Before we discuss Project Management Courses or Project Management Certification or Project Management Training Programs that are available in the market and the deliverables associated with them, we need to understand the fundamentals.
What is Project Management?
Project Management is a domain or field, wherein one first needs to have a basic understanding after which a decision can be made if one needs to be an expert in one of the various aspects of it. Additionally, many fail to fully utilize the potential of project management due to various misconceptions and wrong assumptions.
The following are the few points below probably will remove many of those misconceptions:
- Industry or domain-agnostic
- It is a life skill
- One can pursue it as a standalone profession
- Individuals can successfully apply the concepts beyond projects.
- Project Management is not for only senior or experienced professionals.
It is a vast field and there are multiple project management courses and certifications available for the same. Moreover, there are degree/diploma courses as well as professional certification courses offered by several recognized institutions.
PMI: Leading Project Management Certification Courses
- PMI-CAPM: Certified Associate in Project Management
- PMI-PMP: Project Management Professional
- PMI-PgMP: Program Management Professional
- PMI-PfMP: Portfolio Management Professional
- PMI-ACP: Agile Certified Professional
- PMI-SP: Schedule Professional
- PMI-RMP: Risk Management Professional
- DASM/ DASSM: Disciplined Agile Scrum Master/ Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master
- DAVSC: Disciplined Agile Value Stream Coach
Similarly, there are many other institutes like Axelos, several MBA Schools, Agile Framework-based Institutions, etc. 250+ Agile Certifications are available in the market alone.
However, the process to get certified might vary from one certification to another but is more or less the same: You have to attend a training session, understand the next steps, submit an application and get it approved, prepare for the exam, take mock exams, review your scores, improve your score and finally clear an exam. The necessity of an application process depends on the certification chosen.
Every course has something unique but the deliverable or output from any of these is the same: Knowledge gain. This one output leads to several other related or secondary outputs.
A. Key Topics in Project Management Courses
- Tools and Techniques available to manage and deliver the project successfully
- Ethics and Compliance
- Standards and Regulations
- Policies & Procedures
- Options for tailoring & customization of standards
- Do’s and Don’ts
- Benchmarks
B. Key Skills in Project Management Courses
- A guide to enhancing one’s interpersonal skills
- The Development of Leadership Qualities
- Analytical skills (How to analyze problems)
- How to address problems (Problem Solving Skills)
- Many life skills applicable beyond projects
Additionally, the courses teach the above-mentioned points theoretically. But for an individual, applying them practically, not succeeding, and learning from mistakes is the only way to succeed. Hence it becomes important for every individual who has gone through these courses to apply the learnings in practical scenarios and move through the Shu-Ha-Ri stages.
Final Project Management Deliverables for Individuals
- Knowledge gained by an individual – This is the primary and foremost output expected from any course or certification. Thus, all the rest will be dependent on how effectively this is achieved.
- Credibility in the market and within the organization – A certified individual always carries credibility that can be relied upon for information. Additionally, maintaining that credibility once achieved with certification/course completion completely depends on the individual.
- Improvement in individual performance – A certified individual is expected to apply the knowledge learned and yield results. Moreover, failure to deliver the eventual expected output will also affect credibility. Also, after completing the certification, one expects the individual’s performance to improve.
- Thinking out of the box – With several best project management tools and techniques learned and with the additional information achieved, an individual is also expected to think and try things out in a different way that might lead to better results.
- Clarity in thoughts and approach – With the knowledge gained, individuals are now expected to be able to make effective decisions and help others as well. Additionally, certified individuals must demonstrate SMART thinking. (SMART: S – Specific, M – Measurable, A – Achievable, R – Realistic, T- Time-Bound)
- Gain in self-confidence – With all the above falling in place, an individual is bound to be self-confident. Thus, it should show up in the individual’s actions, speech, and intent.
Project Management Deliverables for Organizations
- Improved Project Performance – Individual performances would lead to overall project performance.
- Project issues getting addressed – Most of these courses and certifications educate individuals about various options and approaches (tools and techniques) to handle issues. With that knowledge in the team, issues must be handled more efficiently.
- Process improvement across the organization – After knowing about the project management best practices and recommended approaches, tools, and techniques, team members should identify areas of the project where delivery can be enhanced and better approaches could be implemented. Thus, this would lead to improvement in overall organizational efficiencies.
- Increase in organizational credibility (Brand value) – With improved performance plus knowledge and motivated employees, the results of the organization are bound to improve giving more credibility in the market.
- New business opportunities – Higher credibility and confidence in the organization and employees managing it would lead to new opportunities to grow further.
- Increase of revenues & profitability – All of the above pointers, which go in vicious cycles, eventually help organizations to benefit in the growth of market share, revenues, and profitability. And that is what is the ultimate goal of most organizations.
Most of the stated deliverables above correlate and depend on each other. Hence, we need to look at the bigger picture and see how all these pointers benefit both individuals as well as the organization as a whole.
Conclusion
Understanding project management deliverables is essential for success in any project. Every deliverable is crucial to project planning and execution, from scope statements to Gantt charts. Let’s get ready to advance your project management skills. So, enroll today in PMP certification and unlock new opportunities for career growth and success!”
