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Getting Career Project Management Qualifications...

There are so many advantages to good Project Management. Training for a career in Project Management will lead to some really absorbing and satisfying assignments in industry. The role is excellent for those who have good spatial skills, and enjoy working through tasks. Other skill-sets that are useful to have are an ability to explain things well to others and good management skills.

...On Track, On Price!

Modern businesses are always looking to improve the quality, efficiency and delivery of their goods and services. Owners, shareholders and customers have increasingly high expectations, hence the need for effective Project Management at every stage of the business process. Learning how to use scarce resources efficiently in a commercial context will allow you to get into this valuable sector.

Project Management courses at various different levels can be studied through a number of training institutions. You'll be taught about project planning, lifecycles, initiating executing and completing a project, time management, scheduling, budgeting and cost control and people management among other things.

Tools And Techniques

Many common terms have evolved to become key phrases for project managers. It's vital to get on the right wavelength with the terms and ways of thinking, and with the skills and tools used in the profession today. There are a number of schools of thought in project management but you will discover many processes have a lot in common.

The History Of Project Management

We might think of Project Management as a fairly recent discipline, but actually it has a long and interesting history. It was originally the responsibility of senior engineers and architects - think Sir Christopher Wren in the 17th century and Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the 19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, American and French engineers F W Taylor, H Gantt and H Fayol were producing their own scientific management theories.

Their works have been very influential in the development of modern PM tools. Fayolism was one of the first comprehensive general management theory statements and the management functions and principles it described still have relevancy today. Fayol's principles of management refer to how people are managed to best effect.

The Beginnings Of PM As We Know It Today

Prior to the nineteen fifties, projects in the United States were largely managed on an informal basis - probably with a Gantt Chart but generally with ad-hoc tools and techniques. The US Navy started on the project to build the Polaris Missile, and it became apparent that more sophisticated planning structures would need to be implemented. This led to the invention of the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). This mathematical model can still be used as a basis to find a critical path through various planned and interconnected tasks. In 1956 the American Association of Cost Engineers was formed as technology for cost control was developed.

The IMPA

In the late 1960's the International Project Management Association (IPMA) was founded. Over forty thousand people are now members of this Swiss registered alliance. The International Project Management Association offers a four level certification track ranging from Associate to Director.

The PMI

In 1969 the Project Management Institute was created in America to advance state-of-the-art project management. A project management guide, the 'Project Management Body of Knowledge' from PMI is now on its fourth edition.

This covers project management procedures that are common to "most projects, most of the time." Anyone looking to get into or further their career in Project Management today would do well to have a thorough understanding of this set of guidelines and best practices. Specialist colleges provide training on each of the processes covered in the guide. You will be in a position at the end of such a course to take the world standard PM exams, which in conjunction with on-going experience in the field will really advance your professional career.

PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2)

Another widely used project management model which originated in the UK is PRINCE2. Various commercial training providers offer in-depth courses.

It's a widely used flexible PM method that navigates you through all the essentials for running a successful project. It has recently been updated to the 2009 version, so students of PRINCE2 will learn the latest techniques of this framework model. PRINCE2 can be used as an invaluable diagnostic tool for project work, audits and troubleshooting. It's product focus clarifies to all what and when a project will deliver.

Other training options include degrees that incorporate project management modules, and also of course pure project management degrees.

The best offer a blend of tools to use to save time and money, plus those all-important management skills that teach leadership, motivation and teamwork. Why not make finding the right course for you your first Project Management assignment?