New Work Order is a work-related blog headed by former University of Arkansas classmates: writer/consultant Brad Lawless and entrepreneur/project manager Larry Winters.

Brad worked as an IT consultant, a higher-education administrator and a freelance writer before starting two small businesses with his wife, Wendi. “The economy killed those businesses in 2009, and I went to work for a social shopper marketing agency called Collective Bias,” Brad told us.

Larry’s working experience took him through a succession of less-than-fulfilling project management positions at a number of companies. Today he heads up the project management practice arm of a consulting company called The Persimmon Group.

“Between the two of us, we have experience at over 15 companies in a dozen industries…and they’re still trying to figure out what they want to be when they grow up,” Larry joked.

The blog averages close to a post per week day, anywhere from 4-5 per week. It started officially on 18th January 2011 as an outlet for workplace experiences Larry and Brad can point to as everyday learning tools.

“We started the blog to discuss and share our views on the changing nature of the workplace,” Larry said. “The quality and quantity of work a person produces is no longer strictly tied to a single place (your desk in an office) or time (8 am – 5 pm.) It’s time we all step back and think about what we really want out of this work-a-day life and how we can affect positive change to achieve it.”

He then added the phrase that has become the subhead of their blog: “New Work Order is about going from unworkable to working it out.”

Larry’s project management ties make this blog applicable to the PPM-minded practitioner, but Larry says that the more open-ended emphasis of the blog on “work” opens up a wider audience for New Work Order.

“We blog to connect with like-minded individuals; we are motivated to post when we discover some new or interesting insight that we want to share with others.”

It was interesting to discover the titles of many of the more popular posts on NWO, as they seemed to intersperse with popular music in some way. Consider the favourite and popular posts for Brad and Larry…

The most widely read post on NWO taps into a compilation album by Interscope Records (as well as a play on words for a Guns ‘N Roses album):

Lose Your Illusion 1: Progress

Amongst the favourite posts? The title of a Beatles song, a Grammy Award winner, and I’m not touching the third one:

48 Unread: A day in the life of…

Men At Work: Thoughts on the New Male Mystique

Marijuana: Business Lesson in Weird Places

The New Work Order blog’s latest posts can be monitored on Twitter @newworkorder

Blog: http://newworkorder.com/

RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/newworkorder

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PMP Project Management Blog is a blog from PMCAMPUS, an online warehouse of tips and advice on study materials in preparation for the PMP and CAPM certification exam, including a wealth of practice questions.

A relatively recent addition to the PPM Community, PMP Project Management Blog premiered in April 2011 and currently updates with three posts every week. “We started the blog to offer an additional resource for project managers, and project managers in training,” says PMCAMPUS founder Kahina Morriset, who doubles as the blog supervisor and a renowned e-Learning producer. “Our goal is to be a valuable resource to individuals in the project management field, offering our experience, advice and training.”

Kahina’s expertise and achievement is a big driving force for the blog’s potential. A 2007 MBA graduate from McGill University, Kahina has maintained her PMP credential since 2005. She has produced several award winning multimedia training CD and WebBased training products spanning a variety of diverse industries. Her peers have taken notice: her career recognition includes being the 2001 recipient of the esteemed “1001 Talent Award”, and a nominated finalist for the Multimedia Mobius Prize. Kahina is dedicated to leverage internet capabilities and find new ways to design, develop and deliver high quality and low cost eLearning solutions to promote learning and empower people.

Kahina puts the focus on the interest of her early followers of the blog, especially those by way of Twitter.

“The blog is a mix of project management advice on leadership techniques, study tips for the PMP exam, guidance for new project managers, and reviews on the latest in technology for all project managers and their teams,” she says. “Our Twitter followers are so great. Everytime we post, they are right there to read the articles, retweet and talk to the project management community about the content. There’s a lot of great project managers on Twitter, as well as project managers in training! They offer opinions, advice and feedback which helps to make our programs stronger. We’re proud to be a part of such a great community.”

That great community has devoured one particular post on PMP development as the most popular on the site, as well as one of her own favourites…

The Making Of A Leader: The Journey Of A PMP

Other favourites include the following two:

Different Leadership Personalities- Which One Are You?

What Is Authentic Leadership

Kahina Morriset and the PMP Project Management Blog can be monitored regularly on Twitter @PMCAMPUS.

