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Military, Veterans and Family Discount

WHAT IS THE PROGRAM?

This limited-time promotion provides chapters with Military Initiatives to offer Military/Veterans and their families the opportunity to save 25% on select PMI

e-Learning courses and PMI certification products.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

Veterans, Military, and their Families.

HOW DOES THE PROGRAM WORK?

Step 1: You promote the program to your network, members & prospective members, utilizing the digital flyer, email & social media messages with images provided to enable military, veterans, and their families interested to email a designated chapter leader (perhaps the chapter military liaison) for details. If

non-members reach out, we encourage you to offer a military guest passcode to allow for 1 free year of chapter membership.

Step 2: The military personnel, veterans, and/or members of their family purchases product at the PMI site and use the code to receive the additional 25%.

WHAT ARE THE PROGRAM BENEFITS TO THE CHAPTER?

  • Opportunity to provide military, veterans and their families with additional savings in recognition of their
  • Opportunity for the chapter to retain members and even acquire new
  • Utilizing the chapter’s unique discount code will enable us to be able to provide you with data that will demonstrate your chapter’s military impact and influence.

 

Chapter Members Save 25% on the Following Certifications and Certification Renewal Fees

Project Management Professional (PMP)®

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)®

PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®

Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP)® Program Management Professional (PgMP)® PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)®

eLearning COURSES

The Complete Agile Project Manager

Effectively implementing agile practices requires grasping method- ologies, and fine tuning your team strategy. This 9-course series covers the full spectrum of essential aspects to successfully put agile practices into action. PDUs: 17.5

Introduction to Project Management

This online, self-paced series provides entry-level information on each Knowledge Area of the PMBOK® Guide–Sixth Edition and will enable you to effectively put project management principles to work at your own organizations. Each module features a pre- and post-assessment, allowing you to measure your progress. PDUs: 23

Project Management Basics - An Official PMI Online Course

Project Management Basics is the official PMI online course to build your project management skills and prepare for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® certification exam. Developed and created by PMI and validated by CAPM® and Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification holders, it is based on the PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition. PDUs: 23

Certification Maintenance Toolkit

This self-paced Certification Maintenance Toolkit supports the professional development of PMP® and PgMP® certification holders so they are prepared to meet the demands of today’s complex business environment. The toolkit includes 49 video-based modules, hundreds of

books, book summaries, videos, and other syndicated content. When you take this course, you’ll also be reinforcing key PM concepts, learning new best practices and becoming a more rounded Project Management Professional (and more attractive to future employers). PDUs: 30

Digital Intelligence Series

Why do project professionals need digital intelligence? Digitalization is shaking every industry and disrupting traditional business management approaches everywhere. This self-paced series focuses on ‘Digital Intelligence’ and the skills you need to remain competitive in an increasingly digital environment. The objective is for you to develop a strong understanding of relevant digital era concepts, digital tools/systems, and the features, platforms, and tools associated with social technology. Set yourself apart by becoming a more proficient Digital Practitioner. PDUs: 26.5

Project Management for Beginners

Project Management for Beginners is an introductory course which provides the foundational knowledge necessary to join a project team and can serve as the first step on your path to a project management career. Comprised of a selection of modules from our best-selling course Project Management Basics, this program will allow you to learn the language of project management and build confidence working in project environments. If you wish to continue your learning, the course contains a special offer to purchase the full Project Management Basics curriculum at a discounted rate.  PDUs: 4

 

 Offer valid until 31 December for US chapters with military initiatives. Cannot be combined with any other offer. For details on terms and conditions, visit PMI.org/terms.

Virtual Fund Drive for St. Mary’s Food Bank

Your Phoenix PMI Chapter is taking action to help stamp out hunger and to give the gift of food to our local community by sponsoring a Virtual Fund Drive for the benefit of the St. Mary’s Food Bank.  We are encouraging our members to help us in the effort during this holiday time of need by contributing any amount that you feel comfortable giving at  https://fundraise.stmarysfoodbank.org/give/t390061/#!/donation/checkout.

