PMI Performance Improvement Plan



Performance Improvement Proposal:

Project Management Institute (PMI) Hampton Roads Chapter

Team: Dennis Dulaney, Michael Frempong, Chandler Hopkins, and Leah Waite

Introduction

Our client for this performance improvement/needs assessment project was the Project Management Institute Project Management Institute (PMI) is “the world’s largest not-for-profit professional membership association for the project, program, and portfolio management profession.” This organization was designed to equip its members with project management knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) and best practices through professional development units (PDUs) and dissemination of industry publications. Additionally, PMI offers its members a host of other benefits, which include; library of on-demand webinars, scholarly research articles, professional networking opportunities, communities of practice, career search resources, and discounts on credential and certification exams (i.e. PMP).

PMI’s Hampton Roads chapter holds their member meetings on the first Wednesday of every month, primarily in Newport News. Their meetings begin with a cocktail and networking session, followed by a brief speed networking period. The members are then served dinner, with a guest speaker presentation ending the night. Each meeting costs members $30 if they elect to pay in advance or $40 at the door. Meetings are open to non-members, but costs them $40 in advance or $50 at the door. Certified project managers are able to earn 1 PDU for attending dinner meetings.

After conducting a needs analysis and interviews with key stakeholders (i.e. PMI executive board, previous PMI leaders), team JMU concluded that the chapter was experiencing low member engagement and participation levels. These stakeholders revealed that the chapter maintained a stable membership base in terms of numbers. However, they continued to observe patterns of low attendance at chapter meetings, low interest in obtaining leadership positions within the chapter, and low interest in participating in volunteer opportunities.

Performance Gap

With the completion of this project, PMI Hampton Roads chapter would like to obtain sufficient statistical data from team JMU’s member survey. These survey responses will allow the chapter’s executive board to identify areas within the chapter that are in need of improvement. Ideally, the executive board would like to use these responses to create an interactive and engaging environment that encourages members to participate in chapter activities and contribute knowledge, ideas, and constructive input. Members should want to attend all meetings, apply for leadership positions, participate in volunteer events, and engage in professional development workshops.

The approach that is being used now is centered on word-of-mouth and member participation. The current approach does not offer any real incentives for members to step up and fill leadership positions. There is great need for improvement in this area, due to the stark reality that the organization must have leaders to function. The disconnect, between the need for committed volunteers and the actual amount of members that are engaged, could ultimately be the demise of the organization.

Methods

Team JMU used a multitude of platforms to collect data in order to assess and eventually create recommendations for PMIHR’s need including: conference calls, interviews, and a member survey. The conference calls served as an informational tool that allowed Team JMU to learn and maintain updated information about the PMIHR group. Initially, it served as the discussion platform for PMIHR’s need, expectations, and deliverables. As the process progressed, the conference calls served as check and balances to ensure a clear and consistent line of communication between the teams.

Another form of data collection that was used was interviews. The conference calls were used when assessing and interviewing key members of the PMIHR group including Rachelle Ingram (President Elect), Myron Bartko (Analytics), and Eric Sivertsen (President) about the overall mission statement and goals of the institution. Furthermore, Team JMU conducted a phone interview with the former President, David Offenkrantz (Regional Mentor), from the Washington D.C chapter of PMI to learn about successful approaches he had taken in the past to promote member engagement.

The final form of data collection was a member survey to gauge member’s opinion of the current membership with PMI. The survey was developed through Qualtrics and a link was provided to the PMIHR team. This process was conducted in order to respect PMIHR’s confidentiality standards. The survey was provided to members for a period for approximately 3 and a half weeks. PMIHR provided email encouragement to members to take the survey. At the time of closing, there were 73 surveys completed and 81 started.

These results allowed team JMU to create valuable recommendations and achieve the completion goal. The questions that team JMU created were directed at evaluating potential issues that current members may have with PMI. The survey was aimed at learning current barriers that members felt were evident in order to diagnose why member’s engagement was so low. The survey allows team JMU to report positive feedback with the evaluation process, to let PMIHR know what they are doing right. Open-ended questions allowed an open dialogue about what members really want from the organization to help PMIHR guide their focus for the future. The remaining questions served to guide team JMU through underlying reasoning for member’s opinions and compare to see if there were common trends that were perhaps outside of the hands of PMIHR.