Blog: http://project-management-blog.pmcampus.com

RSS Feed: http://project-management-blog.pmcampus.com/rss

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SpanishPMO is a Spanish-language project management blog run by Fermin de Rojas that focuses on elements within PM, namely methodologies, tools, jobs and coaching. A bilingual project management expert educated at Brighton University, Fermin was startled to find a wealth of PM blogs available in English, compared to the relative lack in his native Spanish, and decided to take care of such matters himself as a major audience seemed to be missing out.

“I took for granted that everybody could speak english or at least could read it, but realised that there were very little information regarding Project Management in Spanish,” Fermin told us. “Bear in mind that there are 350 million Spanish speakers, mainly in Latin America, EEUU and Spain.

“This is the main reason why SpanishPMO.com was born, a website focus in project management in spanish, specialized in articles of how to set up a PMO, methodologies like Prince2 and PMI, tools, cyber security, coaching, negotiation and leadership skills.”

Fermin uses SpanishPMO as a portal in “specialized in articles of how to set up a PMO, methodologies like Prince2 and PMI, tools, cybersecurity, coaching, negotiation and leadership skills.” He says his audiences not only centers on those practising or interested in practising project management and leadership, but also those who work in an office environment.

“I motivated to blog through my own goals of personal self-improvement and self-satisfaction. I want to evangelise the word of Project Management and Agile method in the Spanish mentality.”

Fermin says his most popular post concerns Spanish-language books fellow speakers can turn to as PPM-related resources (links in Spanish only)
Libros

Among his favourite posts are:

• Creacion de Una Oficina de Proyectos (PMO)
• JIRA la herramienta perfecta para la administración de proyectos
• Funcionalidad Frankestein

Be sure to keep track of Fermin and SpanishPMO on Twitter @spanishpmo

URL: http://spanishpmo.com/

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Utpal Writes is managed by a project management enthusiastic and a Certified Scrum Master, Utpal Vaishnav. Utpal has 11+ years of experience in Software Industry. He says he is almost “fanatical” for “learning, unlearning and relearning about management, leadership and self-help.”

Starting from late 2008, Utpal has continuously updated his blog on the above subjects.  Mostly he updates his blog once a week and writes in different forms – like normal 500-700 words posts, mini-sagas, numbered tips or Nicholas Bate-like listy insights.

“The objective of my blog is to provide lessons learned out of various experiences he had or inviting the user to pause and think about several thought provoking questions or insights,” he says.

Utpal believes that project management is a core which focuses on getting things done – regardless of its context. It is merely one skill which helps an individual to reach new levels of accomplishments when applied effectively.

There are four posts in particular on Utpal Writes which he cited as his favourites during the past year:

Contribute Beyond Your Title With Assumed Responsibility And Take The Right Decision!

A Path-Goal Based Approach That May Take Your Project Leadership Repertoire To The Next Level

10 Peaks For Creating Performance Focused Teams

Twelve Traits of Dependable Project Managers

To keep track of Utpal’s updates to the Utpal Writes blog, subscribe to his blog feeds (see link below) or follow him on Twitter @utpalvaishnav.

URL: http://utpal.net/blog

RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/UtpalVaishnav

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EarthPM’s oft-mentioned slogan is “at the intersection of Green and Project Management,” a power-packed credo for two veteran project managers left with an indelible imprint on the importance of resource sustainability.

Rich Maltzman and Dave Shirley have worked primarily as project management practitioners in their respective 30 years of field experience, and in launching EarthPM they both have undertaken a regular publication they describe as “part altruism, part business idea.” More than that, environment-oriented projects and sustainability tap into a growing concern in world economic growth and prosperity, giving that business idea an opportunity like never before. Rich says that project management principles remain central to the goals of EarthPM because of their closeness to the medium.

“We’re motivated to blog by news stories and other pm blogs,” Rich says. “Our site is devoted to the intersection of Project Management and “Green” – where green has to do with preventing climate change, preserving resources, and getting things done effectively and efficiently, which should already be flowing in the ‘green’ blood of any project manager worth their weight in risk registers.”

While they are unable to cite favourite posts or a most widely read post – “We have 125 posts, all with roughly equal readership” – they describe the blog in buzzwords that tap across all mediums affected by sustainable project management. Or – considering the buzzwords they used included “Eclectic”, “electric”, “executive-level”, “energizing”, and “engaging” – all the relevant ones that shared the same first letter as “EarthPM”!

