Training Participant Comments
Cheryl consistently receives very positive feedback from participants in her seminars and workshops. Here are a few of the positive comments has received on training evaluation forms at UC Berkeley Extension and other clients:
“The confident and pleasant personality of the instructor set the tone for learning. I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the 3-day training!”
“Cheryl is an extremely knowledgeable instructor who made this class fun with real life situations. The class was very well done!”
“Course reader is the best I have seen.”
“The best part was the team spirit of the course and the instructor. She put in the extra effort to ensure that we all understood each point.”
“I really enjoyed Cheryl’s ability to use real world experience in her instruction.”
“The training was challenging, but very enjoyable. Cheryl made learning fun.”
“The exercises and templates were very useful! Thank-you!”
“One of the BEST instructors!”
“This instructor really knows her stuff!!”
“I enjoyed Cheryl’s stories which further clarified the subject matter!”
“Great material that I will use tomorrow when I get back to work”
Consulting and Training Results
Cheryl has used her consulting and training skills to address a number of interesting and challenging situations. The following example case studies describe some specific consulting engagements and the results.
Case #1: Information Technology Project Management Office (IT PMO)
The California Department of Health and Human services contacted Cheryl to assist them in defining and implementing an IT PMO to improve the effectiveness and on-time delivery of the large variety of technical and non-technical projects in their data center. At the conclusion of the consulting engagement, the IT PMO was implemented successfully, including:
- Standard policies and procedures for defining, initiating, and tracking all projects within the data center
- A well-defined process for selecting and prioritizing projects across departments
- An IT PMO website containing project management templates, policies and procedures
- Basic project management training delivered for current staff who are project managers or team leads for data center projects
- Management training conducted for functional managers and executives in the data center
- A “Project Startup Kit” for training new project managers
- Training materials for the department to conduct future classes if needed
Case #2: Standard Project Management Framework
The Project Services Office (PSO) of the California Department of Water Resources contacted Cheryl to design and deliver project management training for the many engineers and scientists who manage projects for the department. These projects cover a wide array of application areas including construction, environmental studies, heavy equipment refurbishment, information technology, grant management, and business process improvements. Thus, the department needed a comprehensive standard framework that could be used effectively in all these different application areas. Cheryl worked with the PSO staff to design a project management life cycle with standard project management templates for each stage: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling,
and Closing. She created training based on latest edition of PMI’s PMBOK® Guide to be delivered to department staff who manage projects and to the department managers who sponsor projects. Training classes include:
- Project management training delivered to over 500 participants in all areas of the department.
- Project Management Applications Workshop (PMAW) a 6-day in-depth workshop where participants work on their own real projects.
- Project Management Essentials for Executives is a 1-day high level overview of project management that focuses on the role of the project sponsor.
- Graduate topics in project management as needed. E.g. Conflict Resolution, Estimating and Scheduling, and Communicating with Stakeholders
Case #3: Centralized Project Tracking and Reporting Process
An internet start-up company hired Cheryl to assist with project management standardization and process improvement for their newly established Project Services Office (PSO). Software development resources in the company were fragmented across many different areas, the workload was not shared evenly, and resources were not working on the highest priority projects. Cheryl worked with the PSO staff to design and implement an automated project management reporting process which provided
the information needed to track project progress and effectively allocate resources. She worked with the executive staff and functional managers to design and implement a process for prioritizing projects across the organization and re-allocating resources as needed. These new process received enthusiastic responses from
executives, functional managers, and software developers throughout the organization.
Case #4: Standardized Peer Review Process Training
A global technology company contacted Cheryl to review and update their peer review process documentation and training to improve its practical and standard use throughout the organization. Cheryl created concise Peer Review process descriptions and created a process manual for world-wide standardization. She created Peer Review training materials and delivered them successfully to staff around the world. She also created and delivered video conferencing training opening up new options for world-wide training. The peer review process is now a standard best practice throughout the organization, enabling the identification and correction of most major defects in software prior to testing.