Elizabeth Harrin's Blog, page 17

The Best PMP Exam Simulators for 2024

Here’s the TL;DR: the best PMP exam simulator is the PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator from the team at the Project Management PrepCast.

I have used it and can vouch for it, and that’s what I’d buy if I were you.

If you want to know why that’s my top choice, and check out some other options, read on for my independent reviews!

It won’t come as a surprise to you that using an exam simulator for your Project Management Professional® exam is a key criteria for successful prep and a massive boost to your chances of success.

So many students I hear from say that taking mock questions and PMP practice exams is the single biggest thing that helped them feel prepared for their real test.

Let’s look at some simulators that help you do exactly that.

I’ve looked at these popular realistic PMP exam simulators:

PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator from PM PrepCast (they now have three different editions)PM Fast Track from Rita MulcahyMaster of Project Academy SimulatorBrainBOK exam simulatorBrain Sensei PMP Exam SimulatorSummary of features

The table below shows a summary of the exam simulator features from the products I looked at.

Product# of questions# of examsFree option available?Explanations provided?PricePrepCast PMP Exam Simulator Deluxe2,070+4YesYes$149 for 90 daysPrepCast PMP Exam Simulator Advanced1,4503YesYes$119 for 60 daysPrepCast PMP Exam Simulator Essential1,1002YesYes$99 for 30 daysPM Fast Track2,200+“Unlimited” 180 question testsYesYes$299 for 12 monthsMaster of Project Academy1,600+9YesYes$197 lifetime or $67 per monthBrainBOK1,2308YesYes$89.99 for 90 daysBrain Sensei1,500+3YesYes$119.99 for 6 months

All simulators had these common features:

Ability to work through questions within a time limitInternet-enabled for online useFree questionsDifficult questions (although of varying quality)Answer explanations (although of varying quality).

Now I’ll share my takeaways from my reviews of each of the simulators.

PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator DeluxeNumber of questions: 2,070+ totalNumber of exams: 4 plus a separate question bank for timed quizzes with 1,350 questionsFree sample questions available? YesExplanations provided? Yes, for all answers (even the incorrect ones). References to a variety of sources provided.90-day access with extensions availableThis is the edition that I recommend because you get the longest access and the most featuresLearn more here.

All the PrepCast exam simulator options are also available in Spanish.

PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator AdvancedNumber of questions: 1,450 totalNumber of exams: 3 plus a separate question bank for timed quizzes with 910 questionsFree trial? Yes.Explanations provided? Yes, for all answers (even the incorrect ones). References to a variety of sources provided.60-day access with extensions availableLearn more here.PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator EssentialNumber of questions: 1,100 totalNumber of exams: 2 plus a separate question bank for timed quizzes with 740 questionsFree trial? Yes.Explanations provided? Yes, for all answers (even the incorrect ones). References to a variety of sources provided.30-day access with no extensions availableLearn more here.

The best part about these exam simulators is the confidence you get from using it. I think that comes from the detailed explanations and references and the realistic exam environment. It’s a learning tool, not just a test tool.

Each answer – even the wrong ones – is explained so you know exactly what you got wrong, and more importantly, why.

That’s the secret to great PMP exam prep. It’s not enough to simply know you got the wrong answer, you have to understand why and see where you can go for more information to deepen your knowledge on the topic.

It also includes hints, so if you think you’re almost there but just need a little prod to get to the right answer, then tap the hint button for a clue.

It also has amazing analytics. The anonymized responses from all users combine to give you a benchmark of where you are. You can see your personal journey, track your progress, drill down into different domains and topics so you make the most of your study time.

Because why waste time studying something you already have a pretty good grip on?

Subscriptions are available on a 1, 2 or 3-month basis depending what edition you purchase. The clock only starts when you choose, so don’t worry about buying it in advance and waiting until you are ready to use it.

The PM Exam Simulator has the largest number of practice questions of the products I looked at and a good range, including EVM questions.

You can extend your subscription if you need to, but the focus is on getting you exam ready in the shortest possible time and maximizing your chances of first-time success. So fingers crossed, you won’t need to extend your access to the test questions.

There are dozens of Google reviews and case studies from satisfied students. For me, that means a lot.

They have also recently added Simulador del Examen PMP PrepCast so that you can prepare if you are planning on taking the exam in Spanish.

See more on their website.

Recommended The PM PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator $149.00

Practicing before you take your PMP Exam is the best way to pass the test. This proven tool is brilliant at improving your confidence and highlighting areas where you need to build your skills -- includes detailed answers and references to what to study next.

Receive $30 with the discount code Dec23 for the month of December 2023.

Learn more We earn a commission if you click and go on to make a purchase, at no cost to you #ad PM Fast TrackNumber of questions: 2,200+Number of exams: not specifiedFree sample questions available? YesExplanations provided? Yes, for the correct answer. References provided.

Brought to you by the RMC team behind Rita Mulcahy’s brand, this online subscription exam simulator is another solid option and would be my second choice, although it is a hefty price tag in comparison to other available simulators. That’s because you get a year of access.

I love that it is available in Spanish and Portuguese too. 

It has a clean user interface and works perfectly on a touch screen. You’ll want to spend as much time as possible using realistic PMP exam sample questions, so it’s important (to me, at least) that the design is good and the tool is easy to use, which this one is.

The team at RMC are constantly working to update the questions and the student reviews are good. If you need a product that you can use continuously for a longer period, this is the one to get as it’s representative of the real exam.

It’s also available as part of a PMP test package, so if you are looking to get an exam prep book and flashcards too, it works out cheaper to buy the bundle. There are also bulk discounts so if a group of project managers wanted to study together, at your work, for example, there are corporate deals.

I hear that many PMP candidates love the products from RMC and I can see why.

See more on their website

Master of Project Academy SimulatorNumber of questions: 1,600Number of exams: 9Free sample questions available? YesExplanations provided? Only if you get the answer wrong, and only for the correct answers. No references provided.

The thing that bothers me about the Master of Project Academy product is that they advertise it as something that provides “28 PDU (contact hours) to help your PM education eligibility”.

PDUs aren’t relevant here. You don’t get PDUs until after you are certified. Before you earn your PMP, you need contact hours. Other simulators don’t advertise that their products help earn contact hours… because they don’t.

PMI states in the PMP Handbook that contact hours are hours of “classroom instruction” that “addressed learning objectives in project management”. In other words, formal learning that is structured around different PM topics and has communicated learning outcomes.

Not just doing practice questions. In fact, the website says that after you’ve done your training and earned your 35 contact hours, THEN you can use a simulator. It’s unnecessarily confusing for new entrants.

