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Project Management Training: So Many Options!

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Published: 31Aug2009
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Project Management Training comes in many types, sizes, and flavors. Project Management is very popular topic at the organizational as well as professional level today, and thus PMT has become ubiquitous to support both the organizations and individual professionals. Choosing the right PMT among the plethora of options has thus become a challenge - and project - unto itself! This article provides information to help professionals concerned with choosing PMT at the organizational level. It also provides ideas for individual professional project managers who are seeking the ideal form of PMT to advance their careers.

Here are some ideas for identifying the most appropriate PMT for an organization or individual:

1. Align PMT to Current Challenges. Organizations must be clear on where they are on the project management maturity continuum and match PMT to individuals to accomplish overall objectives. For individual professionals, looking at specific challenges, such as gathering clear requirements for a project, can be the best place to start. In the case of an organization, care must be taken to determine if PMT on a particular project management methodology or framework is appropriate, and individuals must likewise determine whether this strategy at the individual level might help them contribute to their organizations.

2. Select Best Delivery Methods. As a second step, it is necessary to consider preferred delivery methods for PMT. The typical delivery methods include classroom, audio, and online PMT.

Classroom training. Classroom-based PMT enables students to give full, undistracted attention to learning. Within an organization, it can also serve as a team building exercise! For individuals, it can provide in-person access to the instructor and students for both learning and networking. On the down side, classroom training is expensive, often involves travel, requires loss of work time, and must be scheduled. Students must participate in ALL topics, which may not be a good use of time for those with good skills in certain areas.

Audio PMT. Audio PMTis becoming more popular for its convenience. Audio PMT can also be a good supplement to other training. Sometimes the visual aspect is missing, but more visual learning is being incorporated as in PDA-based programs. The 'anytime, anywhere' aspect of audio PMT for situations such as walking or driving a car, assuming that the audio alone is still effective, is very attractive.

Online PMT. Online PMT has many desirable aspects. Some online PMT is instructor assisted, and some is simply pure, or 'on-your-own', online training. For instructor facilitated online PMT, the training is live and over the internet at a scheduled time. Such training usually includes the ability to interact online with the students and instructor during the class. Pure, unassisted, 'on-your-own' online training, by contrast, is self-contained, is available 24x7, and the student can filter for topics of greater interest. Often online PMT includes an on-demand online mentor to contact for help. Both organizations and individuals can benefit from the cost savings and variety of online project management trianig.

3. PMT topics. There are many appropriate topics for PMT. For example, Microsoft Project training might be a good topic for project managers who need to learn about a project management tool. A new PM with a technical background might like PMT on transitioning from more technical functions to project management. Others in the IT field, for example, might enjoy IT PMT. There are many other PMT topics, especially in the soft skills areas like leadership and management, and where a Project Manager can find just the right course at the right time to take skills to the next level.

4. Taking Action right Away. For an individual, once the choice is made, it is beneficial to take the selected PMT as soon as possible to have the maximum impact! Realizing the benefit from PMT lies in applying the knowledge right away, and this also makes that knowledge one's own for the long haul. This is true at the organizational level also, but the timeframes are realistically more extended.

In summary, the way to get the most out of PMT is to choose a topic or approach closely related to personal or organizational interest, ideally something that will produce the highest benefit quickly. Picking from among classroom, online, audio, self-paced, or other courses involves a number of considerations, and it may be best for individuals and organizations to choose a combination. The most important thing, however, is giving full focus and attention to the PMT and its intended benefits!

John Reiling, PMP, PE, MBA is an experienced Project Manager and certified Project Management Professional. http://www.pmtrainingonline.com Project Management Training provides online project management training for beginning managers and for PMP exam prep and PDUs. John also writes regularly in his blog, PMcrunch.com http://pmcrunch.com .

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