IT Certifications: The Fastest Way to IT Career Success

John Reiling, PMP, PE, MBA is an experienced Project Manager and IT professional. John's web site, Tech Training Online (http://www.techtrainingonline.com) provides online IT certification training for beginning and experienced IT professionals.

PMP Exam Prep Strategy: Learn By Distinction

Feature, Function and Benefit - How To Sell to Project Stakeholders

As project managers, we often "inherit" projects once they have already been sold to and accepted by stakeholders. A sales force in a consulting organization, for example, typically sells a project that is later assigned to a project manager. A similar situation exists within organizations, where a project has been "sold" to upper management and other stakeholders.

Is A Certification Really Necessary?

Undoubtedly there are some frustrations and challenges with certifications today, as there are processes, procedures, and rules to consider. However, I think that is only 'one side of the coin'. Yes, you have to work hard to get certified, and you need to make the effort to remain certified. You also need to five careful consideration and identify which certification(s) make the most sense for your career.

Mastering Task Management to Bolster Project Management

Project managers manage..projects! Or, do they? Actually, I put forth that, at the end of the day, all project managers do is manage tasks. In fact, in a final analysis, all any manager does ultimately is manage tasks. This premise is based on the idea that, again in the final analysis, all that matters is action, and action comes in the form of performing tasks.

Overcoming Challenges: Are You On Whitewater or An Ocean Liner?

As times change, professionals need to adapt. This is relatively easy for some, but very difficult for others. So the challenge for all is to determine the most appropriate strategies for dealing with turbulent times. One framework for consideration is to think in terms of the "whitewater" approach versus "ocean liner" approach, as these can provide good analogies for work environments today.

Obama and the World of Project Management

With the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States and his coming inauguration in January, many are predicting his impact in specific areas. While his priorities are shifting, and will probably continue to in the face of current critical needs, there are likely to be some continuing themes that remain consistent throughout his time in office, and they can provide some guidance as to what to expect.

Are You Ready to Take the PMP or CAPM Exam? 6 Levels of Understanding

When preparing for the the PMP or CAPM exam, or any certification exam for that matter, the top challenge that everyone faces is evaluating personal readiness to take the exam. How does one assess readiness? This article discusses a cognitive framework for evaluating readiness to take the PMP, CAPM, or any other certification exam.

Distinguishing Between Long And Short Term Goals

In these lean times, cutbacks, scarcity of funding, and the need to streamline are symptoms of a tough environment. However, many of these management practices should really be occurring in both good times and bad. In portfolio management, especially, it is important to manage a healthy balance between short term and long term considerations.

10 Goals for Advanced Project Management Training

Often professional project managers find that when they go for a certification, such as the PMP certification, they are surprised at how much they learn in the process. While experience is very valuable, especially in feeling more than comfortable with the basics, there is always a great deal of improvement available to studying a structured and comprehensive approach.

Management And People Skills In Project Management

It has been said many times that people skills are the most important to career success. However, we do see a great emphasis on "tools", whether it is in project management frameworks, or MBA programs, or Six Sigma, or any other approaches. How can a project or program manager hone these skills, as they are so important to continued career success?

Exceeding Client Expecations, Minus The Gold-Plating

If one were to undergo project management studies, they will initially tell you that you must avoid gold-plating. Overall, it is not of the company's best interests.

The Right Ideas For The Right Project - Where To Gain Inspiration

Starting a project entails quite a few dilemmas. One either lacks the idea or has an idea but has no clue on how to get it started. In professional situations, more often than not the professional project manager is simply handed a project. In any case, having a good level of conviction about the project is a key enabler at the outset of a successful project.

Setting The Managerial Mindset To Weather Difficult Times

In times of crisis, such as the current worldwide recession , the role that project or program managers perform is critical. The dramatic changes in the economic situation has led to quite a few people losing jobs as companies cut costs or restructure their organization. Many projects and programs have been canceled due to severe crisis. How can project and program managers cope with this crisis?

Where's the Fit? ITIL and Project Management

It is always good for professionals to combine the right sets of expertise. For someone involved with IT infrastructure projects, ITIL is a great complementary certification. What I find is that often the specialty knowledge drives the PRODUCT of efforts, but the project management skills drives the PROJECT that produces the PRODUCT. On solid technical teams, that second mindset is often missing.