Tailoring for your organizations wants and needs!

By Andre Palmer, Client Relations at Maven Training

I was at dinner at a random restaurant in central London recently and my friend was asking about project management training for his team. A guy sitting at the table beside us leaned forward and asked whether we were talking about PRINCE2 by any chance and what our thoughts on the methodology were. At that point, it dawned on me that when people talk about project management, they automatically think about PRINCE2.

For the fact that PRINCE2 is easily the most recognized project management method this side of the Atlantic, organizations have put entire teams through PRINCE2 training over the last few years with Maven with the aim of making them more competent. Companies are also taken in by the formal qualification that comes with the training – they see the ‘badge’ as value for money. When all this is stripped away though, organizations have to contend with the fact that a PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner qualification per se does not necessarily make project staff manage projects more effectively.

For this reason, more and more corporate clients have been moving towards investing in specially tailored project management workshops/courses to support embedding the PRINCE2 methodology and best practice. Corporate clients are beginning to realize that while PRINCE2 can be used to manage any project under the sun, the real benefits come from its effective implementation in the organization. To this end, organizations are appreciating the section in the new version of the PRINCE2 manual that addresses ‘tailoring’ for example.

We at Maven have been one step ahead of the game for a long time though and have developed hundreds of bespoke events to support the use of PRINCE2 in different project environments for both the public and private sectors. These events have been specifically designed working closely with each client in order to fully understand the level of maturity in the particular project environment so that we are able to yield the greatest possible return on the investment.

We see the PRINCE2 qualification as just the beginning and gone are the days when ‘sheep dipping’ the whole organization was perceived as an effective approach to project management. The real test is whether projects are being delivered on time, within budget and with the forecasted benefits. If an honest assessment shows that your company is ‘failing the test’, then the expertise of Maven training is just what you need.