Project Management course - which one to go for

[Polk]

Hi everyone,

My company has suggested that I enroll for a project management course. I have been searching the Internet for various courses but I'm unsure which one is of the highest quality.

Does anyone have any suggestions of where to look? Or has any to recommend?

I am currently looking at the "Effective Project Leadership" course at Gibbs and the "Project Management Executive Course" through WBS.

Thank you

 

[ponder]

http://www.pmisa.org.za/default.aspx
http://www.projectmanagement.co.za/projectmanagement/site.nsf
http://www.sblunisa.ac.za/content.php?section=nonformal&id=13

 

[AniV]

Project Management courses come in phases. In order to get started, you need to enroll for a Fundamentals course. Any place you contact will tell you the same thing - the first thing you register for is the Fundamentals course. From there on in you can do various modules and then you can do the Project Management Professional course (PMP). If you do everything in one shot though, you're looking at about 2-3 months of continuous study to get PMP.

I did a "Fundamentals of Project Management" course with PM.Ideas in Bryanston. It's less about the company that you do it with, than the course you decide to do. However, make sure the company is accredited.

You can do PMBOK (Project Management Body Of Knowledge) or Prince2. Both are PM Methodologies. Find out which one your company is aligned with for the later stages.
At Fundamental level, though, it doesn't matter whether you're on PMBOK or Prince - both have the same basics.
Both GIBS and WBS are good - however, neither of those courses seem like a suitable first step.

Find yourself a place that does Fundamentals of Project Management as a start. Should be a roughly 3-day full-time course.

 

[Pavan]

I disagree. I think anything from WBS or GIBS will be more than comprehensive (and introductory) than any of these 3-4 day courses. Also, theres also the upside of attaining a certification from WBS/GIBS which are both well recognised tertiary education providers. If you've worked on projects there's no need for a fundementals-type course, you've already epxerienced it. And the theoretical side of the fundementals will be covered in 1 hour during your lectures at WBS/GIBS - 3 or 4 days is waaaaay too long.

 

[AniV]

@Pavan - I hadn't worked on Projects before. I had a basic varsity "PM" course that came with my Engineering degree. My company sent me off to do the more practical and accredited PM.Ideas PM course, but once I had finished the Fundamentals course I didn't go any further because I chose to move into Business Analysis instead of the PM team.

I think GIBS and WBS are both brilliant places to study, I do. I would be thrilled to get an accreditation from them.

I meant the ""Effective Project Leadership" course at Gibbs and the "Project Management Executive Course" through WBS" don't sound like ideal first steps if you've never done PM before, or worked on projects before.

The Effective Project Leadership course seems more geared towards the behaviours to adopt for leading successful projects, and less like an actual Project Management course where they teach PM itself. It is geared towards people who already have PM experience. It also has a CRAZY price tag for a 3-day course.
As for the WBS course - I can't find any info about it. However, WBS does a 5-day Project Management certification course that looks more like what the OP is asking about. It also has a ridiculous price tag - you could almost study a whole year at University for that price. http://www.wbs.ac.za/pls/cms/wbs_course.show_course?p_id=296

On the other hand, here are the guys I did my PM course at: http://www.pm-ideas.net/page.php?page=3&chapter=23

Like I said, there are plenty of PLACES available to do PM studies. What's more important is finding the right course.

 

[Pavan]

Aniv - I understand your point of view. I'm also an engineer... and I think fundemental courses are a waste of time. But thats just my opinion

 

[AniV]

Well, my Fundamental course was brilliant. It was 3 days packed full of learning and practical exercises.
Waaaaaay better than the stuff they tried to pass off as Project Management at University during our degree.

Even though I don't work in the PM team, I do still make use of the fundamentals I was taught.
I guess the word "Fundamentals" probably sounds like "basics" but we didn't just do basics.

In the end I think we can agree on the following:
- Polk (OP) needs to look at what his experience in PM is (none, a little, plenty of practical experience etc)
- needs to look at what he is going to be expected to do in terms of PM after the course
- needs to choose an institution that is properly accredited and does PMBOK and/or Prince2 with official materials
in order to make the best decision about where to go and what "level" of course to attend.

I wouldn't recommend trying to take on an advanced PM course without the basics, or without at least a decent amount of practical experience in PM.

 

[ponder]

I'm also an engineer... and I think fundemental courses are a waste of time. But thats just my opinion

I can't remember anything from my PM training. I just got the jobs done on time & in budget. A lot of this stuff is common sense or applying logic. I even hated MS project and preferred to work with spreadsheets

 

[Bobbin]

If the project leaders I deal with are anything to go by then all you need to know is how to bark out the same questions/commands every day, day in and day out until it gets done. With little regard for resources and conflicting projects being offloaded on the same people at lower level at every turn

 

[Palimino]

I just got the jobs done on time & in budget. A lot of this stuff is common sense or applying logic. I even hated MS project and preferred to work with spreadsheets

Yeah. The whole Project Management scam is a money-making racket. Learn MS Office, treat staff well and get a standard PM text for bedtime reading. ‘On time & on budget’ without frazzling staff = successful project management.

 

[ponder]

Yeah. The whole Project Management scam is a money-making racket.

Think it's still beneficial to get the credentials but after that it would be back to 'my way' of doing things.

 

[creeper]

Go for the PMP qualification. PMIdeas have a good course to prep for the exam.