PMP Exam Prep: A Valuable Experience for Experienced Project Manager Jana Lewis
Jana Lewis has 15 years of experience as a project manager working for a publishing company and as a business owner. She’s been responsible for producing complex book projects, developing content for digital products, and for managing independent contractors, off-shore vendors, and authors in functional and matrix environments. She found the PMP training to be valuable and — in one way — eye-opening. Read what she says she got out of the training.
A goal achieved. Jana had wanted to study PMP for several years. She had started taking an online training program while employed full time; the pre-recorded video presentations and the need to take extensive notes made the experience cumbersome and time consuming. When she found herself in transition this Spring, she took advantage of an Ohio Means Job grant and signed up for BPG’s week-long, live, ZOOM-based training program. It turned out to be just what she needed. She especially appreciated:
o Being able to ask questions. Instructor Daryl Gunnarson is experienced and expert. If he did not have an answer to a participant’s question, he would work with his contacts to get one.
o Comprehensive course materials allowed Jana to put her full attention on what was being taught and not worry about taking notes.
o Interaction with other participants, first during the classes and now as part of a PMP study group, helped solidify her understanding of the concepts.
Greater Understanding of the Scope of Projects: The production projects Jana worked on were multi-faceted and gave her experience in many PMP knowledge areas and processes including planning, budgeting, and scheduling. Jana enjoyed collaborating with other project team member though they were focused on their piece of the project. The training gave Jana a greater understanding of the challenges faced by the Product Manager who was responsible for all the project pieces(that included print and digital products, media platforms) and many internal and external customers of the complete project.
Reflecting on her production project management work, Jana says the training will change how she works going forward. If she were working on a book production project today, Jana would gather information on all the project pieces and how they interact. That would allow her to provide better information to team members and find ways to support the project team.
Greater understanding of Project Management Applications: The instructor and other participant’s project management experience helped Jana see the many different places she could apply her skills. Jana also recently completed the Northern Kentucky Accountability Group’s training on using Google to find job opportunities. One feature allows you to look for jobs by industry category or title and she is amazed at the variety of project management opportunities.
Jana recommends anyone interested in taking the PMP training, who has the experience and time to commit, take it. In addition to the value, practically speaking, she sees that in many job postings, experience and certification are required or preferred.