Business Relationship Management Institute (BRMI) is proud to announce that starting February 3, 2014, our members can enjoy a new Business Relationship Management Interactive Body of Knowledge (BRMiBOK). Our team has been hard at work on this upgrade. It will feature a new organization structure and significantly more content. 

The new BRMiBOK is part of a new structure for the entire BRMI member's wiki, which will make it easier to locate the information you need. There is also additional content of more than 300 pages (and counting). Moreover, we will be creating ePublications with the new BRMiBOK, so that you will be able to access Business Relationship Management (BRM) knowledge anytime, anywhere (on your PC, mobile or tablet).

Aside from this, the new BRMiBOK is designed to support BRMP^� training and certification as well as assist the growing BRM community. It is THE knowledge source for those interested in taking a Professional BRM Certification.

Our upcoming webinar, "Introducing the new BRMiBOK" on February 7 will delve into the changes and new functionality in more detail. Please join Vaughan Merlyn, our Chief Knowledge Officer and Roy Youngman, our Chief Architect, as they discuss how you can leverage this important member resource.

This webinar will help you get the most from this important member resource by explaining the changes and demonstrating how to find content and use the new features and functions.

Please join us for this 60-minute webinar with Vaughan Merlyn, BRMI Chief Knowledge Officer and
Roy Youngman, BRMI Chief Architect, as they discuss:

• The purpose of the new BRMiBOK and how it serves the BRMI Mission and Vision
• Features and Implications of having a BOK on a Wiki
• BRMiBOK demonstration and walk through
• Electronic Publishing features and capabilities
• Next Steps
• Next opportunities for improvement
• How to enhance the community
• Become a BRMiBOK Author or Curator

In case you haven't yet, it's not too late to register for this webinar on Strategic Planning Tools. This webinar will examine the BRM's role in Strategic Planning by considering the different types of tools they might use, ways to navigate the organizational and enterprise culture, and ensure they not only come out with a quality strategic plan, but also have the buy-in of key stakeholders.

Please join us for this 60-minute webinar where Glenn Remoreras, Manager, Process and Corporate IT, CEMEX USA and Vice-Chair of BRMI Advisory Committee and Vaughan Merlyn, BRMI's Chief Knowledge Officer, will discuss:

• Strategic Planning and the BRM
• What it is and is not
• Why and when it is needed
• Strategic Planning Tools, including:
• Strategy Mapping
• Value Web Analysis
• Business Capability Roadmapping
• Navigating Organizational and Enterprise Culture

"So often. I have seen when BRMs have gotten too involved in projects and other times when they are not engaged enough. Striking the right balance is challenging! Here are my perspectives from having worked in implementing the BRM role in a number of companies.

1. Prior to project initiation -- The BRM is engaged significantly in surfacing opportunities, developing the business case with the business partner, ensuring the vendor selection and solution assessment takes into account business needs and engages the business, and seeing where a project might fit into the overall investment portfolio.  
2. Launch of a project -- BRMs have an important role in helping to identify those who will serve on the Steering Committee, ensuring that the business sponsors and other key stakeholders are well informed about how the project will proceed, helping to analyze the change impact, business risks and issues of the project, and advising on the project plan and timeline.
3. Requirements, Design and Development -- The role of the BRM converts to more of an advisory role at this juncture to help ensure the business needs are being met through the requirements and design and in the testing scenarios that get used.
4. Monitoring and Controlling -- The BRM should be kept aware of any major project issues so that he/she can assist in communications with the business (to avoid surprises) and in resolving issues or removing obstacles to progress on the project. They should not manage nor monitor the project at a detailed level, that is the job of the project manager. They should not manage the development and delivery, that is the job of the solution delivery group.
5. Deployment -- The BRM comes back into the picture to help ensure that there is a "road-map to value" developed with business partners and to advise on business readiness activities that must be completed to avoid 'value leakage'.

The best approach is to work through the role of the BRM with the other provider leaders to ensure clarity of those roles at each stage in a project life cycle."

Do you have your own BRM question that you'd like answered? Or maybe you have a different perspective from our expert's answer above? Email us at info@brminstitute.org and we will be sure to share your opinion or answer your query.