Inflation has exacerbated the already dire situation with hunger in the State of Arizona where there are now 1 in 4 children living in poverty.  Our PMI chapter has recognized the need to help address this situation by leveraging our partnership with St. Mary’s Food Bank to provide funds for this effort.  Your contribution will be instrumental in maximizing St. Mary’s resources by providing enough food for 7 meals with every $1 donated.  This means that your efforts will be multiplied by 7 and help stamp out hunger by feeding Arizona families. 

Your charitable giving in 2021 may provide an extra tax deduction on your federal tax return or a credit on your State of Arizona income tax return. Arizona allows you to take a dollar-for-dollar Arizona Charitable Credit on your state tax return when you donate up to $400 for single filers or $800 for married couples filing jointly to a qualified organization. The tax credit was previously known as the Working Poor Tax Credit.

Thank you for helping to alleviate hunger in Arizona!

Volunteer Spotlight - Aaron Jang

Aaron started his journey to become a project manager from a developer path and feels strongly that his technical skills, along with learning the project management skillset led to his nickname, “the fixer.” His colleagues would describe him as the person to call for help.

Non-technical pms were causing a lot of noise amongst the development team and he came to the realization that it is hard to figure out technical problems while managing a project. “I got to a crossroads, it is very difficult to have a dual role, software developer and project manager. I did not want to water down both professions, so I chose project management. Fast-forward, my department saw the value of approaching problems from a technical perspective and I received more complex projects and the roadblocks led me to a formal PMP.”  Aaron expressed he would have been perfectly okay not taking the PMP and happy where he was at, but the study groups opened his eyes to the new tools in my toolbox and allowed me to be more preventative.

“The Chandler study group instructors who I most admired were, John Robertson, who used his knowledge on how to study and then Tom Wilp, an expert on the risk management process opened my eyes to be more proactive to consider risks so you have multiple options and plans you can put in place.” “I liked that I was in a classroom sharing styles and sharing of industries and was impressed that you could have the answers before a problem surfaced by using the risk management process so I could think of these things beforehand.”

Aaron Jang is happy to share his project management tips and is approached often with questions for but if they really knew what I was most proficient in they would ask me for cooking tips!

To learn more on how to successfully integrate ERP systems, you need to explore project management from the perspective of Dev Ops and what it takes for project results, a current trend in corporate information technology.

“Skills required for executing DevOps projects require you to be all in one, in technology and show good communication skills, leadership skills, collaboration skills and lead the team and also be a team player. However, the most important skill areas are dedication, interest, and passion,” Star Agile.

CHARLES SEYBOLD agrees that the days of the siloed project manager and “skilled” development team are becoming a thing of the past, thanks to the increasing complexity of dev projects.  That said, project management doesn’t happen magically, and it would be foolish to assume that just because someone is a skilled developer, they know how to manage a project. The most critical skills needed for this type of project are:

  • Estimation and Scheduling, the estimation of a completion date triggers many other teams to perform their functions across the company and you need to sequence the work in the correct developmental order. A work breakdown schedule is essential
  • Critical Communication, as a team, it’s essential to keep the lines of communication open for project updates. This includes having strong interpersonal skills, namely the ability to maintain clear team communication across the technical development and collaboration; complete document reviews and have succinct interactions about project deliverables and expectations. Ensure document sharing with searchable capability so team updates are enabled, and so there are no excuses for missed or mixed messages.
  • Problem-Solving of issues still need to treat problem-solving as a skill that should be continuously strengthened so they can be dealt with efficiently before a situation spirals.
  • Risk Management is another key to being proactive with agreed upon options that can mitigate the issue if an event occurs. It allows for the most realistic planning possible, requiring each team member to take accountability for precise timelines for their piece of the project. These timelines then roll up to the greater project plan and provide a more accurate estimation of completion date and potential pitfalls.

2021 All Member Meeting

We presented our 2022 objectives, discussed what was accomplished in 2021, introduced the new board of directors and how we align to PMI Global 4.0.

Objective 1:

Improve Membership and Volunteer Recruitment Programs and Retention Strategy

Objective 2:

Increase Awareness of PMI Phoenix Chapter and PMI Global Product Offerings

Objective 3:

Broaden the Social Impact of the Chapter

2022 Board of Directors

 

President's Letter - Oct 2021

We have four great webinars scheduled for Arizona Project Management Week next week. We will also be conducting our Annual All Member Meeting on Wednesday. We will be discussing the chapter's progress this year and introducing the new board members as well. We have a great speaker after the meeting with Dr. Eric Wright, who will be discussing "Developing a Proven Influence Mindset to Improve Project Delivery." I hope to see you there.