The product has a good selection of customer reviews, but the website has many examples of poor English grammar. I contacted the website owner with some examples, and they have since corrected the things I pointed out.

However, the sample questions provided in the free trial are well-written, updated to the latest exam content outline, and from what I can see, without grammar mistakes.

Explanations are only provided for the correct answer if you got the answer wrong. You might guess and get the answer right, and there’s nothing to tell you why.

There are also no references to the PMBOK® Guide or any other reference materials to point you to where you can learn more about a topic if you did get it wrong, unlike other simulators.

The questions provided in the demo do not reflect the latest style of PMP exam questions, in the new styles like hot spot, multiple response, limited fill in the blank etc. The demo only has ‘classic’ multiple choice questions.

I asked the site owner whether the full simulator provides all the new styles of questions and their response was: “The demo is just to provide a sense to our prospective students. Our comprehensive simulator is even better and including all types of questions as you can clearly see from the happy students’ reviews on TrustPilot.”

At the time of writing, I read a bunch of recent TrustPilot reviews and agree that students do rate this simulator highly. However, I did not see one review mentioning styles of questions.

It’s not expensive, and if you want a bank of questions to work through then this will do the job, but in my view it will only assess the knowledge you already have. It won’t help you get any better at your PMP studies.

See more on their website.

BrainBOK Exam SimulatorNumber of questions: 1,230Number of exams: 8Free sample questions available? YesExplanations provided? Yes, and references

BrainBOK is more than simply a simulator. It also includes Flashcards, and online study guide, a formula guide, a test purely focused on PMP exam formulas and because it includes the PMP prep materials, you’ll get the 35 hours certificate.

It’s a complete bundle. The unlimited access option to all the tools is a cost-effective way of meeting your study needs for passing on your first attempt, if you think you’ll only need 90 days access to the tools. Having said that, it’s not very much more expensive to extend your access for 180 days.

If you only want the exams, you can buy a 5 exam bundle at a reduced rate.

I like the interface, the reviews are good (although there aren’t that many recent reviews).

However, the product is advertised as compliant with PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition. We’re now on the 7th edition (although the 6th is still relevant-ish if you don’t have the Process Groups Practice Guide) so it doesn’t look like this product is updated.

There are no recent blog posts as the blog hasn’t been updated for some time but the product itself looks like it is good quality and I enjoyed using it.

See more on their website.

Brain Sensei PMP Exam SimulatorNumber of questions: 1,500+Number of exams: 3 and 1 unlimited practice examFree sample questions available? YesExplanations provided? Yes

Brain Sensei has been around for a long time as an exam prep course provider and now they also offer an exam simulator. It offers unlimited practice exams from its question bank of over 1,500 questions. It is completely updated to the current PMP exam.

See more on their website.

Simulator buying tips

Here are a few tips for buying a PMP exam simulator:

Check around for discounts. Many vendors offer discounts if you sign up to their mailing list or use a coupon code which they share on social media.Remember that you’ll probably need a PMP exam prep course as well: sample questions are good, but an online course will give you a faster headstart and shorten your exam prep time.Make sure your simulator of choice is fully updated. PMI changes the specs regularly, so get one that reflects the latest question formats and exam content outline, and uses up-to-date reference materials. Project performance domains is where it’s at. ITTO questions are handy if you want the confidence boost but no longer feature on the exam.The best way to check out a PMP simulator is to use the free trials. Get a feel for what each product is like before clicking to buy.PMI does not publish the passing score. Simulators may indicate if you have ‘passed’ or not, but this will be due to the company setting an internal benchmark for a passing score. It is not representative of any pass mark that PMI applies, so be wary of that.Look at what other study materials are offered by the company. Many vendors bundle together their products and that makes them cheaper.Review the refund and guarantee policies before you buy. It’s often not possible for companies to genuinely guarantee you’ll pass – how do they know you simply aren’t lazy or didn’t study for the test? If you are in any doubt, don’t purchase, because you might not be able to get your money back.Conclusion

If I were you, I’d be buying the PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator Deluxe from the PM PrepCast. It’s a good PMP exam simulator and a robust learning tool, updated to the latest PMI specs including the 7th Edition of the PMBOK® Guide and with enough questions to keep you busy and focus your studies.

It’s a good price, with an excellent support team and responsive help desk. The data inside will definitely help you prepare effectively and cut your study time.

Buy now.

Recommended The PM PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator $149.00

Practicing before you take your PMP Exam is the best way to pass the test. This proven tool is brilliant at improving your confidence and highlighting areas where you need to build your skills -- includes detailed answers and references to what to study next.

Receive $30 with the discount code Dec23 for the month of December 2023.

Learn more We earn a commission if you click and go on to make a purchase, at no cost to you #ad

This article first appeared at Rebel's Guide to Project Management

Best PMI-ACP Exam Prep Courses for 2024

Short on time? In my opinion, the best PMI-ACP exam prep course is the Agile PrepCast. With that and PMI membership (to get a free PMBOK® Guide and Agile Practice Guide), you’ll be on your way to exam success.

Are you aiming to achieve your PMI Agile Certified Professional (PMI-ACP)®? Then you’ll be looking for a course that will give you exam confidence and fits the way you want to study.

I’ve rounded up the best PMI-ACP training courses below based on my knowledge of the industry and working with providers and students as a project manager and trainer.

(Note: I’m not an agile trainer, but I am a Fellow of the Association for Project Management and I’ve got a lot of experience reviewing training courses – and I’ve taken plenty of them myself too!)

Keep reading for my analysis and reviews of the best PMI-ACP online training that will help you earn your agile certification and pass the test on your first attempt!

The coursesAgile PrepCastVelociteachJoseph Phillips

I’ve prepared a summary comparison table for the study materials below, with detailed product reviews afterwards, so read on for all the info!

Comparison tableCourseAgile PrepCastVelociteach Joseph Phillips Rating#1#2#3WebsiteAgile PrepCastVelociteachUdemyPrice$329 $1,597 $199.99Guarantee90-day exam pass 30-day Hours of instructionLive Feedback for questions with the exam simulator2 days live trainingnoneApproved contact hoursYesYesYesStudent supportEmail and forum 1:1 support until you pass the exam  none stated Access duration 90-day6 months LifetimeSample exam questionsYes, if you buy the Elite or Elite PlusYesYesSuitable for PMI PDUsYesYesYesSuitable for study groups?YesYesYesWhat to look for in a course

If you are considering this training, you probably work on agile projects already (you’ll need to be able to evidence your agile experience when you apply to the Project Management Institute). That might mean some of the course topics sound quite basic as you’ve already got experience in them.

