Principles of Project Management

29 August, 2010 (03:36) | project management | By: admin

Sunny Ley asked:




Like other disciplines, project management has its own basic principles. These principles are valid for every kind of projects. A person new to the field of project management and thinking of taking a relevant course will benefit from knowing the following principles when he make an actual choice.

1. A project management should satisfy three conditions. First it should complete all project objectives within due date. Second, a project should be completed within original budget. Third, it should maintain a standard of quality that satisfies stakeholders.

2. Project management should be based on good planning. A detailed and precise plan is the essential factor for successfully managing a project. Planning should also accommodates changes in environment. A person in charge of the project should continuously update his/her plan in line with recent changes.

3. Project team members should share a sense of urgency. As managing a project is an endeavor against limited time and budget, team members should make concerted efforts to complete a project. A system should be in place to continuously remind team members of deadlines and objectives.

4. Transparent communication is indispensable. A project manager and team members should be crystal clear about the expected final outcome of a project and this is impossible without good communication. Any hint of vagueness about project objectives should be eliminated through good communication.

5. A project manager who is given balanced responsibility and authority is a must for a successful project. A project manager with many responsibilities but not sufficient authority or a project manager with little responsibilities but too much mandate both negatively impacts upon project outcome.

6. Successful management of a project cannot be guaranteed without the best staff. A project manager should be allowed to let go less than average people from project team members. Presence of the good workforce can compensate for lack of time or money. Needless to say, a project manager should foster an environment where team members have necessary tools and training.

7. The project status should be closely followed and shared among project team members. Important issues, progress and assumptions should be recorded and shared. Poor documentation is the same as no progress has been made with the project. Regular reviews of project status can enhance project quality and pin down problems before they get out of hand.

If you are considering to have a project management course, make sure to find out whether the above principles and relevant techniques are fully covered by the course. Good project management course should give you an opportunity to understand important principles of project management and to learn useful methods and tools to realize the principles while managing a project.

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How to Choose the Best Project Management Training Courses

28 August, 2010 (16:54) | project management | By: admin

Do Nguyen Hung asked:




Project management covers many fields of works, like construction, engineering, IT management, internet marketing, finance…In order to get a project manager certificate or degree, you should enroll project managing education classes. Choosing the right training course will assure the success in your project manager career.

Select the proper training course is based on some basic factors. Most importance is choosing a well-known school with a good reputation and the second factor is finding a suitable training course that including all the project management skills. Typically, training class from universities or colleges provide you all basic skills, so that you can work in many fields of business. Most important duty of a project manager is managing the projects within the schedule and budget with a high quality in the completed work. Most schools will offer a basic project management course. You can attend also distance learning courses from online colleges. Once search over internet, you will find out a ton of schools offer such courses.

Normally, training course will provide four fundamental elements. These are interactive learning, qualified instructors, complete course materials and group working skills. The project management course also train you how resolve and settle disputes, how to manage risks and how to find effectively solving problems. Project management courses provide wide ranges of training materials and course objectives. A project managing course will also train you four basic aptitudes. These are managing time, working within a budget, accessing resources, and staffing a project. In many cases, students learn these skills through simulated projects where they use software to coordinate all aspects of a project.

In order to be successful, a project management training course should also teach the skills that a project manager should be equipped. This includes leadership, motivation, time management, and organization. Project managers will manager employees and resources to fulfill the tasks.

One more important thing you should take in account, training course in schools cannot replace your working experience at work. Training on the job is best way to get experience. When you combine what you have got from your project management course with actual experience, you will have assure your successful project manager career.

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Project Management Courses: So Many Options!

28 August, 2010 (07:05) | project management | By: admin

John Reiling asked:


Choosing the right project management courses, however, can become a bit daunting because there are just so many options! This article provides some guidance to help project managers take some first steps in running the gauntlet of options to find the ideal set of PMC for their situation, and get the most out of them.

Here are some steps a project manager can take to begin to identify the most beneficial PMC for themselves:

1. Look at Current Challenges

One way best ways to start is to first identify current challenges and problems. For example, Project Managers often experience special challenges with stakeholders on their projects, such as identifying, communicating, coordinating, and more. Another frequently cited challenge is gathering clear requirements for the project. Another popular topic is project communications, which can have many dimensions. Many project managers are new to management and would like to enhance their management skills. Frequently the best choice is simply to take project management training courses covering a broad project management framework or methodology and earn a project management certification to enhance personal credentials.

2. Consider Various Delivery Methods

As a second step, it is helpful to consider the preferred method of delivery of the PMC. In general, the most popular delivery methods include classroom training, audio training, and online project management training.

