Everything about Project Management

According to the Project Management Institute’s (PMI)® A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge® (PMBOK® Guide), “Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.”

Project manager’s responsibilities

The project manager is accountable for project success or failure with authority delegated by the sponsor. Ensuring project success may include many different activities:

Support senior management in assessing if the project is feasible and justifiable
Define, refine, and commit to project objectives
Define the approach used to meet project objectives
Direct and coordinate resources to produce project deliverables
Manage project teams, encouraging engagement and productivity, and removing obstacles when needed.
Ensure that stakeholders’ expectations do not compromise the project performance and justification.
Determine performance and assess variances against project plans
Issue remedial actions when necessary
Report project performance
Manage project changes
Close the project in a controlled manner

Conclusion

The project dimension, complexity, context, and constraints may dictate that project managers may perform all or part of these activities. It may also determine how these activities are performed, and whether the project manager is assisted by other members of the team.

How to become a project manager?

The easiest, and probably the most common, route to becoming a project manager is to work as a team member. Working as a team member will help you understand the technical work that must be done to complete the project deliverables. It may also help to understand common PM terminology. In time, you will be able to lead project teams and manage small projects. At some point, you will need proper training to deepen your PM knowledge.

Project Management Courses

Recommendations to Learn Project Management

In the meantime, we recommend the following:

Read PM books “ Books provide structured and organized knowledge that will enable you to understand the PM theoretical foundation.
Continuous education “ Enroll in a project management training course from an accredited training organization to make sure that you are learning from a credible company.
Watch PM webinars, presentations and videos “ There are many sources where you can access quality webinars and videos. We suggest, for example XPM Consulting web page and projectmanagement.com.
Follow PM blogs “ On a blog you will learn what is happening within the industry. Even more, PM is always changing and you should try to remain informed.
Visit PM professional organizations websites “ There are several organizations that aim to advance the profession and share information such as PMI and Axelos. In conclusion, you will find useful information regarding the industry.
Pursue a certification “ Holding a certification will boost your career. There are several certifications available. Each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Check our post about which certification is right for you.

A valuable certification in Project Management

A certification is an impartial confirmation that you have the knowledge and the skills to perform a certain function. Further, a certification is a valuable asset in today’s world, enabling you to stand out from the crowd. Moreover, the certification will also show that you are committed to your job. You are eager to learn and keep yourself updated regarding the new project management trends. Therefore, it will help you get the job you want, keep it, and be well-compensated for your effort. For instance, the last PMI survey, regarding project manager income, showed that project managers with a certification earn more 17% then the project managers without a certification. In conclusion, do you really want to lose all that money?

Did you know that almost every industry requires project managers. Did you know that the PMP® certification is one of the top requested certifications in job postings? In short, if you search for Project management jobs, you will find millions of positions around the world. In addition, studies are showing that every year there is an increasing demand for project managers. o sum up, are you willing to lose this opportunity?

Selecting the right certification in Project Management

Taking a certification is not hard; it only requires some effort and some time to study. However, the right certification for you is another subject, and we will try to help you on this blog.

That is to say, there are many certifications on the market and you should choose the certification that best fits your skills and objectives:

Are you starting in the profession or do you want to start on the profession? So, for you the most common certifications are CAPM from PMI and PRINCE2 Foundation from Axelos. For instance, you can check our posts on these certifications.
Do you have experience? So, you should look for PMP from PMI or PRINCE2 Practitioner from Axelos.
Do you work with agile methodologies? So, you should check the Professional Scrum Master certification from Scrum.org and PMI-ACP from PMI.
Are you looking for a specialization? So, you check the PMI-RMP for risk management, PMI-PgMP for program management and PMI-PBA for business analysis.