The NYS Forum PM Committee Newsletter

1st Quarter 2009

Mark your Calendars!

• 03/24/09 PM Community of Practice Meeting - "Information Security and Business Continuity - What Project Managers Need to Know!"
• 05/1/09 Joint Session Webmasters Guild Committee- Constructive Confrontation Resolving Conflict Effectively

Visit www.nysforum.org for upcoming Meeting Announcements

Monthly Quote

Mrs. Fields Recipe for Success
Love what you're doing. Believe in your product. Select good people.

-Debbi Fields

PM Artifacts

The PM COP information repository is hosted by OFT to share assets across the State.

To access the repository please visit https://ws04.nyenet.state.ny.us.

Questions? Email your request or questions to pmo@oft.state.ny.us

Say Hello to the NYS Forum PM Committee Co-Chairs

Jon Haverly PMP, Brenda Breslin PMP, Chris Foster PMP

The Forum's Standing Committee on Project Management was created to support government entities and government project managers as they adopt project management standards and practices, establish Project Management Offices (PMOs), and implement program and portfolio management within their organizations. The PM Committee's priorities are set by the NYS Forum in its annual planning sessions. It is co-chaired by Brenda Breslin, PMP of the New York State Department of Health, Chris Foster, PMP of CGI Technologies and Solutions Inc., and Jon Haverly, PMP of Keane. The PM Committee has created special interest workgroups in this effort.

March PM COP Meeting

Information Security and Business Continuity - What Project Managers Need to Know!

Presented By: Deborah Snyder and Mark Spreitzer

Tuesday, March 24th from 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm

Meeting Room 6 - Empire State Plaza

The Project Management Community of Practice SIG (Special Interest Group) of the NYS Forum Standing Committee on Project Management invites you to our next session on March 24th at Meeting Room 6 in the Empire State Plaza.

These days it is not enough for projects to meet customer requirements while being completed on-time and within budget. Projects must be made secure from theft and malice while also being recoverable following a disaster. It is up to the Project Manager to provide that steps are taken during a project to properly protect the organization's investment both during and after the project.

The Project Management Committee has teamed up with the NYS Forum's Security and Business Continuity Committees to provide Project Managers with an overview of these important topics which will include a discussion of related tasks and deliverables and where they would occur in the lifecycle. Come join us as Deborah Snyder and Mark Spreitzer share their knowledge, experience and insight in these critical areas.

Ms. Snyder, PMP, is the Chief Information Security Officer for the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) and current Co-Chair of the NYS Forum's Security Committee.

Mr. Spreitzer, is an Executive Consultant with the CGI Enterprise Security Practice (ESP) and current Co-Chair of the NYS Forum's Business Continuity Committee.

This is a great opportunity to learn what you need to know about Information Security and Business Continuity for your current and future projects.

Don't leave yourself or your project exposed!

Pre-registration is required and available at http://www.nysforum.org/events/pmcop-3-24-09..

PMO Matrix Overview 1/22/09

Bob Pennacchia from NY Department of Health and Kirk Schanzenbach from NY Office of State Comptroller (OSC) provided an update on the PMO Matrix. This is the second iteration of asking the NY Agency PMOs to share their insight. Bob and Kirk discussed the differences from the 2006 survey to the current one. In both surveys there were 15 agencies who responded.

Some of the items noted include:

• PMO start up is often within the IT unit with many expanding responsibilities. In 2006 there were 10 IT specific PMOs and 5 Agency Wide PMOs; in 2008 there are 8 IT specific PMOs and 7 Agency wide PMOs.
• There are many agencies involved in PM and Agencies want to learn more about PM efforts. In 2006 there were 7 PMOs that served as coaches, managed projects and maintained a repository; in 2008 that number increases to 9.
• Agencies are working to reclassify PMO staff to PM title series.
• Agencies are willing to share their best practices which offer an excellent opportunity to share information. More details will come out from the PM Committee on this opportunity to share best practices and templates so stay tuned!

For anyone interested in seeing the complete survey results please visit the Project Management repository (http://www.oft.state.ny.us/apps/nysfirm)*.

*The PM Repository shares agency examples of project management templates and documents as well. We invite everyone to share samples of their works by simply e-mailing them to pmo@oft.state.ny.us. These documents will then be posted to the website for others to use as examples.

Access to the repository is controlled by the CIO/OFT's Directory Services (NYSDS), and a userid/password is required. Many agencies already participate in NYSDS and staff in those agencies should contact their NYSDS Participating Organization Directory Services Administrator (PODSA) for an NYSDS account, which they can then request be given access to the repository. For more information, contact pmo@oft.state.ny.us

4th Annual Professional Development Day

Monday, March 23, 2009 - 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 pm - 7 PDUs

Desmond Hotel and Conference Center
660 Albany Shaker Road - Albany, NY 12211

Risk Management,
Best Practices and Techniques

In this hands-on program, participants follow the entire risk management process from planning and identification through qualification, quantification, response development and re-sponse control. Integrating risk management with project management is covered. Learn how to work through a variety of risk strategies and have a clearer understanding of how multiple strategies can be applied.

