Mary SwansonProject Manager| State of Minnesota - MN.ITsCottage Grove, Mn, United States
I'm looking for on-line PM training (intermediate to advanced level) for a goverment PMO. There are 8 PMs that are interested and, of course, there is a limited budget.
Any suggestions? Saving Changes...
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Bipin Lekshmanan PMPProject Manager| Wipro TechnologiesEdison, Nj, United States
I hope you are thinking about a general PM course rather than a course addressing a specific area in project management. For instance, risk management or cost management. I believe you can talk to the customer care division of some of the reputed PMP based training agencies (or otherwise, depending on your needs) to set this up. Saving Changes...
Mark Price PerryBusiness Driven PMO Evangelist| BOT InternationalOrlando, Fl, United States
Dear Mary,
A few years ago, I would have been reluctant to recommend project management e-Learning of any kind over traditional classroom training largely due to gap in overall quality and effectiveness between the two. Some of these training providers have "perfected" the classroom experience while the online training can be a bit "less-perfected". But, project management e-Learning has improved greatly and as Bipin notes most of the leading project management training providers offer an e-Learning track. The following, and many others, are very good:
I concur with Mark regarding online training and how far it has come. However, you do not state the reason on why you are looking for on line training? With eight people, you would be able to have someone come directly to you. I have taken several courses through ESI (both traditional classroom as well as having them come to my company) and think they are outstanding.
It might also be nice to have them come to you for other purposes - with some companies, if you take enough classes you can earn Certificates with different universities which may help from an HR perspective (career pathing for your PMs) Saving Changes...
Bipin Lekshmanan PMPProject Manager| Wipro TechnologiesEdison, Nj, United States
good point about the HR perspective on certifications. Saving Changes...
Mary SwansonProject Manager| State of Minnesota - MN.ITsCottage Grove, Mn, United States
Thanks all for the information. The largest constraint we face is budget. We were thinking that on-line might be less money, however it doesn't appear that is the case. We have some variance in skills so I'm not sure if one directed in house training will meet everyone's need. But that may be the best use of the budget. Saving Changes...
I thought of something else since you mentioned you are a government PMO - have you looked at the USDA course catalog? I haven't taken any of their classes but I have friends that have and they speak highly of them. I suppose the other constraint though with your group may be location? I think all the USDA classes are offered in the metro Washington DC area.
As to your comment about differing levels and that perhaps one class on site may not be a good idea - may I ask why you have those group of people interested? Is it to enhance some of their skills or to learn new ones? Introducing a new concept for your pmo? Saving Changes...
Mary SwansonProject Manager| State of Minnesota - MN.ITsCottage Grove, Mn, United States
Hi Bethany - the skill set, on average, in the PMO I work in is lacking so the intent is to advance the skills/increase quailty and move to an intermediate to advance level. The training would need to strengthen basic skills and move us forward. We wouldn't be looking at new concepts, but how to better implement the methodology. We need to be better at project management. Saving Changes...
So, I'll start off by saying that I may be biased but I absoulutely love the course taught by ESI. I've taken nine different courses through them and thought they were all extremely relative and very well laid out. Out of those nine courses, I've only ever had one instructor that I didn't like but for the most part the instructors have 20+ years experience actually managing projects. If you are looking to advance the skill set within your group, you might be interested in Managing IT Project course. When I took it, it was five days but I just went to the site now and they have it listed as 3 days (it looks like they increased the number of hours per day though). It's a really good overview plus actual exercises to help you put into practice the theory that you have learned in the class. Don't know if I'm being helpful but that would be what I would probably do in your shoes. Saving Changes...
You can check out Career Academy (http://bit.ly/2fnjzjJ), they have a team membership that will be really cheap (about half the regular price) if you have a team of 10 that you would like to sign up. They are PMI Registered Education Provider (REP). Career Academy is an institution that offers online on-demand video-based learning solutions for IT Networking, Cyber Security, Project Management and Office Professionals. You can prepare for the certification exams by taking courses from Career Academy. Saving Changes...
