What do Star Wars and project management have in common? You may think very little. However, if you talk to Dr. Joshua Montgomery, you'll find that these two topics are truly synergistic like C-3PO and R2-D2. In this week's episode of The Everyday PM Podcast, I welcome Dr. Joshua Montgomery, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Southern State Community College, to teach us just how Star Wars droids are changing the way that students are taught project-based learning.    Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging, and complex question, problem, or challenge (PBLWorks, n.d.). In one of Dr. Montgomery's classes, students demonstrate their knowledge and skills by creating a product, or in the case of Dr. Montgomery's class perhaps a droid, to present to an audience. Students can spend weeks, if not months, building a droid (or other project of their choice). This involves planning and executing the project using a project plan that the student has created. Ensuring the proper budget is available and resources acquired. All the while, ensuring milestones are met to have a project to present by the end of the semester (or however long it may take). Through this experience, students develop deep content knowledge as well as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication skills. Project based learning unleashes a contagious, creative energy among students and teachers alike.    Why is project based learning impactful? Have you taken a course that utilized project based learning? Want to know more about Dr. Montgomery's course or cool droids? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!   Reference:  PBLWorks (n.d.). What is PBL? (Online post: https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl)   ***  Follow Our Hosts on LinkedIn:  Ann Campea, MSPM, MPH, PMP  | Worldwide Readiness Program Manager, Apple, Inc. | Program/Project management professional with 10 years of experience in product development, physical retail launches, health care, and tech industries.    Dr. Joshua Montgomery  | Associate Professor of Computer Science at Southern State Community College | Associate Professor of Computer Science at Southern State Community, eSports Director, Division Coordinator, Faculty Senate President, R2-D2 & BB-8 Droid Builder, Inventor, TEDxDayton Speaker, Father, Husband and Lifelong Learner.    More ways to follow Dr. Montgomery:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmontgomery45123/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/montgomery45123 TedTalk: https://youtu.be/q-UAwTMERBg

Welcome to Episode 28 of The Everyday PM podcast where we get to know more about Ann Campea, Founder of The Everyday PM. On the Podcast's one-year anniversary, we celebrate The Everyday PM's Founder, her professional journey, mentors who have supported her along the way, and why The Everyday PM means so much to her! Big shout out to Brian Summons for your continued support of this community and for stepping in to be such a great host! If you enjoy The Everyday PM content, let us know. Are there topics that you want to hear about? People you want to hear from? This community is built by me for you, so drop me a line and let me know your thoughts. *** Follow Our Hosts on LinkedIn: Ann Campea, MSPM, MPH, PMP Worldwide Readiness Program Manager, Apple, Inc. Program/Project management professional with 10 years of experience in product development, physical retail launches, health care, and tech industries. Brian Summons, Senior Project Manager | MSPM | PMP | CSM | CSPO | Iraq Combat Veteran Senior Project Manager, CHOC Children's Senior-Level Project Leader, Combat Veteran, and USC ✌🏾Alumnus who has a passion for leading impactful technology projects. A seasoned leader, and polished communicator with the required experience to ensure project success.

Welcome to episode 27 of The Everyday PM Podcast where I welcome guest host, Ryan Myers, Operations Manager/Senior Project Manager, Haven Agency to talk about the importance of planning. The planning phase follows the first phase of a project, concept and initiation, and is one, if not THE most critical to project success. When planning for a project, a project manager in collaboration with the project team, are responsible for documenting project plans, defining the project deliverables and requirements, and creating the project schedule. This phase also involves creating a roadmap to help navigate your team through the execution, performance and control, and closure phases of the project. Not only does the roadmap serve as a blueprint for the team to execute against, it also helps you manage time, cost, quality, changes, risk, stakeholders and other project-related information. Why is it then that when project timelines get squeezed that planning is the first phase that stakeholders look at to shave time? Perhaps there is a misconception that planning can be done quickly or that the sooner the team can start executing, the faster we'll see results. However, by cutting time from planning, you are doing more harm than good. The risks that could have been flagged by the team during planning via a pre-mortem exercise will likely creep up later in the project, costing the team more time to mitigate than if the proper amount of time were given upfront for the team to come up with a preventative plan. This is just one of many examples that Ryan and I discuss in this week's podcast, which also includes insights on tools and techniques that you can utilize to to successfully plan for the most critical phase of your project - planning. What do you think about project planning? Is it critical to project success or could you do without it? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below! *** Follow Our Hosts on LinkedIn: Ann Campea, MSPM, MPH, PMP Worldwide Readiness Program Manager, Apple, Inc. Program/Project management professional with 10 years of experience in product development, physical retail launches, health care, and tech industries. Ryan Myers Operations Manager/Senior Project Manager, Haven Agency Experienced Operations and Senior Project Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the internet industry.

