
In today’s world of advancing technology, where new integrations are making room for more innovative and creative projects, it’s the best time to consider becoming a Project Management Professional. Whether you’re starting a new career or have had some experience in a similar role, these essential key concepts will set you well to becoming a PMP.
What is PMP?
PMP, in other words, Project Management Professional, is a credential that validates that you hold knowledge and/or expertise in managing projects. The industry you want to build your expertise on will be based on personal interest and previous experience.
How do I get started?
Before you set yourself up for the big challenge, here are some basic yet most critical aspects to evaluate yourself on:
1. Are you a multitasker, capable of handling multiple responsibilities at once, or do you get overwhelmed when surrounded with too much on your plate?
2. How organized are you when it comes to planning and meeting deadlines?
3. How do you react to problems related to tasks or people?
4. When you face new or uncertain situations, what is your action plan?
5. Have you handled any finances or worked under a budget?
If you have a clear-cut answer to these questions and you don’t seem to doubt yourself, you have a great potential at becoming a PMP.
What are some key skills necessary to become a PMP?
1. Confident and meticulous
2. Active listener
3. Empathetic team member
4. Influential leader
5. Problem solver
6. Collaborator
7. Multi-tasker
These key skills will always guide you as you lead your team through any project.
What are the basics of project management that one should be familiar with?
3 elements that cover the grounds of PMP
1. Scope: What needs to be done, including project deliverables, the features and functions and other requirements. The scope is sometimes expected to change as the project evolves.
2. Time: How much time it will take to complete the project, including deliverables for each iteration, number of hours for each team member, and strategic time allocation across collaboration initiatives.
3. Budget: How much will it cost for resource allocation, vendor involvement, external support or integrations and any unanticipated expense. It is important to come to terms of agreement with the client on budget before starting a project.
I have management experience. Can I become a Project Manager?
Project Management is not the same as General Management. A project manager is responsible specifically for ensuring that a particular project moves smoothly from start to finish, before it is handed off to the client and before it transforms in operations. Although it’s good to have management experience, you’ll still need to go through a procedure to become a Project Manager and take a PMP course. There are 5 phases to a project lifecycle around which the PMP courses are designed.
1. Initiation – Define the project’s goal, scope, budged and timeline
2. Planning – Create a project charter or action plan
3. Execution – Carry out plan in step-by-step procedure to deliver the product
4. Monitoring and controlling – Assess risks along the way and make adjustments for quality control
5. Closure – Final sign-off and retrospective on overall accomplishments and lessons learned
Each of these phases is broken down in iterations and the whole project can last as little as three months to as long as 12 months depending on the scope and resources.
What would make me successful at project management?
To become successful at project management it is important to note the key differences between the role and the responsibilities. Understand that management is a set of responsibilities that anyone can either perform or learn to perform through extensive experience. However, to become an effective Project Management Professional, it is crucial to hold certain leadership values. The values of integrity, ethics and role modeling. It requires open-mindedness to various perspectives and learning new ways of doing things. Having a calm and centered approach will allow you to proactively handle any challenge. Know that teamwork is the most important factor in bringing any project to a successful closure. It requires a lot of stamina to keep your team going, especially during challenges and ambiguous situations. To build that stamina it is equally important to take care of your own self. Praise yourself; you’re on your way to becoming the next success story!
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