Prince 2

[Yellow Fang]

Has anyone done this course on project management? I gather it's a required competency for a lot of jobs. One of the project management lecturers on my MSc recommended it. I'm slightly dubious myself. How much can you learn on a week's course with two multi-choice tests?

 

[Sittingduck]

I think my flatmate did Prince 2 a couple of months ago. Apparently is was pretty hard going and a lot to learn in the 1 week intensive course. He passed though.

 

[ACS]

As with all Boot Camp course, take MCSE for instance, it’s great to have the tick in the box but of little value if you cannot match the qualification with a prerequisite level of experience. Employers want both and a bucket load of other complementary skills and talents. IMO the decider will be the direction you intend to take on completion of your studies.

 

[Baggy]

I've done a two day taster course - if you're already familiar with the principles of project management and have experience you'll probably manage without it, but as satans budgie says it could be useful.

It was one of the most dull courses I've ever been on, but that could have just been down to the trainer.

 

[Melvil]

I did the APM one, which is Prince's competitor, and it wasn't too bad, but a fair bit to learn.

 

[TVC]

A basic knowledge of what it's about would be useful for interview purposes. If you have to pay for it then perhaps don't bother. If your future employer uses it then they will put you on their preferred course. I worked as a PM for 10 years and saw/did all sorts of courses and got pestered by many consultants, they all come and go.

Also, as Baggy suggests, all project management courses are dull - as is being a PM most of the time.

 

[Bollo]

AAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHH! MAKEITGOAWAYMAKEITGOAWAY.

Developed by the MoD or some other government department I believe. A few of our project management guys have done the courses and we use elements of it in my company. An over-engineered bureaucrat-fest from what I've seen of it, but then I'm a creative thinker .

One of our guys 'proved' that it was impossible to achieve anything using Prince 2, as it recurses the project start up process ad-infinitum. Didn't get him extra marks though.

The only other thing I know is that you have to write using a pen in the exam. That pretty much disqualifies me straight away.

If you talk about PIDs (project initiation documents), that'll be enough to convince 80% of listeners that you know Prince 2.

 

[Landslide]

My employers put me through the course. I'm now working in a business change programme. We're not following PRINCE2 methodologies.
It's a good "tick" on your CV, but it strikes me as largely common sense, especially if you're already experienced in project management. As Bollo noted, a lot of it's about learning the particular PRINCE2 terminologies.

 

[Abitrary]

Big bullshit = big money.

You need 2 skills for project management:

-don't believe what people say
-know when everyone is on holiday

 

[marooncat]

Work as a Project Manager and have not done any "formal" PM training and have to agree with what the others have said, Prince 2 (or any other qualification like that) is just a tick in the box, it does not mean you can be a Project Manager. I tend to think you can not teach someone to be a PM, it is either something you can or can not do and no amount of training can teach you how to cope at 4.55pm on a Friday when a large spanner hits the works and you need to sort it out now if not half an hour ago.

An old boss once said to me he thought that a good Project Manager always had a tidy desk and house. Given the surface of my desk has not been seen since we moved offices a few months ago and the house is a bomb site that either says something about my PM skills or his theory. (and my current boss might agree with his theory at the moment but that is another story )

 

[Abitrary]

Most projects are pointless and doomed for failure. I don't see why managing that is going to make the world any better.

In fact it's less embarrassing to not have project management.

 

[Yellow Fang]

Thanks for your comments. My step-mother has done the course and has the materials. I think I might just read those. Project management seems like a job where personal attributes count more than qualifications. I'm not sure I'm really cut out for it, although there are different types of project manager. Maybe I'll split the difference and become a project engineer.

 

[User482]

I've done the 2 day Prince2 course. It's useful as a quick checklist of things that you should remember to do when managing a project, but that's about it. If you're reasonably methodical and have half a brain cell, it doesn't have a huge amount to teach you.

 

[cheadle hulme]

Like a lot of things, its good for the CV and helps get interviews.

Providing you can reel off a few key phrases and say "well it was a few years ago, and I'd need a few weeks to get back up to speed", you can generally blag competence in most things.

Make sure you have a new job lined up before the project has to actually deliver anything though......

 

[Danny]

On many very large IT developments - particularly in the public sector - there is a requirement that the project managers have Prince 2 certification. Contrary to some of the rather silly comments above, Prince 2 sets out an incredibly useful approach for managing large and complex projects.

However no one is going to get a job as a project manager just by having the Prince 2 certification - particularly on a large project. You need to have real experience to back up the certification, and most of the principles in Prince 2 are ones found in other project management approaches.

I wouldn't bother going doing PRINCE at this stage unless you definitely know that you
a) Want to go into Project Management
Are likely to be working on projects where PRINCE certification is a requirement
c) Already have some project management, or similar, experience

Instead I would get some books from the library or any good book store on basic project management principles and read up on them so you can talk confidently about the key stages in an IT project. Also most medium and large IT companies will provide you with training on project management if that is what you are interested in once you've got a job. Very few will expect you to have forked out for your own PRINCE training.

You should also be aware that good PRINCE training is expensive - £1200 + VAT for a course leading to certification. However you might be able to negotiate a discount if you are a self funded individual.