Why learn project management?
As some newly-minted (or to-be-minted) project managers may wonder, what are reasons to learn project management? One could think, “If the big business is done on the golf course, I should invest in golfing lessons“.
Could be true. But if golf is not your bag, or you work for an anti-golfing think tank, or if you just want to try leading a project, put on your positive attitude and start learning. As this Canadian-based article starts off, “If you’re looking for work in IT, you may want to enroll in a project management course.” Similarly, Down Under the advice is similar as this article relates “It’s a good idea today for people to go after some of the project management certifications”.
There are many resources to help you get started, such as this site’s project management training and certification pages. Do some research, and talk to people. As you talk more with those who have learned the skills, the why learn question starts to answer itself.
If you are faced with these types of challenges, below, then you could benefit from some education in organizing and leading projects:
- What is being done is late, or perceived to be late
- When work is completed, it’s often not what was asked for, or has defects and other issues
- More money is spent than expected on tasks or projects
- Work is getting done, but efforts are not lined up and there is little or no communications
- Priorities don’t seem to be set, and work is being done out of order of both time and importance
The list goes on, of course. But it’s an approach to answer the why should I learn question posed above.