Being a project manager is one of the toughest jobs in the world. You have to keep yourself updated, manage your team, take care of deadlines, and also keep up your pace with clients. This is a big challenge especially in such a technologically advanced era. But there are a lot of project management resources and tools and that can make your job simpler. Following is a compilation of useful and helpful tools and resources for project managers.
Table of Contents
Best Project Management Resources
Blogs
1. ProofHub Blog
ProofHub blog is the best place to get the daily dose of inspiration for yourself and your team. It offers you a lot of content on topics concerning your daily work life like managing your team, effective leadership, team collaboration and a lot more. A project management software, ProofHub helps project managers to manage their teams easily. There is also a mobile app for iOS and Android to manage your projects on the go.
Simplify the way you manage your projects and teams. Switch to ProofHub
2. PMI Knowledge Center
This is another useful project management resource where you have access to thought leadership articles by industry experts at Project Management Institute. They cover a wider number of practical project management topics from cost control, deadlines to risk.
3. ProjectManagement.com Techniques
Using Project Management techniques, you can understand the way information is gathered, communicated and done in an efficient way. These techniques are basically wiki pages full of useful and practical information. You can also add your own information and edit the pages which will then be edited under your username.
4. Glossary of Project Management Terms
This useful online resource gives you access to project management terms in an alphabetic order making it easier to search. You can easily find explanations and definitions of terms related to project management.
5. Project Times
Project Times is unlike any traditional project management blog you have seen. It’s more like an online magazine dedicated to what’s trending in the project management world. From the current trends to key insights from PM gurus, Project Times has so much to offer to improve your knowledge base—especially if you’re a project manager looking for ways to start a success streak and stand out from the rest. There are many types of resources in project management, Project Times is the one that will certainly provide you with something to think about.
Training Courses
1. Essentials of Project Management Series
Cost: $400
Project Management Institute runs an online series, which helps project managers understand the foundational concepts of the industry along with a lot of other things like key terminology, project constraints, project lifecycle, Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), and an overview of 47 project management processes. It will help you prepare for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) exam. In all, it helps you grab knowledge about the basic concepts of project management and prepares you for challenges ahead.
2. Improving Your Project Management Skills: The Basics for Success
Cost: $2,195
It’s a three-day project management workshop offered by American Managers’ Association which will help you understand the core project management concepts and terminology including Gantt charts, critical paths, project timelines, stakeholders, budget, risk etc. It will also help you define project scope and define project deadlines accordingly.
3. Fundamentals of Successful Project Management
Cost: $399
SkillPath offers a two-day course designed for project managers who have just stepped into their role and learning to manage projects. You will learn how to manage deadlines, handle common project problems, estimate cost, allocate tasks and resources and manage multiple projects at a time. In short, it helps new project manager keep pace with a lot of projects and also their team members while tracking every single activity happening around.
4. Top Project Management Approaches Explained [A Visual Guide]
Guhtrie-Jensen, a training and consultancy firm based in the Philippines, created a visual list of the most common project management approaches. It describes how each approach differs from each other based on structure and outcomes; and what industry commonly uses a specific approach. They also illustrated each approach to help Project Managers visualize each phase or activity.
5. Scrum Courses—Scrum.org
Scrum, as we all know, is an Agile framework used for product or software development processes across businesses. This popular framework splits work into sprints depending on team and company. Within the Scrum approach, Daily (or weekly) stand-up meetings are held to review what has been done, what’s next, and what delayed (and why). Now, Scrum.org offers a comprehensive set of training, assessments, and certifications to help teams and managers improve product/software development based on Scrum principles. Here is the list of courses offered:
- Professional Scrum Foundations™
- Professional Scrum Master™
- Professional Scrum Master II™
- Professional Scrum Product Owner™
- Professional Scrum Developer™
- Scaled Professional Scrum™ with Nexus
- Professional Scrum With Kanban™
- Professional Agile Leadership™ Essentials
Self Training Resources
1. Corporate Education Group
Corporate Education Group provides a lot of project management courses and certificate programs for topics like project scope, PMP exam prep and risk management. They also offer a variety of delivery methods including traditional classroom, virtual learning, and webinars. The syllabus is covered over a period of few weeks with three-hour sessions.