Results

In our needs assessment survey we asked questions to get a better understanding on the demographics of the PMIHR chapter. The response rate we received was representative of about 8% of the chapter membership. The job titles of those that responded ranged from teacher to senior cyber security manager, with a large number of the respondents holding senior level positions. Over 90% of the respondents have previous project management experience, and of those with project management experience, roughly 79% of them have worked as project managers for 8 years or more. The pie chart below details the various sectors that the respondents work in.

[pic]

When asked why respondents joined PMIHR, a majority (62%) stated that they joined for professional development, yet when asked about how active they were with PMIHR, more than half (55%) reported they were either rarely active or not active. The respondents overall reported that they were quite satisfied with PMIHR, and didn’t perceive any barriers to participation, as seen in the charts below. [pic]

[pic]

The reasons for member inactivity were asked in subsequent questions. Our findings from the administered needs assessment survey highlighted a couple different reasons. The three main reasons as to why members aren’t engaged were location, meeting time, and cost. In our recommendations section, we provide PMIHR with actionable tasks to alleviate some of the members concerns that were highlighted in our needs assessment survey.

Recommendations

● Inconvenient meeting location and time:

○ Alternate meeting locations and times

■ Online/virtual meetings-Webcast format-allows interaction between presenter and audience

■ Multiple meeting locations

● Lack of relevant meeting content

○ More focus on professional development (i.e. high caliber speakers, workshops covering a diverse set of topic areas, job fairs)

● Meeting fees

○ Package deals - purchasing a number of meetings/events upfront = lesser cost

○ Members have option to not eat dinner in order to reduce cost

○ Lightening the dinner menu to reduce cost

■ Breakfast meetings

● Smaller meetings-allow for more engagement

● Mentorship program (Matching certified PMs with non-certified members of PMIHR)

○ Engaging new professionals in matching them with a certified PMP

○ Members attend first meeting free-instill confidence and engagement in new members

● Job postings via email/website

● Further focus on receiving other certifications than PMP

● Increased social media presence

Conclusion

After compiling the data from the member survey, team JMU has identified a disconnect between PMI executive board’s definition of “member engagement” compared to its members’ perceptions. For example, questions such as “How would you rate your overall satisfaction with PMIHR?” and “Are there barriers to participation?” reveal that members are in fact satisfied with PMIHR’s offerings and do not perceive there to be an overwhelming amount of barriers that discourage participation. Team JMU perceives there to be a positive correlation between the two variables of engagement and satisfaction. Therefore, our team suggests that PMI executive board clearly define member engagement in terms of chapter expectations while establishing an appropriate standard (i.e. Members that miss more than two meetings in six months will lose PDUs) in order to reach their desired environment.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

References

PMI Hampton Roads - General Information. (n.d.). Retrieved from

Appendix A

PMI Member Survey

Welcome to the PMI Hampton Roads Survey.  This survey is designed to assess the experience and member engagement of the PMI Hampton Roads Chapter (PMIHR). This survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete.  We appreciate your time and attention to completing the member survey. Thank you, PMIHR Chapter

To begin, we would like to ask you a few questions about your experience with project management and with PMIHR.

Please specify your job title.

Do you have experience working as a project manager?

← Yes (1)

← No (2)

Answer If Do you have experience working as a project manager? Yes Is Selected

How many years of experience do you have as a project manager?

← 0-1 (1)

← 2-3 (2)

← 4-5 (3)

← 6-7 (4)

← 8+ (5)

What sector do you work in? (Please indicate the one that you primarily identify with)

← Oil & Gas (1)

← Information Technology (2)

← Telecommunication (3)

← Professional Services (4)

← Financial (5)

← Government (6)

← Health care (7)

← Other (Please Specify) (8) ____________________

How long have you been a member of PMIHR?

← 0-1 year (1)

← 2-3 years (2)

← 4-5 years (3)

← 6-7 years (4)

← 8+ years (6)

← Not a member (7)

Why did you become a member of PMIHR?

← Industry knowledge (1)

← Volunteer opportunities (2)

← Professional development (3)

← Discounts on certifications (4)

← Networking (5)

← Receive industry publications (6)

← Project management ethics (7)

← Other (8) ____________________

Have you ever held a leadership position within PMIHR?

← Yes (Please specify the Position) (1) ____________________

← No (2)

How would you describe your level of activity within PMIHR?

← Not active (1)

← Rarely active (2)

← Somewhat active (3)

← Very active (4)

← Extremely active (5)

Approximately how many chapter member meetings have you attended since joining PMIHR?

