Project Management - Advice

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  [Deactivated] on 03/02/2015 - 22:10

  +1

  Project management is really a communication skill, ie are you skilled at selling ambiguous ideas to different people???

  I've done PMBOK as well as PRINCE2 certification and without PM experience you will not get a look in. I was a PM on various IT projects here and abroad for over 12 years. The $$$ was great as well as the stress levels.

  BTW - once you got your diploma its advisable to go for PM in uni, some even go far as doing their masters. At the end of the day if you are good at selling sh!t your half way there!!

  Warning, depending on the PM contract you can be personally liable for the project failing! So choose your projects / jobs wisely!!

  • 

    shadowarrior on 04/02/2015 - 03:07

    +1

    Errr…. project management is no way related to selling ideas or shit. I think you are mixing Product Management with Project Management.

    Project Management in it's simplest form is managing resources, mitigating risks, critical decision making, all the while following strict timelines to deliver 'a' project. You as a project manager don't have to sell that project, nor do you have to sell your ideas on how to manage it.

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      mskeggs on 04/02/2015 - 11:04

      +2

      I think the guy with PMBOK (Project Management Book of Knowledge - the main US PM cert) and PRINCE2 (Projects in Controlled Environments - the main UK cert) certs probably knows the difference between project and product management.
      The tasks you list for managing projects are completely correct, in the same way that investing in the share market is just buying low and selling high, and being a doctor is just identifying the disease and treating it.
      Good project managers continually have to 'sell', cajole, flatter, trade, beg, and do a thousand other interpersonal communications to get a project delivered. The planning/resource management/risk management is literally the first and easiest step.
      Source, I have project managed a number of software and infrastructure projects, although I am not a full time project manager.

      • 

        shadowarrior on 04/02/2015 - 12:35

        I agree with some of your points. I have managed projects for a good 7 years of my professional life for various IT projects (Video Games Industry) before moving into product management.

        Having a PMBOK or a PRINCE2 certification does not equate to automatically knowing about project management. The certifications in a way adds more tools he can use, but cannot replace for lack of skill.

        Management, is rarely an acquired skill. You cannot learn how to manage people via any degree. You either have inter-personal and resource management skills or you don't. I know lots of people in the industry with a certificate for the Prince 2 (widely used here for IT projects than PMBOK anyways in here), who does not have the right personal skills to handle risk, multiple conflict resolution, stress, communication etc.

        In all the organizations I have worked in, our organization would make a project manager go through long multiple level interviews to get selected based on his previous 'management' experience. If the candidate is good, we paid for his certifications, like one of the guys mentioned here. Not having either of these certifications never stopped them from getting the role. Not having the correct aptitude, skill set and experience did.

        Back to the topic of selling. I am not sure about the organization you or him operated in. As a project manager, I hold the responsibility of the project. I make the decisions. Any critical decisions I make is in accordance to my roles and responsibility of the ultimate goal of project completion within the available resources.

        Start of a project (project design period), I outlay how the project will be run, with what risks I have already identified and what range of mitigation I can use for it. Unforseen risks needed my decision beyond the scope of this plan. My weekly updates and C-level meetings were just precise - "This is what I have decided to do, to overcome this, and mitigate this. We will take hit X which based on this data is better than taking hit X+100 if we selected that." Yes I know that's a very simple and absurd update 'example'. But my point being, as a project manager you are hired to make those decisions and the entire responsibility relies on you. It could be the difference in organization and c-level management time. But if I ever in all my 7 years faced a situation where I have to halt my development while I go prepare a sales pitch to haggle/beg/pitch my idea to the management or any staff, then I am not doing my role of identifying risks/conflicts and offering alternate solutions effectively. Or if the c-level management wants to 'actually' manage the project and am just their representative with a project management title, that is not project management. At least not in any form I have seen and worked in.

        All my software related projects, development time risks, conflict resolution between different departments were more critical than selling anything.

        But again, it could be completely different due to industry and or the c-level management of the company.

        PM roles are never easy. I never saw a 8 hour day for the 7 years I was a project manager; and I still don't. One of the main reasons you get paid for is your ability to work under high stress. And none of these skills the OP can gather from either of the certifications or pursuing a diploma or Masters degree :|

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  [Deactivated] on 04/02/2015 - 08:30

  I work in consulting for one of the big four professional service firms. The people who are put on PM roles are typically very junior (recent graduates) with no PM experience or qualifications. They will work under the direct supervision of an experienced PM.

  Our firm will pay for PRINCE2 certification if you want it, although it is one of those areas where experience counts for much more than qualifications.

  I would not recommend going out of your way to study it prior to employment.

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  mskeggs on 04/02/2015 - 11:13

  +1

  I work in Telco where there is a shortage of project managers. We use the PRINCE2 methodology and value that over a diploma. We will pay for cert training in some cases, but will usually only hire PMs with some experience. If you were interested in pursuing such a role, I would suggest getting a job with a small IT integrator or similar to get some PM experience as the best avenue to start out. PMs are paid pretty well, but have a stressful and often thankless life (I like to think I look after my PM team, but even I routinely need stuff done quicker than their SLA and I try hard to give them as much time as possible. Most of my colleagues aren't as thoughtful).
  I work in the business side and did a diploma of project management years ago. The understanding was useful, as I have had to run some large projects from time to time, but it wasn't more than I could get from a $40 book. The qualification itself is just filler on my resume and literally nobody has ever mentioned it during job interviews etc.
  TL:DR - Possibly if you want to be a PM, probably not unless it is super easy/free etc.

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  adrock on 17/02/2015 - 21:31

  Hi Anthony,

  I've worked in PM (in electrical).

  I don't think a diploma would increase your employability. I've done a PM diploma and it's of most use (perhaps even only use) when you're refining your existing skills, really in a PM role already. I even felt it was a little bit of a waste of time.

  If you want to be a PM (and you really only find this out working in a large project environment) the best way to do it is get embedded in a project as a junior project engineer/analyst etc.

  The best way to get good is to get into a mature project mgt organisation, rather than a qualification, again starting in a project team.