Welcome to episode 26 of The Everyday PM Podcast where I spotlight Sanaz Sadeghian, MSc., PMP, PMI-SP, PSM I, the youngest person in Iran with a Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification and a professional in project management. Sanaz came to America from Iran in 2019, a country where preference is given to men over women in project management field jobs. Not only is Sanaz the youngest person in Iran to obtain a PMP® certification, she is also a proponent of higher education and continuous learning. Sanaz was in search of opportunity and made the move to America to pursue a Masters degree in project management from Boston University. Her list of accomplishments continues, graduating with a top GPA from Boston University in May 2020 and current President of the Project Management Club at her alma mater. Many people dream of coming to America for its diverse job market, especially when it comes to project management. With no promises of securing a job in project management, Sanaz knew it was the right move to make to open doors to more opportunities than what was presented to her back at home. However, her journey was not easy. She moved in the middle of the pandemic when all of her friends back home could not find a job. The question Sanaz receives frequently (every week!) on LinkedIn from other internationals is "how did [she] I find a job as an international here on a Visa and in the middle of covid?" For those who find yourself in a similar situation, Sanaz has a lot to share on this experience. I can't imagine how stressful it must have been to find a job in the US as an international whilst your ability to remain in the country is solely dependent on finding a job and an employer to sponsor you. You can find Sanaz today in a Project Manager role for Waters Corporation. She is involved in large scale multi-disciplinary projects. What do you think of Sanaz's journey? Do you share a similar experience or need guidance on how to navigate the work Visa process? Reach out to Sanaz to chat more about her personal and professional experiences. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below! **** Follow Our Hosts on LinkedIn: Ann Campea, MSPM, MPH, PMP Worldwide Readiness Program Manager, Apple, Inc. Program/Project management professional with 10 years of experience in product development, physical retail launches, health care, and tech industries. Sanaz Sadeghian, MSc., PMP, PMI-SP, PSM I Project Manager at Waters Corporation Young project management professional with more than 5 years experience in project planning and scheduling. Works with Agile as well as Waterfall teams to generate an effective time and cost hybrid Master plan for large scale multi-disciplinary projects.

Welcome to episode 25 of The Everyday PM Podcast where I spotlight Donna Gregorio, published author of The Successful Project Manager: Practical Guidance from Lessons Learned. Donna Gregorio, a veteran of corporate IT project management, published author, college grad school instructor, and well-respected conference speaker. Donna’s own journey to excellence has been fueled with a passion for empowering students and experts. Today she manages the PM/BA department in IT and guides her teams through a high-stress, constant change, and fast-paced environment that is now commonplace. Donna shows each audience how to reconnect with tools in addressing challenges, what matters most, so they can achieve positive results. Having presented in front of classrooms of 20-50 and conference presentations of 50-100+, Donna demonstrates style, grace, comfort, and is able to explain complex technical issues in an interesting way. She helps organizations disrupt “change as usual” through a practical and repeatable framework, transforming their culture from surviving change to growing through change. Donna earned certifications in PMP, PMP-Agile, CBAP, ITIL and Agile Scrum Master/Product Owner. She holds a BS in Computer Science and Math from Tufts University and an MS in Computer Engineering from Northeastern University. The Successful Project Manager provides practical guidance from hard-earned lessons learned. For the last 30+ years, Gregorio has been focused on driving IT projects to success and teaching graduate students how to manage projects. When teaching students, their interest piques when they hear stories and the techniques applied in moving activities from project rescue to preventing project mishaps. What do you think of Donna's journey? Do you share a similar experience? Purchase the book on Amazon! Definitely reach out to Donna to chat more about her personal and professional experiences. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below! **** Follow Our Hosts on LinkedIn: Ann Campea, MSPM, MPH, PMP Worldwide Readiness Program Manager, Apple, Inc. Program/Project management professional with 10 years of experience in product development, physical retail launches, health care, and tech industries. Donna Gregorio Author, IT Dept Head, Professor, Project Manager, Business Analyst A veteran of corporate IT project management, published author, college grad school instructor, and well-respected conference speaker.

