10 Ways Project Management Skills Can Help Your Career

Getting and staying certified is one way to get your career on the fast track and watch it soar. Here’s how you can use Project Management to put your career in high gear.

1. SHOW RESULTS. Project Management is the art and science of getting things done. When you improve your Project Management skills, you know how to get things done quickly, and even more important, you learn how to document the results. In our careers, we are often as good as our last hit. You can’t be a one hit wonder. Instead, you want to keep charting, year after year, with success after success.

2. BE EFFICIENT. When you apply Project Management principles to your work or your home life, you stop reinventing the wheel. Project Management teaches you how to make the most efficient use of resources to generate the best results in the least amount of time. At the end of every project, you capture best practices and lessons learned, creating an invaluable documentation of hits and misses. Sound too good to be true? Good project managers do this on every project, and you can, too.

3. CREATE AN ONGOING DIALOGUE. One mistake I see a lot in Project Management and on teams is the assumption that there’s one meeting and everyone goes away, and then the communication ends, and somehow everything is still going to magically get done. Your communication skills are not about your vocabulary. They are about how you manage your communication. Are you communicating frequently enough and with clarity? Are you communicating what is relevant? Are you communicating your successes?

4. PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS. People hear the word teamwork, and they groan or they say that they are, of course, a team player. That’s why I like to bring it back to the kindergarten place in our mind: Back to the sandbox. Do you play well with others? Do other people want to be on your project team? Are you respected? Do you listen actively to what others have to say? Good project managers know when to lead and when to get out of the way. When someone is interviewing you, you know what that person is thinking: Can I work with him? Will my team work well with her?

5. LET YOUR CONFIDENCE SHINE. When someone shows confidence, everyone in the room feels it, too. One thing I consistently hear from our students is that the biggest payoff from their Project Management training or PMP certification is the confidence that they gained. They went back to their job with a solid Project Management foundation that made them feel more competent and able to project more confidence to their team and their boss.

6. KEEP YOUR COMMITMENTS. Missed deadlines and projects that slip through the cracks are career killers. Project Management skills focus on timelines and results that build your reputation and give team members a reason to trust you. “I know that I can always count on her to get the job done.” That quote can – and should – be about you.

7. GET A GRIP. Good project managers don’t have to freak out. They can remain calm and in control because they have a Project Agreement which has all the critical information about the project in it. They know when all the deadlines are, who is responsible for what and when, and they’ve also documented changes. Everyone wants to have someone on the team who can stay calm when a project gets rocky and bring stability to chaos.

8. ADAPT TO CHANGE. Don’t ignore change. Companies change. Deadlines change. People come and go. Good project managers know they often have to adapt their plans and document what has changed and how that impacts the entire project.

9. KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What skills do you need to move from the status quo to the next level? Once you have a solid foundation of Project Management skills, keep building on that foundation. Don’t stagnate. Continuous learning and a thirst for knowledge are always attractive to employers and team members.

10. LEAD WITH PURPOSE AND PASSION. People will follow those who know what they are doing and who can generate results. Project Management is a powerful leadership tool because it not only shows us how to keep our eye on the prize and the purpose, but it’s also about the passion to achieve and succeed. Nothing feels better than accomplishment.

10+ Tips about Great Customer Service

Building a strong tech/customer relationship requires some diligence on your part, but the results are worth it.

Field marketers/techs spend a lot of time in front of customers and a lot of time driving. If the customer is on your side, it can make life more enjoyable and rewarding. Some customers may be several hours from your base, so it’s always good if they’re pleased to see you. You may need to use facilities, such as bathrooms, staff restaurants, or possibly the fax, and such requests are more readily agreed to if you have a good relationship.

Here are my tips on getting the best from a tech/client relationship.

#1: Always try to pre-empt your customers’ requirement Think about your clients. Is their kit getting a bit elderly and in need of repair or replacement? Be there before they have a problem. Think about what you can do to improve the way they work, so that when they ask your advice (and they will), you’ll have something useful to pass onto them. Nothing impresses a client more than a tech that looks beyond the immediate problem to something that may occur in the future.

#2: Always communicate with the customer, even if the news isn’t good. Nothing irritates a client more than hearing nothing. It’s a simple thing, but many people forget it. One phonecall can really help to build bridges. There’s only one thing customers hate more than bad news, and that’s no news at all. If you can’t make that appointment–and there had better be a good reason–make sure that you let them know at the earliest opportunity.

