I have recently moved in to a dedicated project management role having progressed from a development manager background. Whilst I understand the technology side of the project I am running, I am comfortable managing teams and understand the mechanics of running a project I feel like I have a long path towards to being a solid project manager and would like to shorten the learning curve. Working within an Agile environment I am currently looking at gaining my Agile PM and Scrum Master certifications. I wondered whether anyone had any recommendations in terms of follow on course or qualifications and any good project management books aside from the basic introductory texts. Many thanks
Hi..
i 've been doing project management for years. Moved from project management to product management to program management. Managed lots of projects, software and non software stuff..
I worked on CMMI / Agile ( Scrum , XP ...etc) and also on PMI schemes.
Although you are working under Agile, I HIGHLY recommend you attend the PMP courses, for the PMP exam. Even if you are not interested in sitting for the PMP exam.
PMP gives you tons of knowledge on time management and cost management , which you don't have in this way in scrum master certification. PMP gives you the high level broad spectrum helicopter view of projects, also project valuation and business perspective..
Once you get familiar with these concepts, you can then apply with the Agile approach. Which, I believe is a tweak of the concepts to match an agility needing environment, mainly used on software projects. But the solid foundation you will have from PMP will give you more confidence when you apply Agile. Coz, in agile, the whole advantage is you don't need to apply the process by the book. You can still tweak it to tailor something specific for your team and project. So moving from a too-strict approach ( like CMMI or PMP) to Agile ( which is more flexible ) will be good for you. The strict approach in PMP will also give you the alarm you need to see when something go beyond control.
And remember.. Be a result oriented person. There is no point applying any process if it doesn't improve the performance, reduce cost and achieve the targeted result. So you will hear a lot about the illusion that Agile is the best which is not true. Agile is IDEAL for the projects that need Agile. Widening your project management schemes will help you always make the best decision for what to use to manage a project.
Let me know if you have more questions.
Good Luck!
Answered 10 years ago
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