7 Myths About Project Management
- Project management is complicated and it takes years to learn it.
- A project manager must be an expert in the domain where the project is being carried out, e.g. if you want to manage an IT project you must be an excellent programmer and analyst.
- Working on a project = working at least 10 hours per day and on weekends, that's the way it has to be.
- Constant time pressure and deadline shifting are inevitable parts of each project.
- The budget has to increase during the project and the final project costs are always higher than calculated at the beginning.
- When starting up a project, it is no good to waste time on planning, let's start as many execution activities as possible right from the beginning instead.
- Information how to effectively manage projects is difficult to get and expensive.
We are convinced these are only myths if your organisation implements the right project management method properly.
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Why do we need a project management method?
The goal of project management is to keep control over all activities that are needed for the project to create the expected product. Projects are the means for carrying out change, they are unique by their nature and so they involve higher risk compared to "business as usual" activities of the organisation. Therefore the implementation of a reliable, logical and proven project management approach is a good investment.
Project management methods are twofold:
- Proprietary - these are neither available nor usable without the permission of their owners.
- Non-proprietary - publicly accessible and freely usable for managing projects. Thanks to their free availability, non-proprietary methods are much more widespread, what bears multiple advantages. The most notable non-proprietary project management methods are PRINCE2, PMI and Critical Chain. We could also add the IPMA standard. However, as can be seen from the table below, the IPMA standard is not a full project management method.
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Most Important Project Management Standards – Comparison |
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|
|
PRINCE2 |
PMI PMBOK Guide |
IPMA ICB |
Critical Chain |
|
Process model |
+ |
+ |
- |
just for time and resource management |
|
Roles and responsibilities definition |
+ |
+ |
just Project Manager |
+ |
|
Tools and techniques |
+ |
+ |
- |
just for time and resource management |
|
Document outlines/ templates |
+ |
- |
- |
- |
|
Certification system for project management professionals |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Accreditation of training materials |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
|
Accreditation of trainers |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
|
Accreditation of training organizations |
+ |
+ |
- |
- |
|
Number of certified project management professionals worldwide |
more than |
more than |
ca. |
hundreds |
|
+ included - not included |
||||
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There are three ways how to gain knowledge about project management methodologies:
- studying by yourself
- taking a training on the chosen project management method
- combination of the previous two alternatives - so called blended learning
We deliver most of our training courses using blended learning. This means it is expected from the participants that, additionally to the classroom training, they spend some time studying by themselves according to the trainer's instructions.
We apply modern global standards, methods and best practices in our training courses. We use mainly Office of Government Commerce - OGC products (PRINCE2: 2009, MSP, P3O etc.), Project Management Institute - PMI standards (PMBOK Guide 4th Edition etc.), the Theory of Constraints and Critical Chain.
We know things usually are not done with attending a training. So we offer also project management consulting according to your organisation's needs - from advice on your particular project management challenges through coaching for project executives/ sponsors, managers other project management team members and project management office/ portfolio, programme & project office (PMO/ P3O) staff to elaboration of your company's project management methodology, selection of suitable project management support software or a „turnkey" implementation of a modern, effective (multi)project management system based on international standards.
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Basic Information About The PRINCE2 Project Management Method
The PRINCE2 method was created by UK Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and quickly spread into the commercial sphere, too. It gradually became not only a UK de facto norm, but also a leading international project management standard. It is designed for all project stakeholders from top management through line and project managers to members of project & support teams. The PRINCE2 method is generic - it provides principles, themes, processes and techniques enabling individuals as well as organisations to carry out their projects successfully and in a controlled way.
On 16th June 2009 the new version - PRINCE2: 2009 was officially launched. It contains a lot of improvements and is without any doubt one of the most practical project management standards worldwide. Short information about PRINCE2: 2009 can be found in the section "News" .
POTIFOB is the only training provider worldwide with own Approved Trainers able to deliver accredited PRINCE2: 2009 certification courses in English, German, Slovak and Czech. Our PRINCE2 courses are carried out in partnership with the Accredited Training Organisation (ATO) Trans-Atlantic Consulting Group (TAG), what enables us to build on the experience from project management training delivered to over 10.000 project management students from more than 20 countries.
Information about the other project management methods we deal with (PMI PMBOK, IPMA ICB, and Critical Chain) can be found in the section "Interesting Links".
In case what you read so far has made you interested in our project management training courses offer, please visit the sections "Training Offer" and "Public Training Courses Calendar" for details.
Information about our project management consulting offer is available in the section "Consulting".
POTIFOB - Projects On Time In Full On Budget
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