When you are looking for PMI Agile Certified Practitioner Exam course, you’ll want to make sure it covers:

Agile methodologiesAgile principlesAgile practicesAgile frameworksContinuous improvementAgile teams, team performance and stakeholder engagement.

And everything else mentioned in the Exam Content Outline which you can find on the PMI website.

In addition to covering the syllabus, look for courses that will also support you through the application process, beyond providing the contact hours certification as part of the eligibility requirements.

For example, some providers include modules on how to apply and prep mentally for the test, as well as offering practice questions and case studies to help you get into the agile mindset required to do well on the exam.

Note that none of the courses below include your exam fee. You will still need to pay for and book your exam. I recommend that you become a PMI member to get a cheaper exam fee.

1. Agile PrepCast

The Agile PrepCast is a tried-and-tested online training course that I’ve used in the past and been impressed with. It’s a robust, engaging online course, although my personal opinion is that the slide formats and colours are dated.

I liked the real-world examples. Presented by Cornelius Fichtner, the course is straight to the point with no fluff.

This course takes the top spot for me because I can personally vouch for it. It’s a good price, it’s comprehensive and you really will leave it understanding the world of agile as well as how to pass the exam. You’ll feel like one of the pro agile practitioners after taking this course!

Pros

It’s really comprehensive with 16 modules. You don’t need an extra study guide (beyond the required reading of the PMBOK® Guide and the Agile Practice Guide) or to wade through all the recommended agile reference books that PMI suggests.

Other advantages include:

There are 21 hours of video instruction (at least) so you can easily feel confident you meet the requirements.You get a certificate for the 21 contact hours, so no worries if your application gets audited.There are 3 versions depending on what you need: Basic, Elite and Elite Plus. The Basic course includes the training materials. Elite comes with 6 practice exams via their test simulator and Elite Plus has some study guidebooks that literally form your study plan.There’s a really active student online forum where you can ask and answer questions as well as learn from other people’s experiences, as students regularly come back and share their exam prep journey.Cons

If you aren’t self-motivated, you won’t get through this training! You do have to make a study schedule and dedicate the time to getting through the content (if you upgrade to the Elite PLUS package, it comes with a week-by-week study guide).

The other thing to note is that the training is longer than strictly necessary for the exam requirements. You’ll get a full understanding of the different agile approaches and how to apply them, but be aware other courses are shorter. You’ll have to decide if you want a comprehensive overview of the material to boost your confidence and give you real skills, or a course that might be ‘thinner’ but would still do the job.

Other disadvantages are:

There are no captions on the videos. This could be an issue if you routinely switch on subtitles, for example if you are studying in a noisy area without headphones.You can’t download the slides – I understand the intellectual property implications here and that the company are protecting their assets. Not being able to download the slides doesn’t matter to me. I take my own notes, which is a better learning approach for me anyway as it helps me remember.Best for

Project managers who are motivated and can create their own study plan (or who are happy to use the StudyCoach guidebooks as their plan – but you have to be able to stick to the plan!). If you don’t think you have the commitment to self-study, then the next course is going to be a better fit for you.

Recommended The Agile PrepCast $229.00

A full PMI-ACP exam prep course. Self-paced with video training modules, you'll quickly be on your way to your agile certification. We love this course from respected trainer Cornelius Fichtner and it's a cost-effective way to prepare for your exam. Upgrades available to add on the exam simulator and study guidebooks.

Learn more We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you #ad 2. Velociteach

I think Velociteach used to offer an online PMI-ACP exam prep course as I sometimes see that mentioned online in old articles. However, the last time I checked as I was putting this review article together, they don’t have a self-paced version of their training. They do, however, have an online, live-taught class.

The Velociteach PMI-ACP live class is comprised of 16 contact hours in class and additional homework assignments completed outside of class. You make up the other required contact hours with their practice test material, spending about half of the actual time in taking the mock exam and the rest in reviewing all of the explanations that accompany the practice test. 

The Velociteach class and practice test hours have been accepted for many years by PMI for the PMI-ACP application, so you can be confident your pre-requisite hours will be OK.

Pros

This is a boot camp with additional materials, so it’s perfect if you want to blitz all your study requirements and get through the training in a short period of time.

Other advantages are:

The live instructor set up means you can ask questions and learn from your instructor as well as peers on the course.The whole package covers the 21 contact hours you need for the PMI-ACP.You get a copy of The PMI-ACP® Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try by Velociteach CEO Andy Crowe, which is one of the best books out there.It includes exam simulator-style test questions so you won’t have to buy any other resources (apart from the Agile Practice Guide/PMBOK® Guide if you are not a PMI member).They offer a full refund if you are unable to pass the exam (there are criteria to meet for this, including going through their study plan after you fail first time).Cons

You have to take time off work (if you are working) to do the classes. Plus they only run during US office hours. I think this could be an advantage if you live outside the US time zone and can do some work and then join the online lessons. You’d end up taking less time away from work and I do know people who preferred to do this to maximize their personal time.

However, it’s HARD. That’s a lot of learning and working to fit into 48 hours.

Other disadvantages include:

The online learning is only part of the package. You have to put in the rest of the training hours outside of the classroom element.As it’s a live course, it’s only available on certain days.It’s expensive. But you get what you pay for – this course includes live instruction.Best for

In my opinion, this course is a good choice for people who have some agile experience and want to quickly rack up their contact hours for their PMI-ACP application, and learn the theory and exam skills required to pass.

Online Courses by Insite - PMP Certification Exam Prep & Training - Velociteach

Buy Now We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you #ad 3. Joseph Phillips on Udemy

All of Joseph Phillips’ courses on Udemy get good student reviews. I confess to not having taken any myself, but I think I’ve seen enough feedback from project managers I have spoken to and reviews to be able to comment, in comparison to the courses above. Over 47,000 students have taken the course at the time of writing!

Pros

Joseph Phillip’s PMI-ACP Exam Prep Success course is an on-demand course with 13 hours of video instruction split over 8 sections.

It’s cheap. Udemy nearly always has special offers so if you time it right, you can get this course at a low cost.It offers the 21 contact hours required to apply for the exam (but see below for more thoughts on that).It includes support on how to apply for the exam.The videos have captions in 5 languages! Great if English is not your first language or if you prefer to have subtitles on.It includes a practice test.You can gift the course to someone else – perfect if you already have an account on Udemy and are providing training resources for your team.Cons

Given that the course is advertised as having only 13 hours of video instruction, I don’t see how you can claim 21 contact hours. You’ll have to judge for yourself whether you’ve got enough contact time to make up the rest of the 21 hours yourself using the practice test and other materials.