Classroom training

Classroom-based PMC provide the opportunity to give full attention to learning – away from daily distractions. They also provide great value through the presence of the instructor and students, which enables discussion and resolution of issues on the spot. also In addition, they present the opportunity to network professionally with others with similar interests. On the other hand, they are expensive, might involve travel, requires trading off work time, and needs to be scheduled. It also requires the individual’s presence and attention for all tupics, requiring presence for all topics.

Audio PMC

Audio project management courses can be very convenient for learning when driving or doing other things, but they usually lack the visual learning aspect. Some PDA-based audio programs, however, are beginning to add video, which is helpful, thus enhancing the ‘anytime, anywhere’ aspect of this method. In general, audio or PDA-based project management courses are a great supplement to other learning methods.

Online project management courses

Online project management courses include both instructor assisted training and pure, or individual, online training. With instructor assisted online project management courses, a live course, led and facilitated by an instructor, is taken at a scheduled time over the internet, and the student can usually interact with the students as well as the instructor, or even an assistant instructor, during the class. With pure, unassisted, online training, the course is self-contained and is available 24×7, and student can easily skip over topics of little interest and focus more on those of keen interest. Many online project management courses also have a mentor or online help available for on-demand assistance.

3. Topics for project management courses

Lots of topics are appropriate for project management courses, and the key is to pick something of current interest and value. For example, training on a project management tool might include something like Microsoft Project training, someone in the information technology field might like to learn transitioning from more technical functions to PM, and yet someone else might like an IT PMC. There are many other topics, especially in the soft skills areas like leadership, management, and communication where just the right PM courses can be found to take PM skills to the next level.

4. Hit the Iron While It’s Hot!

Once the choice is made, it is best to take the selected project management training courses as soon as possible! The need and desire will be at its peak, and the impact will be the highest. Waiting even a few weeks may be a big mistake, as the ability to make an impact on a fast-moving project may dwindle. Realizing the benefit from project management courses lies in applying the knowledge right away, and this also makes that knowledge one’s own for the long haul.

In summary, the way to get the most out of project management courses is to choose a topic related to something of very current interest. Select project management courses about a topics of current interest, something for which there is a burning desire or need, something that can be applied right away. Picking the right method of course delivery for the individual, whether classroom, online, audio, self-paced, or other, and scheduling the courses is the best approach. Finally, giving one’s full focus and attention and applying what was learned in the project management courses right away is a sure path to success!



project management careers

The Benefit of PMP Certification to Your Career As a Project Manager

26 August, 2010 (16:22) | project management | By: admin

Key Hays asked:




The PMP certification (Project Management Professional) is offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI) for those interested in becoming a certified project manager. Certification is the latest step for project managers to gain more lucrative projects because of the high demand for certified managers. Many companies require a project manager to be PMP-certified in order to be hired for a project. Almost all government contracts dealing with project managers will not accept a bid from someone who is not PMP certified. In addition, project managers who are PMP certified make upwards of 40% more per year in base salary than those without it.

The requirements for successfully becoming PMP certified are quite stringent. Not only do you need to pass an exam that is comprised of 200 questions, you must also show a certain number of hours as a project manager in order to become certified. If you have an associate degrees or only a high school diploma, then you must show 7,500 hours as a PM to become certified. Those who have attained a bachelor’s degree or higher, must show 3,500 hours as a PM. Both types of candidates must also list a contact reference to demonstrate and verify that the participate has the 35 hours of project management training that are required

When it comes to finding internet resources and practice exams, it is also one of the most difficult and obscure certifications. Many guides are available to help you pass you exam, but not all of them cover the material needed to be known. PMI has many chapters throughout major cities in the world that offer assistance in understanding project management better and preparing them for the exam. However, this option is not the best for many because of proximity to the chapter and cost of the preparation materials. PMI warns that there are many sites that claim to be legitimate but are not. They say to do you research when looking for study materials if you are not ordering through them.

project management careers

Application of Project Management Knowledge

26 August, 2010 (11:30) | project management | By: admin

Herry Hendarto asked:




Project management is the most critical business skill and competency of today that forms the basic building block of knowledge based company for businesses and professions in oil and gas, petroleum, petrochemicals, chemicals, metal and mining, infrastructures, buildings, IT, Healthcare, Finance, Telecoms, Manufacturing, and many more services and banking industries. Fortune Magazine calls project management “Career Number 1″ on earth. PMI reported recently that nowadays more and more companies and government agencies are adopting and making Project Management a strategic competency.

