It's here! The 2019 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Project and Portfolio Management is now available for download! You heard it here first... or second... or third. At least you heard it here. Now go get it and see where you're favorite tool lands and what you apparently SHOULD be using.

Don't forget to come back here for my somewhat monthly list of the best PM related tools and services to check out in June... coming in the next couple of weeks featuring 5-7 vendor offerings worthy of your time. Assembling my content now - ping me if you have a tool or service to rave about, I may consider it.

From Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT - CEO of Cheetah Learning...

​A month or so back we reached out to PMI to find out why they were using the 2015 PMP Exam Content Guide as the basis for grading PMP candidates exams – when they made such a big deal about the exam change to the PMBOK 6th edition.This is what Sierra Hampton-Simmons, the Global Manager, Certification Exams for the Project Management Institute told us:

“The Project Management Professional (PMP) exam is not an exam “based” on the PMBOK ® Guide, 6th edition. The content of the PMP test, as detailed in our Examination Content Outline, is a direct output of our role delineation study (RDS) which is a job analysis of the project manager role. We conduct these types of studies every 5-7 years, independent of the PMBOK ® Guide development schedule, to identify any changes to the profession and ultimately determine what content should be included in the test. The last RDS for the PMP concluded in 2015 as is reflected in the publish date of the Examination Content Outline. Additionally, when the exam is developed, each item written must align to at least two published reference books. The references used are not limited to PMI global standards or publications. In fact, there are some items on the PMP exam that do not reference any PMI standards or publications at all.
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When the PMBOK ® Guide is updated, PMI Certification will assure that we align the terms used in the test with those used in the global standard to minimize confusion. We take extensive measures to update terms in the active exams so they are in “harmony” with the glossary of terms used in the most current PMBOK ® Guide. However, during this terminology update, we are not changing the structure of the exam, the scoring model, etc. only updating the terminology. Likewise, when the PMBOK ® Guide is updated you will typically not see updates to our Examination Content Outline or the Handbook for the PMP as these items relate directly to the RDS research and thereby the design of the PMP exam and not content of the PMBOK guide. Lastly, the tasks included in the detailed assessment of your students’ performance on the exam are intended to align only to the Examination Content Outline and not the PMBOK guide..."

I have always been a supporter and advocate for remote work, remote project management and virtual teams. I think it is a great way - the best way - to get top talent to your staff and project teams as they are the least  likely to want to move from London, England to Columbus, OH. And, you can shift team membership faster with the remote and virtual models.

​I realize it's not for everyone. I've been doing it for most of the past 15 years, but I am in the minority. For me, remote project management work virtual teams have worked equally well - for the most part - on both Agile and Waterfall projects. There are always certain struggles with both I've been pleased with the project success rates and the minimal issues we've faced that would be attributed to lack of face to face teamwork. But this time I want to hear from all of you.  I'd like to hear from my readers now on their thoughts on this topic.  

Have you managed an agile project remotely?  Have you utilized a completely or mostly geographically dispersed team on an Agile project? What struggles did you face?  What failures did you encounter?  Was it more difficult than managing a Waterfall project remotely?  How and why? 

Not much has been written on this topic so I'm looking forward to your responses.  Thanks in advance!

I recently read about a Copenhagen-based startup that has developed artificial intelligence (AI) that can listen in on emergency 911 calls and help dispatchers detect victims of cardiac arrest.​

Source: LiveTiles