← 0-1 (1)

← 2-3 (2)

← 4-5 (3)

← 6-7 (4)

← 8+ (5)

Are there any barriers to your participation with the PMIHR Chapter?

← Yes (1)

← No (2)

Answer If Are there any barriers to your participation with the PMIHR Chapter? Yes Is Selected

What barriers to participation have you experienced within PMIHR?

← I do not have time to participate (1)

← The events are not applicable to my job role (2)

← The meeting times are not convenient for me (3)

← The meeting locations are not convenient for me (4)

← I do not see the value in chapter participation (5)

← Other (Please Specify :) (6) ____________________

What value do you see in PMIHR chapter participation?

What would you like PMIHR to offer its members?

Do you have any certifications?

← Yes (1)

← No (2)

Answer If Do you have any certifications? Yes Is Selected

Which certifications do you have? (Please select all that apply)

❑ Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® (4)

❑ Project Management Professional (PMP)® (5)

❑ Program Management Professional (PgMP)® (6)

❑ Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP)SM (7)

❑ PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® (8)

❑ PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)® (9)

❑ PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)® (10)

Did PMIHR provide you with the knowledge and resources to obtain your certifications?

← Yes (1)

← No (2)

On a scale of 1-5 (1 being strongly disagree, 5 being strongly agree), how well do you feel PMIHR: 

______ Provides industry knowledge (1)

______ Provides volunteer opportunities (2)

______ Offers professional development opportunities (3)

______ Provides information on project management ethics (4)

How would you rate your overall satisfaction with PMIHR?

← Very Dissatisfied (14)

← Dissatisfied (15)

← Neutral (16)

← Satisfied (17)

← Very Satisfied (18)

To conclude the survey, please provide some basic demographic information about yourself.

How old are you?

← 18-24 (1)

← 25-34 (2)

← 35-44 (3)

← 45-54 (4)

← 55-64 (5)

← 65-74 (6)

← 75+ (7)

Please indicate your gender.

← Male (1)

← Female (2)

What is the highest level of education you have completed?

← Some high school, no diploma (1)

← High school graduate, diploma or GED (2)

← Some college credit, no degree (3)

← Trade/technical/vocational training (4)

← Associate Degree (5)

← Bachelor's Degree (6)

← Master's Degree (7)

← Professional Degree (8)

← Doctorate Degree (9)

Do you have any comments or concerns that were not addressed by this survey?

Thank you for your time and feedback. If you have any questions or concerns please address them to Rachelle Ingram at PresidentElect@. 

Appendix B

|Question: What value do you see in PMIHR Chapter participation? |

|if I had time it would be good to network with my peers |

|networking and continuing education |

|Meet people of like interest. |

|Share my experience with others. |

|Networking |

|Knowledge of local PM related activities |

|Opportunities to give back to PMI (volunteering) |

|I have only been a member for one month. I have only attended one meeting. |

|Education/Professional Development |

|Improve job skills and expand networking opportunities. |

|none for me...meetings are too far away, too expensive, and not enough opportunities to earn PDUs |

|Networking, PDUs, professional development, personal satisfaction |

|Networking. Insider knowledge about taking PMI exam |

|Ability to obtain PDUs at a reasonable cost. Opportunity to network. |

|Networking |

|Professional knowledge and growth as well as networking. |

|Professional Development, Networking, PMI & Community Service |

|Networking with Peers both wihtin and external to my industry. |

|Networking for job opprtunities. |

|connects me |

|Keep current on trends, networking, mentor opportunities |

|Participation in PMIHR compliments membership in PMI in that it provides opportunities for local interraction, both online and face-to-face. |

|The vast majority of my participation has been online, and our chapter provides much in the way of information, education and peer-to-peer |

|interraction. |

|Professional Development, networking, aid in prepping for PMP certification and other PMI certs. |

|Publications and certification |

|Opportunity to network, value added knowledge from guest speakers, opportunity to gain PDUs |

|Opportunity to hear foirm industry experts in the field; networking |

|Networking, exposure to PM tools and processes, interesting guest speakers |

|Professional connections, sharing best practices, and continued learning |

|Continued professional development and networking |

|For me personally there is tremendous value in networking, meeting other project managers and gaining knowledge of the profession in the |

|Hampton Roads area. I work from a home office and I have a great desire to meet my peers face to face. I think the chapter provides a great |

|deal of educational opportunities - courses, speakers at the monthly meetings, the PDD. |

|There is value in networking and in the exchange of ideas. Learning face to face with other project managers provides an excellent opportunity|

