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Planning Your Career With Microsoft Project Courses...

All processes can benefit from the discipline of Project Management. Should you consider training to get employment in this area, you'll find the work to be really thought-provoking and challenging.

People who have good logic skills and a strong sense of order can do very well in this type of work. However, good communication and leadership skills are also a benefit as PM involves a great deal of interaction with other people.

...Effectively And Professionally!

For most companies time and money are critical, yet they don't want to compromise on quality and delivery. Owners, shareholders and customers have increasingly high expectations, hence the need for effective Project Management at every stage of the business process. Whilst training you could become a member of the support team in a project, then a programme officer or team leader for one section of a project.

Project Management courses at various different levels can be studied through a number of training institutions. You will learn skills that include preparing project plans; initiating projects; executing, monitoring, controlling and closing projects, cost estimations and planning and performing quality assurance.

Tools And Techniques

Many common terms have evolved to become key phrases for project managers. To gain an awareness of how projects differ from standard work activities, you'll need to recognise PM terms and techniques and their applications. There are many processes in project management, but as all projects seek to achieve the same goals you'll find a good deal of cross-over in the various training approaches.

It's Been Around A While...

We might think of Project Management as a fairly recent discipline, but actually it has a long and interesting history. Architects like Sir Christopher Wren in the seventeenth century and the great engineers of the early nineteenth century actually did their own style of project management.

In the early twentieth century, an American engineer called Henry Gantt produced his famous project management tool the Gantt Chart. Around the same time the French engineer Henri Fayol developed 'Fayolism' - functions and principles for management.

F W Taylor's great scientific management contribution is still in evidence today, as modern project management tools have their origins in much of his work including WBS (work breakdown structure) and resource allocation.

The Beginnings Of PM As We Know It Today

Prior to the nineteen fifties, projects in the United States were largely managed on an informal basis - probably with a Gantt Chart but generally with ad-hoc tools and techniques. The US Navy started on the project to build the Polaris Missile, and it became apparent that more sophisticated planning structures would need to be implemented. The answer was to produce a revival of Taylor's scientific management, a project model known as PERT. This mathematical model can still be used as a basis to find a critical path through various planned and interconnected tasks. At the same time, technology was being developed in other areas, which led to the formation of the American Association of Cost Engineers.

International Project Management Association

The IPMA was formed in Europe in the late 1960's. Professionals from thirty different counties attended its first international congress in Vienna, and now fifty national PM associations are represented. The International Project Management Association offers a four level certification track ranging from Associate to Director.

PMI

America followed in '69 with their non-profit professional organisation, the Project Management Institute (PMI). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge has been published by the PMI.

It documents and standardises internationally accepted project management practises, information and procedures. Anyone looking to get into or further their career in Project Management today would do well to have a thorough understanding of this set of guidelines and best practices. Training courses are available which cover all aspects of the PMBOK Guide. If you invest time and energy into this training, you will be ready for the respected PMI certifications, the prestigious PMP and CAPM qualifications. Employment experience alongside your studies is required.

PRINCE2 (Derived from PROMPT and PRINCE)

PRINCE was introduced in the UK in 1989 as a government standard for IT project management. PRINCE2 is now aimed at all other types of projects as well. The model embodies many years of 'Best Practice' in project management. Training programs will provide students with the ability to organise, plan and control projects using the PRINCE2 method. The adoption of PRINCE2 promotes continual learning and improvement for staff members and organisations. It leads to the efficient and economic use of management time.

There are a variety of other qualifications and training levels, such as the entry level APM UK Introductory Certificate in Project Management. Learning how to manage people has been found to be just as important as learning how to manage processes - the best courses will deal with both aspects. Start looking for training now - and get your personal project on track!