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Project Management Training
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Project Management Training from Boston University Corporate Education CenterProject Management FAQs
Project Management Training FAQs
Project Management Certificate Programs and Certifications
What do project managers do? What key skills do they possess? A project manager plans, executes and closes projects. Successful project managers utilize a combination of technical, personal, business and leadership skills to effectively manage projects. Specialized training provides you with the ability to decide which project management tools and techniques to use given the status, climate and environment of the project. Technical knowledge relates to the “science” of project management — meaning the skills to initiate, scope, de-compose and schedule work, procure resources, manage a budget, implement quality and risk practices, and develop a comprehensive project plan. Technical knowledge is important, but so is business acumen — an understanding of the corporate culture and ability to lead people to do what is expected of them. A project manager must be able to cultivate relationships and create a sense of forward momentum. This is where the “art” of project management comes into play—understanding how to motivate, negotiate, energize, communicate, leverage conflict, and give targeted performance feedback. To be effective, a project manager must be able to:
Although many of these skills are innate, it helps to be trained in a formal project methodology to solidify both the “art” and “science” of project management.
Do I need experience in a specific industry background to succeed as a project manager? Specific industry experience is not a requirement for being an effective project manager, but it can help. On one hand, good project managers know the right questions to ask, how to leverage subject matter experts, and how to organize teams to be productive—all of which are transferable skills. On the other hand, each industry does have its own unique lifecycle to develop products and services. The more you understand the specifics of an industry, the better you’ll understand the rationale behind work estimates, overall task dependencies, and any regulatory issues that may impact the plan; also, in terms of team recruitment, effective project managers often cultivate multiple sources to staff projects. Having strong industry ties and vendor partnerships can be handy for creative resourcing. In the end, the key to success for a project manager in any industry is to reinforce your value-add: that you know how to organize a team and keep them focused, use a methodology to deliver results while satisfying competing expectations from across the organization. >> return What is the career path for a project manager? According to the Project Management Institute®, project management skills, which include the ability to effectively execute projects and manage project risk, will be some of the most sought after skills over the next five years. More and more organizations have a defined career path for project managers, meaning there is an official title, grade and salary range for this role. Often, folks start down the project management path because they are super motivated team members who are good communicators, demonstrate a willingness to be accountable, and have superior organization skills. A typical progression for a project professional may look something like this:
It is not just project managers who are running projects. Here are some other job titles who often share responsibility to run projects:
What is the difference between a project manager and a business analyst? Often a project manager has to wear the hat of a business analyst and vice-versa. As a project manager, your primary responsibility is to plan and execute the entire project, integrating all of its subcomponents. As a business analyst, your primary responsibility is to understand and articulate the true requirements of the project to ensure the business solution really does achieve its stated objectives. When wearing the project manager hat, you are looking at the overall process a good deal of time and making sure roadblocks are removed. This often feels more like juggling and multitasking, with a horizontal viewpoint. When wearing the business analyst hat you are focused, digging into the details of a process, and spending the time to properly document requirements. This feels more like concentration and immersion, with a vertical viewpoint. Both roles depend on having good tools, excellent meeting facilitation skills, and strong business relationships. Keep in mind, a project manager who is also responsible for requirements will be severely impacted for time especially during the project startup phases. >> return What are some interview tips for a project management position? Companies are generally concerned about two things:
In terms of fit, be prepared to describe the types of projects you like to work on and why. What is it about this company or opportunity that matches your career goals? Look out for questions that seek to understand whether you can remain cool under pressure and have examples of difficult situations that you’ve managed successfully; also, prepare questions that will help you ascertain the influence of your new boss and the level of support for project management in the organization. Does this culture make sense for you? In terms of experience, know your particular value-add and have that elevator speech ready. How does your past experience prepare you for this next challenge? Do you have specific stories that demonstrate your leadership, organizational, and negotiation skills? Did you have to give some tough feedback to a team member, manage a conflict or help two departments agree on a common approach? Make sure you can describe why something failed and what lessons were learned and then used to improve the next time. As a project manager, you are continually learning and adapting, and that is what you want to get across in an interview.
