Over my career I’ve amassed knowledge and skills, and the experience, to manage large programs. This took years. I didn’t step into my first infrastructure program management role until my 12th year as a practicing engineer, managing a housing program in the Air Force. A few years later that program became a nearly $1 billion infrastructure program covering Europe and into Afghanistan.
Did I have any formal training to set me up for these roles? No.
Most of us will step into project management – or even program or portfolio management – positions with little to no formal training. Since most people selected to manage projects, programs, or portfolios have exhibited the basic skills to do so effectively, the lack of legitimate training isn’t seen as show-stopper in companies.
However, in surveys of both public and private sector organizations conducted by the Project Management Institute (PMI) and other project management focused entities, some startling statistics highlight the importance of some amount of formal study: [Read more…]