Take notes of what you learn and be prepared to evidence your contact hours if necessary, for example, if your application is audited.

If you find the pace too slow, you’ll have to speed it up. I played the preview materials at 1.25x speed to get through the material at a fast pace.The slides don’t look hugely inspiring from the course preview materials I reviewed. They are text-heavy. However, Joseph Phillips is an engaging presenter. You could easily play the videos without watching them for the most part and use them more like an audio course, diving into the materials when there were concepts you wanted to review.Best for

Project managers on a budget, who are prepared to self-study and put in the hours themselves. You may find that you need additional materials like an exam simulator in order to feel fully confident for the exam, although many students in the Udemy reviews are very happy with what they have learned and Joseph is known in the industry for the quality of his teaching.

Final thoughts

If you have already taken the Project Management Professional (PMP)® exam, then you might find the content of any of these courses a bit repetitive. Some of the basics overlap between the PMP and PMI-ACP content, as you would expect. That’s not really a big problem; simply use any parts that feel overly familiar to you as an experienced project manager as a refresher.

You can also count your PMI-ACP studies towards the PDU requirements for your PMP recertification – double win!

If you are a Scrum Master, then you’ll probably find these courses easy because you live and breathe agile project management every day. There might be some PMI-specific things to revise to help you get through the exam, but the agile methodology stuff and basic principles will not be new to you.

Other essential PMI-ACP exam prep materials

Once you’ve chosen a course, you will also want to look at a few other resources to help you get exam confidence.

Successful students tend to use an exam simulator for test practice and study guides (books) to help reinforce what their course has covered.

Go here next:

Best PMI-ACP exam prep booksBest PMI-ACP study guidesBest PMI-ACP exam simulators (coming soon!)

Whichever materials you choose, good luck with your studies!

This article first appeared at Rebel's Guide to Project Management

How To Make 2024 A Successful Year for Your Projects

Would you like to make 2024 a successful year for your projects? I’m sure you do — it’s kind of expected for us in project delivery roles.

But what does it take to be successful? What does success even look like for you? That’s the starting point: what does it mean to be successful or to have successful projects?

For me, it means:

A decent work/life balanceFun, manageable projects that don’t feel like dramas all the timeThe support of my PMO and sponsors, and reasonable demands from managementBeing able to get things done and deliver tasks, hit milestones and demonstrate that I am delivering.

Is that the same as for you?

Possibly not, but you’ll have your own ideas about what it will look like, when you reflect back in December 2024, that define personal and professional success for you in the preceding 12 months.

So that’s what we define as success. But how do we get there?

The skill that will make you successful as a project leader

I think professional judgement is what sets excellent project managers apart from good project managers.

Business acumen and the ability to navigate office politics help you get work done when your project isn’t textbook.

This year, I think we’ll see (and expect) more and more good project managers flexing their professional judgement. You want to do an agile-waterfall blend with a virtual team? If it works for you, just do it.

You want to get commitment from project sponsors? Put a recommendation forward about how things are going to be different. Be braver. Be bolder.

Generally, in my experience, if you are acting in the interests of your projects and your organization, no one is likely to fire you over your actions. So assume positive intent from your stakeholders and trust your judgement!

We have more flexibility to adapt project approaches to our environment than ever before, but we need to have a solid basis for making the right call before we make tailoring decisions. Plus it helps to be a bit brave and to have someone in your corner!

Mentoring is one way to take control of your own development needs. I think the complexities of your project management environment will encourage more managers to seek out mentors and coaches for themselves and their teams.

But that’s just my view. A while back, I asked project management experts what we should be aware of as we go into the new year to achieve their most successful year ever?

And this article is a summary of what they replied.

The collected wisdom in their answers is incredibly valuable. I’m sure you take away tips and ideas for making this your best year yet managing projects at work.

It’s a lot to read, so here are some spoilers drawn from common themes I heard time and time again in the interviews:

Agile: if you don’t know enough about it, you need to start learning.Soft skills, interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence: whatever you call it, these are crucial and stakeholder management and communication come out top time and time again.Leadership: ethical, authentic leadership is what helps get work done and set you apart from your peers.

And in no particular order we start with:

Mark PhillipsMark Phillips

High performing teams are motivated by an exceptional vision. Work with your stakeholders to craft a clear and powerful vision for your project or your particular phase of the project. The vision becomes a touchstone for difficult discussions with stakeholders, a path to unity for all project participants and a guide post for decision making with your team throughout the project.

These past few years have seen an incredible evolution in the way software is built. In these next years, we’re going to see a new wave of what software can do with the growing capabilities of machine learning, artificial intelligence and data pipelines across enterprises.

Mark Phillips runs a consultancy focused on high performing projects. He is the author of Reinventing Communication by Routledge, a book on how to design, lead and manage high performing projects.

You can see Mark’s book, and all the other experts’ books on Amazon here.

Ranjit SidhuRanjit Sidhu

As we go into next year, you should be aware that self-care and wellbeing are trends worth promoting not only because they feel good, but because they lead to better productivity and happier people.

The extension of self-care is caring for others, also crucial for project management and change management. Connecting with people, collaborating, partnering, so you can inspire enthusiasm, overcome resistance, and help make change happen.

Going with the flow seems to go against years of traditional project management thinking, but we have found it easier to do by focusing on our bigger purpose and values, all while remaining agile day-to-day so we can adapt quickly. It’s how we can help people and organisations adapt in fast-changing times.

Ranjit Sidhu, Managing Director of ChangeQuest, is a recognised authority on change management and behavioural skills. Find her on Twitter.

Ben AstonBen Aston

It might seem like we could let our increasingly agile, multi-disciplinary, and highly collaborative teams just get on with it. You’d be forgiven for thinking you’ll be fine if you just go along for the ride as a glorified project administrator.

But we can do better. Successful project managers will be those that embrace the mantle of leadership.

This starts with a solid understanding of success, beyond  cost, schedule and scope. Think about how you’re delivering on the project’s strategic goals and how you’ll be able to demonstrate the ROI that your stakeholders need to look good. Remember your stakeholders’ tacit goals too — you’re in the rockstar-making business. Make them look good, and in turn, they’ll make you look good.

When you know what success looks like you can inspire, motivate and lead the team with a clear unifying vision. Help your team get hold of the vision and understand why they should care and how they can take ownership to be meaningfully involved.

Throughout the project, leadership is simple: you serve your team. Project leadership is about how far you can advance those on your team to be the best version of themselves. Practically that means asking yourself how are you going to make your team’s life better today? A well-documented plan? Proper briefs? Donuts? Be the person that moves mountains for them. And they’ll repay you in kind.