On the other side, as soon as you have an answer, pass it on. A speedy resolution is always welcomed, too. Remember all the means of communication available to you: phone, e-mail, fax, personal contact, letter, and so on. Always try to use the most appropriate communication method. You can even send the answer to a
customer’s questions in the form of a document containing screen shots, which you can keep as part of a support library, should you ever be asked that question again.

#3: Always listen to the customer’s story; the clue to the solution may well be given to you unwittingly. In my experience, the number of times the customer has unwittingly supplied the answer to their problem is quite remarkable. The clues will be there, even in the most obscure problem. Let them show you the problem rather than describe it. It will give you the opportunity to observe the whole situation, spotting the problem, especially when the request sounds a little strange.

#4: Try to add value to any customer contact When the client shows you what they do, try to see if there’s a quicker way to do the job. You may even learn something yourself. Most of the keyboard shortcuts I know come from watching other people at work, and many of the tricks are undocumented. You could also offer energy-saving advice or suggest suppliers of equipment that might be cheaper than their present supplier. By doing this, you will become the person they
think of when they need help. Being at the top of anybody’s help list is great for business. And when the net result of your visit is that the customer saves money, they are better disposed to pay your account!

#5: Don’t promise anything you can’t deliver or promise something on somebody else’s behalf When you make a promise, make sure that you fulfill it. It can often be difficult to resist promising to help someone, but if you aren’t sure you’ll be able to deliver, be up front about it. Nothing annoys me more than when somebody makes a promise on my behalf.

#6: Overestimate your response and fix times You can delight the customer by doing better than your estimate–and annoy them by taking longer. A great aid for this is my in-car satellite navigation unit. It calculates the route to a client’s address and provides a surprisingly accurate ETA, to which you can add a suitable margin for error. It also helps me find a client’s address far more quickly and saves time and road fuel.

#7: Get to know your customers Knowing how they think and work will help you offer the best solutions. When you get to know them, they will learn to trust you and will seek out your advice. It can be helpful to keep a record that includes details of thenumber of workstations, network configuration, software packages, and even their working hours.

#8: Keep records–not just of the equipment but of the people Check your notes just before going in to see your customers. They’ll be impressed if you remember their family’s names, hobbies, interests, and golf handicap. Knowing what makes the client tick is sometimes more useful than understanding their equipment. People are the biggest variable in any situation. Getting their names
right is a double bonus!

#9: When dealing with a fault, always let the caller show you what ishappening In some cases, a problem may result from something the customer is doing rather than from their usually reliable equipment. It’s also a good idea to fully explain what you’re doing. Too often, the tech’s hands are a blur over the keyboard. They step back and say, “That’s fixed” and leave and the customer is totally unaware of
what the problem was or how to avoid a recurrence. Explaining your actions builds trust and helps the client feel less foolish when they’ve made a mistake. Empathy oils the wheels of customer service, no matter how silly the problem. You can be sure that I have made the same mistake myself in the past.

#10: Be polite and interested and remember to smile. It’s a lot harder for customers to give you a hard time if you’re nice. And when people realize you’re a real live person with feelings, rather than a voice on the phone, a machine in a closet, or an FAQ page on the Web, it’s a whole lot easier to communicate. Communication is the key to any service situation, and your body language may be the key to your credibility. Direct eye contact is the best way to look honest and dependable. (But don’t over do it; it can be creepy!)

#11: Before attending a client’s premises, give them a call There are two reasons for doing this. First, you need to check that they will be there to see you–vital, especially if you have a long journey to make. Second, you might be able to resolve the problem over the phone, thus saving a lot of time and fuel and getting the customer working sooner.

Project Management Training for Youth

Bi-Trax presents the route to achieving the knowledge and expertise that will help you display excellence in project management, on any type of project in any industry at affordable fee.

Introduction
In today’s digital world, what employers are looking for may surprise you. They assume you’re going to be technologically literate and that you have the skills that are specific to your industry. Once you have the basics, they want to know that you can perform, achieve results and play well with others.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers Job Outlook 2008 survey, employers rated communication skills, and honesty and integrity equally at the top of their list of what they look for in potential employees. Following closely behind these were: interpersonal skills, motivation/initiative, strong work ethic and teamwork skills.

