While 2013 will bring a number of new challenges and opportunities to businesses, one of the most challenging, from an IT perspective, will be improving project management in order to address the increasing complexity of systems, the broadening of networks and the need for better security.

Today’s IT departments are juggling a number of balls, and the days when they could operate on a 9:00 to 5:00 basis are long gone. Since most companies don’t have unlimited budgets when it comes to talent, new hires and overtime, better project management is critical. It’s not something people can teach themselves well, and many companies turn to third-parties to sharpen their employees’ project management skills.

The end result to top-notch project management is understanding the best ways to go about proposing a new project, qualifying and quantifying it and ensuring organization buy-in. Good project managers also understand how to motivate their employees and teams and how to set and measure goals.

To fill in the gaps, education and training organization RCCSP has launched a new project management training course that uses hands-on methods to teach effective management of all phases of a project. The seminar uses the structured project management framework of initiation, planning, execution, control, and formal closing, and focuses on practical tools and techniques that companies can begin to use immediately. Approximately three quarters of the course focuses on working on a specific project from initiation to close. Attendees will work individually and in teams to write objectives, conduct stakeholder analysis, and develop a work breakdown structure and risk management plan for a case study project. Practice using estimating techniques, dependency analysis, and network diagramming are also included.

According to RCCSP, this hands-on approach provides individuals with the best opportunity to acquire skills that otherwise would take months to master. These skills include learning the definitions and terminology of project management as well as the project management lifestyle, building a business case for project initiation, defining project scope and stakeholder expectations as well as project management roles, ensuring company and executive buy-in and identifying, analyzing, quantifying, mitigating and managing risks.

For more information or to register, visit the RCCSP’s Web site.

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