2. Global Knowledge
Global Knowledge also offers training in a variety of project management areas like IT project management, Microsoft Project, Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification preparation. They also offer a lot of teaching modes through their certified instructors. They can help you in combating real-world scenarios related to project management, learn about methodologies to reduce risk, meet project specifications, manage budget and deliver quality results.
3. Passionate PM
This is another versatile platform that provide project management resources for project managers where they have access to a wide variety of learning modules for PMP exam prep, PMI-RMP exam, PMP/CAPM exam, and an accelerated PMP “Exam Cram.” This platform gives you an opportunity to be with some of the most experienced and highly qualified and certified instructors as well.
4. Simplilearn
The very famous web resources Simplilearn is known for its amazing online learning options and courses. It offers you two modes of online learning which is self-paced and instructor-led. You can learn about several aspects of project management and earn Agile and Scrum certification as well. You can improve your basics and skills with practice tests and also interact with other students in online discussion forums.
5. University of Waterloo Center for Extended Learning
If you really want to pamper yourself with great learning and certification then University of Waterloo is the place to be. It offers online courses for project management applications and fundamentals and PMP certification courses as well.
eBooks
1. A Guide to Project Management
This eBook has been written by Brett Harned in partnership with TeamGantt. It offers a practical guide about the technicalities of effective project management which helps managers to combat routine problems.
2. The Ultimate Guide to Project Management
The Ultimate Guide to Project Management is a 230 page eBook written by the Zapier Team. It provides a comprehensive overview of project management including Agile methodologies like Kanban and Scrum, essential soft skills and a lot more resources for project managers.
3. Project Management Tactics for Pros
This ebook by Netguru will help budding project managers learn about the inside out of project management. Also, it is a useful resource to manage IT projects in a fast-paced environment and teaches you various strategies and processes to communicate and collaborate with your team.
4. 7 Deadly Sins of Project Management
This is written by Brad Egeland and published by project smart. The book describes seven common missteps that can prove to be harmful for a project. The book guides you on methods and strategies to avoid making mistakes if you download it for free.
5. Project Management JumpStart
If you belong to the category of project managers and professionals who are handling a project for the first time, Project Management JumpStart is for you. It’s a project management ebook that covers project management basics and the project management lifecycle that you need to get familiar with before you start working on a project. It’s a free project management resource that you must consider accessing to get a broad high-level understanding of project management. It includes examples, case studies, as well as solutions that will give you a better idea about how to go about your first project the right way (and of course, the upcoming ones)
Videos & Podcasts
1. International Institute for Learning
Another YouTube channel with over 100 short videos of duration 30 seconds covers events like International PM Day, expert conversations and practical advice on project management.
2. People and Projects Podcast
This podcast is hosted by Andy Kaufman and consists of a wide variety of project management topics to enhance your knowledge base. The episodes are of 30-60 minutes duration and are released every three to four weeks.
3. The PM Podcast
A high-volume project management podcast hosted by Cornelius Fichtner features 300+ episodes. It offers you access to interviews of project managers and also the PM PrepCast which can help you prepare you for the PMP exam for earning PDUs.
4. The Productivity Show—Podcast by Asian Efficiency
The Productivity Show is a show about time management, life hacks, productivity, and getting things done (GTD). This podcast has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Yahoo!, and The Guardian and has over thousands of loyal listeners. And that isn’t it—if you’re interested in free training, premium courses, and blog content, you must check out its website. Want to quickly boost your productivity? Know what productive people do differently by listening to The Productivity Show.
5. The Side Hustle Project (Podcast)—How to Start a Side Hustle Today
The Side Hustle Project is one of the most popular podcasts for project managers, entrepreneurs, freelancers, writers, and consultants. The host of this podcast has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, and Inc. On The Side Hustle Project, Ryan discusses practical tips, common challenges, and proven strategies with other hustlers. Tired of daily PM grind? If you answer yes (and it certainly will), then The Side Hustle Project is a must-listen for you.
What project management tools and resources do you use at your workplace? Help us add them to our list.
Others
1. Project Manager Resume Guide
This step-by-step guide by Novoresume helps project managers create a resume that gets them the job they want. It provides a full resume example, tips to write each of the sections (with additional examples), a list of project manager skills to include, and a sample cover letter.
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