What struck me as I read those skills was that all of them are inherent in Project Management, and it emphasized what I’ve believed for years: PM is a career accelerator- the No. 1 recession-proof career of the future.

Project management is quickly becoming the method of management for more and more industries. Projects are being done for everything from building the largest skyscrapers to planning the smallest wedding.

It will continue to be a highly desired skill in the midst of great change.

To learn more about Project Management, click here.

Bi-TraxAxxent Intervention.
We have observed with concerns that many youth would have loved to acquire this timeless skill. Unfortunately, they are challenged by the “unfriendly” fee being charged by training institutes.

Bi-TraxAxxent, as part of her Youth Development initiatives, therefore decided to come to the rescue of these leaders of tomorrow by organizing the course at a friendly fee. It is our belief that through this, we are helping them get their dream job besides the skills they will learn during the training which will help them develop creative solutions for pursuing their goals (employment or business development)- especially during this difficult economic time.

About the Seminar
In this 3-day seminar, you will learn and practice the latest tools and techniques necessary for project management success. In lectures, discussions and exercises, you’ll cover every aspect of managing projects.

While aligned with the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) framework, this course is specifically designed to focus on the practical application of concepts. You’ll return home with the knowledge and tools you need to get your projects started right and completed successfully.

For whom
The seminar is specially designed for the youth: students, ‘corpers’, unemployed and employed in the following categories:
• Youths with little or no experience in Project Management
• Youths who are intending to start their businesses
• Youths who are intending to start managing projects
• Unemployed youths who are trying to boost their chance of securing a good job.

Performance-based Objectives
At the end of the training, participants will learn how to:
• Establish and accomplish goals that are linked directly to stakeholder needs
• Utilize tried and proven project management tools to get the job done on time, within budget and accordance with requirements
• Work through a proactive approach to risk that will give you a clear understanding of both qualitative and quantitative risk analysis
• Learn how to effectively track and report on project progress
• Gain the respect of your project team and build credibility with top management
• Prepare for your PM certifications, should you desire.

Course Contents
1. Understanding Project
2. Initiating the Project
3. Creating a Project Charter
4. Creating the Scope Statement
5. Resource Planning and Estimating
6. Establishing Project Planning Control
7. Developing the Project Team
8. Measuring and Controlling Project Performance
9. Controlling the Change
10. Closing out the Project

Registration Fees: N15, 000
Venue:Bi-Trax Axxent Company Limited
24B, Kofoworola Crescent, Off Obafemi Awolowo Way
Balogun Bus Stop. By Lagoon Hospital
Ikeja.
Lagos

For the description of the venue click here

Date:
Weekday: 10 – 12 August, 2009
Weekend: 8, 15 & 22 Aug, 2009

Time: 9:00am – 4.00pm daily

Training Investment covers: Tuition, Course materials, Certificate of Achievement, CD containing PM materials including PMBOK 4th Edition.

STEPS TO PARTICIPATION
Payments can be made into any GTBank Branch A/c No: 215/122/961/111 in favour of Bi-TraxAxxent Coy Limited or at our office. All payments MUST be made and details of payment (teller number, branch of payment, date of payment) and full name of participant sent to email address: wale@bi-traxaxxent-ikeja.com or via text to 08098BITRAX (08098 248729) by 3pm on/before the Friday preceding the seminar.

We look forward to receiving you……….

About Project Management

What is Project Management?
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives.

A project (as defined by PMI) is a temporary endeavour undertaking to create a unique product, service or result.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals and objectives while honoring the preconceived project constraints. Typical constraints are scope, time and budget. The secondary—and more ambitious—challenge is to optimize the allocation and integration of inputs necessary to meet pre-defined objectives.

The Need for Project Management Skill.
Project management is quickly becoming the method of management for more and more industries. Projects are being done for everything from building the largest skyscrapers to planning the smallest wedding. Many large companies now have a stated policy to manage their company using project management skills.

Project Management will continue to be a highly desired skills in the midst of great change. Because rigid organizational boundaries and responsibilities have blurred and new technologies are changing the ways of doing business, results must be delivered more quickly and accurately than ever before. These circumstances call for people who can deal with ambiguity and time pressures while simultaneously accomplishing project goals- in other words, people who display excellence in project management.

