In today's global economic scenario enterprises are continually seeking ways
through which they can manage and complete their various projects affordably and
in the most efficient manner. They have realized how crucial Project Managers
are towards the success of projects and the valuable benefits they bring to an
enterprise's business. A Project Manager has the responsibility to make sure
that his projects get completed within the given set of restraints, which may
comprise time, money, manpower, materials and quality. It is therefore necessary
that Project Managers possess organization, planning and team handling skills in
addition to the core technical aspects of the project that they handle. They
actually have a much stronger role to play now: analyzing and making sure they
are doing the proper work in the most cost-effective way and separating the
“wants” from the “needs”.
Organizations utilize the skills of Project Managers to assess the overall
data: by keeping an eye on the trends in resources, workload, activity and cost,
and providing valuable information for future management decisions. Many
organizations look for smarter Project Managers who can complete projects within
the stipulated time and budget and also are able to save time and money. Gone
are the days when most Project Managers merely had a given functional area
knowledge and were co-opted as a team member or leader of a team. Rather,
organizations now seek beyond the core functional domain knowledge for such
candidates. They look for subject matter experts who know the principles of
project management techniques as well. This has resulted in emergence of
professional Project Managers, who have no other role in an organization other
than Project Management. Project Management which was an undervalued skill till
recent years has now become a most sought after skillset and has become a career
domain in itself.
To be eligible for a PMI credential, applicants must meet specific education, project and/or program management experience requirements
What are the career prospects in Project What are the requisites for a candidate to Applicants also must pass evaluations The five PMI project management |
Opportunities in Project Management
Project managers are becoming critical to an organization during the
slowdown as they offer important IT governance skills in making sure all IT
projects are aligned with corporate goals while also cutting out waste. A
project manager's primary role is to be a facilitator with the goal being to
ensure that a project is completed on time, within budget, and according to
requirements. Most enterprises now demand Project Management certification for
employment or advancement as a Project Manger in the organization.
Most service organizations are moving towards the project-based organization. A project based organizational model provides a means of managing the business through well defined projects, building teams to work together for a common set of goals or objectives. Successful projects are one of the key parameters to measure the strength of the organization.
In the current scenario, concepts like remote |
Project management as a career can take you to different directions and to
many different industries. It is the domain knowledge that you possess which
helps in deciding which industry you are apt for. Coming from an IT industry,
does not bound you to handle the projects in IT industry only. Your IT
knowledge, and project management skills can be suitable for enterprises that
are going through various IT implementation projects--for instance a financial
institution or a bank may require Project Mangers to handle their bank's
automation project which will require the expertise of an IT professional having
project management experience. IT professionals can aim for the project manager
positions not only in IT companies, but also for the IT functions in another
industries as well.
An individual having Project Management |
In the current global economic conditions, enterprises are facing the need to
have better project management processes in place. There is a demand for
efficient project managers who can accomplish projects in a timely and efficient
manner. In contrast to that, the job opportunities are not that high. Due to the
current economic scenario, organizations themselves are not having many new
projects but, as the economy revives and projects start to flow in, the demand
for Project Mangement professionals will again soar high. As it is said, being
prepared for tough battles is half the victory achieved. So, if you aim for such
positions, then this is the right time to get some project management
certifications which will help you to chart out the way forward in this domain.
The fundamental skill that Project Management |
Prerequisites for becoming a PM
In an organization, a Project Manager (PM) should be proficient in analysis,
design, project planning, estimation, risk assessment. PMs also need to have
fair knowledge of the technology and domain. Project and program management
skills integrate appropriately with the technical knowledge, the process usage,
domain knowledge, infrastructure constraints, market conditions and process
assets to achieve success. Before an individual enters the project management
stream, it is essential that the person has relevant exposure in software
development and has contributed at the entry level. At the entry level an
individual contributes to the development, delivery and maintenance of
technology-based business solutions. With experience the individual gathers
competence in building the experiential knowledge network, providing project
consultancy expertise and undertaking research and analysis based on past
project data and market trends. Successful project managers not only have to
acquire project management certifications but also have excellent communications
skills, be able to think analytically, and have the ability to multitask.
Becoming a project manager can be a good way to take on management
responsibilities while staying on with development roles.
Career path
In the project management domain, there are two ways that can lead an
individual towards the Project Manger designation:
- Natural progression path (in most software organizations) wherein, over a
period of time most candidates are induced into managing projects and
generally acquire the needed skills while on the job, which eventually gets
refined through training programs. - By completing a project management course from a recognized program and
then getting on with a job.
In software enterprises members who are inducted into Project Management are
generally inducted as Project Leader, Sr. Project Leaders, Project Managers, Sr.
Project Managers, Program Managers and Service Delivery Manager.
Individuals with a Project Management certification would start out as a
Project Assistant, then become a Project Coordinator and move on to become a
Project Manager, presumably starting on small projects, responsible for a single
team and then working up to a full Project Manager and then on to Program
Manager. A Project Manager is responsible for a single project (or indeed for a
number of individual projects) while a Program Manager is responsible for a very
large project or 'program' consisting of multiple projects that are inextricably
linked together, combining to form an overall result.
Project management certifications
Though project management requires soft skills of leadership and team
management, these qualities can't be reflected in an individual's resume.
Certifications helps in adding credentials to the resume, but also help the
individual to learn the principles of project management and the industry best
practices for project handling. There are industry recognized professional
project management certifications that include PMP, PRINCE2 that can be pursued.
IBM in particular also has accreditation and certification programs for
different proficiency levels in project management. As per a salary survey
conducted by ZDNET, candidates with PMP certifications were the highest paid.
Thus, with a PMP certificate from a Project Management Institute one can broaden
his scope not only for Indian companies but also abroad. Following is the list
of industry recognized Project Management courses which are globally accepted.