Achieving Best Practice - Top Tips
There is an increasing array of Best Practice Guidance, Qualifications and Training. It covers everything from very specific skill sets (eg ISEB Software Testing), through to management methodologies (eg PRINCE2 Project Management) and Personal Skills (eg ILM Coaching & Mentoring).
The Credit Crunch and its fallout will prompt fundamental reviews of how organisations operate. Terms such as "Best Practice" and "World Class" will come to the fore over the coming months as organisations seek to ensure they are working in the most efficient way - and that they are adhering to appropriate standards of management and governance.
For individuals, maintaining and developing qualifications has a major impact on job prospects. In this period of uncertainty and change it's the right time to invest in Best Practice skills training.
Businesses
1. Don't Re-invent the Wheel
Just 10 years ago most project based businesses had developed in-house methodologies for project management - drawing on their own experience of successful and unsuccessful projects. Many have now switched to a methodology based on a generic standard such as PRINCE2. Many of the core governance and planning processes will be similar. However the advantages of a technique such as PRINCE2 are compelling:
- It draws on the experiences of many more projects and businesses and is regularly updated
- There is a large pool of project managers familiar with the approach
- There is a widely available training and certification scheme
2. Concentrate on Business Critical
There are many aspects of management and individual performance that could be targeted for Best Practice approaches. At time of limited resources make sure that training and development funds are concentrated on areas which are essential:
- Project & Programme Management where effective delivery of benefits to time and budget is essential
- IT Service Management which forms the backbone of most modern organisations
- IT Technical training which is essential to deployment of new technologies which will differentiate your business
3. Ensure Critical Mass
Best practice approaches depend on significant teams (or the whole organisation) working in a co-ordinated way. There is limited value in an isolated group of 3 or 4 project managers working to a PRINCE2 methodology if other project team members are not briefed and if senior managers do not understand their role within the wider process.
Individuals
1. Understand where you are going
There are different reasons you may choose to follow Best Practice approaches:
- Extend your range of skills to enhance career/job prospects
- Obtain certification for existing skills (to strengthen your CV and personal credibility)
- Enhance your personal efficiency and provide a shared team approach and language
Where do you want to be in 12 month's time? What training or qualifications will help you get there? If you have been a project manager with a long-term employer but want to be able to prove yourself to new employers then obtaining PRINCE2 certification may be a very wise move. If formal recognition of existing skills is less important then broaden your horizons: an IT specialist might develop ITIL skills as a route to broader business management responsibilities.
2. Prove You Can Put it into Practice
Attending a course and passing an exam is only the first step. Your current or future employer will be much more interested in how you have been able to take the principles learned and use them to deliver benefits for your organisation.
3. Refresh and Extend
The business environment is constantly changing and skills learnt 5 years ago will be of limited use today. Keep refreshing and extending your Best Practice skills both through a Programme or Project Management course and practical application. Increasingly there is linkage between the Best Practice approaches which makes this easier. For instance ITIL approaches underpin the ISO20000 certification for service management quality. Likewise there is increasing commonality between PRINCE2, MSP (Managing Successful Programmes) and M_o_R (Management of Risk).
Prince2 Training
