ICPM

In order to apply for the PMP® Exam you will have to evidence "35 contact hours of formal education". The PMI explains this as follows in the PMP® Credentials Handbook :

"Verify at least 35 contact hours of specific instruction that addresses learning objectives in project management. Document all project management education hours, regardless of when they were accrued. The course work must be completed at the time of application. The course hours may include content on project quality, scope, time, cost, human resources, communications, risk, procurement and integration management."

Teach and Institute Leadership

It is the age-old distinction that usually merits much lip service and little true implementation. There is supervision/management, and then there is leadership. Project managers can either be supervisors or leaders, regardless of their job title.

Job/Task-Related Training

A quality organization understands the value of the people who work in it. The same goes for project management. Training project managers, analysts, and everyone else who regularly works on projects in the company methodology, soft skills, etc. can bring significant rewards.

Continuous Improvement

This is one of my favorite points from Dr. Deming. I see so many mistakes that are made again and again, and lessons learned that are either completely undocumented or filed away after a project, never to be seen again.

Do all of the other project managers in the firm get exposure to lessons learned from other projects? Usually not, in my experience. Surely, individual project managers and sponsors learn from their projects, but organizational learning and continuous improvement require a formal process for the documentation, analysis, and incorporation of lessons learned into a common methodology.

Fighting alter egos is tough work.  Like Dr. Jekyll striving against Mr. Hyde it can seem like a loosing battle.  This is especially true when the alter ego seem so helpful in the beginning.  Take the case of Mrs. Process.  She starts by figuring out how things are done and documents the procedures.  Working with others she finds better and faster ways to accomplish the work and incorporates them.  By performing audits and making sure that the procedures are followed she spots things before they become issues.  The problem begins when she becomes inflexible and intolerant.  As she turns over to the dark side her focus becomes the letter of the law, not the spirit.  Forms become static and any alterations are denounced vociferously.  

So far we dealt with Mr. Genius by clueing him in to what everyone else already knows: he doesn’t have all the answers.  Then we overcame Ms. Bellows by digging to the root causes and getting her to calm down.  But Mr. Promise seems like he would be a great guy to have around.  How could he possibly be evil?

The superhero gene inherent in project managers can mutate and become something ugly. Such is the case with Ms. Bellows. Instead of discussing, she yells. People leave her office in tears. Behind her back people call her Yelly Kelly.

The problem is that she is successful. People jump when she says to and projects get done on time. This makes upper management happy and she is rewarded, reinforcing the original problem. Eventually no one willingly works with her and some of the best resources leave the department, company or even country.

There is a certain gene in the DNA of a project manager that results in a superhero complex.  We are the ones that find leadership voids and itch to fill them.  If there is chaos, we long to tame it.  When things are wrong we strive to right them.  Where there is no org chart…well, you get the idea. 

Today's PM PrepCast PMP® Exam Tip is: A few basic PMP® Study Tips.

Studying for the exam is a highly individual journey. However, here are a few basic study tips, that you may want to consider: