Project Management Training: So Many Options!

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 project management training has become ubiquitous to support both the organizations and individual professionals.  Choosing the right project management training among the plethora of options has thus become a challenge – and project - unto itself!  This article provides information to help professionals concerned with choosing project management training at the organizational level.  It also provides ideas for individual professional project managers who are seeking the ideal form of project management training to advance their careers.

Here are some ideas for identifying the most appropriate  project management training for an organization or individual:

1. Align Project Management Training to Current Challenges

Organizations must be clear on where they are on the project management maturity continuum and match Project Management Training 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 project management training 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 project management training.  The typical delivery methods include classroom, audio, and online project management training.

Classroom training

1. 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 project management training

Audio Project Management Training is  becoming more popular for its convenience.  Audio project management training 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 project management training for situations such as walking or driving a car, assuming that the audio alone is still effective, is very attractive.

Online project management training

Online project management training has many desirable aspects.  Some online project management training is instructor assisted, and some is simply pure, or ’on-your-own’, online training.  For instructor facilitated online project management training, 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 project management training 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. Project management training topics

There are many appropriate topics for project management training.  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 project management training on transitioning from more technical functions to project management.  Others in the IT field, for example, might enjoy IT project management training. There are many other project management training 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 project management training as soon as possible to have the maximum impact!  Realizing the benefit from project management training 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 project management training 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 project management training and its intended benefits!