Is formal Project Management training (PRINCE2) worth it?

[ANTALIFE]

Hi All

I have the opportunity to get formal Project Management (PRINCE2) training via a 4 day online course with iCert Global LLC. To give some quick info about me:

• I am an EE that has been in the industry for ~5years (or ~10 if you don't count "professional" work)
• Most of my work has a 60/40 split between hardware/firmware design
• And finally I have been responsible for numerous "one man" projects, and am currently leading one that interfaces with other departments

With all that said, do yous think it's worth getting formal Project Management training? If so has anyone had any experiences with iCert?


UPDATE: Sorry for the late reply, week has been super hectic... Thanks for all the feedback! Have decided to give PRINCE2 a miss for now in favour of more technical courses/refreshers

[tggzzz]

What would you lose if you attended?

My guess is that such qualifications' principal benefits are:

• when working in a Prince2 envioronment, you will share a common jargon with the other people
• when applying for a job, it might remove a "tick-box" obstacle to getting an interview

Whether those possible benefits outweight the loss is for you to decide.

[Ian.M]

PRINCE2 was developed as a UK government standard for information systems projects

   
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRINCE2

Unfortunately UK public sector IT projects are almost invariably over-budget with massive deadline slippage.  Some sort of work eventually, but a fair proportion get sh!tcanned a couple of general elections later.  Only a crooked politician could tell you that "UK government IT project management is effective" with a straight face!   

[Fred27]

I'm speaking from the point of view of professional software development. (My work is probably 85% software, 10% firmware, 5% hardware.) The software industry has completely moved away from waterfall approaches like PRINCE2 and largely embraced Agile methodologies. Agile may not be perfect (especially when not implemented properly) but it's 1000x better than waterfall.

Obviously, I get that EE is not quite the same as software. It's not quite as easy to take an iterative approach. However, I'd suggest finding out a bit more about Agile, Scrum, etc. before jumping into PRINCE2.

[Tomorokoshi]

Waterfall is an example of how NOT to develop a project. However, if it has any redeeming features it does capture an iteration through a cycle. Therefore, expect to go through that basic Waterfall chart over and over.

Agile is a great method to update the font or background color on a few web pages. However, without a clear, understood, and maintained collection of design and performance goals that are reviewed at intervals on timescales several sprints long it can turn the development process into a random walk. This is difficult if the motions and rituals of sprints and scrums and standups and seances make it difficult to see the deck through the cards.

In both cases it's very tempting to make some quick estimates about project cost and time early, which by definition is done without complete information, and attempt to stick with the TIME schedule to the detriment of the PERFORMANCE schedule because Management.

[ajb]

If you want to improve your project management skills, and especially if you don't have a lot of experience with working in environments with formal project management across a departments or sizeable teams, then sure, formal training could be useful. 

You don't necessarily have to adopt all of the specific methods and terminologies etc of a specific system benefit from learning that system.  Any project management system has to confront certain challenges inherent to complex projects and provide tools to deal with them, so even if those particular tools don't work for your situation, the perspective and ways of systematically breaking down a project into parts that can be effectively dealt with can be very useful, especially if you haven't yet had much opportunity to work in formally managed projects, or visibility into the way that projects you've contributed to are managed at the top level.  As a regular project team of one, you're already handling all of the complexities of a given project, but you can't immediately take the way you're managing a project as a solo developer and apply that to a big project with a bunch of people with expertise in and responsibility for wildly different disciplines or parts of the project.  Bigger projects require more coordination and better communication between contributors, and project management is intended to help facilitate that. 

I've no direct experience with PRINCE2, but the wikipedia article doesn't raise any particular alarm bells, and even if you find that its solutions don't fit your projects' needs they can still be useful to clarify your thinking about how to manage projects and could be jumping off points to find a more suitable system that works better in your environment, or develop your own management techniques.  Whether it's worth sitting through a four day course is a harder question to answer.

[Tomorokoshi]

Picking up on the above comments, I did a little looking around. I found a couple links like this:

https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/project-management/pmi/prince2-and-pmbok-guide-comparison

If nothing else, it may be worth it to get an idea of how people who come from PRINCE2 environments might view project work, and how it might be used by customers of your company.

[alexanderbrevig]

I work as a software consultant, and sadly it is the case that PRINCE2 is one of those "tick this box or get thrown in the no-pile" for many still.

My current gig is an "engineering architect" in a DevOps environment. While I rarely actively use anything I picked up in the PRINCE2 course, I find myself sometimes surprised by my accidental use. Mainly in communication with the higher ups.

PRINCE2 models a process that the C-levels wish they could have.
I think it's mostly a vocabulary thing, and as a scatter brain prototyper at heart - having some intuition for what they want is actually not a bad thing.

TL:DR;
I would not pay for it myself (as my opinion is that clients requiring PRINCE2 is not a good fit for me), but I would (and did) attend when it was paid.

[tggzzz]

It is interesting that someone with direct experience has confirmed my hunches

[iMo]

Everything new you learn is good for you.. The Prince2 and PMI certification is a "nice to have" when you apply for a "project management" position in any industry sector.  It will not help you much in today's software development environment, though. The sw developers do not want project and program managers. They accept somehow scrum masters. Scrum master is not the same as a PM/PGM made by Prince2 or PMI.
Once upon a time I was told by my UK based colleague ".. you would need the Prince2 certification in case you are going to manage a creation of a new British fleet"..

[JohnnyMalaria]

The Prince2 and PMI certification is a "nice to have" when you apply for a "project management" position in any industry sector.

I've worked in the pharmaceutical industry (talk about controlled) for 28 years and have never come across PRINCE2. PMI is widely used.

[nctnico]

I'm speaking from the point of view of professional software development. (My work is probably 85% software, 10% firmware, 5% hardware.) The software industry has completely moved away from waterfall approaches like PRINCE2 and largely embraced Agile methodologies. Agile may not be perfect (especially when not implemented properly) but it's 1000x better than waterfall.

Looking at the Prince2 Wikipedia page I don't see anything that says waterfall.  It looks to me Prince2 is a project management method where waterfall / agile /scrum are implementation management methods. IMHO Prince2 can be applied to agile/scrum projects without any problem. No matter the implementation management method, there has to be input to determine priorities which is where Prince2 seems to provide answers.

[SiliconWizard]

That didn't look at all like ChatGPT.

[tggzzz]

Deciding whether to pursue formal Project Management (PRINCE2) training depends on your career goals and current responsibilities. Here's some advice to consider:

Career advancement: Formal project management training can enhance your skills and credibility, opening up opportunities for leadership roles and advancement in your career.

Skill development: Project management training provides valuable knowledge and techniques that can improve your ability to plan, execute, and manage projects effectively, regardless of your industry or role.

Personal growth: Learning project management principles can broaden your skill set and increase your value as a professional, helping you tackle complex projects with confidence and efficiency.

As for <advert deleted>, it's essential to research their reputation, course offerings, and reviews from past participants to determine if they are a reputable and reliable training provider. Additionally, consider exploring other options for PRINCE2 training, such as reputable online platforms like Udemy, Coursera, and Edureka, which offer comprehensive PRINCE2 courses taught by experienced instructors. These platforms may provide a wider range of course options and flexibility in scheduling to meet your needs. Ultimately, investing in formal project management training can be beneficial for your career growth and development, especially if you aspire to take on more significant project management responsibilities in the future.

That didn't look at all like ChatGPT.

A necropost from a first poster which looks like an advert for uQuestion Global LLC? No way that could be an LLM. Oh no, never ever ever