You can follow EarthPM and Rich Maltzman on Twitter @RichEarthPM.

URL: http://earthpm.com/

RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/EarthPm

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Beyond Projects began as a weekly blog in 2008 under the editorial direction of Erika Flora, a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and ITIL Expert who works as a project management and ITIL consultant, instructor and speaker in addition to her work as a “blogger who loves to relax with a nice glass of red wine.”

“I am passionate about project management, networking, branding, technology, and overall personal and organizational success,” Erika says. “Blogging is a great way to share my thoughts and point people towards some cool things I find along the way. It’s a mix of ideas on project management best practice, in-demand certification and training, standing out and making an impact in your job, and ultimately, getting what you want out of life.”

Erika uses Beyond Projects as a means to help others and share lessons and other information she feels would have been useful to her in her early career. Beyond Projects is targeted for project managers, IT staff, and “anyone else looking to improve their skills and career.”

The San Diego native, Erika’s background is strong and enhances the viability to the credentials of the blog. She’s an IT / Drug Development Program Manager with experience in pharmaceutical, biotech, and healthcare. “I improve how organizations work through redesign of their processes and use of enterprise project management (EPM) technology,” she says. In addition to her PMP, ITIL Expert credentials, Erika is MS Project / Project Server Black Belt certified. She enhances her working credentials through strong plaques of street cred: Erika currently serves as President of the ITSMf San Diego LIG and have previously served as a board member of the Phoenix and San Diego chapters of PMI. In 2007, she was voted “Volunteer of the Year” by PMI® International.

She says, “I think volunteering is the coolest!”

Her most popular post on Beyond Projects involved her first crack at webcasting:

My very first Project Management webcast! Woo hoo! Check it out!

She lists three other posts as her favourites:

Want your project to be successful? Party Early and Often!
ITIL: A Project Manager’s Perspective
Three Ways to Stand Out as a Project Manager in Today’s Economy

You can follow Erika and the Beyond Projects blog on the following social networking sites…

Twitter: @erikaflora
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/eflora
Website: www.beyond20.com

Blog: http://blog.erikaflora.com/

RSS: http://blog.erikaflora.com/rss2.aspx

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The Green PM – Fresh Perspectives on Project Leadership is a weekly blog run by veteran project management professional Jhaymee Wilson dedicated to promoting and advancing the project management profession on a global scale. Jhaymee, a Project Manager for an IT firm based in Virginia, premiered the blog in February 2010 with a goal of reaching two emerging sectors of project management: the “green minded” and the new recruits, with a focus on getting started as through pillars she states as:

• Education
• Experience
• Mentoring

“I wanted to provide new and emerging project managers (or ‘green’ PMs) with a good resource to learn about how to begin a career in project management,” she says. “The Green PM focuses on creating and cultivating leaders rather than managers. The articles provided on the blog give our “green” PMs an idea of concepts that leaders should think about, and focuses on building values based leaders in project management.”

In Green PM, Jhaymee writes in a manner that allows her to combine experience in the PM field (she has been at her Virginia IT firm for 7 years, dealing with projects in finance and non-profit) with her wealth of education on project management and IT (which includes a PMP, an IPMA-D and an MS in Project Management). While admitting it’s heavy on personal experiences, Jhaymee says her intended audience of budding PMs can take away more about the roots of leadership rather than merely managing the project.

“As a recent graduate of the Master’s in Project Management Program at The George Washington University, I noticed that a lot of programs tend to focus on building great managers, but not leaders,” she says. ” I hope that The Green PM changes that perspective and encourages and supports project leadership.

“The blog is intended for any project manager, but I tend to focus on new PMs who are looking for tangible guidance on leadership.”

Jhaymee admits it’s hard to determine which of the following two posts from The Green PM have been more popular.

• “There’s a Map for That – PMI Certifications”
• “Adventures in Babysitting – Avoid Becoming Your Project Team’s Au Pair.”

In addition to the “Babysitting” post, Jhaymee has two more posts she considers to be her three favourites from The Green PM:

• “Undercover Boss – Key Lessons in Project Leadership”
• “From Film Student to Project Manager”

Follow The Green PM and Jhaymee on Twitter @TheGreenPM.

