Managing a project; any kind of project; is not easy. Whether it is big or small, you need to have top of the line skills to see a project through to its completion. Some skills, broadly speaking are:
- The ability to use different kinds of technology and software to manage a project.
- Keep track of deliverables.
- Managing personnel.
- Keeping an eye on costs.
- Time management and Materials and even Risk management.
Note: In our research, we have found this PMP training course at SimpleLearn.com is quite good. The course is providing by Bruce Fieggen, Jeff Allen, and Tim Jerome and it also has a good user feedback.
Look at the website
Look at the website – and no that’s not an error of duplication. You really have to look at a site that is offering PMP certification online to see what they have on offer. Study each line and each section of the site to ascertain:
- The human expertise has on offer by the course advisors who are your instructors and what are the credentials they possess and so on.
- The contents of the course.
- What are its deliverables?
- The support it gives you to clear the PMP certification exam.
- What are the areas it is strongest in?
- The learning methodology – is itself paced?
- The types of materials it has – videos, webinars, external sources and so on.
What does a course offer?
There is a possibility of an online course offering various modules of the PMP certification. For instance, one course could be a self-paced learning course, and another could be aimed at corporate clients. There may also be flexible offerings which could include 90 or so days of online training classes that are led by qualified instructors.
It would help to look at the course objectives before you sign up for anything. For instance, some of the course objectives could include:
- Putting you in touch with global project management best practices.
- Equip you to ace the PMP certification exams.
- Help you earn the 35 PDUs that are needed to pass the exam.
- And give you a ‘degree’ that is recognized all over the world and pan-industries that are a huge fillip to your career.
Contents of the course
The course should be able to give you a variety of content that can help in different ways. For example, there could be a certain number of PDUs or Professional Development Units that the course can deliver. 35 PDUs is requisite, and the course should help you out here. Quizzes, simulation games, case studies, quality time with instructors and maybe even a money-back guarantee thrown in for good measure are all value points that add to a course’s suitability.
As far as the study material goes, the course should cover every area associated with project management. For instance:
- Framework and processes.
- Stakeholder management.
- Managing costs, quality, time and risks.
- Social and professional responsibility.
- HR and procurement management.
- And even offer tips and tricks to ace the course and the exams.
What qualifications should you have?
Graduates and non-graduates can apply for the PMP certification, but the project management experience criteria are higher in the case of non-graduates. For instance, it is 3 years or 4500 hours of project management experience for graduates and 5 years or 7500 hours for non-graduates.
Research the course
You can get even more information about the PMP certification online by looking at the comments left by people who have availed the course already. You can, of course, do independent research on various social media and online forums as well. This will give you a clear understanding of what the course has to offer and what you can expect as outcomes. It is important to have a clear idea because it will help you plan your studies and time availability accordingly.
Online streaming is certainly one of the most popular ways to enhance your knowledge base. It can be done in the convenience of your home and at your pace. So there is no commuting to a ‘classroom’ involved here! However, you have to not only find the best online course but also give it a serious commitment. You have a better chance at success in cracking the PMP certification exam when you have invested the right time and the right effort in the right online course. So when you have a course that is led by industry experts, you can rest assured that you will get a fabulous opportunity in the dynamic field of project management.