Ben Aston runs the blog The Digital Project Manager, the weekly Digital Project Manager podcast, and is a digital project manager in real life too.

John EstrellaJohn Estrella

With the release of the Agile Practice Guide along with the PMBOK® Guide Seventh Edition, we can’t ignore PMI’s direction to incorporate adaptive life cycles such as agile, iterative or incremental life cycles into project and development life cycles.

External factors around projects are constantly changing at a breakneck speed which makes it challenging to definitively control the outcome without frequent course correction.

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) 7th Edition

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (also known as the PMBOK® Guide -- 7th Edition) is core reading as prep for PMI exams.

Buy Now We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you #ad

PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP)® credential will continue to thrive. It can serve as a baseline, but most project managers ought to layer some sort of agile certification on top of it. Brain Sensei’s Complete PMP® Exam Prep course can be taken anytime and anywhere. Its unique storytelling approaching using a Japanese female samurai makes learning project management and preparing for the PMP exam so much fun!

John A. Estrella, PhD, CMC, PMP, is Co-Founder and President of Agilitek Corporation and Brain Sensei, Inc. John is the co-author of Agile Project Management for Mobile Application Development.

Mike ClaytonMike Clayton

Focus hard on your communication with stakeholders. Whatever your level of commitment to this vital task, please review how you can do even better. This may be by adopting a new tool or approach, learning some new skills in listening, influence, or negotiation, or maybe simply allocating more time to it.

Dr Mike Clayton is one of the most in-demand project management trainers in the UK. He is author of 13 best-selling books, including four about project management. He runs the online training site, OnlinePMCourses.com.

Helena LuiHelena Lui

Agile project management is on the rise. Learning the different methodologies in Agile (e.g. XP, scrum, lean, etc.) and how to apply it can be extremely beneficial: that’s what I would advise for people wanting to have a year of managing successful projects.

Helena Liu, PMP, is a project manager and the founder of ExamsPM, an organisation that helps PMP-aspirants get certified.

Sarah ParsonsSarah Parsons

For a successful year my number one piece of advice is to do the basics well. Communicate thoroughly, be consistent and remember that your role is focused on both getting the work done and supporting the team.

This isn’t ground-breaking, but a surprising number of project managers don’t do the basics well.

If someone emails you, email them back. If you owe someone information, or have promised to deliver something, deliver it. If you said you’d have an answer and you don’t, communicate that early, clearly and with a solution in mind.

Consistently do the basics of your job well and you will stand out from the majority of your peers.

Sarah Parsons, MBA and founder of StrategySarah.com, helps busy professionals make it easier to get life and business done.

Bill Dow

With the likes of PowerBI and Tableau taking off around dashboard and reporting, I think our executives and leadership are going to want to see more project data real time.

Bill Dow, PMP, is a recognised expert in developing and managing Project Management Offices (PMOs.) He is co-author several comprehensive books, and runs regular webinars which you can find out about on his Facebook page.

Jonathan NormanJonathan Norman

I suspect that we may be faced with increasing political turbulence, which may have a significant impact on your organization or the projects that you are running.

The lesson I need to remember is that, whilst experimenting is an integral part of innovation, the most successful programs are those that recognize the ongoing needs of business-as-usual and balance the tried and tested with the new.

Jonathan Norman was the Knowledge Manager for the Major Projects Knowledge Hub in the UK and is now a freelance contractor.

Find out what a Knowledge Manager is.

Monica BorrellMonica Borrell

I am noticing two trends. First, virtual teams are becoming the norm. Second, the use of lean and agile tools and methodologies beyond IT, software and manufacturing. For example, Cardsmith has customers using Kanban to manage bookkeeping and accounting work.

These two trends taken together mean that visual, collaborative tools are becoming more important to teams. Visual, lean tools that truly engage all team members are going to become essential.

Collaboration with context is my current mantra. The context is the visual board in whatever configuration best suits the particular project and team.

Monica Borrell, PMP, is the CEO and co-founder of Cardsmith, a visual planning, communication, and project management tool.

Colin EllisColin Ellis

The secret to continual project success lies in the ability to build great teams. Teams that understand what it means to be the best versions of themselves, how to hold each other to account, how to behave and communicate.

Teams that know how to challenge each other, to work autonomously to deliver great products and that take responsibility when others are struggling.

Teams that take the time to celebrate success, to socialize and that put effort into  relentlessly developing themselves and the way that they do things.

Empathy lies at the heart of great teams and project managers should be role models for this, putting time and effort into demonstrating the behaviors expected of others and building relationships so that bonds can be built and maintained.

Project managers, and scrum masters for that matter, that wish to stay
relevant for years to come need to develop their emotional intelligence and team building skills.

Colin Ellis is an award-winning international project management speaker and trainer. He is the author of two project management books: The Conscious Project Leader and The Project Rots from the Head. Find out more about Colin’s work at colindellis.com

Soma BhattacharyaSoma Bhattacharya

Agile has been the trendiest thing for a while now and recently we have  seen Agile considerably embedded in the project management domain, globally.

I think the goal for every project manager should be to upgrade their certification to an Agile Project Management Certification or simply ensure that you understand how Agile works, the terminologies and the different frameworks in it.

Soma Bhattacharya is the blogger behind Stepping into PM, and an Agile consultant. You can follow her on Twitter here.

Vasil KlimkoVasil Klimko

As collaboration software evolves, project managers will be able to further expand their scope for talent. Highly talented freelancers no longer need to travel into a major metropolis to find work in their industry.

What I think we’ll see next year is that tools will be developed that will allow these freelancers to take their credibility with them across projects, allowing potential employers to judge work and merit based on data and results, not just word of mouth.

I see a future where Project Managers will be able to reference a talent hub to see how freelancers have delivered work in the past as well as view client feedback.

Vasil Klimko is a sales and operations management specialist.

Brett HarnedBrett Harned

The best way to make next year your most successful year yet is to plan for it! It sounds like such a PM thing to say, but it’s true. As PMs, we so often are focused on other people’s (team members, stakeholders) goals that we often fail to think of ourselves.

We love lists, so get to it: you know you’ll feel great if you have a roadmap for the year and you can meet milestones regularly. That, in and of itself, will make the year a success.

Brett Harned is a Partner at Same Team Partners, author of Project Management for Humans, and the founder of the Digital PM Summit.

Nicole NaderNicole Nader

I believe that the fastest and most effective way to make my team the best team is for me to be my best self.

People respond instinctively to body language, words, tone and enthusiasm: if my verbal and physical cues indicate that I am uninspired and unmotivated, then why would I expect my team to have pep in their step and a passion for what they are doing?

