Five Tips to Learn More About Project Management
Sunday, June 7, 2015, 6:00 AM | Leave Comment
There are many great ways to learn more about project management. Start by downloading free e-books. The five project management functions and the respective activities and tasks included in this document are the basic set needed for managing a project.
Descriptions of the 5 functions and activities included in this post are ‘Get serious about learning more’, ‘Widen your scope’, ‘Write it down’, ‘Get specific’, and ‘Vary your learning sessions’.
Read other suggestions below.
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Get serious about learning more
Whether you’re a beginner or novice, you need to invest more to boost your project management skills.
Get serious and take the first step. For example, enroll in a formal training course, read a book or take an e-learning class.
Then set aside at least two hours every week to sit down and read books, materials, articles and white papers about project management.
By immersing yourself in the topic, you will spark ideas for your own projects that you can use to improve your success.
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Widen your scope
Don’t just stick to the classical theory of project management.
Instead, widen your scope by reading materials that also cover managing people, money and equipment as well as suppliers, procurement and communications.
Read about Agile, Critical Chain and other interesting aspects of project management.
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Write it down
Do you find that much of what you read will go in one ear and out the other.
So every time you think “That’s a good point!” write it down.
Writing it down helps you remember it. Create your own “Learning Guidebook” and record every tip that you’ve learned along the way.
Then you can read your own guidebook as a refresher. Even better, you can use it to impart the knowledge you’ve gained to your team. Who knows, you could even publish it as a book!
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Get specific
When you’ve spent a couple of months improving your knowledge of project management, you’re ready to get specific.
Write down the areas that you’re weak in and get detailed materials on those topics.
For example, get more in-depth knowledge of scheduling, estimating or risk management if those areas are weak for you.
Remember that project managers are generalists. They need to know a lot about ALL of the topics in the management discipline.
So if there are topics that you’re weak on, learn more about them now.
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Vary your learning sessions
There are lots of ways to learn more about project management.
You can take in-person class or e-classes, but there are many other options. Listen to paid or free webinars. Read magazines, books, blogs, articles and tweets. Look for mentoring. Start a discussion group. Join PMI or another project management society.
You might be surprised how many sources contain project management information if you think about it.
If you want downloadable tools so you can learn from home when it suits you, use MPMM Professional or the TenStep Methodology. They include all of the content you need to learn Project Management to an advanced level.
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This column is © copyright to www.Method123.com and originally appeared in their weekly project management tip newsletter.
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