๐ Top Ranked Article: The New PMBOK Guide 8th Edition, Project Management and Artificial Intelligence
With nearly 2,500 visitors, this was far and away your most-read article of 2025. Satya Narayan Dash breaks down how PMI's upcoming 8th edition weaves AI throughout process groups and performance domains - and what it means for your PMP certification and daily practice.
You'll learn the "AI Onion" framework for understanding how machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI layer together, plus three practical applications already showing up in the new guide. Whether you're prepping for certification changes or simply staying ahead of the curve, this one's essential reading.
โRead Article (10 minutes)โ
๐ Deep Dive of the Year: Mastering Microsoft Project Visualization Course
This three-part course from Microsoft Project MVP Erik van Hurck logged more watch time than any other content in 2025 - and it's easy to see why. From creating custom views and tables to building reports that actually impress stakeholders, this course transforms how you present project data.
The series covers view and table creation best practices, bending MS Project's reporting module to your will, and finally demystifying the printing process (yes, paper still matters). At 8 hours total, it's a substantial investment that pays dividends every time you need to communicate project status.
๐ก Annual members get full access to this course and our entire catalog - over 500 hours of PDU-eligible content.
โView Course Detailsโ
๐ Evergreen MVP: How to Remove Blank Values in Your Excel Pivot Table
Some problems never go away - and neither does this solution. With over 2,500 combined visits across the year, Jeremy Cottino's quick fix for that annoying "(blank)" text in pivot tables remains one of our most consistently accessed resources.
The secret? A clever conditional formatting trick using three semicolons that makes blank cells invisible without breaking your data. It takes about 60 seconds to implement and works every single time.
โRead Article (2 minutes)โ
๐ Hidden Gem: Why Your Project Schedules Are More Optimistic Than You Think
This article quietly became one of our most-shared pieces of 2025. The uncomfortable truth? Your CPM-calculated end date is almost certainly wrong - and it's not your fault.
The culprit is merge bias, a mathematical reality that occurs whenever activities have multiple predecessors. Even with two parallel activities that each have a 50% chance of finishing on time, you only have a 25% chance of the project finishing on schedule. Scale that to a real project with hundreds of activities, and the odds get much worse.
Understanding this concept changes how you approach schedule crashing - and why throwing overtime at every workstream rarely works.
โRead Article (4 minutes)โ
๐ Quick Win of the Year: Executive Level Reporting in Microsoft Project โ Customizing the Gantt Chart View to Create an Executive Milestone Report (Part 2)
Sometimes stakeholders don't need every task detail - they need the big picture, fast. This lesson from Chris Mauck, PMP, shows you how to use graphical indicators and Gantt chart customizations to create executive-ready milestone reports that communicate status without overwhelming your audience.
Of all our on-demand lessons, this one had one of the highest completion rates in 2025. Members started it and finished it - a sign that the techniques are immediately actionable. At just under an hour, it's the perfect investment for leveling up your reporting game.
๐กLive events and our full lesson archive are exclusive to MPUG members. Join today to unlock this lesson and earn 1 Strategic PDU.
โWatch Lesson (Members Only)โ
Coming Next Week
We're not done celebrating 2025! Next Tuesday, we'll spotlight the live events that drew the biggest crowds and most engaged audiences. From the topics that packed the virtual room to the sessions with near-perfect attendance rates, you won't want to miss it.
Upcoming Live Events
MPUG hosts 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 PDUs.
*OPEN TO ALL* 1/21/2026: PMP Prep Course Overview and Q&A | Learn More + Register Hereโ
โView Our Upcoming Event Scheduleโ
PM Best Practice: Start 2026 With a Learning Plan
The most successful project managers treat professional development like a project itself. Block 30 minutes this week to review what skills you want to build this year, then schedule recurring time for learning. Even one PDU-eligible lesson per week adds up to 50+ hours of growth by year's end.
Make 2026 your best year yet!