For me, my best self starts by prioritizing the routines that bring about my best performance. This means putting my health (physical and mental), fitness and family first, even when everyone else is throwing their own problems in my direction. It’s only when I have this in hand that I can really start to relate to my team on a personal level, find out what makes them tick, and truly lead by example.

Nicole Nader was a Board member of the Australian Institute of Project Management in 2018. Find her on Twitter here.

Andy KaufmanAndy Kaufman

To be more successful in the coming year, the most important thing you can do is to learn how to calculate critical path by hand.

Hah! That’s not even remotely true! For most project managers, your success in the new year has less to do with your technical project management skills. Rather, as with most years, your ability to thrive has much more to do with your ability to lead and influence.

As I work with project managers around the world, increasingly there’s one success trait that I find could use a tune-up. In a word, it’s assertiveness.

Here’s what I wish for you as you start a new year. Dial up your assertiveness, even if just a little. Speak up a little more often. Lean in a little more to the opportunities before you. Try some new things you may have checked out on.

Andy Kaufman , PMP, is an international speaker, author, and executive coach at the Institute for Leadership Excellence & Development Inc. He is the author of Navigating the Winds of Change: Staying on Course in Business and Life and Shining the Light on the Secret. He is also the host of The People and Projects Podcast.

Louise WorsleyLouise Worsley

As a project coach, I get many opportunities to ask the question, “What did you learn from most over the last few years?” So far no one has ever answered; “There was this great course…”

Most adult learning comes from relevant experience: challenges faced on a project, interactions with peers, or opportunities which force reflection upon and make sense of our experience.

Creating your personal learning environment is more than just responding to immediate needs in the workplace. It’s a way of life, a way of becoming a modern professional learner to meet today’s ever changing challenges.

Louise Worsley is a PPPM consultant and a visiting lecturer in project management at The University of Cape Town. She is also the author of Stakeholder-led Project Management: Changing the way we manage projects.

Robin BurkRobin Burk

The effective project manager has a way to deal with unexpected change and uncertainty. She builds resilience into her team, her approach and her response to unanticipated events.

Resilience means being able to absorb unexpected events and changes while still reaching your goals. The effective project manager can do even more: she can build a team that is so resilient they are antifragile and thrive on change. And that will be increasingly important.

Dr. Robin Burk has extensive project, program and executive management experience in rapidly changing tech markets. She is the managing director of Analytic Decisions2 LLC and author of Check Your Connections: How to Thrive in an Uncertain World.

Ray McKenzieRay McKenzie

There’s an increase in distributed teams, personnel, and abilities within organizations. The ability to capitalize on the strengths of distributed teams is in project management.

As distributed teams continue to evolve in the workplace and for companies, it is extremely important to select the right tools to ensure a project is completed successfully. Project managers should utilize tools that provide visibility for the entire team, provide clear structure for projects, embrace an agile or waterfall methodology, and those that encourage collaboration.

This can be through one suite of tools or two tools that provide project management and collaboration. I recommend the use of newer SaaS tools allowing all project team members to participate, provide feedback, and work towards successful projects.

Ray McKenzie, CSM, is Founder and Principal of Red Beach Advisors, a management and business consultant group. Find him on Twitter.

Cristian RennellaCristian Rennella

Focus on decreasing interruptions for your team. Also, aim to have fewer goals. Because when you define your goals, remember that the difference is not in quantity but in quality.

Instead of 5 goals define only 3, the most important. Work on them with dedication and excellence.

The difference in your work is in the depth that you can give to each topic. That way you will achieve perfection in your profession and success in the long term.

Eng. Cristian Rennella is the CEO of GOcuotas.

Scott PerryScott Perry

Most of my early career, my main approach to managing my projects could be described as being mostly “administrative” or “coordinating” in nature. My focus was probably too much on things like reporting, data, status meetings, and reaching schedule dates no matter what – sometimes at the expense of quality!

These things are important, yes. But what I’m finding now – and am more convinced of – is that a key ingredient in being an effective project manager is being an effective leader.

A good project manager is at his or her core a good leader! They know how to influence, motivate, create and communicate a vision. They have soft skills, can lead up and down, and can adequately manage organizational politics so that their project can advance as planned.

Scott Perry, PMP, is a project manager based in North Carolina, USA. He is also a baseball fan and runs the site CatchersHome.com.

Joe PuszJoe Pusz

Project managers should be aware of how important soft skills are to ensure a successful career. Often times PMs get caught up in the Agile vs Waterfall debate, or is the schedule perfect, or are all the words spelled correctly in a requirements document.

All of those are important, but not as much as learning to be an effective communicator, team builder, negotiator, and motivator. To make next year a successful year I’d recommend project managers focus on these soft skills to become better leaders.

Joe Pusz is President of The PMO Squad, a project management consulting firm. He has 20+ years as a project manager and PMO leader. Find out more or participate in his Veterans mentoring scheme on the website.

Leigh EspyLeigh Espy

Agile practices are increasing in popularity. Even if your team is not adopting full Agile methodology, there are beneficial Agile practices teams can use.

The retrospective is an easy one to use to help the team continuously improve. Do this by getting team feedback at various stages on what the team could do better. You can then incorporate any suggested improvements during the project rather than waiting for the information from a “lessons learned” activity at the very end.

Leigh Espy, PMP, SPC, CSM, is an experienced IT project manager and coach. She also writes the blog Project Bliss and is author of Bad Meetings Happen to Good People: How to Run Meetings That Are Effective, Focused, and Produce Results.

Susanne MadsenSusanne Madsen

More and more project managers are waking up to the fact that projects aren’t just about tasks and schedules, but also very much about people. But we still have a long way to go.

Everyone would like to be part of a high performing team, but too few managers and leaders put in the effort to create one.

I would encourage all project managers to be more mindful when they form a new project team, to properly engage people in the definition and planning stages and to take the time to explore what they expect of each other in terms of behaviors.

I would also encourage project managers to be more innovative. The world is developing at an unprecedented speed and to keep up we have to continuously look at how we can improve the products and services we deliver along with the tools and processes we use to deliver them.

To get better at improving and innovating it is imperative that project managers create a safe environment for the team to express their ideas and that they set time aside for unstructured thinking. If all they value is compliance and control they will kill innovation.

Susanne Madsen is an internationally recognized project leadership coach, trainer and consultant. She is the author of The Power of Project Leadership and The Project Management Coaching Workbook. Find her on Twitter.

Amy HamiltonAmy Hamilton

Next year will be a year for ethical and authentic leadership for project managers. Recent events in both the United States and the world have shown that scandals and sensationalism doesn’t work.

