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Planning With Project Management Certification...

Project Management has a place in all areas of industry. Training for a career in Project Management will lead to some really absorbing and satisfying assignments in industry. The work suits people who are well disciplined, and usually good at maths and technology subjects. However, good communication and leadership skills are also a benefit as PM involves a great deal of interaction with other people.

...On Track, On Price!

The number of project management teams has increased over the years as commercial organisations realise their worth. Owners, shareholders and customers have increasingly high expectations, hence the need for effective Project Management at every stage of the business process. We're all project managers to some extent, but if you learn how to use the tools and techniques for commercial productivity, you can build a very lucrative and interesting career.

Certifications can be attained through professional associations, usually via commercial colleges. You'll be taught about project planning, lifecycles, initiating executing and completing a project, time management, scheduling, budgeting and cost control and people management among other things.

De-mystifying The Jargon

There is a language within Project Management that trainees need to get to grips with. In addition to language you'll need to learn the principles involved, and the most important PM skills and techniques. Whichever training and certification you choose to take, you'll find similar principles are adhered to despite the different methods utilised.

An Old And Revered Profession

Even in ancient times, project management was used as a tool for controlling resources and the workforce - though motivational techniques would have differed greatly! In the Industrial Revolution, civil engineers such as Thomas Telford and Brunel would have taken responsibility for project managing their own builds. At the beginning of the 20th century, American and French engineers F W Taylor, H Gantt and H Fayol were producing their own scientific management theories. Their works have been very influential in the development of modern PM tools. Although Gantt Charts are now regarded as a common charting technique, they were ground-breaking when they were first introduced. Gantt created his bar chart to illustrate time lines and schedule dependencies.

Let's Bring It Up To Date

It took another four decades or so for Americans to really start to embrace the idea that Project Management was a distinctive discipline arising from management techniques. When the US Navy was developing the Polaris Missile system, a new technique was needed to cope with all the various aspects of the job. This led to the invention of the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). This and other mathematical techniques such as the Critical Path Method (CPM) started to spread. At the same time, technology was being developed in other areas, which led to the formation of the American Association of Cost Engineers.

IPMA (International Project Management Association)

European project managers formed an association known as the IPMA towards the end of the sixties. A non-profit Swiss registered organisation, it now claims to have over 40,000 global members. In terms of training, the IPMA offers a Four Level Certification program that covers technical competencies, contextual competencies and behavioural competencies.

The PMI (Project Management Institute)

At the end of the sixties what's now the world's largest PM organisation was formed - the Project Management Institute. A project management guide, the 'Project Management Body of Knowledge' from PMI is now on its fourth edition. It documents and standardises internationally accepted project management practises, information and procedures. A thorough understanding of the fundamentals covered would make you a subject matter expert. Courses are available which train students on the various facets of the PMBOK. They will prepare you for some of the most the industry-respected qualifications, the PMP (Project Management Professional) and the CAPM (Certified Associate of Project Management).

PRINCE2

'Projects in Controlled Environments' (now version 2) is used extensively in PM, although it was initially designed purely for the management of IT projects. The model embodies many years of 'Best Practice' in project management. It has recently been updated to the 2009 version, so students of PRINCE2 will learn the latest techniques of this framework model. 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.

You'll find a number of other PM courses that will allow you to train for a successful career, or give you a good understanding of the principles. Learning how to lead and help people understand the processes will prove just as important as learning the processes yourself. Draw up a critical path now to work out the optimum career track for you.