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Bringing A Plan Together - Prince 2 Training For Careers

The benefits of Project Management can be seen everywhere. Should you consider training to get employment in this area, you'll find the work to be really thought-provoking and challenging. It appeals to people who are numerate and logical, and who have a good technical aptitude. Also, PM requires a good deal of interaction with other departments and organisations, so there is a need for a clear and unambiguous exchange of ideas.

...Effectively And Professionally!

For businesses to be profitable margins are often tight, hence controlled project management is often essential. All stages of a business or production process need to be professionally controlled and optimised, hence the need for Project Management. We're all project managers to some extent, but if you learn how to use the tools and techniques for commercial productivity, you can build a very lucrative and interesting career.

You'll find a range of commercial colleges that provide Project Management training. You'll be taught about project planning, lifecycles, initiating executing and completing a project, time management, scheduling, budgeting and cost control and people management among other things.

De-mystifying The Jargon

Many common terms have evolved to become key phrases for project managers. It's vital to get on the right wavelength with the terms and ways of thinking, and with the skills and tools used in the profession today. Not all project managers use the same approach, but introductory programmes will equip you with a certain amount of flexibility to join most teams.

A Long And Interesting History...

We might think of Project Management as a fairly recent discipline, but actually it has a long and interesting history. Techniques such as brute force may have been common in early projects, but the discipline evolved over the centuries. F W Taylor was an American mechanical engineer who published 'The Principles of Scientific Management' in 1911. As an efficiency and management expert, he influenced other people's work, such as Henri Fayol's 'Fayolism' and Henry Gantt's 'Gant Chart'.

Frederick Winslow Taylor could be regarded as one of the first management consultants, and was one of the leaders of the Efficiency Movement in the US. He maintained there was always one best way to fix a problem.

A More Modern Approach

Fast forward to the 1950's, and we see the beginnings of Project Management as we know it today - with the systematic application in the USA of PM tools and techniques to complex projects. The Polaris missile project involved so many different aspects that a new management system had to be developed to handle it. The PERT - Program (or Project) Evaluation and Review Technique - model was used to analyse and represent all the tasks involved.

Private enterprise quickly caught on to this and other mathematical techniques for managing projects. In the mid-fifties pioneering work on cost estimating, cost management and engineering economics was also added to the mix.

The IMPA

The International Project Management Association was formed in 1967. Professionals from thirty different counties attended its first international congress in Vienna, and now fifty national PM associations are represented. The IMPA four-level certification programme is assessed on three competence ranges - behavioural, technical and contextual.

Project Management Institute

Then in the US in 1969 the Project Management Institute (PMI) was formed. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge has been published by the PMI. This covers project management procedures that are common to "most projects, most of the time." Any student of project management should understand the processes and terminology that are featured in this guide. Professional training programs can teach you what you need to know. They are available throughout the world, and prepare students for the PMI certifications, namely the PMI Project Management Professional (PMP) and the PMI Certified Associate of Project Management (CAPM).

PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2)

Another widely used project management model which originated in the UK is PRINCE2. Various commercial training providers offer in-depth courses. The method can work with most project management techniques, but it predominantly describes product based planning, change control technique and quality review technique. The framework is scalable and systematic, and if you train in this discipline you will learn how it can be used for all sizes of project. PRINCE2 covers procedures for co-ordinating people and activities, design and supervision and how to make adjustments if things don't go to plan. Based on management by exception, it's efficient and exacting.

There are other project management methods and training schemes that you might find interesting, depending on the knowledge you currently have. If this will be your first project management training, then make sure you choose one that's recognised commercially. Why not make finding the right course for you your first Project Management assignment?