Hello, my name is Michael Womack, and I am a business owner, project manager, graphic artist, business analyst, trainer, lifelong learner, husband, father and, most recently, a "Bamboo newbie." I'm just getting introduced to Bamboo PM Central while working on a project to evaluate and implement the product into our local county government's IT department here in Roanoke, Virginia to manage our portfolio of 60+ projects. Should you wish to contact me directly or confidentially, drop me a line at mwomack11@cox.net. I read my email almost every day and will respond to your email... eventually. 
As a "Bamboo newbie," and for the benefit of other users out there like me, I am most interested in learning and documenting all the practical tips and tricks about PM Central. In this "Adventures in Bamboo PM Central" series, I will attempt to define best practices for using PM Central and the included Bamboo Web Parts so that others can learn from our experience and get up to speed more quickly, demonstrating value to users at every level of your organization.
Getting familiar with the initial template design and how the dashboard charts respond to data entered, adjusting chart thresholds to match our business processes, using group email, alerts, etc... these are just a few of the challenges that I hope to learn some good tips and tricks from our trial and error experience ... and also from the Bamboo Community as well, so you are invited and encouraged to chime in anytime with your comments and/or suggestions!
And perhaps after we learn and share this experience through this series of blogs, I will be able change my title from Bamboo Newbie... to Bamboo Hero ... as I am sure some of you out there will be considered that by me!
So far, I like what I see with PM Central... and I realize I have not even scratched the surface yet! As I begin this journey towards learning all there is to know about PM Central, I know I may never get there, but it will be an adventure worth experiencing nonetheless. My goals for this journey include:
- Share with all those who choose to follow along as much of our PM Central implementation experience as 'legally' possible, from start to finish (leaving out any potentially offensive terms - I'll keep it clean).
- Provide at least weekly updates ... or as frequently as I/we experience something worth posting for the good of the whole.
- Provide lessons learned to help users avoid what I will affectionately term as "Bambooby" traps.
- Establish best practices for our readers to use that will shorten their startup and implementation time considerably, as well as make for a better overall experience in the long run for everyone concerned.
Now, let's get started!
Follow Mike Womack's entire Adventures in Bamboo PM Central guest blog series:
Posted
Feb 04 2010, 01:00 PM
by
Mike Womack
Mike has over 25 years combined experience in academia and business relating to project based learning, information technology, project management, and the commercial arts. Currently, he is co-founder and Managing Director of Experi-ED Learning Concepts, specializing in linking business with education to provide enhanced learning opportunities to higher ed students through project-based learning. Concurrently, Mike is serving on a contract basis, part-time, as a Business Analyst for the County of Roanoke. He has been a member of the Southwest Virginia Chapter of the Project Management Institute since 2004 and received his certification in Project Management (PMP) in 2005. He received his Associate’s degree at VWCC (Virginia Western Community College), a Bachelors of Science degree in Information Technology from Capella University, and is continuing his advanced studies toward his MBA at Capella University. Mike and his family have happily lived in the beautiful Roanoke Valley for over 35 years.