What is the live classroom experience like? It is a highly interactive environment where professionals work together as teams or in pairs to apply newly learned techniques. An instructor is there to provide feedback and expert guidance. The classes are very “hands on” with lots of activities to engage in learning. The analogy is “nobody is as smart as all of us”. It is more than just lecture, as everyone contributes to learning. Examples of the class experience include: slides, a participant guide, industry texts like A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge® (PMBOK® Guide), group exercises, case study project work, facilitated discussions, and information sharing amongst students. >> return What is the self-paced online training like? Attending a self-paced online project management class is an interactive, comprehensive training experience complete with case studies, exercises, knowledge checks and assisted learning to help you understand difficult concepts. It’s simple and intuitive design makes it easy to navigate and actively participate; and best of all, it’s completely self-paced and available anytime, anyplace. It doesn’t matter when or where you train because you have the flexibility to train at times and in places that work best for you—minus the hassle of travel, time out of work, and/or time away from your family. >> return Is there “homework”? For the most part, you’ll have plenty of time in the classes to complete all the case study exercises and to review answers. Our certificate programs do assign homework, both individual and team assignments, and require some reading preparation before each class. Plan for 2-3 hours per week of homework related to the certificate programs. Many teams come early to class or stay later to complete their team assignments together. >> return Do I need to know Microsoft Project? Microsoft Project is not a requirement for learning project management best practices. Project management is a combination of many skills, and a project plan includes many artifacts in addition to the schedule like a communications plan, a risk matrix, a quality plan, a stakeholder analysis, etc. Microsoft Project is, however, a useful tool for putting the schedule together once you have defined and sequenced the activities and identified your resources. Our project management certificate programs include a Microsoft Project tool kit to help teams with their scheduling deliverables, and we do provide specific Microsoft Project classes. >> return Do I have to take courses in a specific order? No, the courses can be taken independent of each other. Of course, you must learn the basics before going to advanced project management courses. The evening and weekend project management certificate programs do order the classes in such a way as to maximize the deliverables and better integrate the art and science aspects of the learning. >> return What are our instructors like? Our instructors are real world practitioners of project management with experience across industries and have track records for successfully initiating and managing projects. This means each instructor comes with a rich set of anecdotes that help bring the lecture material to life. They are passionate about project management and continuous learning, and encourage everyone to share their experiences in applying project management techniques in their organizations. Each instructor is credentialed (PMP®- certified), skilled at group facilitation techniques, and comfortable in teaching both the technical aspects as well as the soft skills needed to be an effective project manager. >> return What is the best way to apply my training while it’s happening or after it’s done? Don’t be afraid to start using what you’ve learned! Grab a template from class to create your own project charter, meeting agenda, or risk matrix. Try it, adapt it, and keep using it, especially if it gets people on the same page and helps you stay organized. As for the soft skills, find a mentor or trusted colleague to give you honest, constructive feedback. Make it a habit to communicate well and address problems quickly. Send out regular, formal project updates and always find time to visit team members or key stakeholders on an informal basis. Don’t stop learning. Use our complimentary webinars or read industry blogs to keep ideas fresh. The key again, is to create a habit by trying and retrying something until you feel comfortable with the tool or skill. As you become more efficient, your projects will benefit from a consistency and repeatability of your techniques.
