Getting Started with Agile Project Management

For our July 2025 Monthly Webinar, we watched a video on Getting Started with Agile Project Management from Project Management Academy and discussed the insights that it provided to us. The webinar description is below.

Embark on a transformative journey into the world of Agile! Whether you’re new to Agile or seeking a solid refresher, this concise 30-minute webinar will equip you with the core concepts and essential tools to get started. Learning objectives: – Discover Agile’s philosophy, principles, and why it’s more than just a set of practices. – Dive into the critical roles within an Agile team and the events that keep the momentum going. – Embracing the right tools and understanding core roles and ceremonies are essential for a successful Agile transformation. If you would like to view the slides that Kris presented, please click here.

How to Build Rapport with Critical Stakeholders

For our March 2025 Monthly Webinar, we watched a video together from Bridging the Gap on How to Build Rapport with Critical Stakeholders.
Are you working with new stakeholders in a new company or project? As a business analyst or project manager, building rapport with critical stakeholders is one of the best ways to get a new project started effectively and set yourself up for success. It’s a built-in insurance policy against future project mishaps and challenges. In this short video, you’ll learn Laura’s top three tips for building rapport with critical stakeholders that you can begin implementing today. If you would like to view the slides that Kris presented, please click here.

Bill Dow’s Top Communication Tools

For our February 2025 Monthly Webinar, we watched a video together from Bill Dow’s – PMO & Project Management Videos on Top Communication Tools in project management.

Bill Dow is a distinguished authority in Project Management, recognized by the Project Management Institute (PMI) for his exceptional contributions to developing and managing Project Management Offices (PMOs). With a career spanning decades, Bill has established himself as a thought leader in the field, combining practical experience with academic expertise.

In the video, Bill discussed some of the different communication tools/templates that he creates and uses as a project manager to make sure that he and his PM team are being effective at communicating with stakeholders and project team members. Please note that he doesn’t discuss products for communication (like MS Teams or email) but different documents that you can create to simplify how your project will be communicated out that can help you organize your communication plan and make it clearer to your project team and stakeholders. This video is based on Bill’s book – Project Management Communication Tools which you can find on Amazon.com. If you would like to view the slides that Kris presented, please click here.

The Power of Soft Skills in Project Management

For our January 2025 Monthly Webinar, we will be watching a video together from the Project Management Podcast by Cornelius Fichtner on the power of soft skills in project management.

The Power of Soft Skills in Project Management
In this conversation, we are delving into one particular area of project management – mastering the essential soft skills. Soft skills, often dubbed as ‘power skills,’ form the backbone of project management, shaping the culture, ethics, motivation, and creativity in a team. As the world of project management continues to evolve, the emphasis on these skills has grown significantly. Yet, despite their importance, they often remain underappreciated and underdeveloped.If you would like to view the slides that Kris and Paula presented, please click here.

Building a More Effective Team Through Empowerment and Trust

Building effective teams is critical to the success of any organization, particularly in higher education institutions where collaboration and innovation are essential. This presentation will explore the key elements required to build effective teams (especially across departments and disciplines and with varied abilities and skill sets) that can work towards a common purpose. Specifically, we will examine how empowerment, trust, and a common purpose are crucial to the success of an IT team and how having strong bonds can help overcome challenges and lead to positive outcomes. If you would like to view the slides that Kris presented, please click here.

Managing Project Resource Allocation in TDX 

Do we have enough team members to work on this upcoming project? We have a project that will require a six-month commitment. Who currently has the capacity to take on some extra work? An expedited request just came up. Who from our team is available to help with completing it in a timely manner? When it comes to executing projects and project requests, organizations manage team members’ workloads differently. In this session, ITEC will lead you through how their PMO manages project resource allocation. Highlights of this session will include how project resource allocation was managed prior to TDX; how TDX was setup to manage resources; how TDX is now used to manage project requests and projects; as well as future planning and reporting.  If you would like to view the slides that Kris presented, please click here. If you would like to view the slides that Jason presented, please click here. 

Vendor Management

For our July 2024 Monthly Webinar, we will be watching a video together from the Educause Project Management Community Group on vendor management. Alex Holland, University North Central Texas, presents on the topic of vendor management. He walks us through current vendor challenges, communicating with vendors, vendor management strategies. As a group we will discuss the video’s key takeaways and relevance to SUNY campuses.  If you would like to view the slides that Christa and Kris presented, please click here. If you would like to view the Stakeholder/Communications Log that we provide as part of the Project Management Fundamentals class, please click here. 

Managing Multiple Projects

For our April 2024 Monthly Webinar, we watched a video together from the PM Podcast on managing multiple projects. While watching this video, we explored some of Cornelius’s and Elizabeth’s approaches and tips and trick to manage more than one project at a time. If you would like to view the slides that Christa and Kris presented, please click here.