Project Management 2.0

ProjectManagement.com clearly receives a lot of support from our sponsors and advertisers.  We try to ensure that each of these has something to offer our members that is very relevant to their work. Clearly PMP Prep is important to large numbers of you. So, we occasionally interview training providers so that they have the opportunity to help you understand what makes their offering special.  Recently we spoke with Mark Norris, Director of Brand Development at LearnSmart to find out what they have to offer.  Here's what we found out...

Q.  What really makes prep training work for a PMP? Are there specific "must have" attributes that make all of the difference? Are any of those specific to Project Management?

Without question the best prep training for PMP will follow the latest PMBOK® Guide. Persons looking for PMP prep want to know that the training is from a PMI Registered Education Provider and of course Project Management students demand that the training not only prepare them for them to pass the certification exam but also have the available Professional Development Units for them to continue maintain their certification.

Q. Part of becoming a PMP is gaining a very complete understanding of the terms involved.  What particular method do you use to help students understand and remember the specific meaning and use of each term?  

LearnSmart courseware follows a Tell Me, Show Me, Test Me approach. It is our belief that successful learning comes from explaining the terms, showing real world scenarios, and testing students on the comprehension. Without a doubt, students preparing for the PMP® will want ease of accessibility and repetition. With LearnSmart training students can login to view and review their training from mobile phones, tablets and of course on their desktop computers. This allows candidates to simply and easily access their material anytime they need and to review terms with just the click of a button.

Q. Do your courses target a specific type of Project Manager? Or just anyone looking to become a PMP? Does the online approach work better for those with more experience?

LearnSmart training allows students to earn their PMP® or CAPM® certifications, as-well-as continue to use it to meet the Professional Development Units (PDU) requirement to maintain their certification. The online approach to learning allows for PMP® candidates to access their material anytime and from anywhere. Whether they are training at work or on the road, LearnSmart eLearning just makes training simple.

Q. What makes an instructor "good" online? How do you pick yours? Do your students miss out on much taking these courses online without support versus an in class experience?

The same qualities that make an instructor "good” in the classroom are the very same that make them "good" online. The best instructors are are fun and engaging, not to mention experts in their field. LearnSmart chooses their instructor based on career competency and we work rigorously with each to ensure that they can and will deliver and best training possible while at the same time doing so in a way that students are engaged and excited about the material. LearnSmart students have the added value of training 24 hours a day when it fits their schedule. With this flexibility, there is hardly much to miss. LearnSmart courses include labs and added materials for students to download and review as well as a social feature that make is simple for them to ask questions of their peers through the exclusive LearnSmart Learning Management Training System.

(LearnSmart is an advertiser on ProjectManagement.com)

Advertisement - A Special Offer From Our Friends At LearnSmart
Though the month of July, get 20% More PMP® Training Access from LearnSmart! This month students you will get 15 months of LearnSmart’s Project Management training - that’s 20% more access than ever before! Students may use the exclusive LearnSmart training to earn their PMP® or CAPM® certifications, and then continue to use it to meet their Professional Development Units (PDUs) requirements to maintain their certification. Get 20% More for Just $199.  
 

Situation: Your Company Needs to Invest More in Project Management Training

My last posting "Does Formal Training Matter", generated a lot of discussion and a really great solution from one of our members, Michael Stanleigh.  It was good enough that I felt I had to share it with you. Another member had just asked how he measured training effectiveness...

Would this approach work for you?  Why or why not?

Situation: You are considering investments in PM training. 

With the way the economy has been over the past few years, companies have generally scaled back their investments in PM training. They often emphasize on the job training with eers or just rely on lower cost options - at times even just hiring more experienced help at the same or lower pay.

According to a new study released by ESI International, entitled “The Global State of the PMO: An Analysis for 2013”, project managers are being trained in fewer skills compared to 2012—by as much as 20%. It was found, however, that organizations committed to applying training on the job and measuring its impact on job performance deliver projects on-time and to-budget more often than organizations without training adoption in place.

Here are a few metrics and commentary from the study

Methodology and Tools Training:

• In 2013, 62% of workers who report up to a PMO said they receive training in using methodology and tools. That is a decrease from 75% in 2012.

• Less than half (47%) of non-PMO managed workers received methodology and tool training in 2013, down from 68% in 2012.

Soft Skills Project Training:

• A very low 30% of PMO-managed workers said they receive soft skills training (e.g., leadership, critical thinking, team building) down from 41% in 2012.

• Only 22% of non-PMO managed workers received soft skills training in 2013, compared with 35% in 2012.

“While these training numbers reveal a decline in project-focused training, the survey  underscores the importance of training and its direct correlation to project success,” said Ward. The study found that 56% of respondents who are part of PMOs that are active in measuring training impact and learning sustainment said more than 75% of projects were delivered on time, to budget, within scope and to customer expectations. That number plummets to 39% for those whose PMOs are not active in either."

What's the situation at your company? Have they cut back on training?  If so, has it made a huge difference in people's performance?

• For a limited time, the whole conference is $699
• You can mark down 32 PDUs for this conference (formal classroom sessions are commonly $1500 for this # of PDUs. PMI’s Global Congress costs $1,125 in advance, $1370 on site for a similar 3 day PDU opportunity).
• You get MS Office Project Pro 2010 for free with the conference (a gift from Project Management Practice Inc. and Keystone Learning Systems).  As we all know, this is a VALUABLE piece of software.
• You’ll get free online training (again from Project Management Practice Inc. and Keystone Learning Systems), which costs $395 List