The board recently met to discuss our goals for 2022. We have aligned ourselves with PMI's new strategic plan, which emphasizes youth and "social good" programs. The chapter is looking to partner with local non-profits for "social good" initiatives. If you volunteer or work with a local non-profit that could benefit from a partnership, please let us know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

In addition to that, the chapter will continue its virtual programs. That has extended our reach to those outside the metro phoenix area that we serve. We are planning to return to in-person meetings as soon as the situation allows. If you have a topic or speaker that you would like to recommend for next year, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and we will add that topic or speaker to our list.

This chapter is an all-volunteer organization, and we can only accomplish our goals with volunteers like you. So if you have some time you can dedicate to the chapter, please let us know by signing up to volunteer. Would you please sign up here https://pmiphx.org/volunteer-opportunitiesif you are willing to be part of a volunteer pool that we use for events?

Thank you to the chapter volunteers who ran the chapter for 2021, and thank you for your participation! We look forward to seeing you in person next year!

Evaluator Inclusion in Program Planning and Design

Hello PMI Phoenix!

 

My name is Matthew Gallagher, and I am a PhD Candidate at Arizona State University. I am also a professional program evaluator, which means my job is to collect and use quantitative and qualitative data to aid program leaders and their teams in developing knowledge about, making data-informed decision on, and managing their programs.

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Matthew Gallagher (right) collaborating with program leaders on program evaluation activities in Dili, Timor Leste.

Program leadership’s decision to include an evaluator during the planning and design phase of their programs is the critical first step necessary for evaluators to provide the benefits associated with the discipline of evaluation. Within the evaluation field, federal legislation, including the recently passed Evidence Act of 2019, promotes the inclusion of evaluators in the planning and design phase of federal programs. Additionally, evaluation academics and practitioners advocate for this level of inclusion within all types of programs.

 

However, despite legislation and advocacy efforts, the evaluation literature depicts a situation where evaluators are not consistently included in the planning and design phase of programs due to numerous barriers, including: 1) program funding announcements which request the inclusion of evaluation activities in proposed programs, but do not require evidence of any collaboration with a program evaluator; 2) training programs that offer little or no training on the benefits of hiring an evaluator during the program planning and design phase. Overall, the literature portrays programs as plagued by rushed and/or symbolic evaluations that are of limited use for program management, thereby frustrating program leaders and demoralizing evaluation practitioners.

 

To date, academic studies have examined approaches on how to incorporate an evaluator into a program’s planning and design phase (Fitzpatrick, 1988) and multiple researchers have advocated on behalf of the inclusion of the evaluator throughout all the phases of the project cycle (see: Patton, 1978; Stufflebeam, 2001; Preskill & Torres 2001; Mark, 2012; Scheirer, 2012). However, no studies have examined the extent to which evaluator inclusion occurs, or explored the reasons why a program leader decides whether to include an evaluator in a program’s planning and design phase. My PhD research aims to study this topic from the perspectives of both program evaluators and program leaders (who include program directors and program managers).

 

From the program evaluation side, I am currently collaborating with the American Evaluation Association to procure perspectives on this topic from 1,000 of their members, who were selected at random. To capture the perspectives of program leaders on this topic, I am collaborating with local chapters of the Project Management Institute. I have developed a questionnaire to collect your perspectives, and I hope I can count on your participation.

 

The new knowledge generated from this study has the potential to affect how program leaders and program evaluators are trained. When we have a mutual understanding of the extent to which evaluators are not included in the program planning and design phase, as well as what influences program leaders’ decisions to include or exclude evaluators during this phase, then we can develop a roadmap for how training content should be augmented to meet the federal mandate, fulfill advocacy efforts, and be proactive on exploring the topic more broadly.

 

If you are interested in providing your viewpoint on the topic of evaluator inclusion in the program planning and design phase, please click on the survey link below. The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete, and will be open until November 15th. Information about the study, your voluntary participation, and data privacy are on the first page of the link before you enter the survey. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful and honest responses!

 

Take the Survey Here:

https://asu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1S8gMVSCOJOSBKe