May 2020 Chapter Newsletter

Welcome!

Another month of our “New Normal” is coming to an end, and we are very fortunate to live in a state that is reopening slowly and safely. PMI-NEFL will continue following the social distancing safe practices for the foreseable future and will continue to hold monthly virtual meetings. We hope everyone is doing well and has been able to adapt to their working conditions and social distancing. We know this time of transition has everyone competing with schedules. We want to know more about how we can keep you engaged and attending our meetings. As always we appreciate everyone for taking the time out of their day and attending the May meeting.

Please register for future events. We can’t wait to see you online!

Chapter News

Follow the chapter with updated news, meetings, and more at: pmi-nefl.org

In recognition of Memorial Day, we honor the fallen heroes that sacrificed their lives protecting this great country of ours and making America what it is today! Did you know?

Jacksonville, FL is the home of the only memorial wall that honors Veterans from all six service branches (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine). The Veterans Memorial 65 foot-long black granite monument contains the permanently inscribed names of servicemen and women. In front of the wall stands a torch with an eternal flame.

PM News to Know

Upcoming PMI virtual symposium

Are you looking to earn additional PDUs? There is a full day PMI Talent & Technology symposium Wednesday, June 10, from 9-5 eastern time and you can earn 6 PDUs. Learn more here.

Other Interesting Reads

During this time managing yourself and others can be a bit of a challenge. Below are some interesting articles.

• Managing Your Career Through Global Disruptions
• How to communicate during large video conferences

And there are some that are anxious to return to their place of work because as humans we like to be socialble (well okay, most days!). That burning question of how are projects going to “work” in the future if we are all working remotely: Will I always work from home?

Finally there are those that ask this question a lot………….was a meeting really needed if an email could have accomplished the same goal? Meetings are a great way to exchange information, ideas, etc. but they are not always the appropriate communication medium. Meetings can be very disruptive to a team and especially a team of developers. Read this interesting perspective and see how you can change your line of thinking.

Online Exams

Ready to take your PMP or CAPM exam after months of studying? Even under quarantine, you can! PMI.org has announced that certification seekers can begin scheduling proctored online tests! Stay safe and get certified! Learn more here. 

Upcoming Events

Please check out our events page for all event registration information

June Chapter Meeting (Webinar)

Join us on Monday, June 15^th virtual meeting, "Breaking Communication Barriers” (1 Strategic PDU). The speaker will be Greta Binder, CSM. She was kind enough to reschedule from the original March date. Register today!

The link will be sent out at 5:30 p.m. the day of the meeting. Please make sure that the email address is marked as “not spam”.  

Meeting Recap

May meeting recap: "Robotic Process Automation: Botify Your Life"

Tracy Dixon-Senior Manager, Robotic Process Automation, DevOps, Collaboration, Agile, Project Management

What are some of the first words that come to your mind when you hear the word “Robot” or “Robotics”?  That is what we were asked to kick off the monthly meeting.

Surprisingly Tracy said that most of our responses were fairly positive. A bit different than what she normally experiences. In the graphic below do you see any of your choices?

People confuse automation with AI.  While similar there is a difference between the 2 concepts. With automation you are taking what might be called a repetitive task and having that task become “less human”.

Something that can be considered routine, repeatable and rule based. These are also known as the “3 R’s”.

 Whatever that process is you should take into consideration that the process should be at a high school level, can be created successfully the first time through, that every key stroke and every step is considered.

With that being said what do you think is the % of jobs that can be 100% automated? It is very low because not every job can be 100% automated. Certain aspects might be but not ALL. Believe it or not only 5% of jobs can be 100% automated.

Another fun fact, what do you think the % of large companies will be automated by 2022? That number is staggering at 85%. Again, may not be that the entire company will be automated but they will have automation in some form.

One last thought to achieve the highest ROI you should choose those tasks that carry large volume of activity/transactions.

If you are interested in learning more or changing career paths, reference https://academy.uipath.com/

Calling All Veterans and Spouses

Shelon Pounds, our VP of Military Liaison (ML) and her team are continuing to engage and inform our brave men and women in uniform of how to become a PMP. Please check out our Military PMP Toolkit. Our ML team has reached out globally to assist veterans with this process.

Chapter Opportunities

Speaker Engagements: Do you know or work with a local professional, senior PMP colleague, or community/business leader that you would like to give a presentation on project leadership, technical skills, or a specific knowledge area within the project management profession? If you answered “yes,” we would love to hear from you! Email: Larry Flowers at vpprograms@pmi-nefl.org with the subject, “I Know a Speaker.”

Volunteer: There are other ways to get involved with the local chapter. We are always looking for ideas and venues for networking events. AND there are always opportunities to volunteer. Not only with the local chapter but also within your own community. Please contact us at vpengagement@pmi-nefl.org or visit our volunteer position postings that include: 

• Virtual Events Manager, Host and Co-host
• Digital Content Coordinator role
• Regional Coordinator 

PDU Claims

If you have attended previous chapter events, remember to claim your PDUs!

Find a list of PDUs from previous events here.

Find out how to claim your PDUs here.

Thank you to our sponsor, Nova Southeaster University - Jacksonville Campus!

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Erin Bass
Dane Bland
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Shandon Crawford – PMP
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Reid Deputy – CAPM
Chris Gawlik – PMP
Erik Gunther – PMI-ACP
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Lucellie Wells – PM

Timothy Egan
Timothy has been a chapter member with PMI-NEFL for 25 years! He was an original member of the chapter’s founding year. He will be featured in the member spotlight. Thank you for your continued service to our chapter.

Edward Nagel
Andrea Mourad
 

David Goldfield
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Russell Hickman
Joseph McCormack
Dawn Shay