Upcoming MPUG Global Chapter Events and WebNLearns!

• Featured Event
• WebNLearns
• Microsoft Certificate Program
• Chapter Events
• Note to Members

Featured Event: Jan 19 Atlanta
4th Annual Microsoft Project Trivia Night

Network with your peers during this fun and entertaining learning experience where we all share and expand our knowledge of Microsoft Office Project and Project Server. Four evenly matched teams will compete in three rounds of questions on topics related to Project and Project Server. Minimum experience with Project is required but you must have a sense of humor, team spirit, and willingness to have fun! Members of the lucky team with the most points will receive prizes. Drinks and snacks provided.

MPUG Global WebNLearns
Registration free to members; $15 for non-members.

Finding it hard to attend meetings in person right now? Hone your Microsoft Office Project skills and stay up with professional networking through MPUG WebNLearns -- delivered via LiveMeeting on your computer and an Internet connection.

Jan 7: Beyond Macros, Part 2: Automating Project with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
Microsoft Project expert Ira Brown delivers a fun and informative presentation that will provide you with an understanding of how Microsoft Project can use automation to interact with other Microsoft Office applications, including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. No programming expertise needed!

Jan 15: Unleashing the Power of Microsoft Project 2010
This online presentation by Digineer's Larry Christofaro will walk you through the biggest set of new features ever with Project 2010. Then, it will go beyond the features to show you how you can grow your project from the top-down and manage your project schedule like you’ve never been able to before.

MPUG Certificate Program

Would you like to be more effective using Microsoft Project 2007 today? This certificate course is for users of Microsoft Project who need to plan, track and communicate effectively, even if your title doesn't include the words "project manager." Each session of the series is taught by an MPUG expert presenter as ranked by our community members. The series will begin by answering the question, "What is project management?" and then explain how Microsoft Project fits in the framework of project management theory. The series will then delve into the practical aspects of planning, communicating, and effectively tracking your projects. Sessions offered at 10:30 a.m. Eastern and 9 p.m. Eastern.

Jan 12 Phoenix: Are You Ready for Project 2010?
Microsoft Enterprise Solution Specialist Annie Fitzgerald shares new and enhanced features coming in Project 2010, including the improved user interface, Excel-like features, simple reporting views, enhanced sharing, change management, and more!

Jan 14 Birmingham: Getting Started with Microsoft Project
Join this new chapter in Alabama to network with fellow Microsoft Project users and project management practitioners when Rick Morris presents tips and tricks for Microsoft Project 2007.

Jan 19 Atlanta: 4th Annual Microsoft Project Trivia Night
Network with your peers during this fun and entertaining learning experience where we all share and expand our knowledge of Microsoft Office Project and Project Server. Four evenly matched teams will compete in three rounds of questions on topics related to Project and Project Server. Minimum experience with Project is required but you must have a sense of humor, team spirit, and willingness to have fun! Members of the lucky team with the most points will receive prizes. Drinks and snacks provided.

Jan 22 Twin Cities: Building SharePoint Dashboards
This non-technical session gives project managers tools to turn SharePoint data into a straightforward, accessible dashboard using out-of-the-box capabilities. Presented by Digineer's Larry Christofaro.

Jan 22 Cologne, Germany: Project Professional/Server 2010 and SharePoint Server 2010
Innovations in Project Professional 2010 and Project Server 2010; Plus, new features of SharePoint Server 2010 and Office 2010. Presented by consultants Mike Wübbold and Arne Zwirner.

Feb 4 Melbourne: Are You Ready for Project 2010?
EPM Specialists Darren Deason and Alex Burton will take you on a journey around the new enhanced features of the Microsoft Project 2010 product line-up, including the Project Timeline and Resource Planner, integrated portfolio management, user delegation, enterprise project templates, and improved timesheets.

Feb 9 Phoenix: Managing a Large Scale Microsoft Project Server Deployment
in the Outsourcing Business
Jim Marhoefer shares the lessons learned from an enterprise project management deployment with 2,500-plus projects, 15,000-plus resource names, and 350-plus SharePoint Sites.

Mar 1 Delaware Valley, PA: Integration SAP Data with Project Server
In search of in-depth analysis to manage its resource utilization, Bentley Systems required the ability to extract actual resource time data from SAP and make it visible through Microsoft Project Server reporting. TPG America provided a solution through its PSLink application that provides bi-lateral replication of data between Microsoft Project Server and SAP. This session shares the details of implementation.

Mar 9 Phoenix: Leveraging Visual Basic and Basic Macros in MS Project
This session shares some great techniques to speed up Microsoft Project for day to day tasks. Learn how to track changes, generate vacation reports, automate complex views, and many other slick features all with the push of a button. Presented by Intel's Spencer Lamoreaux.

Note to Members: Book Giveaway!

What's your resolution for the New Year? In 2010 MPUG Editor Dian Schaffhauser vows to complete her project schedules a day before they're due to give them time to "season" before she checks them again with fresh eyes prior to distribution. This, she hopes, will prevent her from making the kind of goofy mistakes that kept cropping up in her project plans in 2009. Do you have a work-related resolution? Share it at editor@mpug.com by January 31 and be entered into a drawing for one of seven project management books, including The Project Success Method by Clinton Padgett and Cheetah Project Management by Michelle LaBrosse.