In the News

Wachovia: Merging Businesses and Cultures
One of the greatest challenges of any corporate merger is uniting two distinct corporate cultures and adjusting them to adhere to the same corporate policies, code of conduct and operations. When Wachovia merged with First Union National Bank in 2001, the new company of 90,000-plus employees, which included more than 600 project managers, quickly found that it had diverging methodologies for project management.
Chief Learning Officer / December 2006

On Course for Success
With a growing interest in executive education and business-oriented training, universities and business schools across the country are providing an important service, enabling businesses large and small to raise competitiveness and open new doors.
Business Management   

ESI’s Learning Model
Continuing education is an excellent way for organizations to not only improve performance, but to develop and retain their most valuable resources – their employees.
Business Management

Use Metrics to Prove Your IT Project's Worth
As financial director at GAP Group, a $100 million equipment rental firm in Glasgow, Scotland, Stewart had to help his firm decide whether to spend $2 million on a new ERP (enterprise resource planning) system. Using Intentia's Opportunity Analyzer software, the company asked decision makers across the 700-person firm to define what they wanted the project to achieve and how to measure its success. There was only one rule: The phrase "IT project" was banned from all conversation.
InfoWorld / November 2005    

An Education in Earned Value: Procurement Officers' Expanding Role
As a result of heightened pressure from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and revised Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), the need for the professional purchasing community to understand the principles of Earned Value Management (EVM) and accept increased accountability during the acquisition process for federal information technology projects is higher than ever.
Government PROcurement / October 2005   

3 Questions: Lack of Preparation Common Point of Outsourcing Failure
Question: Deloitte Consulting LLP's study "Calling a Change in the Outsourcing Market" found that 70 percent of participants have had significant negative experiences with outsourcing projects. What does ESI believe are the biggest reasons for this high failure rate in outsourcing?
IT Business Edge / July 2005   PDF

Keys to Success
There are a number of common problems that organizations encounter when launching project management training programs, from lack of executive involvement to poorly measured results. As you consider training providers, implement a program and monitor the results, here are five key best practices that can help your organization get the most out of training.
Projects@Work / September 2005   PDF

Find the Right Mix
Your candy dish holds an example of successful portfolio management. Ninety-nine percent of all households indulge in some form of sweet treat, according to the National Confectioners Association. Each year roughly 1,000 new confections hit the market, but the global candy industry has a historically high project kill rate ranging from 60 to 90 percent. Most confections never make it to the sweets aisle of your local supermarket.
PMNetwork / September 2005    PDF

ESI's Cookbook Effort Yields Support
ESI International's Arlington employees recently compiled recipes and sold cookbooks to raise money for local charities. The 300 Arlington employees gathered family recipes to fill the cookbook, "ESI Cooks!" with over 400 dishes.
Washington Business Journal / September 2005   PDF

ESI to Begin Rolling Out New Solutions Model Next Month
Consulting firm ESI International (Arlington, Va.) will begin a phased launch of its new "Solutions Model" training program starting with corporate clients on Oct. 3, according to Steve Stilwell, director of eTraining development, and Laurie Brunner, senior vice president of business development. This model will become available in open enrollment form nationwide at the beginning of next year.
Corporate Training & Development Advisor / September 2005   PDF

The Devil Is In The Details
One federal IT project promises to thwart terror in the air by using database searches to pinpoint high-risk plane passengers. Another boasts it will overhaul the way the FBI tackles fraud, kidnapping, bomb conspiracies and a wealth of other cases. A third intends to give the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a much-needed financial tech tune-up.
Government VAR / August 2005   PDF

Just Say No
The sales force automation looked great, and the tools were certainly capable of delivering. The trouble was, says Peter Nimmo, now IT director for Panasonic Australia, it would have taken vast amounts of time to recoup the dollars invested. So as Nimmo worked through the proposal with the sales director of the company he was then working for, he was also gently guiding him to the realization that the dollars just did not stack up.
CIO Australia / August 2005

Corporate Training and Development Advisor
In 1987, HP Services – the division of Hewlett-Packard Co. (Palo Alto, Calif.) that delivers enterprise-class IT infrastructure consulting, support, outsourcing, financing and deployment services to global businesses – had six certified project management professionals on staff. Today, the division has around 2,200, and puts about 6,000 individuals through project management training annually with the help of consulting firm ESI International.
Corporate Training and Development Advisor / August 2005   

Training Gives IRS an Edge on Performance-Based Contracting
The Internal Revenue Service is doing more performance-based contracting than it was two years ago, and IRS officials say it is because the agency's acquisition workforce has received good training.
Federal Computer Week / July 2005    

Growing Government Program Managers
Department of Veterans Affairs officials found themselves in a quandary a few years ago when they faced a shortage of experienced program managers. Should they try to pull talent from other agencies or grow their own?
Federal Computer Week / June 2005   

The War for Talent
Simply put, it’s a good time to be a project manager. According to every survey on the subject, organizations are searching for professionals in the field, and, once hired, these professionals are provided countless developmental opportunities – from project management certificate training programs to international assignments to degree programs of their choice.
Chief Project Officer (CPO)   

OMB Changes IT Rules: Training, Better Management Seen as Keys to IT Success
Computer specialists at the Veterans Affairs Department get project manager certifications with three years’ experience and the completion of seven classes, ranging from three to five days each, offered through ESI International.
FederalTimes.com / April 2005