Welcome to episode 24 of The Everyday PM Podcast where I spotlight Mr. Brian Summons, MPSM, PMP, CSM, CSPO, Iraq combat veteran to Senior IT project manager. I remember clapping my hands after Brian spoke up in our virtual class about how gaining a project management certification does not guarantee your success as a project manager. He went on to outline the many attributes that make for a successful and effective project manager, like high emotional intelligence and concise communication skills. This moment is when I knew we had a connection, which is why we have kept a close relationship even after the program was over. For this reason, and many more that I've come to learn about Brian, I have chosen to spotlight him in this week's podcast. Mr. Brian Summons is an Iraq combat veteran, having served in the military for 8 years. Following this experience, Brian made many strategic moves to progress himself from military to civilian life, including learning from mentors about project management. Ultimately, he found himself working in both non-tech and tech PM roles. Listen in on Brian's journey from Iraq combat veteran to Senior IT project manager for CHOC (Children's Hospital of Orange County). What do you think of Brian's journey? Do you share a similar experience? Definitely reach out to Brian to chat more about his personal and professional experiences because he is just that awesome. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below! **** Follow Our Hosts on LinkedIn: Ann Campea, MSPM, MPH, PMP Worldwide Readiness Program Manager, Apple, Inc. Program/Project management professional with 10 years of experience in product development, physical retail launches, health care, and tech industries. Brian Summons, Senior Project Manager | MSPM | PMP | CSM | CSPO | Iraq Combat Veteran Senior Project Manager, CHOC Children's Senior-Level Project Leader, Combat Veteran, and USC ✌🏾 Alumnus who has a passion for leading impactful technology projects. A seasoned leader, and polished communicator with the required experience to ensure project success.

Welcome to episode 23 of The Everyday PM Podcast where I welcome back to the podcast Jennifer H. Elder, CSP, CPA, CVP (Certified Virtual Presenter), CEO of the sole proprietorship, The Sustainable CFO, to talk about Pre-Mortem: What is it and How to use it effectively. Consider the saying, an "apple a day keeps the doctor away. What is that actually telling us? That preventative measures like getting in your daily fruits intake will help you stay healthy. Interestingly enough, we know this nagging feeling in the back of our minds that we should be doing theses things to prevent health risks later on, but it's hard for us to be motivated until it's too late. These risks aren't surprising to us. We see it coming. The same is true for any project manager working on a complex project with several moving pieces. As you move through each project, it takes much effort to wade through the massive list of to-dos. You spend time firefighting while tasks pile up—things your gut instinct is telling you will lead to big problems down the line, but it's not urgent... yet. These risks can become significant and it's partially your doing. This is where the idea of pre-mortem can be of utmost value to ensuring successful project execution. While a post-mortem comes into play at the end of a project, a pre-mortem happens at or around project kickoff. A conversation around what could have been can flip to what can be. Just like that, you have time back that you were likely to lose should you have continued down the spiraling path depicted above. In this episode, Jennifer and I breakdown the pre-mortem exercise and discuss the following: What is pre-mortem? Why should we conduct pre-mortems? How do you conduct pre-mortems? Are you familiar with pre-mortem? Is it something that has benefited you in the past? Share your thoughts on pre-mortem exercises and whether or not it has contributed to the success of your projects. We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below! **** Follow Our Hosts on LinkedIn: Ann Campea, MSPM, MPH, PMP Worldwide Readiness Program Manager, Apple, Inc. Program/Project management professional with 10 years of experience in product development, physical retail launches, and health care industries. Jennifer H. Elder, CSP, CPA, CVP (Certified Virtual Presenter) CEO◊Presenter◊Virtual Emcee◊ For more than 25 years, I have been helping organizations and individuals become future-proof by transforming good technical professionals into great leaders with top-notch communication skills, strategic leadership, and a future-focused mindset.

Welcome to episode 22 of The Everyday PM Podcast where I welcome Peter Margaritis, CSP, C.P.A. Peter is an improv virtuoso, consultant, coach, podcaster, and the author of Improv Is No Joke, Taking the Numb Out of Numbers, and his upcoming book, ‘Off Script: Mastering the Art of Business Improvisation.' Project Managers are improvisors when you really consider what we do for a living. Whether it's adjusting our script on the fly or building on top of new concepts that are introduced as part of our discussions with stakeholders, project managers have the ability to turn on our improv skills. Join Peter Margaritis, CSP, C.P.A. and I discuss improvisation and why this skill is critical to being successful as a project manager. A quick anecdote - Peter and I never met or had a conversation prior to the recording of this podcast, which was an experiment in how well we could improvise a conversation on this very topic. We go through some fun improv exercises that he learned as a professional improvisor and I hope you can takeaway something that can be utilized in your interactions both professionally and personally! I also encourage you to give Peter's podcast, Change Your Mindset a listen! Did you enjoy this interview with Peter Margaritis? Share your stories on times when you had to lean on your improvisation skills to get the job done. We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below! **** Follow Our Hosts on LinkedIn: Ann Campea, MSPM, MPH, PMP Worldwide Readiness Program Manager, Apple, Inc. Program/Project management professional with 10 years of experience in product development, physical retail launches, and health care industries. Peter Margaritis, CSP, C.P.A. Certified Virtual Presenter, Keynote Speaker, Improv Virtuoso, Author, Podcaster, Educator, and Humorist Peter is a licensed, non-practicing, CPA in Ohio. Peter has worked for companies such as Price Waterhouse, Victoria’s Secret Catalogue (not as a model), and Ohio Dominican University. Peter has earned the highest credential of a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) from the National Speakers Association.

