Several PMI Chapters have used the PMPerspectives website to support their SIG or chapter education sessions recently. Here are some quotes from their experiences:
- Excellent format - really enjoyed the research details and then doing the group discussions.
- Engendered a lot of good discussion. The topics were diverse and interesting.
- Good mix of academic info and practical experience. Liked mixing up the tables and discussion opportunities.
- Appreciated the break-out sessions and the mixing.
- It was very interactive and I really enjoyed it.
Here is a method for using this website to support your sessions, distilled from their experiences.
1) Choose one or more relevant articles from the list of articles posted. These will form the basis for one or more group discussions.
2) Copy and have the article(s) available to participants as they arrive at the seminar (or direct them to the website before they arrive).
3) If there is a video accompanying the article, play this at the meeting to introduce the article. Otherwise, a knowledgeable chapter or group member can read the article in advance and summarize the main points to the audience. (This person will earn PDU points for being the presenter at the meeting.) This brings all attendees up-to-speed, so that they can all participate in the discussion afterward.
4) Create several break-out groups. Use the two or three feedback questions that accompany the article to stimulate discussion around the tables.
5) Have each discussion group summarize their discussion and report to the room. If you record some of the key points that arise, a volunteer can log them in the feedback sections for the articles on our website later. We suggest that you create a user-ID for your PMI chapter or PM group and record the results under this user-ID on the website. What we hope will happen is that PMI chapters and PM groups from around the world will begin to engage in dialogue with each other through our website. Be sure to mention where you are located when communicating as a chapter or group.
6) Mix up the participants into new table groups so that they have a chance to network, and repeat the process with a different article.
7) About three articles can be covered at a morning session. Articles will be added to the website monthly, so there is plenty of material to choose from.
Note: Comments and feedback on our website may be used for research purposes. See our privacy policy for details.
