PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Altran Education Services offers you different areas of training to give your teams all of the skills needed to work in project mode:

Initiation in project management:
on the full concepts for effective project management. This training is based on the PMI framework, presenting processes and best practices. The target audience consists of project managers or those on the way to becoming one or project participants, wanting to discover the methodologies and best practices in this discipline.
For more experienced project managers, Altran Education Services offers to train you and certify with the standards most accepted by companies PMI, PRINCE2, HERMES, IPMA and MS PROJECT.

Standards adopted and accepted by companies (PRINCE2 and PMI)
The two standards most currently used for project management in Swiss industry are the methods of the PMI (Project Management Institute), ), referenced under the name of the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) documentation, and of PRINCE (PRojects IN Controlled Environements).

These methods identify the best practices in project management, from the start of a project to its close, going through the planning, execution and control phases. Far from being rigidly set, these methodologies are corrected and improved regularly to stick as close as possible to the financial realities of the current market.

PRINCE is widely known in the IT environment but it is becoming more widespread. The second version, PRINCE2, published in 1996, offers considerably more general management methods than the previous one and applies to broader range of sectors. Owned by the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and established in 1989 by the CCTA (Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency), it is used more and more in Europe because it favours the controlled use of resources and allows a common language to be adopted for all protagonists in a project.

Their differences

In spite of a common base, each of these standards follows objectives and a logic which are specific to them. The main differences in these two methods are, above all, in the processes and stages underlying the project management.

The PMI standard is in fact made up of 44 processes grouped into 5 main stages: initiation, planning, execution, monitoing and control and closing. PRINCE2 is meant to be lighter with 8 processes divided into 4 different phases: starting, initiating, implementation, and closing.
So which standard should you follow?
That depends, quite simply, on the type of project.
PMI, because of its general approach, adapts more easily to all sectors of activity and focuses mainly on the working methods, whilst PRINCE2 will be more useful in managing a project information and flows.

PMP Certification

Very widespread in the United States, the PMP (Project Management Professional) certification has, for about ten years, spread favourably in Europe, in particular in Switzerland.

PMP certification

CAPM certification

This certificate, issued by PMI, has become the worldwide benchmark standard for project managers. In particular, for companies developing internationally or with a large number of joint projects with their clients.

CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management), which is aimed mainly at project assistants or beginner project managers. This certification is starting to gain real success. More than 4,000 professionals have obtained it worldwide.

But what does this certification involve? It provides the methodology to be followed in estimating the workload, the resources to be used and the costs to be calculated. The aspects associated with quality, managing resources, risks, and internal and external communications are also dealt with.

A demanding examination
To apply, the project manager must prove that he/she has a minimum of 4,500 hours' practical experience and has been carrying out the role for three of the last six years. If his/her level of further education is less than 5 years, the prerequisites are, respectively, 7,500 hours and carrying out the role for five of the last eight years.

In four hours, the applicant must answer two hundred multiple-choice questions applied to real cases.

The examination itself takes place only in English and is made up of two phases:

Proving your project management skills. The applicant must have a minimum of 23 hours' training in project management or 1,500 hours' activity in a project management team.
Answering 150 multiple-choice questions in English on a computer.

PRINCE2 certification

PRINCE2 is a project management and certification method which is organised around three key areas: project planning, management and control.
There are two types of PRINCE2 certifications accepted throughout the world.

PRINCE2 Foundation examination	PRINCE2 Practitioner examination
This examination checks that an employee has the necessary knowledge to take part in a project managed according to the PRINCE2 method. The success of this examination entails mastering the method's principles, and more specifically:	This examination ensures the perfect mastering of the PRINCE2 method for managing a project. The applicant must have previously passed the Foundation examination and be able to apply and adapt the principles of the PRINCE2 method. More specifically, the applicant must:
The description of the eight processes and their sub-processes, together with the associated techniques, The knowledge of the relative processes and documents, The explanation of the relationships between the processes, the products to be delivered, the functions and the management of a project.	Explain all of the processes and techniques in detail Demonstrate the relationships between the PRINCE2 processes, techniques and products
The applicant must complete 75 multiple-choice questions, translated into his/her local language, in 1 hour. Unlike the PMP certification, it is an examination that is valid for life.	The 3-hour examination is in essay-type format with a case study accompanied by 9 questions.