by Jon Aleckson, owner of Web Courseworks
Below is a review of Project Scheduling (#PROJ0542). Based on our partnership with Training Media Review, we thought it would be helpful for you to see another review of a program available from CompanyCollege. To see more reviews, go to www.tmreview.com or call 877.532.1838. Make sure to give your account code, BTL02, to ensure your Business Training Library special 10% discount.
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Would use of critical path variance analysis, a three-point estimate technique, or resource leveling improve your project scheduling effectiveness? Do you think applying project management skills to implementing training projects will lead to higher quality training?
Most executives familiar with project management would vote in the affirmative. Seeking out employees who can manage project activities and schedule competently is a top leadership priority. Training departments have relied on detail-oriented individuals to get things done by using commonsense to manage projects. However, many high-cost software projects and construction endeavors demand a more educated project manager.
SkillSoft, the content provider of the Business & Professional Skills courses, is a leader in providing expertly written asynchronous e-courses on a multitude of business subjects. Taking e-learning courses has many advantages over conventional methods of study. Project Scheduling deserves three-and-a-half stars because it maximizes these advantages by providing multiple exercise worksheets (learning aids), real world scenarios, continuous use of check-on-learning assessments, and content that is thorough and aligned with the Project Management Institute's recently revised third edition of the PMBOK (Project Management Book of Knowledge). However, a word of caution: you will be entering a zone of content complexity reserved for serious professionals.
The course is well organized into three lessons covering the following topics: inputs, outputs, and tools to estimate activity duration, develop a project schedule, and control the schedule. Simple enough? As a generalist in the development of project management training, I found the content to be targeted to committed pencil pushers. Yet, this is beside the point because the series is specifically aligned to the Project Management's PMBOK and the new material found in its most recent edition.
The Business & Professional Skills courses reflect a disciplined, well-managed e-course development effort. The use of templates for interactivity and the consistent user interface results in more effective e-learning. Most users should be able to navigate the main menu buttons with ease. To their credit, SkillSoft has invested generously in expert writing of multiple problem-based learning scenarios.
I would have appreciated additional characters and voiceover styles similar to another course I reviewed on project manager ethics (Project Management: Ethics and Professional Knowledge). I would have also liked to have seen more in-depth examples on how project management software (or simple spreadsheets?) makes this easier for me. The inclusion of a study guide review sheet would come in handy when cramming for the exam, especially for memorization of term definitions. Because this material is beyond “soft,” the level of complexity of this subject calls for more on-screen questions that relate and tie into the worksheet exercises and more diverse on-screen challenges beyond the overused drag and drop (match term with definition). Here, the efficiency of the e-course template may fall short.
It is difficult to evaluate the learning effectiveness of a single SkillSoft course, considering it often comes with a wealth of supporting material. When taken as a whole—the entire project management curriculum, the SkillPort LMS, Books 24/7, the mentoring capability and links to PMI material—SkillSoft provides a real value and turnkey solution to preparing for the PMP exam.
Things I liked
Here are the most effective course features:
- Pre-test and scoring on main menu
- Use of audio on each page
- Multiple real life scenarios
- Several check-on-learning questions per topic
- Links to job aids or more complex exercises
- SkillPort features like access to over 600 PM books
- Mentor program
Things I didn't like
Here are features of the course that could be improved:
- Not enough “in course/on-screen” tie-in with the job aid exercises
- Check-on-learning limited to using drag-and-drop term definition exercise
- Complex content demands customized interactivity
- Drag and drops require sensitive mouse work
- Voices needs more variety
Recommendation
I highly recommend Project Scheduling to anyone interested in furthering understanding of what it means to be a professional project manager or pursuing a PMP certification.
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Project Scheduling
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Jon Aleckson, owner of Web Courseworks, speaks and writes on the topics of project management of e-learning development and e-course quality standards. As CEO of Web Courseworks and Madison Productions, Jon assists companies in developing customized solutions using technology for education and training initiatives. Copyright © 1997-2004 TMR Publications. All rights reserved.