Tuesday, August 18, 2015

PM training

How to train non-project staff in project management?

I have access to short courses sponsored by my employer that could be used, but from what I've seen of them they are what I call 'lock-step' or recipe courses. A collection of 'do this then that' courses rather than invitations to think through projects.

One course that I did like, also a short course, is the one at Stanford University. Looks good, but pricey!

I would steer away from courses aimed at a qualification: Prince2 and PMBoK (so called) as they train to the qualification; again, not for thinking about projects.

Frustrating.

Of the longer courses I think I'd lead towards Adelaide Universities' masters degree. It seems to be pitched at an appropriate conceptual level, but that's for longer courses.

What do I want in a course?

  1. The business context of projects: the financial and competitive environment and how projects arise and are handled in organisations.
  2. Projects as systems that respond over time to their own evolution effecting resources, information, capability (both the input capability and the performance capability sought).
  3. Structure of projects: getting to details of the WBS as the central driver, and working back through dependency relationships. This would touch on the low level tools of scheduling, tracking (earned value), delivery methodologies and handling risk. I'd be loath to handle 'risk' as a separate category as risk should be incorporated in the project plan through offsetting activities, and scheduling adjusted for delay risk on a probabilistic basis, or at least using Goldratt's buffer system.

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