Project managers will need to not only have expert technical knowledge to include how to build a work breakdown structure or how to calculate earned value management, but soft skills on how to communicate. In IT project management, especially cybersecurity, technical team members are in demand and they know that they don’t have to work for an unethical or draconian project manager.

Emotional intelligence and understanding the needs of team members will be important to keep top quality team members on board. The newest edition of the PMI standards captures the increasing need for communication management for project success.

Amy Hamilton, PMP, CISM, is the author of The Project Manager: Life is a Project, TEDx speaker and IT project management expert.

Sarah ColemanSarah Coleman

I would like to see PMs across industry sectors and geographies balancing their technical skills set with the behavioral and social skills set. There is an increasing awareness of the impact and importance of behavioral sciences as part of the design, planning and delivery of projects, programs, portfolios and change.

I am particularly passionate about the need for project managers to comfortably influence without authority, moving easily around the organization between the C-suite and operational levels as well as across client and supplier organizations. This is a skill and part of the toolkit which every project professional needs in order to be that much more effective.

Sarah Coleman is founder of Business Evolution and is author of Organizational Change Explained and Project Leadership. She is a Visiting Fellow at Cranfield University.

Traci DuezTraci Duez

Project management used to be about DOING. In today’s global economy, resources have more options when it comes to employment. These resources want to work for people who are more than task masters. So, then the shift was on to LEADERSHIP.

Before someone can become a good leader, they must be a good SELF-LEADER. This is more about BEING than DOING. You see, you can’t BE a project manager. You can only be a human being who manages projects. The role you play is not the same as the person you are. You can always BE even if you don’t always DO the role.

Traci Duez is a leadership development specialist, author, speaker and the founder of Break Free Consulting. She has over 20 years of experience spanning medical technologist to project manager and executive consultant. She’s also the author of Breaking Free: Leading the Way.

Jonathan ClayJon Clay

Next year why not make sure you step outside of your comfort zone and do something that scares you every month? If you are scared then it means you are testing yourself.

You gain new skills and knowledge that will help you to excel in both your professional and personal life. I’ve been doing this for years and I never fail to be surprised at what I learn.

Jonathan Clay, PMP, MSP, is a past President of PMI UK Chapter and a project manager in the financial services industry.

Linky van der MerweLinky van der Merwe

For project managers to remain relevant in the world of project complexity, remote teams and continuous change, we would want to be strategic, flexible all-rounders with an ability to do creative thinking. This will come with support from PMO’s who can read the current business landscape and who will provide the necessary training to develop all project support personnel to support all types of projects.

The need for Lean thinking and developing an Agile mindset supporting the Agile values and principles in the way we work, has increased. With the demand for successful project delivery bigger than ever before, the emphasis has moved to the speed with which value (benefits) can be delivered to Business.

Although existing technical, leadership and other soft skills will remain relevant, the need for higher emotional intelligence will grow, not only for project leaders, but also for team members to become high performing teams.

Linky van der Merwe (PMP, PMI-ACP) is a project management consultant with experience in IT projects in various industries for 20 years. As the Founder of Virtual Project Consulting, she collects and shares project success stories from experienced project practitioners and she recommends comprehensive PM resources to help develop aspiring and existing project professionals.

Todd WilliamsTodd C. Williams

I am continually amazed at how many people refuse to be accountable.

To be sure, I am not simply talking to project managers. This is an issue with executives as much as with people in the immediate project team. Being accountable is not synonymous with a target for blame. Accountability entails making and delegate decisions. Accountability cannot be delegated; that is called scapegoating.

We teach our teams to be accountable by being accountable ourselves and holding our team members to being accountable to themselves. Breeding accountability in our superiors requires the same, but also takes the fortitude to hold superiors accountable through their peers and your relentless accounting of decisions. Regardless, it starts with you.

Todd C. Williams, PMP, is the author of Filling Execution Gaps and Rescue the Problem Project. He is an executive consultant with three decades of experience helping organizations connect strategy to successful projects.

Gary LloydGary Lloyd

When projects get tough, it’s relationships not processes that make the difference between success and failure. Processes can break down under pressure and you need to be able to have honest conversations with stakeholders and team members.

I have two pieces of simple advice that can help you build great relationships and have those difficult conversations.

The first piece of advice is to remember that: it’s not what you say, it’s what people hear.

What people hear depends on their story about you and way the world works. They have a different mental model of the world and a bundle of beliefs about you and your intention. So pause before you speak or write. Consider what the other person will hear or read, given their assumptions and beliefs.

That leads me on to the second, related piece of advice. Before you speak or write, ask yourself: will it help? Think like a gardener, not a mechanic.

Project managers tend to be an analytical bunch. We have a touching belief that the facts will speak for themselves. This can make it tempting set others straight, to point out a mistake, or lay blame.

Gary Lloyd has been leading IT enabled change for over 20 years, in banking and financial markets. He is also on the executive coaching panel for Warwick Business School, a steering committee member of the School’s mentoring program.

Phew! What an amazing range of perspectives! (And thank you, for making it to the end!)

A version of this article first appeared in 2020.

This article first appeared at Rebel's Guide to Project Management

Project Management Conferences and Events in the US and Canada 2023/2024

This list contains project management conferences in the US and Canada and fully virtual events. I’ve also compiled these extensive lists of conferences both local to me in the UK and worldwide:

Project Management Conferences in the UKProject Management Conferences in EuropeProject Management Conferences in Asia, Oceania and Africa

Project management conferences are a fantastic way to meet new people and improve your skills. I always come away feeling energized about where I am in my career and relieved having met people with similar problems to me.

With the global pandemic, all of these live events have looked very different over the past couple of years.

Most conferences are back for 2023, but some have gone completely virtual, opening up attendance to people who may not be able to travel.

We’ve updated our annual post to reflect what we know is going on right now and into the far future.

If you are looking to attend a project management conference in 2023 or 2024, chances are there is something happening near you that will be fun and meet your professional goals.

Do you know of an upcoming event to add to the list? Please fill out this form.

July to September 2023Arizona Project Management Summit: Tempe, Arizona, USA, 29-30 September 2023

This hybrid conference will take place at Arizona State University and online. The theme is A New Normal: Reimagine Your PM Career for Success. The sessions will be held both in person at Arizona State University and virtually.

October to December 2023Project Summit Business Analyst World: Boston, USA, 16-19 October 2023

The ProjectSummit Business Analyst World is one of the biggest North American conferences for PMs and BAs. These are a series of summits held in different North American cities and each of the conferences includes hands-on workshops, educational sessions and the ability to earn PDUs and CDUs.

