Project Management Best Practices

As promised, I’m following up on my post from Sept. 14, 2009: Lack of training among project managers.

There continues to be  widespread lack of formal project management training among PMP candidates. In my original post, I wrote:

From my visits to message boards and blogs, I’m seeing a common misunderstanding among many PMP candidates; a misunderstanding is related to the trend of PMP candidates using their exam preparation classes to satisfy their 35 contact hour requirement. Many candidates seem to believe that taking a 35 hour prep class is actually a requirement to sit for the exam.

(more…)

I came a across an interesting article on the Projects@work website, Enabling Career Advancement by Mary Ann Bopp, Diana Bing and Sheila Forte-Trammell, which is an excerpt from their book, Agile Career Development: Lessons and Approaches from IBM.

Their basic premise is that: “Project-driven organizations can benefit in many ways from creating a career framework that gives employees the opportunity to grow — and share — their knowledge and skills by moving across job roles or business units. In the process, they align company values and culture, optimize resources and increase client satisfaction.”

(more…)

From my participation on various PMP discussion boards, particularly those used by folks who wish to earn the PMP credential, I’ve noticed an interesting (and somewhat disturbing) trend.

A significant number of PMP aspirants have no previous project management training prior to starting the PMP qualification and application process.  As a result, many of them use their 35-hour PMP “prep” class to satisfy PMI’s requirement that all applicants have completed a minimum of 35 hours of project management training prior to applying for their exam qualification letter.
(more…)

I received a query from Brian Mascarenhas of Mubai, India. Brian is a manager in the construction industry.

I am a mechanical engineer by profession. I have been working for 3 years in a manufacturing company handling projects and maintenance. This year i have joined a city gas distribution firm in the project division.

I have been reading a bit on PMP certification. I am presently doing my post graduation in construction management.I was thinking of doing my PMP certification after my pg course.I wanted to know is whether this certification is relevant to my field and if yes what benefits does it hold for future growth as i want to pursue my career in the project management field.

Thank-you.
Brian

(more…)

With the current financial downturn, organizations are looking for ways to cut costs. In their haste, these organizations may make some mistakes concerning the value of project management.

First of all, many decision-makers mistakenly believe that project management is a luxury, an overhead expense that, in a pinch, can be done without. After all, it’s the team members who do the actual work, right? The PM is just an administrator, coordinator or status report writer.

Not True!!

Proven project management processes and practices can make the difference between the success or failure of an enterprise’s business strategy. Project management is more than just coordinating the work of others and reporting on their progress. Project management has protocols, methodologies and proven professional practices based on experience, consensus and scholarly research. There’s a big difference between being a general manager and being a project manager. Project management is a well-defined specialty within the management domain.

(more…)

Value of CAPM