I would like to devote some time to increasing my knowledge of project management. In particular, I want to focus on certain topic areas that are considered to be the "core" topics or "fundamentals." The issue I have had so far is that there are just so many directions a person can go in when trying to do a deeper dive into specific topics. For instance, I could spend time on learning more about critical path, risk management, agile, EVM, project management software, and so on.
I have already passed the PMP exam so my interest in learning is not limited to the topic areas that are likely to be addressed on the exam. Rather, I would like to increase my understanding of project management as a discipline and study the more technical aspects of project management.
This leads me to my questions for all of you:
(1) What are the topic areas that you consider to be at the core of project management?
(2) What areas of project management are you most interested in learning about? Saving Changes...
Deepesh RammoorthyICT Project Manager ( PMP®AgilePM®Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM®))| Australian Red Cross Blood ServiceTarneit, Vic, Australia
Stakeholder Management is the big ticket item for me . You have so many stakeholders with differing needs and motivations on Projects . While it is impossible to keep everyone happy , The important thing is relationship building and the use of Emotional Intelligence. You can spend years trying to improve your Stakeholder Management and Engagement Skills. Some courses like Facilitation Skills , How to Lead Focus Groups , Group Decision Making Techniques can help hone Stakeholder Management Skills.
Finance and Contracts are the next items on my list . I have seen some other generic courses teaching Finance for Non-Finance Managers. This could also be of help. Knowing and understanding what kind of contracts are applicable in your company and building a relationship with your Finance Business Partner or Procurement Manager could pay rich dividends. Saving Changes...
Tony YangPM Leader| a manufacturing companyZhongshan, China, Mainland
Hi Melanie Lake ,
For the first question, I don't think there is a core of project management.Each subject area is very important during project management.Maybe we'll spend a lot of time on cost, scope, schedule, and risk.
For the second question, I am interested in risk and scope management Saving Changes...
Krishna PakkiProject Services Manager| Rio TintoGilbert, Az, United States
Agree with Tony, Depending on the project, the focus and amount of time may vary the project management processes, but I don't believe in differentiating some thing as core.
I have been in project controls on major projects for long, scope, cost, schedule and risk management are my top list for learning Saving Changes...
I agree with Tony there is no single core of Project Management , if there is one one Core it is the integration of everything involved in Project management Saving Changes...
There are almost unlimited directions one can take PM learning in beyond the fundamentals. Each knowledge area has multiple branches which can be explored.
A couple of interesting ones for me have been:
- getting real value out of project risk management (given how poorly it is practiced in most organizations)
- scaling project management approaches to deal with progressively greater levels of complexity
Kiron Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
The key here is: there are not "core" topics. Why? Because you have a guide and you have to select and to adapt what the guide state to your own project taking into account your own organization characteristics. So, the "core" is to understand that and to be able to do that into each organization you are working for. Saving Changes...
Thank you for the responses. I agree that there do not seem to be specific "core" topics because there are so many areas of project management that are important and they are all interrelated.
It seems from the responses so far that risk management is an area of interest for a few people. I can understand the desire to learn more about this topic and I know from personal experience that the concept of risk management has always seemed slightly overwhelming to me, but very important in successful project management. Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
I find integration management a particularity of project management. You won't find this knowledge area in general management. Saving Changes...
There's a lot of info out there on risk management, but not as much on practical, pragmatic value-added risk management. Focusing on that will likely yield the best returns on your projects...