Why should my organization invest in project management training? Effectively trained project managers and project team members enable an organization to speak a consistent language and build repeatable processes to achieve project successes. This means you don’t have to start from scratch every time you begin a new project and that more time can be spent on producing deliverables versus inventing the project process itself. Project management training is not only a commitment to your employees’ professional development, but also a differentiator, a signal to your clients that discipline and methodology are core competencies of the organization. Two other significant benefits to investing in project management training:
What are the benefits of establishing a Project Management Office (PMO) within my organization? Organizations implement a Project Management Office (PMO) to ensure more successful completions of projects. The main responsibilities in a PMO include: project monitoring, project reporting, and training in project management skills. Other benefits of establishing a PMO include:
Can I customize these courses for onsite delivery? What does customization entail? Absolutely! All of our project management courses can be customized to achieve your training objectives. Our expert project management instructors will work closely with your practice leaders to do whatever it takes to deliver exactly the training that your people need. Below are some methods we use to customize our training programs:
Will there be follow-up coaching and mentoring after your courses are delivered to my organization? What does it entail? Our expert project management instructors are available following course delivery to help your people apply what they learned in class. Coaching is typically delivered through a combination of onsite and remote methods—in person, phone, virtual meetings, or even e-mail. Once an effective coaching relationship has been established in person, remote, on-demand coaching provides tremendous value to the organization. >> return What is the Project Management Assessment? A project manager must be well organized, self-confident, and have a healthy balance of technical and soft skills. Our Project Management Assessment tool can be used to evaluate your organization’s skills in project management, determine where your employees are now and where they need to be to get to the next level in their career. This online assessment looks at three competency measures:
What advanced training do you offer for more experienced project managers? Experienced project managers understand the value of continuous learning and targeting skills to advance their careers as influential managers, problem solvers, and motivation experts. Our advanced project management courses focus on these progressive skills:
How can completing a certificate program from Boston University Corporate Education Center in project management help my career? How does it look to organizations? A professional certificate in project management proves that you are serious about your professional development. A certificate from Boston University Corporate Education Center shows the world that you have carefully chosen one of the leading training organizations in the country to help advance your career. Organizations have long respected our certificates because they know that the quality of instruction and the quality of the course content are second to none. As a Registered Education Provider with the Project Management Institute® (PMI ®), our courses count toward earning or maintaining your professional certifications granted by those organizations. >> return What is PMI®’s PMP® Certification? How do I obtain it? How do I maintain it? The Project Management Institute® (PMI®) is a membership association for project management professionals. In 1984, PMI® initiated the Project Management Professional® (PMP®) credential which recognizes demonstrated knowledge of leading and directing project tasks. Knowledge is demonstrated in two ways: 1) by documenting your experience and 2) by passing a test. Testing is based on your understanding of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge® (PMBOK® Guide) and other general concepts. To qualify for the PMP® credential, you must complete an application process which documents your experience leading and directing project tasks. There are two categories of qualifying experience. Category one assumes a bachelor’s degree and 4500 hours (36 months) experience in the last six years. Category two assumes a high school diploma and 7500 hours (60 months) experience within the last eight years. You must document this experience either online or via paper verification forms. The application process also requires that you document 35 contact hours of training in project management. You can document all hours regardless of when they were accrued as long as the course work was completed at the time of application. You must also agree to follow a code of professional conduct. Once submitted, PMI® has up to five days to approve your application. If approved, you’ll receive an acceptance letter with details on how to schedule the test. PMI® suggests that you schedule your test at least six weeks in advance of your preferred test date and at least three months before the expiration of your one-year eligibility period. This timing is important, as many folks schedule a PMP® prep class as part of their study program to help them target any weak areas that need shoring up before the test date. The PMP® Exam is given in a testing center in a computer-based format. The exam is 200 multiple choice questions and is 4 hours long. There are 25 pre-test questions, so you must get 106 (61%) out of 175 questions to pass. You may take the examination up to three times within this one year eligibility period should you not pass on the first attempt. The certification cycle is 3 (three) years and begins the day you pass the exam. You must earn professional development units (PDUs) to maintain your credential. PMP credential requires 60 PDUs per three year cycle. Typically, you earn one PDU for one hour (60 minutes) spent in a planned, structured professional development activity. PDUs are organized in five categories:
You must fill out activity reporting forms to track PDUs. PMI®’s web site can help you log and keep track of our continuing certification requirements online.
For full details regarding the PMP® certification process, please visit PMI®'s website.