The old school thought that the project management knowledge is only applicable to some physical project development is now history. Organizations and companies of today see and understand that knowledge in project management brings about into their businesses ability to plan the cost, time, and resource elements, to implement the plan, and to monitor and control the outcome of a project with much more certainty to achieving their business destiny. Good project management is now perceived an insurance policy in business. It prevents project disasters.

In today’s project environment, project managers are challenged to meet the demands of both customers and their own organization management in delivering projects to at least be on time, within budget and within scope. This responsibility cannot rest with the project manager alone. In order to achieve these objectives, all members of the project management team must become aware of and use sound project management practices. Project management team shall therefore equip themselves with project management knowledge and skills that will enable them to support the planning, implementation, and monitoring requirements of the project.

Most people spend a lot of time in formal educations with expectation to succeed in career life. Living life to the fullest would mean to always have an opportunity to explore, appreciate, and expand our life potential for better achievements and be able to actualize ourselves in society. We have aspirations to someday achieving our life potential to become a figure, a model, or be in a role we have so much wanted and would fight for to achieve. In many cases, we have not or may not yet find the right opportunity to do so. This could due to lack of experience, expertise, knowledge, or simply just lack the determination to leave our comfort zone to seize opportunity to learn & succeed when there is one available.

Seize chance to fight for what you believe you can achieve and do not let anybody including yourself kill your dream will be key to achieving your dream.

I value the saying that CONTINUOUS LEARNING IS CONTINUOUS EARNING. Let your dream guide you. You surely know where to go to learn the required competency in practical project management.

Good luck.

Article by Herry Hendarto PMP,
A project management mentor and coach, promoting good project management practices through http://www.projectmanagement-mentoring.com at HEROLIAN International.

Email: herolian@projectmanagement-mentoring.com

project management careers

Look for Some of the Most Successful Project Manager Jobs London

26 August, 2010 (06:14) | project management | By: admin

Keyman Smith asked:




A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. They have the responsibility of the planning and execution of any project, typically relating to construction industry, architecture or software development. Many other fields in the production, design and service industries also have project managers. A project manager’s only duty is to ensure the success of a project by minimizing risk throughout the lifetime of the project.

As the UK’s most successful executive jobsite, keyman.uk.com is the place to find Project manager jobs in London. We provide both our registered executives and executive recruiters with the attention to detail and professionalism that the most senior management jobs deserve. Our Project Manager Jobs in London covers all sectors in commerce, industry, public sector and academia. Our advertising clients include senior executive search firms, executive recruiters and blue-chip companies.

Keyman introduces project managers to renowned companies offering the most lucrative and sought-after Project manager jobs in London. With so many years of experience in construction, project and engineering recruitment, Keyman’s professional consultants can match your experience and ability to the right job for you.

Keyman has the most in-depth and structured information available online. Established nearly 30 years ago, Keyman’s reputation as a high quality recruitment agency continues to grow. With so many Project manager jobs in London posted at keyman.uk.com every day, we are confident that your next career move is just a click away. Our online vacancy database also offers a broad and superior selection of the latest national vacancies. Our aim is to ensure that the managers, with the right skills, get the right Project Manager Jobs in London.



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Engineering Project Management Jobs – Hound.Com

23 August, 2010 (20:44) | project management | By: admin

seohound asked:


www.hound.com engineering project management careers, engineering project management positions, engineering project management job opportunities, engineering project management jobs, hound.com

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Project Management Basics – Terminology

21 August, 2010 (11:00) | project management | By: admin

Kaz Young asked:




This article is aimed at those new to ‘the biz’!  Like any industry or discipline, project management has it’s own set of terminology and jargon that can be confusing to those just grappling with their first project or first few projects.  Many people become ‘accidental’ project managers in their workplace, which can be daunting enough, so we look at some common project management terms used in business and provide a simple definition of these terms.  Remember, these are just some of the project management basics to get you going!

Critical Path – The Critical Path outlines the activities in a project that must be completed in sequence and on schedule for that project to be completed on schedule  When an activity is ‘on the critical path’ – it means that any delay in that activity will impact upon the overall project timeline.  

Deliverable – Simply put a deliverable is the product of a project that can be delivered!  Projects are – or at least should be – all about the deliverables.  Deliverables may be a product – such as a building, a car, software and so forth, or a service – such as training.

Gantt Chart -  A Gantt Chart is type of bar chart that is used to provide a graphical representation of a project schedule.  It shows the tasks to be completed against a timeline and is used to plan and monitor project activities. 

Issue – A project issue is something that has occurred either internal or external to the project that has an impact on the project.  Issues need to be assessed and managed by the project manager.

