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When: Monday, June 20, 2011 at 9:00 AM – Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 5:30 PM (GMT) Where: Central London Hosted By: Technology Associates Technology Associates International Limited is one of the leading global project management consultancies specialising in Microsoft Office Project and Enterprise Project Management Solutions. Since 1990, Technology Associates have provided deployment, consultancy, development and training services to more than 500 organisations including some of the world’s leading companies, and we have an international presence throughout the world.   Technology Associates is proud to partner with RMC Project Management Inc . Technology Associates brings the highly acclaimed courses developed by Rita Mulcahy and her organisation to the UK. Courses are run using the same structure and RMC materials as used on the RMC courses in the USA and utilise experienced RMC PMP Exam Prep instructors so that delegates get the full benefit of these courses without having to travel to the USA! Register for this event now at: https://taipmpprep2day200611-rss.com:443 Event Details: PMP® Exam Prep Course (2 days) This accelerated learning course is designed to help you prepare for the PMP ® Exam—and gain the most understanding   with the least amount of study. Developed by Rita Mulcahy, this course is designed to decrease your after-class study time from hundreds of hours to less than forty. We offer unique activities and exercises designed specifically to increase learning and knowledge retention—without rote memorization. The course materials include Rita Mulcahy’s entire PMP ® Exam Prep System (retail value $399). Please contact us if you would like information on in-company courses. Course Learning Objectives This course will also assist you in finding and documenting the gaps in your knowledge, so you can leave the class knowing exactly what you know, and exactly what you need to work on prior to sitting for the exam. By the end of this course you will: Have focused training on areas where students have the most difficulty with the current exam. Have the latest information from over 19 years of experience helping thousands of project managers pass the exam. Be ready to take the exam – this is a preparation and review course. Have learned “what you don’t know”. Develop a personalised study plan to help reduce your follow on study time to less than forty hours. Why Take This Course? Study Time Only 40 hours of study or less needed after this course. That is 70% less study than is usually necessary with other courses. Retention Students recently scored an incredible average 83.25% on a sample PMP ® exam after taking this course, before they even began studying. Passing level is 61% for the PMP ® exam. Materials and Extras A comprehensive education system. These materials include the best-selling book PMP ® Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy, PM FASTrack ® Exam Simulation Software, and Hot Topics flashcards. Also included in this course are materials not available to the general public. Instruction This course uses accelerated learning techniques . Project managers who are also expert trainers teach our courses! We hear, “This was the best class I have EVER attended on ANY topic!” On completion of the course, you will be awarded 16 contact hours (16 PDU’s). Course Outline Overview of the exam: How to study and create a study plan Tricks for memorizing formulas Tricks to help you understand how the PMP ® questions are written Tricks for shortening your study time Tricks for taking the exam Tricks for finding holes in your project management knowledge Reasons people fail the exam and how to make sure you do not do the same Exercises to help you understand, memorize and conceptualize the information you need to know Understanding PMI ® -isms Detailed coverage of: The process of project management The framework of project management Integration management Scope management Time management Cost management Quality management Human resources management Communications management Risk management Procurement management Professional responsibilities Develop a personalised Study Plan Course Materials You will receive the following exceptional training products which were developed by Rita Mulcahy, p ublished by RMC Publications, Inc: ·          JumpStart ~ E-learning course (pre-course work up to four hours) ·          PMP ® Exam Prep Book ·          Hot Topics PMP® Exam Flashcards ·          PM FASTrack® PMP® Exam Simulation Software   Created with the assistance of a psychometrician (just like the actual exam) PM FASTrack ® is designed to simulate the actual exam in every detail. The program’s database of 1,500+ questions allows you to take exams by knowledge area, process group or keyword/concept.

Many of you have given us feedback over the years that you enjoy having role guides in the EPM community much like what we had for the Project Server 2003 release. Well we’ve answered the call and created a Project Server 2010 Administrator’s Guide which has been published and gone live today. You can now download the guide here: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=212383 We are currently planning more role guides, so please email us ( epmdocfeedback@microsoft.com ) with any feedback you may have. If you like this role guide, please let us know so we know we’re on the right track by creating more. Watch this space for more info as we make hard copies of the guide available for purchase, along with announcing new guides. Thank you all, Robert Hoover, PMP

