February 25, 2025

In This Issue:

• New Article: Transform Your Status Meetings from Time-Wasters to Project Drivers​
• *FREE* PDU Lesson: Expert Q+A on Jira and Atlassian Tools​
• Case Study: Engineering Excellence in Automotive Project Management​
• Upcoming Live Event: Excel & Power BI Supercharged - Unlock Project Online Data with Power Query​
• *NEW* PM Best Practice: The 3P Approach

New Article: Transform Your Status Meetings from Time-Wasters to Project Drivers

When should you schedule your project status meetings? The answer might surprise you!

This insightful article by Ronald B. Smith, MBA, PMP, explores:

• The worst days for status meetings (and why)
• Optimal meeting times for maximum team engagement
• How to structure tracking meetings for success
• Real-world lessons from a time-critical enterprise project

This straightforward article has actionable tips for both new and seasoned PMs looking to boost meeting effectiveness and team participation.

FREE PDU Lesson: Expert Q+A on Jira and Atlassian Tools

Wondering how to make Atlassian tools work better for your project management needs? Last month, we hosted this comprehensive Q&A session with seasoned experts J. Caldwell and Vlad Petrescu. They shared invaluable insights from their combined decades of experience implementing Jira solutions across organizations of all sizes and answered questions live from MPUG members in attendance.

From our recent survey, we know that Jira is a major topic of interest for our community - so we're sharing this lesson replay with everyone for free!

Watch to learn:

• The key differences between Jira Software, Work Management & Service Management
• How to get started with Jira for project management
• Real solutions for common configuration challenges
• Pro tips for Marketplace apps and integrations

Whether you're evaluating project management tools or looking to optimize your current Atlassian setup, this session delivers practical knowledge you can apply immediately.

Free to watch and PDU-eligible!

Case Study: Engineering Excellence in Automotive Project Management

Our parent company Envorso shares an eye-opening case study showcasing how the right project management approach can transform quality, costs, and customer trust. When an automotive company struggled with project delays and mounting quality fines, Envorso's innovative solution delivered remarkable results:

• 72% improvement in on-time delivery
• $400,000 saved annually in eliminated fines
• 41% reduction in overall defects
• Secured a $1.2B contract through restored customer confidence

Discover how a customized Agile methodology and ASPICE integration created this dramatic turnaround.

Upcoming Live Event (3/5): Excel & Power BI Supercharged - Unlock Project Online Data with Power Query

Ready to transform your Project Online data into powerful insights? Join us for a hands-on session that will revolutionize your reporting workflow.

You'll learn how to:

• Connect directly to Project Online data using Power Query
• Automate tedious data cleaning and transformation tasks
• Create dynamic dashboards in Excel and Power BI
• Implement best practices for efficient project reporting

🗓️ Wednesday, March 5

🕛 12:00pm - 1:00pm EST

📍 Live on Zoom

🏅 1 PMI PDU: Business Acumen

Ideal for data analysts and anyone working with Project Online data. Bring your questions for live Q&A!

P.S. Live events + on-demand replays are exclusive for MPUG members! Join today for just $14.75/month.

Upcoming Live Events

MPUG host live events with leading experts on Wednesdays from 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET! MPUG members get access to live events where you get direct access to industry leaders, actionable insights, hands-on training, and opportunities to earn PDU's.

Learn more and register for upcoming events:

3/5: Excel & Power BI Supercharged - Unlock Project Online Data with Power Query | Learn More / Register Here​

PM Best Practice: The 3P Approach

When struggling to get meaningful updates in status meetings, try the "3P" approach: Progress, Problems, Plans.

Have team members structure their updates around:

• Progress: What was accomplished since last meeting?
• Problems: What obstacles need attention?
• Plans: What's the focus for the next period?

This simple framework keeps updates focused and actionable while ensuring critical information isn't missed.