Metrics for Improving Project, Program, and Portfolio Performance

December 15, 2016

RefineM Training

Metrics for Improving Project, Program, and Portfolio Performance

Please contact us if you would like to set up a customized training course in your city or at your corporate site.

Duration: 1 day in person or two half-days online

Description: One of the keys to successful project, program, and portfolio management is measuring that success in ways that support critical decisions. Planned vs. actual duration and cost, number of defects, and number of change requests are only a few of the powerful metrics that can help drive strategic decision-making. If you want to learn more about metrics that can help you make project decisions, this course is for you.

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LEAN, Six Sigma, and Agile

December 15, 2016

RefineM Training

LEAN, Six Sigma, and Agile

Please contact us if you would like to set up a customized training course in your city or at your corporate site.

Duration: 1 day in person or two half-days online

Description: LEAN, Six Sigma, and Agile are all powerful ways to maximize an organization’s project delivery capability. LEAN, which was developed from manufacturing, focuses on efficiency across the enterprise. Agile, which was conceived for the software development industry, is finding increasing use across different industries for the way in which it helps teams deliver the highest value first and engage customers. Six Sigma can be leveraged to help discover and eliminate process defects, improving the quality of project outcomes.

Put together, these three frameworks can drastically increase an organization’s project delivery capability. How best can organizations achieve these integrations to achieve the results they want? In this course, you will learn more about LEAN, Six Sigma, and Agile, and how each can work together. Potential trouble spots for any integration will be identified, and solutions proposed to help you integrate LEAN, Six Sigma, and Agile in an ideal way.

Course Objectives: After completing the course, you will be able to
  • Explain similarities and differences between LEAN, Six Sigma, and Agile.
  • Learn how each integrates with the other.
  • Develop a plan to integrate LEAN, Six Sigma, and Agile in your organization.

Who Should Attend: This course is ideal for project/program managers, portfolio managers, change agents, PMO leaders, project team members, business/systems analysts and other project stakeholders.

PDUs: 7 PDUs (Strategic: 7, Leadership: 0, Technical: 0) (8 PDUs for two half-days over the Web)

Course Delivery: Variable

Course Material: RefineM will prepare and provide the necessary training course material for all attendees.

About RefineM's Instructors: RefineM's instructors are experienced and certified in project management and Agile and bring real-world experience to their instruction. Our instructors not only teach concepts, we also provide insights and hands-on experience. And we don’t waste time. Our training is focused and hard-hitting. We offer practical targeted training in just the key topics that will make the most impact.

Contact us about future dates or to arrange for this training to be delivered in your organization or city.

Turning Project Management Into a Competitive Advantage

Image of two cars of the same model, one worn-out, and the other in pristine condition.
June 3, 2016

According to PMI’s 2016 Pulse of the Profession report, organizations lose $122 million on average for every $1 billion spent on projects, an increase from the last measure in 2014.

Although the waste could be worse, organizations should examine ways to further reduce that waste. PMI’s (2014) recommendations for minimizing these losses include greater coupling of projects with organizational strategy and a greater organizational agility that includes more emphasis on customers and processes. In this blog post, we will provide commentary on both the 2014 and 2016 reports and offer additional solutions from the perspective of our project management experience.

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Is Agile a Good Fit for Process Improvement Projects?

Photo of a project manager assessing if agile is a good fit.
September 13, 2013

Even though Agile originated from software development, it can be used for non-software projects too. Most Agile supporters will say that Agile can be used to deliver any type of project, but is that actually the case? Like other methodologies, Agile is a good fit in some cases and not in others.

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PMI, PMP, CAPM, PMI-ACP, PMI-RMP, and PMBOK are all registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.