In our latest BPOS Support video, we learn how to

This week in BPOS news is a recurring segment on the Microsoft Online Services Team Blog that covers news from all sectors of Cloud Computing and the Microsoft Online Services business suite known as the Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS). You can read all past This Week in BPOS News segments here. For this week in BPOS news we take a look at the U.S. government’s commitment to the Cloud, and find out how 90,000 public sector jobs are being crated with Cloud adoption. 1. Obama banks on cloud, consolidation, to hold down IT costs The United States has been going through some budget cuts from a recent economic deficit that impacted the entire country and numerous industries. Many eyes are focused sharply on U.S. President Obama’s upcoming 2012 federal budget that will help determine how the country recovers from this downturn. IT costs, that include cloud computing, are outlined in the president’s budget that sets aside $79.5 billion for IT spending during the fiscal year of 2012. Much like Microsoft, the U.S. government seems to be committed to the Cloud. This is outlined by federal CIO, Vivek Kundra , who “released a report outlining a ‘cloud first’ strategy for federal agencies.” According to Kundra, the Cloud could save the government 30% through the reduction of data center expenditures. There are conflicting views from the VP of consulting firm McLean, Ray Bjorklund, who is unsure about the cloud savings. He believes the savings apply less to government, and more to commercial businesses. You can read more about how the government is planning on spending and saving on Cloud computing in this ComputerWorld article . Do you think it’s the right move for the government to invest in the cloud? Do you think it will save the government money? What are your thoughts? Leave your comments below. 2. Cloud Adoption ‘Will Create 90,000 Public Sector Jobs In our second story , we take a look at how the adoption of Cloud computing is increasing public sector jobs in the UK. The Center for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has determined that 90,000 jobs in the public sector are going to appear due to the prediction that government IT will be more open to cloud computing technologies which drive efficiencies. It is forecasted that “289,000 jobs are expected to be generated cumulatively over the 2010 to 2015 period in the UK,” meaning that 199,000 jobs will be created outside of the public sector. This article from CIO.com breaks down the CEBR report that outlines where Cloud jobs will be created across the UK are predicted. The CEBR also looks at profitability which will depend mainly on “efficiency, rather than volume growth, due to the pressures of reduced household spending power and rising commodity prices.” What do you think of the surge in Cloud jobs as predicted in this article ? Do you agree? Leave your comments below. What are your thoughts about the stories we shared with you this week? Did you see a story you want to share with us? Let us know what other topics you’d like to see. You can comment on this blog post or send an email to our community mailbox . Follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page.

In case you have not heard we have just released the February 2011 Cumulative Update (CU) for Project and Project Server 2007 and 2010 as announced by Brian on our Admin blog: Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint 2007 and 2010 February CU 2011 are Live! Save the date to learn all about it in a webcast: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 8:00 AM, Pacific Time (US & Canada). Webcast link: Information About Microsoft Project and Project Server Cumulative February Update

The Microsoft Office 2007 interactive developer map has been available for several years, which is very handy for finding documentation on all Office 2007 products. Now Office 2010 has its own: See Microsoft Office 2010 Developer Map . Want to find documentation for OneNote Mobile on Windows Phone 7? Just click Mobile Applications in the Developer Map, click OneNote Mobile , and it takes you to the correct documentation

MS Press has just published Inside Microsoft SharePoint 2010 , which will also be very useful for Project Server 2010 developers – since, as we all know, Project Server is an application service in SharePoint Server, PWA is a SharePoint application (a somewhat restricted one with a few specialized Project Server Web Parts thrown in), and project sites are pure SharePoint (with some custom lists). Although Chapter 11 on Creating and Developing Workflows primarily discusses SharePoint Designer, which we can’t use for Project Server workflows, it does provide a good overview of workflow concepts.

Some of you may have seen the recent Office blog post from the Microsoft Office sustained engineering team.

When: Monday, December 05, 2011 at 9:00 AM – Friday, December 09, 2011 at 5:00 PM (GMT) Where: Technology House Shottery Brook Office Park Timothy’s Bridge Road CV37 9NR Stratford Upon Avon United Kingdom Hosted By: Technology Associates International Ltd Technology Associates International ( www.techassoc.com ) is an Approved Training Organisation (ATO), accredited by the APM Group – the leading accreditation, certification and examination body – to deliver PRINCE2® courses.    As a Microsoft Gold Partner, we have over 18 years experience of delivering training solutions.   Our PRINCE2® trainers are skilled experts who take pride in guiding delegates through the PRINCE2® methodology and help them understand how the material applies to their specific personal and organisational circumstances. Register for this event now at: https://taiprince2051211-rss.eventbrite.com Event Details: The course provides a balance between a learning experince about structured project management and PRINCE2®, and maximising the delegate’s chances of passing the Practitioner examination. On passing the examination, the delegate becomes a Registered PRINCE2® Practitioner. The course starts with a period of directed self-study commencing approximately 2 weeks before the classroom event.   This brings everyone up to a common standard of basic familiarity with the language and underlying principles of PRINCE2®, and ensures that the course gets off to a smooth start. Delegates should plan their time for this self-study to ensure that they gain maximum benefit from this essential element of the course.   A minimum of 10 hours should be scheduled if at all possible. The first three days in the classroom follow the lifecycle of a project, explaining the use and benefits of the PRINCE2® processes, themes and techniques, and how these can be adapted to suit a variety of project types and scenarios.   Approximately 30% of this time is spent on practical work and discussion using a “continuous” case study as a basis for exercises that help to reinforce delegate learning.    The Foundation examination takes place on day 3.  The following two days are dedicated to reinforcing what has been learnt and to preparing for the Practitioner examination that takes place on the last afternoon.   Full explanation is provided of the types of question used in the examination, together with guidance on how to answer them to best effect. Evening work is provided (approximately one-hour) to enable revision and practice of what has been learned each day. Terms & Conditions of Booking: Payment is due on booking.   Cancellations and Transfers More than 20 working days notice before course commences – £50 cancellation fee is payable From 0 to 20 working days inclusive before course commences – 100 % of the course fee is payable   VERY IMPORTANT: If you are unable to complete a course due to illness or any other reason, you will have to pay the full course fee to attend a future course. No refund will be offered for failing to attend any part of the whole course.   A full copy of our terms and conditions of sale is available on request.                 PRINCE2® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries.