Project Management

November 6, 2003

Location: Electrical Engineering/Computer Science Bldg., Room EE/CS 3-180 230

Thursday, 06 November, 2003
5:45-8:00 p.m. at The University of Minnesota
5:45 start of networking, 6:15 start of meeting, 8:00 end of meeting
Electrical Engineering/Computer Science Bldg.
Room EE/CS 3-~~180~~ 230, in the building to the left of our usual one
Minneapolis, MN

Abstract:

Projects are under increasing pressure to meet and exceed objectives, and projects are accomplished with and through people. We know how to improve our technical skills and we spend the necessary time to improve them with a variety of learning activities. But we rarely spend time improving our soft skills, which can have a much more significant impact on our ability to meet project objectives.

According to author Neal Whitten most project managers are too soft. Meaning we don't do a good job of dealing with people issues and we struggle with relationships and building relationships in the work place. But how do we improve at the soft skills? How do we gain the confidence to do what we already know we should do in dealing with people? What is holding us back?

This presentation will answer these questions and look at why relationships and building relationships are so important to the success of projects. It will also look at what you can do to improve your ability to recognize and deal with relationship issues on your projects. Several proven techniques will be presented that you can use to improve your soft skills.

About the Speaker:

For the past 14 years Jesse Freese has been a partner with Fissure Corporation. Since joining Fissure, Jesse has successfully guided over 3000 students through a variety of project management and leadership related training workshops.

Prior to joining Fissure, Jesse spent 17 years in software development and management for a major computer and software development company.

Jesse is a published author, and is well known for his interactive presentations on the topics of project management, leadership and software project measurement and estimation. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota in the Master of Science in Software Engineering Degree Program, a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI), is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a founder of the Twin Cities Software Process Improvement Network (Twin-SPIN) organization.

Jesse graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a BS degree in Computer Science and received an MBA from Monmouth College.