Mark Your Calendar for the PDMA 2015 Annual Conference!

Join PDMA and hundreds of fellow product development professionals at the 2015 Annual Conference, November 7-11 at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California. This year's revamped event features:

A new conference design to maximize peer-to-peer learning in all areas of product development: identification/opportunity; creation; launch; and measurement
Additional educational breakout sessions in organized topical tracks
Experiential learning adventures throughout Disney properties
Visionary keynotes talk methodology, culture and leadership
OCI Award Dinner ticket now included in full conference registration fee
Elevated evening events on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to build relationships that extend beyond the conference
A family-friendly location for extended vacation time

How Can You Position Yourself as an Expert? Apply to speak at the PDMA 2015 Annual Conference! There's still time to submit your presentation by May 29.

Speaking at the PDMA 2015 Annual Conference offers an excellent opportunity for you to:

Interact with a diverse group of product development professionals from all verticals
Broaden your reach
Meet new audiences

PDMA is seeking a variety of session formats. To learn more and to submit your proposal by May 29, go to the Call for Speakers Submission Page.

Registration for PDMA 2015 Annual Conference opens soon.

PDMA Innovation Maturity Model Official Partner Training Session

"A Flexible Maturity Model for Accelerating Your Product Innovation"

Registration is still open for the Innovation Maturity Model training session which is a program of 2 1/2 days of training that is taking place Wednesday, May 27 – Friday, May 29, 2015 at PDMA Headquarters in Chicago, IL. Partner trainees will master the principles of the Innovation Maturity Model, their application, and essential knowledge on how to perform assessments or audits, and how to implement the maturity model (resulting in an innovation management system) for user organizations, and if necessary conduct train-the-trainer sessions.

This workshop is offered in the introductory period of PDMA's standards to allow prospective users and consulting/auditing partners to quickly get a firm grasp on its contents and be able to scale the required knowledge in their organizations.

The trainees (max. 30 participants) will receive the PDMA's core set of standards documentation, various tools and templates as course materials needed to assess or train customers in the essentials of the Innovation Maturity Model. They will also receive the slides of the sessions and tools as required. They will also get background support to guide them through their first assessments or consulting projects.

It is the first truly international, public innovation maturity model of its kind, and offers an integrated, coherent view on how organizations, of any kind (profit, non-profit, public) can become and stay innovative. The standards are universal, meaning any organization can adopt it, meaning implement its thorough thinking and structures.

Learn more about and register for the PDMA Innovation Maturity Model Training Session here.

Book Review: Soft Skills Revolution: A Guide for Connecting With Compassion for Trainers, Teams, and Leaders

Written by Maxine Kamin; Reviewed by Jerry Mulenberg, PMP

This book provides a clear definition of what “soft skills” are, a detailed description of their relevance, and an understanding of how to develop them in individuals and teams. Although the title states that the primary audience for the book is trainers and teams, the content is equally essential to the third stated group, leaders who want to improve their skills in managing projects, groups, and even companies.

We, of course, all have an idea of what “soft skills” mean but like many terms we use without thinking much about them, each of us most likely has a slightly different understanding of what they really are. The author, Maxine Kamin, solves this dilemma for us with a simple definition of soft skills as, "interpersonal skills that demonstrate a person's ability to communicate effectively and build relationships with others” (p. 12). These two things, she says, are most important in dealing with others at work and in our non-work lives, and describes their relevance to “problem solving, negotiation, and team building” (p. 12). She develops the argument for why they are important, how they evolved, and what it takes to learn them. They are important, she says, because they work.

Have You Caught the Latest Issue of PDMA Visions?

PDMA Visions was distributed earlier this Spring - don't forget to check it out if you haven't had a chance! This year's first issue of Visions features articles written by product development leaders who take familiar concepts and turn them on their head.

Are your digital innovations being sabotaged by existing, "status quo" products? Are you following "best practices" that really aren't best practices? Which came first: the innovation process design or the software tool enablement? Get ready to think with our brain-teasing features

In case you missed it, access your copy today!

Member Access to Visions: Visit the PDMA website, login in to the website and click to download from the 2015 Visions archive.

Non-Member Access to Visions: Please visit the PDMA online store to access all current and past issues of Visions.

If you are interested in writing for upcoming issues of Visions, please contact Managing Editor Dennis Coyle.

PDMA Chapter and Global Affilate Events

Resource scarcity, population growth, economic development, lower transaction costs and more effective regulation: companies face a ‘new normal’. Impacts upon society that arise outside of the market – externalities – are growing, and yet companies simultaneously face the prospects that they must internalize such externalities at higher rates than ever before. As a consequence, factors that previously were not priced, such as water or underpayment, are increasingly priced and impacting companies’ bottom lines. Organizations can anticipate and stay ahead of this trend by engaging in true pricing. True pricing is the monetary valuation of social and environmental externalities.

What are the hidden social and environmental costs and benefits of your products and what is the effect of these costs on the financial return, now and in the future? How can we reduce these costs profitably? Or what social, environmental and economic value does our organization create, next to your standard financial results? And which external social, environmental and economic costs are there at company-level?

Join us to hear how Michel Scholte, Director of External Affairs and co-founder of True Price is helping companies to determine the social and environmental costs and benefits of their products.

NPDP Certified Individuals April 2015

Congratulations to the PDMA community members who earned their NPDP certification in April!

PDMA Member Benefit: Accessing JPIM Table of Content Alerts