Choosing a Project Management Course.
Following on from a year of #wfh where I seemed toindulge in too much caffeine, lunchtime walks to my favourite bakery for a guilty treat, endless virtual quizzes and overall Zoom fatigue. I decided that I wanted to start my 2021 a little different. I had a craving to learn and I knew the first place to start was by developing my #ProjectManagement skills.
With 6+ years of experience in Procurement, I’ve noticed a significant overlap between the two, such as:
- Understanding business requirements
- Mapping out & managing key stakeholders
- Working to tight deadlines
- Mitigating risks throughout the lifetime of a project/tender
By completing a Project Management course, I knew I could build up my knowledge & skills within this area. However there seemed to be an abundance of Project Management courses available through both self-study and virtual classes such as; Prince2, APM, AgilePM, PMI.
Agile definitely seems to be the most fashionable word in Project Management, however I wasn’t sure I completely understood the key differences between Agile and Prince2’s Waterfall approach.
I took the opportunity to reach out to my network and gather their opinions before making my final decision.
Following some insightful conversations and a bit of light research, I’ve understood the differences to be…
Agile
- More about empowering people to create and develop as a team.
- Focuses more on the continuous cycle approach of a project
- Deemed to be the way the world is going as it’s faster to complete key deliverables.
Waterfall
- Defined roles & responsibilities within the Project Team with clear deliverables
- More linear stages of Project Management.
- Key focus on creating repeatable standards and logging lessons learnt
I choose…
Whilst the world may be moving towards Agile, the idea of covering the fundamentals of Project Management in a more structured approach and learning different techniques to monitor and control projects appeals most to me.
I’ve decided to go down the Prince 2 route. I believe this course will equip me with a strong foundation from which I can build upon.
Questions to help weigh up options:
1. What methodology does your current/prospective company use? i.e. Agile vs Waterfall
It may be a combination of both! But it will definitely help begin the conversation internally to understand the approach that aligns to business requirements.
2. What tools are used to plan & control workload?
Find out if there are there any specific programs used within your Project teams.
3. Are there any learning modules (on internal intranets etc) available that you can explore?
This was a great recommendation by TJ Richards. Find out if there are internal resources available for you to use. Also, it’s a great way to ease you into virtual learning.
4. Are there ways you can begin to apply PM thinking to current initiatives?
Create a project plan, even if for your own personal use. (See if you can apply it to the many DIY home ideas you’ve been dreaming up!)
5. Does your company have a learning and development budget you can benefit from?
Schedule a discussion with your Manager so you can plan out your key initiatives for the year ahead & make them aware of your own personal development plan. This may also mean using the approved L&D training provider…(#ProcurementCompliance)
To conclude,
I’m really excited to complete the Prince2 course, although hours of virtual learning will definitely test my procrastination skills!
Have you completed a Project Management course? What were your thoughts or questions before choosing the course? Do you have any further suggestions you’d like to add?
Share below in the comments, I’d love to help and hear them!
Gagen Rai,
#ProjectManagement #Procurement #Prince2 #Agile #Innovation #Transformation #CareerDevelopment #PersonalDevelopment #LockdownLearning #Innovation
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