• Identify risks using the WBS and several other identification tools.
• Rank risks based on qualification and quantification, including expected value.
• Establish organizational metrics for risk and begin the steps toward building internal risk models.
• Assess probability and impact for risk, using qualification practices.
• Assess a variety of risk strategies for their projects, selecting the optimal approaches.
• Present alternatives to management based on a thorough assessment of the risks.
• Integrate risk management with their existing project management practices.

Carl Pritchard is the principal and founder of Pritchard Management Associates (PMA). He is the lead author for the risk management chapter of the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 4th Edition. H e ia leading authority on risk management and presents on a variety of management topics. He has published articles on project management maturity, the international trends in PM, advances in risk man-agement. He has traveled around the globe as an instructor. Carl has presented at each of the last 13 North American Project Management Institute Symposia and Congresses.

REGISTRATION
Online: www.pmi-uny.org, follow the link to "2009 Professional Development Day"

PMCOP Meeting Overview 12/16/08

Participants of the PMCOP

In December the second in a series of PMCOP Meetings focusing on current NYS projects was held at the Empire State Plaza. Lynn Hanson and Jay Walsh, from the NY Office of State Comptroller (OSC), provided an overview of the project planning activities that were used in the development of the on-line Vendor Responsibility questionnaire. The questionnaire allows vendors to submit their annual filings via the web and State Agencies can then access during their responsibility reviews. The lessons learned (successful and unsuccessful) during the first phase have assisted OSC greatly with the scoping of the next phase.

Vivian Conboy, from the NY State Department of Tax and Finance, presented an overview of the project that prints and distributes the forms and instructions annually for constituents. The shear volume of filings that are done was evident in the examples that Vivian shared. She provided great insight into all phases of the process from the printing presses to the timely distribution of the forms and instructions.

The real world examples were greatly appreciated by the attendees and provided for a healthy dialogue. We look forward to continuing this series and welcome suggested projects to profile which can be sent to Jon Haverly at Jon.Haverly@keane.com.

Business Analysis gain big wins in NYS and the Capital District:

Business Analyst New York State Civil Service Title Series:

Professional Business Analysts are gaining attention as the value of business analysis done right is increasingly identified as a key to successful IT system development. New York State Civil Service includes a title series for Business System Analyst which has recently been updated. While the finalized classification standard is not yet posted, the tentative exam schedule posted at http://www.cs.state.ny.us/announ/tentative_schedule.cfm indicates the exams will be announced on March 27, the deadline to apply will be May 4, and the exam will be held June 13. Details can be confirmed and followed on the Civil Service website.

Also, a new location and more growing involvement to the IIBA - Albany Capital District chapter!

The IIBA Albany Capital District chapter is a local association that dedicates itself to developing and promoting the Business Analysis profession. Our chapter is part of a global organization of business analysts who want to...

• Expand and share their knowledge with other BA's
• Learn how to improve their job performance and advance their careers
• Network with other professionals in the field
• Promote the BA profession to the business community
• And more...

Next Meeting: Tuesday April, 7th 2009

Visit website for more information: http://albanyny.theiiba.org

Making IT Strategic Planning Work in Small and Medium Sized Agencies: Its More than Just the Plan

Hosted by The Forum's Small/Medium/Local Government Agency

Wednesday March 25, 2009
9:00 am - 10:30 am (Registration begins at 8:30 am)

Meeting Room 7, Empire State Plaza, Albany NY

Register at http://www.nysforum.org/events/smlga_sig_03-25-09/

An IT strategic plan is the technical and information strategy needed for an agency to meet it's overarching goals. It supports the mission of the agency and presents a clear direction for all critical programs and services. But developing and acting on the plan is not always so easy.

Why is this?

Creating an IT strategic plan requires some fundamental steps -- but it doesn't stop there. It also means paying attention to the whole environment - the governance structure, the agency's capabilities and most importantly - leadership. In small and medium-sized agencies this feat becomes increasingly difficult with limited resources.

This session will present some fundamental components of IT strategic planning geared specifically for small to medium agencies followed by panel discussion from NYS IT leaders who have experience and want to share their insights, tips, and lessons learned.

Presenter and Moderator: Meghan Cook, Program Manager, Center for Technology in Government University at Albany, SUNY

• Nancy Mulholland, Chief Information Officer, NYS Department of Transportation
• Tim Jaques, Founding Partner, Line of Sight, LLC
• Vivian Conboy, Director, Project Management Office, NYS Taxation and Finance
• Peter Finn, Deputy Commissioner for Finance & Administration, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
• Kathy Bohacek Chief Information Officer, NYS Division of Military and Naval Affairs
• David Gardam, Chief information Officer, NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services

This session is open at no charge to all NY State and Local Government Employees and Members of the NYS Forum IT Corporate Roundtable

Think Spring!!!!!

Note: All NYS Forum Meetings and events comply with all relevant laws and regulations associated with ethics and lobbying in New York State.