|for personnel growth. |

|Networking, Knowledge, Social |

|Great value!!! Able to network, meet new people, discuss projects, all are a big plus. |

|Networking, Professional Development |

|Networking; PDUs; learning opportunities |

|Connection with other PM professionals. |

|Networking, skills development, PDUs |

|Networking opportunities, exposure to new project management methods/procedures. |

|Great opportunities to share experiences |

|Professional Development and Networking |

|Moving meetings to VA BEach made it impossible to join several meetings now |

|Awareness of training and volunteer opportunities; networking with other PMs; interesting topics at dinner meetings |

|Networking and professional development opportunities. |

|At the moment there is no value... |

|None |

|Networking |

|General community of practice involvement...opportunity to learn and network. A couple of PDUs. |

|learning new challenges from other professionals |

|There is a consistent value of getting my PDPs and there is value sometimes in the speakers that attend. |

|none |

|The opportunity to participate in professional development activities, network with peers, and stay active in the community relative to my |

|profession. |

|Professional development and networking. |

|just started. will take time to answer the question. |

|I'm a PMP and member because my company told me to get the certification and join. I do want to increase ny understanding of the basics of PM.|

|Participation in the chapter provides opportunities for networking with a wide range of project managers in various industries, professional |

|development opportunities such as chapter sponsored prep courses, and professional development days. I recently became a volunteer and that |

|has provided me the opportunity to see how the chapter conducts business and what it's vision is for the membership as well as the |

|organization. |

|Good to get insight into what other project managers in this area are doing. |

|Learning new items relating to PMI, to PM. |

|Networking w/others in IT |

|Staying current on best trends |

|Access to materials |

|Learning from others experiencies. Programs and training offered |

|Local networking and chance to speak with peers. |

|Networking and learning |

|I could be wrong but its my understanding that most meetings come with a buffet dinner?I would be more inclined to attend meetings if they |

|were scheduled earlier in the day (immediately after work hours) and without the meal. That's just me. |

|Chance to keep up with Project MAnagement. Meet good people. GIve Back to the community |

|Networking and presentations |

|From my perspective, the chapter provides an event with an interesting topic as the evening focus. The networking aspect and the PDUs are |

|secondary benefits. |

|Evidently not much |

|I see opportunities to learn what's going on in the industry and obtain ideas to apply on the job, opportunities to network and enhance job |

|growth, and meet new people. As a government employee I benefit more from the educational aspects rather than the job aspects. |

|Appendix C |

|Question: What would you like PMIHR to offer its members? |

|Nothing more than is being done now. I noticed several PDU links which are awesome, that is always a challenge (getting new PDUs) |

|No response |

|Nothing new to suggest |

|I have not been a member long enough to answer the question. |

|More Education/Professional Development opportunities |

|Cheaper methods to prepare for the PMP (PMI) qualification exam. |

|lunch meetings or "Hampton-side" evening meetings( |

|More training opportunities. |

|Database/Service for PM career opportunities. |

|Employment information. |

|use as a resource with PM issues |

|Job postings, satellite meeting sites. |

|Maybe some locally produced CBT on subjects specific to our area (i.e. government, defense industries, shipbuilding/manufacturing, ship |

|repair, etc.) |

|Unsure at this time. |

|More opportunities to interact - perhaps "brown bag" lunches to discuss specific PMP issues, techniques and approaches. |

|Cheaper option to attend meetings without meals so that they could benefit from speaker/networking without paying for dinners. |

|Additional ways to earn PDUs |

|One area that I think they need to review is how they engage new PMPs. Since it is roughly 5 people per month passing the test, what about |

|reaching out to new P&Ps to have them attend the first meeting for free. There would be a cost but getting them engaged, possibly with someone|

|assigned to meet them and introduce them to others, would get the new member activated. How many people pass their test and then never come to|

|a meeting. |

|I live in Williamsburg and the meetings in Norfolk are not convenient (drive time) so more meetings in Newport News would allow me more |

|participation |

|I cannot think of anything that isn't already being offered. |

|Breakfast and or lunch small group meetings. |

|none noted |

|no change to current offerings |

|Ability to allow more members to participate in chapter activities. |

|More networking opportunities, PM job listings |

|Webinars |

|PDU opportunities |

|Periodic focus training in specific area, e.g., risk management, joint cost/schedule analysis. |

|Community service opportunities. |

|Feedback or response to email requests and inquiries. |

|Meetings with interesting lectures worth PMP credit and networking opportunities. |