Welcome to episode 21 of The Everyday PM Podcast where I have the honor of interviewing Yad Senapathy, Founder and CEO of the Project Management Training Institute (PMTI). How many of you have considered obtaining your Project Management Professional (PMP) certification? Not sure how to get started on the journey? Join Yad Senapathy, Founder and CEO of PMTI and I discuss his journey to founding PMTI and becoming the PMP Jedi Master, PMP certification, and this year's project management trends. Yad's mission through the PMTI is to help you become the best project manager equipped with valuable skills based on your unique strengths. He wants to give you the safety net enabling you to use the expertise, build your career, and: ✔ Become PMP certified. ✔ Be more marketable. ✔ Build a comprehensive skills-verified resume. ✔ Find open doors to several job offers and upgrade your career. ✔ Be a force in the project management industry. ✔ Find excellent opportunities to network with peers and experts. 𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗝𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗧𝗘 (𝗣𝗠𝗧𝗜)? PMTI was established to help Fortune companies, government agencies, small businesses, and individuals to grow. It is an approved premium PMI Authorized Training Partner (ATP) and offers PMI-approved training content. It helps you successfully pass PMP Certification exams by leveraging a highly vetted question bank. PMTI offers a wide range of courses: ➤ PMP Certification ➤ PMI-ACP Certification ➤ CAPM Certification ➤ Project Management Essentials ➤ Advanced Risk Management ➤ Advanced EVM and Earned Schedule ➤ MS Project Fundamentals ➤ OPM® Fundamentals ➤ Six-Sigma Green Belt Certification World-class companies like Amazon, L3Harris, Grubhub, Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics, the US Air Force, and many others trust PMTI. Did you enjoy this interview with Yad, the PMP Jedi Master himself? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below! **** Follow Our Hosts on LinkedIn: Ann Campea, MSPM, MPH, PMP Worldwide Readiness Program Manager, Apple, Inc. Program/Project management professional with 10 years of experience in product development, physical retail launches, and health care industries. Yad Senapathy, PMP Jedi Master Founder and CEO of PMTI Yad's mission is to help project managers become emotionally intelligent leaders and develop critical decision making abilities to function effectively in ever disrupting industry environments.

Welcome to episode 20 of The Everyday PM Podcast where we discuss focusing on the end goal always and tips for staying on-track throughout the course of your project. Let's face it, staying focused in a world full of distractions is challenging. In our everyday lives, we have that singular goal for the day. Maybe it's optimizing our production to be better than the day before. But what happens throughout the day? You get distracted and the biggest, ugliest frogs you should have eaten first thing in the morning (for those of you wanting to know more about this reference, check out my blog post on Eating that Frog!), is left undone by the end of the day; thus, keeping us from being as productive as we intended to be. Same goes for our professional lives. As project managers, we are the ones tasked with keeping to the agenda and ensuring that we do not lose focus on our end goal whether it be for a meeting or a project. Helping me drive this conversation is Star Dargin, Executive and Leadership Coach and author of Leading with Gratitude: 21st Century Solutions to Boost Engagement and Innovation. How do you manage to stay focused on your end goal? Any tips and guidance to share? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below! **** Follow Our Hosts on LinkedIn: Ann Campea, MSPM, MPH, PMP Worldwide Readiness Program Manager, Apple, Inc. Program/Project management professional with 10 years of experience in product development, physical retail launches, and health care industries. Star Dargin, PCC, CPCC Executive and Leadership Coach, Star Leadership LLC As an executive coach, Star loves making a difference through 1-on-1 partnerships, as it’s a great way to help middle managers improve their leadership skills. A key part of her approach is from a place of gratitude. Her engineering background allows her to translate tech speak and she can easily shift between logic and emotions to help you communicate and operationalize your vision (or idea) and turn it into reality.