PM Camp Gathering 2025 & the app “PM Elements”
Last week, I was pleasantly surprised by the PM camp scene again. After missed appointments and canceled BarCamps, there are two important topics to report.
PM Camp Gathering 2025
On the one hand, there will finally be a PM Camp again next March! A new organization team has taken a closer look at the somewhat outdated concept of the PM camp and created a PM Camp Gathering. Two days of planned lightning talks and topic workshops complement the obligatory open space.
The date should be marked in your calendar now: March 14 and 15, 2025 at the Rückersbach Seminar Center near Frankfurt am Main. Marvin and I have already registered.
The App "PM Elements"
The second surprise is the new app PM Elements. Here, two good acquaintances — Bernhard Schloß and Christian Botta – have joined forces with Johannes Plunien. The app is based on the periodic table and builds a competence table of the most important methods, concepts, models and frameworks. Depending on the target group, the terms are listed in German or English. That's how it is in project management – here, everything is somehow Denglish ;)
The browser-like app includes an overview of all elements and a list of methods and concepts. Direct access to your own favorites and a full-text search round off the concept. It is extremely easy to use. Whenever a card is displayed, it can be accessed with a single tap. It is also possible to branch deeper into related methods. An automatic breadcrumb trail appears after a long finger press on the back button in the upper left corner. Just like in a browser: a very chic solution.
The tiles themselves are all structured in the same way, so you can quickly find your way around: the colored area shows a clear qualification, then a summary, followed by related topics. The main block describes the topic, which is concluded with a short evaluation.
This brings me to the editorial content. At first, I was surprised by the lack of depth. After a few days with the app, however, I understood it. PM Elements is not meant to be a textbook. Rather, it is a reminder of the available methods and concepts. That's why the well-implemented full-text search is also important here.
Download & Purchase
The download from the App Store is free. A few methods and concepts are included. However, this is only to be understood as a demo; because a reasonable work can only work if the methods (for €19.99) and concepts (for €9.99) are activated. In combination, everything is available for a fair €24.99 in a one-time purchase. The time saved alone is worth the amount. Not to mention the time saved. So a very clear buy recommendation!
Wishes
I haven't found any big bugs or errors so far. But I haven't read all the topics yet either. Nevertheless, I already have ideas for the next version:
- I would like to add or comment on existing topics with text and URLs.
- I would like to enter my own topics.
- Of course, I would like to classify apps that use one or the other method from the element system. I have already built a tile for Merlin Project ;-)
- I would like to be able to enlarge and reduce the pages for presentations using pinch gestures.
- It would also be great if the favorites I set were synchronized with my devices.
To Bernhard, Christian & Johannes; You have created a great tool. After many (mostly) embarrassing ideas in the area of project management tools, the PM elements could be the start of a standard. Of course, there is still a lot to be done to the app and its implementation. But it's a great version 1. I'm looking forward to the updates.
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