|Job fairs |

|Consider lighter fare at meetings to reduce cost of participating. Although the dinner is good, members cost $30/meeting is significant with |

|not reimbursed by the employer. |

|The same offerings in course work and meetings |

|I would like to see more work toward certification beyond the PMP. There is a lot of focus toward getting the PMP but not as much after that. |

|Varied location and times alternating for monthly meetings instead of always in same place at high cost in evenings only |

|I think they are doing a good job. The Professional Development Day is terrific. There may be an opportunity for some Local Interest Groups,|

|but that would depend on participation requirements for sustainability. |

|Intensive PMP test preparation classes on weekends or evenings after normal work hours. |

|A framework to know the members better. Maybe a group activity to know each other better. |

|Better learning opportunities at the dinners. Apply & learn from others at the tables. Mix up the tables so we meet more people. Watch the |

|speaker before we do for quality of message and delivery. April 4th meeting was painfully poor. |

|Larger variety of training course to maintain PDUs. |

|Core speakers from outside areas, who are knowledgeable and experienced on large projects, risks, EVM, etc. |

|Community volunteer opportunities |

|Team already does a great job. |

|More presentations on scheduling. |

|PDU opportunities are a big thing for me. |

|Can't think of anything |

|Online Training |

|More events with higher caliber presenters or events (co- sponsored maybe) like a TED conference |

|Training, networking for job opportunities or building a customer base, social events |

Appendix D

| Question: Do you have any comments or concerns that were not addressed by this survey? |

|None |

|I answered No to the question "Did PMIHR provide you with the knowledge and resources to obtain your certifications?” because I had my PMP |

|cert. before the PMIHR Chapter was founded. |

|Not at this time. |

|I would like more chapter meetings to have a professional development focus. Networking is nice, but chapter re-caps and previews provide |

|little value when they are the main focus of the meeting. You can always give previews and recaps for ~10 minutes at the start/end of each |

|meeting. |

|It is a "Hampton Roads" Chapter, but all meetings occur in Virginia Beach. Also, there should be chapter quarterly trainings for earning PDUs.|

|A useful question would have been to ask current employment status - early career, late career, seeking employment, seeking skills |

|development, etc. Also, you hinted at why members participate, but didn't ask relevant questions: networking for professional development |

|versus networking for future job options, my other concern is the cost of attending functions. Being currently barely employed - 'between' PM|

|jobs - paying for PMI membership plus local membership plus $35 dinners puts a strain on my budget. Also, meetings are rarely announced early|

|enough to obtain an early bird discount if I don't watch that account daily and flag the messages as distinct from the 100 job search emails I|

|get daily |

|No. |

|I have only been a member for 2 months. |

|No |

|None |

|I joined PMIHR for a Graduate class in risk management. Using my response will probably skew the data away from people who have joined for |

|professional reasons.' |

|I recently joined PMI and PMIHR. I have received information from PMI, but have not heard anything regarding membership with PMIHR with the |

|notable exception of this survey. I would find it useful if I was given essential information regarding how the PMIHR chapter functions. |

|Perhaps even providing sponsors. |

|No |

|I've recently changed jobs within the same company. Most from a straight mechanical PM role to a more strategic role. With my new schedule it |

|is sometimes difficult to attend meetings. Part of my New Year's resolutions is to attend more PMIHR meetings. |

|I hope that this information can be used to better chapter involvement. |

|Great idea to undertake this effort! |

|None |

|No |

|N/A |

|The recent event in Virginia Beach was a very welcome change. I have found Norfolk inconvenient and Newport News a deal breaker - I won't |

|attend meetings on the other side of the tunnel period. |

|No |

|No |

|Will the aggregated information be made available to the members? |

|In these tight times, many companies are not as generous with things like professional fees, conferences, etc. Might be a good service to |

|think of ways to provide services like PDU's education, etc. at low cost to the user. You might actually collect more revenue by lowering |

|costs by creating greater volume. |

|PMIHR does a good job as evidenced by the large growth in membership since I joined. Speakers are usually very informative on a wide array of|

|topics. |

Appendix E

[pic]

Chart 1.

[pic]

Chart 2.

Chart 3.

Chart 4.

-----------------------

Are There Any Barriers to Participation?

How satisfied are you with PMIHR?

Are There Any Barriers to Participation?

How satisfied are you with PMIHR?

On a scale of 1-5, how well do you feel PMIHR…

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download