The requirement of efficient project managers in the private and public sectors has been consistent throughout the years. Hence, project management has become a preferred discipline for those that look to take this job role.
Certification in project management is proof that a student can handle projects that are critical to an organization’s success.
Students who pursue a PMP certification course online are tested on five essential domains of performance:
- Initiating a project: This has a weightage of 13% in a project management course.
- Project planning: Planning constitutes 24% of the course.
- Execution: This domain has the maximum weightage of 31% in the course.
- Monitoring and controlling the project: This is the second most crucial domain with a weightage of 25%.
- Project closure: This area bears 7% weightage.
These five process groups have ten vital areas that students must concentrate on:
1). Cost Management
This aspect focuses on the estimation of the costs associated with a project. Further, it also emphasizes project productivity.
Thus, this area has four sub-categories:
- Cost Estimation.
- Cost Management.
- Budget Determination.
- Cost Control.
The most vital area that students must focus on in project cost management is the application of EVM (Earned Value Management). Students proficient in EVM is considered to be capable of managing large and complex projects. This is because such projects involve the extensive use of EVM, for cost management.
2). Integration Management
This is the process that ensures that all components of a project are in sync. Plus, integration management includes different tools and techniques that the whole project works as an integrated unit.
3). Procurement Management
Students must emphasize especially the administration and control aspects of the procurement of the non-human resources while working in this area of project management.
4). Risk Management
Managers focus on a few crucial areas while dealing with a risk associated with a project:
- Risk identification.
- Qualitative and Quantitative risk analysis.
- Monitoring of risks.
- Risk control.
Also, project risk management teaches students to identify opportunities that can reduce project risk to the bare minimum. This is because it involves the use of various risk management techniques.
5). Quality Management
This aspect deals with ensuring the optimum project quality.
Quality management involves:
- Quality standards that projects have to meet.
- Objectives and responsibility involved therein.
6). Human Resource Management
Human resource management teaches students to assign proper roles to the team members who are involved in handling a project. Plus, this also includes the idea of strategic management for the efficient utilization of human resources.
7). Scope Management
The management of the project scope includes:
- Completion and delivery.
- Features and functions are essential to ensure completion.
Therefore, scope management involves all processes in the initiation and execution of a project. It is clever to make use of various project management tools to execute and complete the project in a timely manner. A few such tools are excel, document editor, PowerPoint, CRMs to handle/manage project data, etc. The important tool that you must master from the above list is Excel. You can check out various Smartsheet competitors and pick the right one for your project use.
Apart from these, the other vital areas for students of project management are:
8). Managing time in a project: This deals with distributing the project into optimum time phases to ensure timely completion.
9). Communications management.
10). Social responsibility aspect.
These ten areas cover the entire function of project management. Hence, students must focus on them for their academic purposes and a successful career as project managers.
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