Project management training is very popular today at both the organizational as well as individual professional level. As a result, project management training that supports both organizational needs and the needs of individual professionals has become widely available. This page provides ideas to help organizations and professionals think about their approach given the plethora of project management training available on the market today.

Here are some ideas for identifying the most appropriate project management training for an organization or individual:

1. Get Clear About Organizational Needs and Objectives
Organizations must be clear on where they are on the project management maturity continuum and map project management training organizational and workforce needs. A good place to start thinking about this is to e familiar with the PMI’s “Organizational Project Management Maturity Model”, or OPM3. This is a good model for both organizations AND individuals, as organizations can tailor their strategies for projectizing, and individuals can tailor their personal career strategies to target the right projects, programs, positions, and organizations.

2. Align Project Management Training to Current Challenges
For individual professionals, looking at specific challenges can be the best place to start. On an organizational level, the assessment of organizational maturity and macro initiatives across the enterprise can point to a portfolio of skill areas needed. The important thing is to align project management training to current initiatives so that ideas can be implemented right away.

3. Select Appropriate Delivery Methods
An organization might look to deliver project management training through a number of different delivery methods, with the aim of advancing project management knowledge and skill in a consistent manner throughout the organization. Often the professionals within the organization simply work within the framework of guidance within their organizations and choose from among options available within their organizations, or with project management training providers that their organizations have recommended.

Typical methods of delivery for project management training include classroom, mobile, and online training. Each have some distinct advantages and disadvantages, as outlined below, and thus organizations and even individuals will often want to use a mix.

Classroom training
Classroom-based project management training can enable full, undistracted attention to learning, can serve as a team building or networking exercise, can provide in-person access to the instructor and colleagues, and can also allow for a degree of customization. On the other hand, classroom training is typically the most expensive, often involves travel, requires loss of work time, and must be scheduled. In addition, classroom training requires that students participate in ALL topics – a “one size fits all” approach that may not be optimal for all participants.

Mobile training
Project management training for mobile devices is becoming quite popular. Many find the audio to be valuable for listening while driving or exercising. When travelling or waiting, the video can also be valuable.

Instructor assisted online training
Instructor facilitated online project management training is live and over the internet at a scheduled time. It usually includes the ability to interact online with the students and instructor during the class, and thus shares some advantages of classroom-based instruction. Like the conundrum of any online interaction, the potential is there to develop both robust and ‘not so robust’ interaction with others as compared to classroom training. Unlike classroom training, courses are usually recorded, and like classroom training, the student must sit through the whole class.

Independent 24x7 online training
Independent, or unassisted ’on-your-own’ online training, is self-contained, is available 24x7, and the student can filter for topics of greater interest. Often online project management training includes an on-demand online mentor to contact for help. Both organizations and individuals can benefit from the cost savings and variety of online project management training. While online project management training by itself lacks the interaction with the instructor and colleagues, it provides the advantage of being able to selectively go through the material, somewhat akin to skipping around a book.


Both organizations and individual professionals can advance themselves by employing good project management training. The way to get the most out of project management training is to choose a topic or approach closely related to personal or organizational interest, ideally something that will produce the highest benefit quickly. Picking from among classroom, online, mobile, self-paced, or other courses involves a number of considerations, and it is best for individuals and organizations to find an optimal combination of these methods. The most important thing is to align any project management training with personal and organization strategy, to give it full focus and attention, and to implement ideas rapidly.