“I’m very passionate about project management, and I can’t wait to connect with PMs and PgMs around the world on the value of education in building project management expertise,” she says.

Blog: http://thegreenpm.com/

RSS Feed: http://thegreenpm.com/feed/

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Parallel Project Training is a blog/podcast listing site engineered by Paul Naybour featuring frequent updates of one of the leading project management podcasts on the web. In fact, search for podcasts related to projects and project management on iTunes, and you’ll be sure to find the two geese in flight around the Parallel Project Training lettering.

An APM accredited project management training company managed by seasoned professionals specialising in APM, APMP certification and blended training courses, Parallel Project Training are offering new and innovative ways of developing project managers including printed study guides, podcasts, e-learning and interactive workshops.

“I generate debate of the best approaches to project management delivery, training and development,” Paul says of Parallel Project Training. “The Blog presents news, views and debate on issues in project management.”

Paul started Parallel Project Training in October 2009, and delivers between 2-3 posts each week for an audience of developing and practicing project managers. He still works as a project manager and training consultant today, drawing on over 15 years of experience in project management.

Paul says the most popular post at Parallel Project Training delves into importance of project management offices (PMO):

What is the value of a PMO?

Paul has three articles he lists as his favourite on Parallel Project Training:

Podcast Homepage

The difference between Complex and Complicated Projects

Can social networking help ALLEVIATE some of our project complexity issues?

Parallel Project Training and Paul can be followed on Twitter @Parallelproject

Blog: http://blog.parallelprojecttraining.com/

RSS Feed: http://parallelprojecttraining.libsyn.com/rss

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My Project Management Expert, by Susan de Sousa, is published regularly with the hopes of promoting project management to the masses, whether that audience includes students to season professional PPM personnel.

Susan is an interim Program Manager with 13 years experience delivering large, high profile business change and technology programmes for clients in UK, US and Dubai. “I am mainly asked to either turnaround large failing programs or else deliver those which are deemed undeliverable utilising global teams,” she says. Among her list of clients include BSkyB and the EuroMillions relaunch for Camelot. Susan has worked across a variety of functions as an investment banker, freelance journalist, TV Producer, developer and latterly interim project management.

“My Project Management Expert is a website geared to provide common sense project management advice to ensure you are on the fast track to successfully project delivery,” she says.

Susan lists an article skeptical of the function of status reports as the most popular post on My Project Management Expert:

Do Too Many Project Managers use Project Status Reports to Bury Bad News?

Among her favourites are a guest post on training, another on contingency plans, and a guide to the importance of working with stakeholders:

Should Training be an Integral Part of a Project Budget to Increase Project Profitability? 1/4

Why Do Experienced Project Managers Devote Time Developing Contingency Plans?

Working with Stakeholders

You can keep track of new happenings for Susan and My Project Management Expert on Twitter @MyPMExpert

Blog: http://www.my-project-management-expert.com/

Feed: http://www.my-project-management-expert.com/rss.html

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The APM Blog is one of the most recent additions to the PPM blogosphere, opening up shop in March 2010. Edited by Owain Wilson, the blog features many featured writers and personalities from both the Association for Project Management and Project magazine, including Liz Wilson, Julie Legge and Andrew Bragg.

Recognising the abundance of PPM-based websites, Owain told PPMCommunity that the APM Blog started as a means to “engage with the online project management community, and as part of a portfolio of functionality to create a unique online space for members and non-members alike.”

Considering that the APM is currently lobbying for Chartered status nationally for project managers, engagement with the socially-minded project management is well-timed with the new blog. Owain says the blog intends to stimulate conversation within the community of project and programme professionals, including both APM and non-APM members.

“The APM blog features refreshing project management opinion and comment from prominent APM staff, designed to stimulate debate amongst the profession, as well as communicate key APM messages. Typically we blog to share thoughts, to react to contemporary issues and to make key announcements from the association.”

Owain said there were three particular provoking posts that ranks as his favourites from the APM Blog archives:

Why APM doesn’t hate PMOs

Has project management come of age?

Marriage guidance for project managers?

You can keep track of what the APM Blog is up to on their Twitter account @apmprojectmgmt

Blog: http://www.apm5dimensions.com/blog

Feed: http://www.apm5dimensions.com/blog/feed?uid=

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