PMFORUM Breaking News

The Greater New Orleans Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI GNO chapter) is inviting PMI members and project management professionals around the world to come to New Orleans for one of the biggest project management events of the year. The PMI GNO chapter is partnering with LavaCon to host a Professional Development Summit (PDS) in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA during October 27–30, 2007. This four day event is expected to be one of the biggest project management events ever held in New Orleans.

LavaCon is a conference for the advanced technical communication professionals – senior technical writers, documentation managers and other professionals involved in technical communication projects. LavaCon brings a proven track record of successful conferences. The combination of PMI with LavaCon will provide more speakers, more topics, more attendees and more opportunities for all participants to learn, network and advance their careers.

This year the PMI GNO chapter has expanded its annual professional development day to a three-day conference with over 60 breakout sessions and workshops. Conference attendees will find answers to the following questions:

• What to do if faced with a really big project? Hear about hurricane protection, coastal restoration, airline mergers and more.


• Now that you have earned your PMP, are you ready for the next step? Take your PMP certification to the next level, learn about OPM3 Assessor and Consultant opportunities; consider an advanced certification in Earned Value Management. Representatives from Stanford University, Boston University, the University of Southern California, and the University of Chicago will also discuss their PM certification programs.


• How can one expand on project management skills? Learn more about project planning, estimating, negotiations, risk management, stakeholder management, portfolio selection and prioritization, and Six Sigma.


• How can we make our projects perform better? Listen to the experts discuss earned value, peak performance PM, Metrics for Estimating, Balanced Scorecards, preventing & recovering troubled projects.


• How can you get that next promotion? Topics will include Your Future as a PM; Five Essential Leadership Skills, Managing Virtual Teams, Selling projects to upper management, using Wikis for fast and furious PM, complex projects in organizational settings.


• What’s new among project management tools? Introducing OPM3, taming Microsoft Project, Collaboration with MS Sharepoint, tools to simplify & visualize - plus a vendor exhibition for networking.


• How to get the best performance from your team? What your team isn’t telling you, surviving office politics, overcoming resistance to change, handling poor performance, and other fun & exciting challenges.


• Is there something out of the ordinary this year? Applying PMBOK® techniques to non-traditional projects, technical communications, critical chain project management, and other adventures.

Other highlights will include:

• Post Katrina New Orleans – is this the world’s largest troubled project? Join the discussion, help with solutions.


• Project Management Exhibition – of vendors of PM services, technologies & tools.

The Project Management PDS will be held October 27-30 at the Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel in the French Quarter in New Orleans. The Summit will present best practices in the fields of technical communication and project management, as well as innovative techniques for meeting project management challenges. The event will include national and international speakers, professional leaders and project management experts. Help rebuild the project management profession in New Orleans; attend this conference! For those in the southern USA, it should not be missed. For more information about the October PDS in New Orleans, visit http://www.gnopmi.com/PDD2007/PDD%202007%20Index.html.

With more than 240,000 members in more than 160 countries, the Project Management Institute (PMI®) is the world’s leading membership association for the project management profession. The PMI Greater New Orleans (PMI GNO) chapter serves members in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama with project management programs and educational events. The President of the PMI GNO Chapter for 2007 is Ana Boudreaux, PMP. For more information on the PMI Greater New Orleans chapter, visit www.gnopmi.com.