Project Management Training (ASTD Trainers Workshop)

If your organization is a project-oriented organization ‚ or is in the process of becoming one ‚ you may already have developed methods and procedures and defined terms that you ‚ ll want used consistently throughout each project. If you are just starting with project management, you ‚ ll want to develop a basis for a common approach to projects and to the content you teach in your project management training. In this book, you ‚ ll find terms and approaches that reflect those recommended by the Project Management Institute and found in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 2000 Edition (often referred to as ‚“the PMBOK ‚½ ‚ pronounced ‚“pimbock ‚½). If you have not already adopted methods and terms, then the PMBOK would definitely be the logical place to start. But it is most important that all those involved in projects within your organization use terminology and approaches consistently. When this happens, you ‚ ll begin to see a number of important benefits:

• Project teams and customers do not have to learn procedures and new jargon with each new project. Surprisingly, this happens a lot more often than you ‚ d think. One of the biggest drains on project schedules is the famous ‚“learning curve. ‚½ Many parts of projects, because they are unique, will require some degree of new learning; but it is a massive waste to have to learn new project life cycles, forms, tracking tools, review processes, and other project management approaches that could be standardized across the organization.

• It becomes easier to compare projects over time when they involve similar measurements and approaches. Ordinarily, no two projects are exactly alike; but many are sufficiently similar that having everyone use a similar approach will make it easier to obtain valuable lessons by evaluating a project against previous ones. Teams learn to repeat practices that worked well in certain phases of the project and avoid those that didn ‚ t work in others. Estimating becomes more accurate as historical data begins to accumulate based on a consistent set of definitions and measurements.

• Consistent tracking and reporting helps uncover inefficiencies in the overall project management approach. Locking in procedures may be helpful at first to achieve consistency across the organization, but you may soon discover flaws in the process that require changing those procedures. Adhering to inefficient procedures for too long is a common pitfall, so it ‚ s important to balance consistency with careful observation and an openness to correct faulty processes when you spot them. Repeatable processes evolve over time and projects.

These considerations have significant implications for your project management training efforts:

• Start out with the best possible approaches and terminology available, whether they are developed internally or adopted from generally accepted best practices.

• Make sure that training emphasizes the continuous improvement aspects of a solid project management initiative. Emphasize the importance of project reviews and lessons learned rather than merely teaching them as postscripts.

• Realize that whatever training you create must be flexible enough to change with your processes. Keep lines of communication open with those who will be observing and adapting the processes being adopted.

If you follow these principles, your training effort will balance consistency and flexibility and reflect continuously improving practices in your organization.