Takeaway from PMI Preparatory Course

PMI Preparatory Course equips the project manager aspirants/professionals not only for PMP exam but also helps them acquire very good insight on Project Management principles. Professionals who have not gone through the learning process are at a distinct disadvantage as compared to those who have undergone PMP preparatory course. In my personal experience, I was a Project Manager even before I enrolled for the preparatory course. However the experience which I got through this learning and exam process was tremendous which I would like to share it for the benefit of the wannabe professionals. How Planning is critical in the area of Project Management? This training helped me to realize that the success of the project delivery/product delivery depends on how good/accurate is the planning. When you are able to plan 80% or more of your defined tasks, it means you are clear as much about scope. Good planning can be done only when your scope is clear Clear Scope à Well Defined Plan à Success of the Project Periodical review of the plan also is critical to ensure that success of the plan and the project. Unplanned tasks should be minimal as much as possible. Plan helps us to track 100% of the project and all its dependencies as well. Sharing the plan to all the stakeholders make it possible to communicate about the progress/status of the project up to date. In nutshell plan helps to have better predictability / visibility of the project at any given point of time. Communication is key success for the Project Delivery. Plan without communication is of no use, hence sharing the plan to the right people at the right time brings lot of value to the project. All early warnings are communicated to all the stakeholders and if required there can be changes on scope/cost/schedule. Good Communication brings open culture to the work environment thereby project execution is transparent across the stakeholders. Good Plan and effective communication are the two important factors for the success of the project delivery with respect to Project Manager. There are other factors like Quality/Cost which are dependent on delivery teams under the watchful eyes of Project Managers. Project Managers – Plan, Communication (& Risk Management); Delivery Teams – Quality, Schedule, Effort. Bottom line, Project Manager is responsible. The key question that an agnostic Project Manager might pose will be ‘why the PMI enroll for preparatory course when I can manage the Project?’ Agnostic PMs aren't conversant with all the facets of the Project Management and dependency on the crew, especially architect, to Developers to testers is quite high. Besides, the PMI preparatory Course prepares the candidate to crack the PMP at the first attempt thereby imparting the science behind the Management – from studying all the 10 knowledge areas to equip and prepare with the knowledge required to handle projects independently by studying requirement to initiate necessary action. From a firsthand experience, I didn't focus much on stakeholder or procurement management given the emphasis on Scope, Time, Cost, Quality and Risk. It was during the PMP Preparatory course that I learnt that there existed other key modules like Integration, Human Resources and Professional and Social Responsibility, which took me by surprise and elevated my learning to a new level and coupled with the prep or mock exams, I was well prepared and all set to go. I cracked my PMP exam at the very first attempt. Hope this blog helps those who are aspiring or appearing. We also conduct ‘refreshing course’ for PMP certification. For further details, please visit http://goo.gl/gjkV2N