PM and Certification?
Professional certification has become an integral part of the skills development and validation process for information technology (IT) related companies and their customers. It has also spawned an industry around training, preparation, and “pre-assessment” for certification, both vendor-sponsored and vendor-neutral.

PM Certifications establish your dedication to and proficiency in project management. When you earn one or several of these prestigious credentials, you gain distinction and recognition in a growing community of project management practitioners. It also increases your visibility within your organization and on a global level.

Although managing projects has been going on for thousands of years, the practice has only recently been recognized as a discipline in its own right. Also, some organizations have begun to ask their contractors to provide only project managers who have been certified as professionals by the professional society for practitioners.

In today’s fast-paced world, organizations that practice sound project management methods have a competitive advantage over those who fly by the seat of the pants. Why? Because competition is rapidly becoming time-based as well as cost-based.

There are two (or three) most widely recognized project management certifications in the world today. These are:

(i) PMP (by PMI,
(ii) Prince2 (by OGC)
(iii) Project + (by CompTIA)

Project Management Professional (PMP)
The Project Management Institute (PMI) is a non-profit professional organization with the purpose of advancing the state-of-the-art of project management. The company is a professional association for the Project Management Profession.

PMI (See here) sets standards, conducts research, and provides education and professional exchange opportunities designed to strengthen and further establish professionalism. This institute provides services to advance the careers of practitioners and enhance the performance of business and other organizations. This is done by hosting conferences and training seminars, and by running and maintaining credentials in project management.

Project Management Professional, PMP (See here ) is a credential offered by the PMI. The credential is obtained by documenting your work experience in project management, completing 35 hours of project management related training, and scoring at least 61% on a written, multiple choice examination. PMP exams administered on or before June 30, 2009 will be based on “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge – or PMBOK,” the Third Edition. After June 30, PMP certification exams will be based on “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge” the Fourth Edition of which was published in December 2008.

The PMP Exam will have 200 questions. 25 of them are “pre-release questions,”. These pre-release questions are not included in your final PMP Exam Mark. Your score will be calculated based on 175 PMP questions. The PMI will evaluate your proficiency level on each project management process from high proficiency to low proficiency.

PMP (Project Management Professional) is one of five credentials offered by PMI. The others are:

1. Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
2. Project Management Professional (PMP)
3. PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI RMP)
4. PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI SP)

PRINCE2
PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE) is a project management method. It covers the management, control and organisation of a project. “PRINCE2” refers to the second major version of this method and is a registered trademark of the Office of Government Commerce(OGC) (see here), an independent office of HM Treasury of the United Kingdom. PRINCE2’s success is largely due to it being non-proprietary but also due to the ability of organizations to apply it to a variety of industries, environments and project sizes.

PRINCE2 (See here) is a structured approach to project management, released in 1996 as a generic project management method. It combined the original PRINCE methodology with IBM’s MITP (managing the implementation of the total project) methodology. PRINCE2 provides a method for managing projects within a clearly defined framework. PRINCE2 describes procedures to coordinate people and activities in a project, how to design and supervise the project, and what to do if the project has to be adjusted if it doesn’t develop as planned.

In the method each process is specified with its key inputs and outputs and with specific goals and activities to be carried out, which gives an automatic control of any deviations from the plan. Divided into manageable stages, the method enables an efficient control of resources. On the basis of close monitoring the project can be carried out in a controlled and organized way.

PRINCE2 provides a common language for all participants in the project. The various management roles and responsibilities involved in a project are fully described and are adaptable to suit the complexity of the project and skills of the organization.

Accreditation is governed by the passing of two exams – the Foundation and the Practitioner. The Foundation exam is a one-hour, multiple choice exam. The Practitioner exam lasts for three-hours, and is an objective-testing multiple-choice exam. Around the world, exams are administered by the APM Group. PRINCE2 Practitioners must retake the Practitioner exam every 5 years to remain accredited. This re-registration comprises a 1-hour examination set at the same standard as the Practitioner examination.

CompTIA Project+
Project+ (See here) is a certification showing that one has the knowledge needed to manage projects. CompTIA claims that Project+ is a globally recognized project management certification that provides validation of fundamental project management skills. Curriculum covers the entire project life cycle from initiation and planning through execution, acceptance, support and closure. There are no prerequisites, and candidates are not required to submit an application or complete additional hours of continuing education.

What Next?

Stay tuned…………