[webproducers] Re: pm coursework

I feel like the frontier guy in "Blazing Saddles" pumping his fist and saying 
"rahhr ruhh!" but, agreed!  PM is a canon of topics, soft and hard skills, etc. 
 
But to get a little more tactical <grin>, take another look at ESI: I--and 
colleagues of mine--have had good success with their classroom instruction 
(20-25 students, case study-based instruction, *networking with peers at 
lunch,* etc). Also, while I've never taken their classroom courses, IIL 
(www.iil.com) has a good reputation amongst my peers (it's the whole "Kerzner" 
thing.)
 
Both groups have courses ranging from fundamental and advanced PM topics to the 
'softer' skills that Ari mentioned. Consider two things: 1) more often than 
not, you get what you pay for--the $300 one-day course (in my experience) is 
less valuable than spending $300 (or less!) on some good texts and finding a 
mentor or shadowing a peer. And 2) It's a little hard to tell from your request 
if you're new, novice, or experienced. If you're new to the field, don't sweat 
certification yet...yes, it's eventually important, but the "journey" will be 
far more valuable. Employers will know from your resume and your ability to 
describe your experience if you've spent time in the trenches or just knew how 
to pass the test. 
 
Greg Glaser, PMP (yeah, I know. :) )
morry <morry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I think these are good points to consider and you might be able to apply
them to every professional field and discipline.

I do think that there is a purpose to certification courses and we can't
completely discount them just because organizations have different
processes. At the end of the day even though processes may diverge every
successful project has certain core elements. Even though Burger King does
flame broiling and McDonald's grills their burgers both are ways to cook
them. Cooking is the part of the overall process which also includes
prepping it, packaging it, etc.

As they saying goes:

If you give a man a fish he eats for a day but if you teach a man to fish
he eats for a lifetime.

Surely there are plenty of worthwhile courses out there that will not only
teach you "how to fish" but will also make you aware that there are many
variables and many ways to fish.

In the sales field there is an old saying that "good sales people are made
not born" which directly counters the old line thought that "sales people
are born not made". Certainly there are some people that have a specific
skill set and wind up in sales, but that in no way means that you can't
develop those skills or learn them. In fact, I've met many people in both
sales and project management that were not "born" that way nor did they have
the desired skill set at the outset but they developed them with the
assistantce of good trainers.

Morry



-----Original Message-----
From: webproducers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:webproducers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Ari Feldman
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2004 4:03 PM
To: webproducers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [webproducers] Re: pm coursework



This could be useful but since virtually *every* organization
I've ever worked at (7 f/t gigs and numerous other freelance)
had its own process (or lack thereof) and corporate culture,
thus rendering prior assumptions and training moot. Therefore, I
wouldn't rely too heavily on what you learn from such a course.

Aside from applying certain best practices, a good PM has to
rely on attributes and skills they already possess, including
experience dealing with different sizes and types of projects,
diplomacy, writing/communication skills, motivation, focus and
it certainly doesn't hurt if you understand technology or the
creative process too.

Just my two cents on the matter.


--- "D.Lasday" wrote:
> any reccos for a good place to take a class/es for Project
> mgmt.
>
> PMI certification might be a nice thing but not my immediate
> concern.
>
> Im familiar w/ESI - I took an expensive 3 day course w/those
> guys
> and
> Im more interested in a traditional sit down f2f course not
> online.
> (but all suggestions welcome.)
>
> thanks.
>
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