Milestone – A project milestone is a significant event in the project.  Often a milestone will mark the completion of a project deliverable, however, may also mark other important events such as a decision point.

Plan – The project plan outlines the who, what, when of a project.  The plan is what is executed to ensure the project deliverables are achieved.  The project plan is the chief tool for controlling the project.  A plan usually contains a list of tasks/activities, resource, milestones, timeframes and key deliverable items. 

PMBOK – The Project Management Body of Knowledge is a project management guide. PMBOK identifies project processes that fall into five basic groups in all projects – Initiating, Planning, Executing, Controlling and Monitoring, and Closing.  PMBOK also identifies nine knowledge areas – Project Integration Management, Project Scope Management, Project Time Management, Project Cost Management, Project Quality Management, Project Human Resource Management, Project Communications Management, Project Risk Management, and Project Procurement Management.  PMBOK is the most recognizable project management approach in the world.

Prince2 – Prince2 is a project management methodology, highly recognized and increasingly popular within organizations worldwide.  The Prince2 methodology provides a structured method for effective project management.  Prince2 uses a set of comprehensive concepts and project management processes that tailor to suit the specific project and environment.  The most recent iteration of this methodology, known as PRINCE2:2009 identifies 40 activities, organized into seven processes:  Starting up a Project, Initiating a Project, Directing a Project, Controlling a Stage, Managing Stage Boundaries, Closing a Project.  The processes listed here are supported by strategies and methods for Risk Management, Quality Management, Change Control, Planning, Organisation and Project Controls.

Product – A deliverable item of the project.

Risk – A project risk is something that may happen, either internal or external to the project that will have an impact on the project.  Risks, like issues, need to be assessed and managed by the project manager.

Well, there’s succinct introduction to some of the more common project management terms to help you along.  Of course, we’ve only just danced around the very edge of project management by providing these definitions.  Each of these areas will be further detailed for you as we continue our series of articles on project management success!



project management careers

How to Earn a Project Management Certification With Ease

19 August, 2010 (18:39) | project management | By: admin

Elaine Ee Lee asked:




Project Management is one of the hottest careers in the world today. Project managers with proven skills and experience can find exciting, well-paid and high potential job opportunities in a wide range of fields.
However, the job market and company’s employers have became more demanding today as they would require and desire a PM certification for anyone that they would like to recruit as project manager. The significance of the certificate demonstrate the necessary mastery on projects on the job which is required.

Employers recognize the certification as evidence of an individual’s commitment to increase both theirs and their company’s efficiency and productivity with adequate skill sets. Certification is also becoming the standard if you want to compete in today’s fast-paced workplace. There are many certifications on project management which are available today,

1. The PMP

Project Management for Construction

19 August, 2010 (12:24) | project management | By: admin

Anne Harvester asked:




Excellent project management for construction engagements is crucial for any new building or renovation, especially considering the growing complexity of major construction projects and construction-related laws. For these reasons, almost all positions opening up for construction management jobs require not only a specialized degree, but a good deal of experience in the industry.

Although it was not always the case, there are many universities that now offer construction management courses as well as degrees. In fact, there even a number of accredited online universities that offer project management for construction degrees. An online degree in construction management can be specialized in a number of ways and is one way to learn the essential skills you need to know for jobs in construction management that can be difficult to learn during internships or apprenticeships on-site.



Construction management jobs take on a variety of responsibilities. Oftentimes managers in these roles are ultimately responsible for every aspect of the construction project. This includes managing all employees and contractors, all equipment used and the project budget. That is why is important to choose a degree in

project management for construction that teaches you a broad skill-set.

Some of the degree coursework that can give you an edge in the job market includes training on the latest software programs and technologies used in the industry and classes on any of the following topics: building codes and standards, contract administration, accounting, financial management, value analysis and project control and management.

It is ideal if you can find a university that will help place its project management for construction students into internships or apprenticeships during the degree program. This will give you the chance to learn a little bit about every aspect of construction and how you can effectively manage the employees and contractors you will need to work with, including architects, civil engineers and day laborers. This type of hands-on experience is exactly what most employers are looking for, and can oftentimes lead to full-time positions once you have graduated with your degree.

Although project management for construction can be a challenging career path, there are many reasons that it is worth the effort. There are more and more project management for construction jobs being filled every year, and according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the average salary for project management for construction positions averaged $63,500 in 2002. These great salaries are also often accompanied by health benefits, bonuses and the use of company-owned vehicles. All of these factors indicate it is a great career to aim for that can be just as rewarding as it is challenging.



project management careers