What is A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge® (PMBOK® Guide)? The Project Management Institute®’s A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge® (PMBOK® Guide) is a widely accepted statement of the sum of knowledge within the profession of project management. The purpose of the PMBOK® Guide is to identify the subset of A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge® that is generally recognized by project managers as good practice in the profession. The PMBOK® Guide includes knowledge of proven, traditional practices which are widely applied and is used to help practitioners recognize the general process of project management practice and the associated inputs and outputs. There are nine key Knowledge Areas covering integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communications, risk and procurement all of which include inputs, tools and techniques and outputs for each of its key processes. >> return How will Boston University Corporate Education Center’s project management training programs prepare me for PMP® Certification and help me maintain it? PMI® credentials require you to learn the theory of project management. This theory may be very different from what you have previously learned on the job. Our project management courses and certificate programs and PMP® preparation course are a combination of theory and real-life examples that reinforce the practice of project management. Keep in mind, all of our instructors are PMP®-certified and are project management practitioners within their fields of interest. Our PMP® preparation course and Project Management Track program provide intensive review of A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge®, allow you to experience what it is like to take the PMP® Exam, and target any weak areas for further study. We are a PMI® Registered Education Provider, meaning our courses qualify for PDUs tracked under Category 3 for continuing certification requirements.
How will the PMP® Certification help make me successful? The PMP® Certification represents an investment in yourself, your career and your marketability. The PMP® credential is recognized and highly regarded throughout the world by employers and peers. PMP® Certification is a widely accepted standard demonstrating a professional level of competence in project management. Many employers seek candidates with PMP® Certification, as they realize that the individual’s skill in project management has been tested formally. The PMP® is an internationally- recognized certification that communicates your ability to define processes for managing projects that will meet the defined scope within budget and required time frames. According to research on Payscale.com, individuals with PMP® Certifications can command higher salaries, and the PMP® credential is one of the top IT certifications that people seek. Attaining your PMP® Credential is a great achievement and confidence boost, as well, and it demonstrates a commitment to the profession of project management. >> return What is the CAPM® Certification and how does it differ from the PMP® Certification? The Certified Associate in Project Management® (CAPM®) is designed for project team members and entry-level project managers, as well as qualified undergraduate and graduate students who want a credential to communicate their value in project team performance. Candidates can demonstrate responsibility for individual project tasks in their area of expertise. To qualify for the CAPM®, you need a high school diploma or global equivalent, plus either 1500 hours experience or 23 hours of project management education. The exam is 3 hours and 150 questions. The credential maintenance cycle is 5 years with a re-exam required for re certification. For full details regarding the CAPM® certification process, please visit PMI®'s website. >> return What other credentials supplement the PMP® Certification (PRINCE2®, Six Sigma®, CBAP®)? The PMP® credential is a great foundation and it shows you have taken project management seriously. Here are some options that would supplement the PMP®: PRINCE2® is another popular methodology and the de-facto standard for project management in the UK. PRINCE2® (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is a structured method for effective project management where the focus is on the business case, which describes the rationale and business justification for a project. PRINCE2® helps project managers guide their projects through a controlled, well-managed, visible set of activities to achieve project results. Our PRINCE2® training enhances the implementation of the PMBOK® Guide standards by providing greater depth and structure to the establishment of project environments, the business case, product-based planning, and the handoff to operations. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process. The net effect of a Six Sigma project is to reduce defects, improve cycle times, and increase through put. Done properly, Six Sigma ensures that internal processes are running at optimum efficiency. The level of expertise attained by a Six Sigma-trained professional relate to four belt levels: Yellow, Green, Black and Master Black. The International Institute of Business Analysis®’ (IIBA®’s) CBAP® stands for Certified Business Analysis Professional®. This is an expert in identifying the business needs of an organization in order to determine the best solutions.
The CBAP® credential demonstrates a proven level of competence in the principles and practices of business analysis. As a business analyst, your primary responsibility is to understand and articulate the true requirements of the project to ensure the business solution really does achieve its stated objectives.
For full details regarding the CBAP® certification process, please visit IIBA®'s website.
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