback on this or any episode of the itManageCast podcast, or to recommend topics or guests for future shows, please contact us via Twitter @itManageCast or email us at our GMail account.
Links:
To contact Christopher Scharer directly please email: Christopher.Scharer@Vivit-Worldwide.org
In episode 4 of the itManageCast podcast, Tom Wahl joins host Jason Kennedy to provide insight into Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity planning for the IT professional.
In this 30 minute conversation Tom and Jason explore the essential aspects of disaster recovery and business continuity, where they are the same and where they are different.
We also discuss where the IT professionals responsibility for these services should ideally begin and end, and how to engage the other business functions in your organization into ownership over them.
Last but not least, Tom provides some insight into where to start if you are tasked with providing a disaster recovery plan for your organization.
Click the link below to download the audio for this podcast.
itManageCast Episode 4 - The Disaster Recovery Discussion
For feedback on this or any episode of the itManageCast podcast, or to recommend topics or guests for future shows, please contact us via Twitter @itManageCast or email us at our GMail account.
Links:
to contact Tom Wahl directly email: tom@twltd.com
Gilles Marchand of GMar Consulting joins host Jason Kennedy for a 25 minute conversation to discuss a sensible approach to undertaking IT Service transformation.
We discuss in depth what it is, what it isn't, and how to ensure successful outcomes.
Gilles provides some insight into how to gain business sponsor support for IT Service Transformation activities, and how to leverage these principles to improve the efficiency of your IT operations.
Click the link below to download the audio of the podcast:
itManageCast Episode 3 - The IT Service Transformation Talk
To watch the video recording of the podcast on YouTube, click Podcast here or at the top of this page.
For feedback on this or any episode of the itManageCast podcast, or to recommend topics or guests for future shows, please contact us via Twitter @itManageCast or email us at our GMail account.
Links:
