asapm Project Management
Communities of Practice
- PMCoP Program
www.asapm.org
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What is a PMCoP
 A group of people who are interested in sharing tacit
and elicit knowledge about their work as Project
Managers
 A Community of Practice (CoP) can be a group that
meets in person or it can be a virtual group that
operates through a list server or chat.
 asapm members have held PMCoPs since the society
started in 2001.
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How do you Organize a Physical PMCoP?
 Invite your peers and colleagues to meet at your office
or your local library or your home to discuss project
management. Suggested minimum size is five people.
 Ask each of these colleagues to invite at least one of
their circle of colleagues (preferably from a different
industries or companies).
 Assign a PMCoP Coordinator to set up a group site.
Please contact the Member Services Director of asapm,
for directions on how to set up a site.
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Mechanics of a PMCoP Meeting
 Choose your first topic(s).
 Hold the meeting at your office, your local library,
coffee shop, a book store, or in your home.
 Food and drink of some sort is good.
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Picking a topic
 The survey approach
 The “pet peeve”
 The biggest problem
 The most profound lesson learned
 The top contender for the “It doesn’t work that way in reality”
award
 PM Competency Topics in the National Competence
Baseline (NCB) or the IPMA Competence Baseline (ICB)
 See www.asapm.org or www.ipma.ch
 Emerging trends
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Core principles for a sustainable PMCoP
 Respect
 All attendees are peers – A PMCoP is a non-
hierarchical group
 Disagreements are acceptable – Diversity of
opinion is welcome
 Advance scheduling
 Work to increase the network
 Adding value through contribution
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Roles in a PMCoP
 The role of the host
 To begin a meeting the host needs to offer a basic
structure:
 Agreement on topic if one hasn’t been chosen
 Any goals for the meeting
 Agreement on next meeting
 In ongoing PMCoPs, the host role rotates so that
responsibility for the group is shared among
members.
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The Role of Scribe
 Record resources located by the PMCoP
 Record the findings of the meeting
 Forward these items to the PMCoP coordinator
bmhansen100@gmail.com
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Setting up a Virtual CoP
 At the current time, we have chosen to use ning.com
for our virtual CoPs. You can find an example and
setup on the member’s only page of www.asapm.com
 We currently have a virtual CoPs for:
 Agile Project Management
 WBS
 Portfolio Management
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Sample Discussion Package For a
PMCoP Meeting
 Risk Management
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Scenario
You are a project manager for a major telecommunications network upgrade with
a NPV of US $10,000,000.
 You are heavily dependent on a third party vendor for your project and your
contract office informs you that there is a 30% chance that the vendor will go out
of business at the end of the quarter. If that occurs, your project will incur a US
$3,000,000 cost overrun due to rework.
 There is also a 30% chance that a new legislation will pass that will decrease
government oversight of your team's work. If this legislation passes, you estimate
that your project will save US $1,600,000 in time delays.
 Lastly, your technical lead indicates that there is 20% chance that a new software
package will be available by month end that could save US $1,800,000 in testing
time. If available, the software will cost US $500,000 to procure, install and train.
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Success Factors
 How have you successfully managed Risk on your
most recent project?
 Is that different then what’s worked in the past?
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Lessons Learned
 What has been the most profound lesson you have
learned about Risk
 How have you taken this learning and made it part of
your approach to managing a project
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Dealing with Risk in the Real World
 What about Risk or Opportunities that still gives you
the most trouble?
 Do you manage risks differently than opportunities?
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Tips, Tools and Techniques for Risk
 What Tips do you have to share about Risk or
Opportunity Management?
 What tools do you recommend to help you minimize
risk and maximize opportunities
 What techniques do you recommend in working with
risk or opportunities
 Don’t list anything you don’t actually do
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Resources
 What articles would you recommend about Risk or
Opportunity Management
 What books would you recommend about Risk or
Opportunity
 What web sites would you recommend about for
learning more about Risk or Opportunity
Management
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Closing out a session
 Have one in the group keep notes. Publish any
actions, conclusions or recommendations from the
meeting.
 Plan the topic for the next meeting. Planning several
months ahead will allow people preparation time and
as your PMCoP grows, allows time for invited guest
arrangements.
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Conclusion
 At asapm, we look forward to hearing about
your development of PMCoPs in your areas.
 If you have any questions, please forward them
to Brent Hansen at bmhansen100@gmail.com
www.asapm.org
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