Birds of a Feather (BOF) Breakfast Discussions

Tips and Techniques for Managing Global, Virtual Teams

Effectively managing global, virtual teams entails working across time zones, with multiple cultures, and requires good influencing skills.  This session will cover tips and techniques from the session host, and will solicit ideas from the participants.

Marsha Connor, PMP

Marsha has been a Project Manager with Cisco Systems for the last six years. Prior to that she worked in both Canada and Europe in sales, marketing and project management positions with IBM, Toshiba, Control F-1 and IT Factory. She holds an MBA from Henley Management School in the UK and Ecole Grenoble in France.   Marsha is the Chair of the 2008 PMI-SAC Professional Development Conference.

Managing Projects using Offshore Resources/Development Teams

Managing projects using offshore resources is becoming common and requires special project management skills.  Working with remote teams can be difficult due to cultural, language and geographic barriers.  This session will cover tips and techniques from the session host that will aid participants with how to communicate and work with offshore teams.

David Burton, PMP

David is a Project Manager with Oracle Corporation and is the manager of the project management tools that Oracle Consulting uses internally across the globe.  David has been in the industry for over 20 years and prior to Oracle, managed projects for Apple, Brocade, Kodak, SanDisk, Kyocera, HP, Ballard Power and others, and ran his own consulting business.

The Human Factor in Project Management: How Far Does a Project Manager Have to Go?

The PMBOK knowledge area of Project Human Resources Management highlights the importance of the Team but it is the Human Factor that can make or break a project. This session will include guided discussion of participant and facilitator experiences and lessons learned.   

Lori Lang, PMP

Lori has managed projects in technology, construction, and education for 20 years and also facilitates project management and leadership classes.  Knowing that a project can only succeed if the Team members want it to, Lori focuses her energy on the Human Factor.

PMP and CAPM Exam Preparation

This session will provide tips and options available in terms of preparing for the PMP and CAPM certification exams.

Vincent Chiew, M.Sc., MACM, SMIEEE, FFCP, ITIL, CISSP, ISP, PMP, P.Eng.
Vincent Chiew has been managing information, engineering and security projects for over 16 years. He holds degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Software Engineering from the University of Calgary. Vincent is the PMI-SAC Associate Vice President for PM Prep and the Mount Royal College Liaison.

Strategic Portfolio Management – Doing the Right Projects at the Right Time

Effectively managing a portfolio of projects can require a degree of process. In most organizations, the number of project requests is greater than the number of resources (budget, business, IT, etc.) available to complete all projects. Therefore, the projects need to be prioritized. This session will include some techniques from the session host, and will solicit ideas from the participants.

Mike Benson, PMP

Mike is the Principal of Blackstone Project Management, a company that focuses on Project Management, PMO set-up and reviews, Project Health Checks, and mentoring and training. He is currently engaged by a large mining company in Calgary, providing tracking and controlling services for an ERP project, and assisting in the establishment of a PMO.  Mike is also the PMI-SAC Vice President of Finance.

Gaining Credibility as a PM Professional when You are Not Originally from North America

Professionals new to North America may find it challenging to deal with international accreditation and certifications, different cultures, new regulations, and new professional associations.  This discussion will focus on how professionals new to Canada can remove the barriers that hold them back from pursuing the opportunities they are qualified for.

Hugo Leiva, PMP

Hugo has been a Project Manager with the Calgary Health Region for the last three years. Prior to that he worked with LIMS and Corel in Chile in project management positions. He holds an MBA from the University of Chile; he is also a Microsoft Certified Professional and ITIL specialist.

How Many Project Managers Does it Take to Spoil a Breakfast?

Complex initiatives are often faced with every stakeholder bringing their own project manager to the table—each vendor has a project manager, the change team has a project manager, the infrastructure team has a project manager, and on it goes.  What can be done to get the benefit from all this project management expertise?

Charles Aram

Charles Aram has managed projects in a variety of settings for the last 12 years. For the last seven years, he has been working in health care from local clinic implementations to government-level initiatives.  However, his most challenging recent project was moving his family from the UK to Canada which tested his stakeholder management skills to the limit!  Charles is also the speaker for “IT Project Success with a Professional User Community: An Oxymoron” in Stream 5 on Tuesday afternoon.

Conflict Resolution

Projects have a large number of stakeholders who often come with a wide variety of experience and expectations.  This can lead to conflict and a Project Manager who is caught in the middle. Conflict resolution is becoming an increasingly important skill in this environment.  This session will enable participants to share experiences in conflict resolution while learning from other’s experiences. 

Doug Noullett, PMP

Doug has been running the PMO at Talisman Energy for over six years.  Prior to that, Doug managed numerous projects while with DMR Consulting and as a Naval Officer in Canada’s Navy.  Doug was one of the keynote speakers at last year’s PMI-SAC Conference.

Project KPIs - Measuring Project Performance

Measuring project Key Performance Indicators can be complex and time consuming.  This session will focus on sharing and discussing best practices amongst the participants.

Graydon O’Blenes, P.Eng, PMP

Graydon is a Project Manager and Industrial Engineer with experience in manufacturing, telecommunications, and commercial aviation. His favorite projects focus on process and performance improvement. He is currently leading WestJet’s Guest Services Operational Performance team and is the Process Manager for this year’s PMI-SAC Conference Planning Committee.

The PM Career Ladder

What is the career path for a project manager? Can project management as a career lead to the ladder of executive management? In this session discuss the realistic career paths for project managers.

Daniel Petley, MBA, ISP, PMP, CMC

Daniel is currently the Vice President of Membership for the PMI-SAC Chapter and a senior project manager with Schlumberger.  He is currently engaged in project managing a multi-year reservoir study for a major oil and gas company using Schlumberger resources from the UK, Austria, USA (Boston, Denver, and Houston) and Canada.   Daniel’s consulting experience spans many different resource sectors (Forestry, Agriculture, Energy), Telco and government.