The Boston, MA Summit is the 4th in-person one of the year.

The PMO Leader Global Conference: Virtual, 18 October 2023

The PMO Leader Global Conference will be held on three different regional schedules, APAC, EMEA, and the Americas, with participants able to attend the sessions that work for them and their interests.

This conference is free to attend. Network and learn with other PMO leaders around the world.

Digital PM Summit: Virtual, 23-24 October 2023

The DPM Summit from Bureau of Digital is a really popular event for digital project managers to attend.

It will be held online this year and will bring together project management professionals for workshops, interactive sessions, lightning talks, and breakout sessions. They are celebrating their 11th year this year!

PMI Global Summit 2023: Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 25-28 October 2023

Join project managers from around the world to attend this PMI Global Summit. The theme is Discover. Connect. Advance: The Future of Your Work. There is also an opportunity to come early or stay late to attend some additional PMI Training.

Project Summit Business Analyst World: Vancouver, Canada, 13-15 November 2023

The ProjectSummit Business Analyst World is one of the biggest North American conferences for PMs and BAs. These are a series of summits held in different North American cities and each of the conferences includes hands-on workshops, educational sessions, and the ability to earn PDUs and CDUs.

The Vancouver, BC Summit is being held at the Pinnacle Hotel Habourfront.

Project Summit Business Analyst World: Chicago, USA, 27-29 November 2023

The ProjectSummit Business Analyst World is one of the biggest North American conferences for PMs and BAs. These are a series of summits held in different North American cities and each of the conferences includes hands-on workshops, educational sessions and the ability to earn PDUs and CDUs.

The Chicago, IL Summit is the 5th in-person one of the year.

January to March 202421st American Pharma & Biotech PPM Conference: Philadelphia, PA, USA, 7-8 February 2024

This is the east coast global Project, Program, and Portfolio Management Summit with a focus on Biopharma Portfolio Strategies. This year’s conference is in person over 2 days, planning 30 speakers across 28 case studies of the latest innovations.

Project Summit Business Analyst World: Toronto, Canada, 25-28 March 2024

The ProjectSummit Business Analyst World is one of the biggest North American conferences for PMs and BAs. These are a series of summits held in different North American cities and each of the conferences includes hands-on workshops, educational sessions and the ability to earn PDUs and CDUs.

The Toronto, Ontario Summit is the first of the year to kick things off.

April to June 2024Rocky Mountain Symposium: Denver, Colorado, USA, 5 April 2024

The PMI Mile HI Chapter is still working on details for their yearly symposium. We will update as details are released.

12th IPMA Research Conference: College Park, Maryland, USA, 19-21 April 2024

The theme for the IPMA research conference is Project Management in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. This will be staged around thematic workshops and round tables, targeting innovations, networking, and building trust in the science and project management community. 

The host is the International Project Management Association (IPMA) which is a Federation of 72 Member Associations (MAs) worldwide.

Virtual Project Management Symposium: College Park, MD, USA, 18-19 April 2024

This two-day event is hosted by the University of Maryland’s Project Management Center of Excellence. The Project Management Symposium gathers Project Management Professionals from all over the United States and across the globe to discuss trending topics, best practices, case studies, and academic research.

Project Summit Business Analyst World: Orlando, USA, 22-24 April 2024

The ProjectSummit Business Analyst World is one of the biggest North American conferences for PMs and BAs. These are a series of summits held in different North American cities and each of the conferences includes hands-on workshops, educational sessions and the ability to earn PDUs and CDUs.

The Orlando, Florida Summit is the second of the year.

Project Summit Business Analyst World: Washington, USA, 6-8 May 2024

The ProjectSummit Business Analyst World is one of the biggest North American conferences for PMs and BAs. These are a series of summits held in different North American cities and each of the conferences includes hands-on workshops, educational sessions and the ability to earn PDUs and CDUs.

The Washington, DC Summit is the 3rd of the year.

Agile and Beyond: Detroit, MI, USA, 14-15 May 2024

The Agile and Beyond conference is back again, and it will be in person at Huntington Place in downtown Detroit. This two-day conference, starting with a keynote each day, will have sessions focused on Agility, Software Engineering, and Lean Business.

Global Scrum Gathering: New Orleans, USA, 19-22 May 2024

Attend this global conference headed by leaders in agile. There will be sessions to attend, personalized coaching, career services, and the opportunity to network and have a little fun in the process.

Portfolio Conference: Las Vegas, USA, 4-6 June 2024

Interested in a project and portfolio management conference? This year’s conference will have key takeaways that include demonstrating and increasing value of the PMO, medical device quality and resource management for PPMs, stakeholder management, and other important topics.

Project Management in Practice: Boston, USA, 14-15 June 2024

Project Management in Practice is once again being held in person at Boston University. Earn up to 12 PDUs and get up to speed on the latest topics in project management.

July to September 2024Agile 2024: Dallas, Texas, USA, 22-26 July 2024

Save the date for the Agile Alliance’s annual conference. Learn about latest practices, ideas and strategies and connect with other project managers. It will be held at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.

PMI Global Summit, Los Angeles, 18-21 September 2024

PMI’s largest event of the calendar is moving to LA this year. Honestly, if you can only go to one event, and you’re not bothered about it being an Agile-focused or PMO-focused event, then I would highly recommend the PMI conferences.

PMI definitely know how to wow with their events and this will be an amazing gathering of thought leaders. Worth checking out if you can make it (preferably if your company is funding travel, accommodation and the entrance ticket!).

October to December 202423rd American Pharma & Biotech PPM Conference: Boston, USA, 16-18 October 2024

This is the third American edition of the Project, Program, and Portfolio Management Summit with a focus on Biopharma Portfolio Strategies. This year’s conference is in person over three days, planning 30 speakers across 28 case studies of the latest innovations.

24th American Pharma & Biotech PPM Conference: San Francisco, USA, 13-14 November 2024

This is the fourth American edition of the Project, Program, and Portfolio Management Summit focusing on Biopharma Portfolio Strategies. This year’s conference is in person over two days, with 30 speakers across 28 case studies of the latest innovations.

Past events

Check out the replays and event write-ups online for these past events. Many of the organizers will also be advertising their next dates now, so have a think about which ones you want to put on your calendar for next year.

APM’s Festival of Education and Research: Virtual, 8 Feb 2023

APM’s Festival of Education and Research is a fantastic networking opportunity spanning across both professionals and academics. At this event, APM celebrates project management academia, education and research.

CHG MGMT Summit: Charlotte, NC, USA, 2-4 March 2023

ACMP’s Annual Conference was held in Charlotte this year, and the theme was Reimagining the Customer Experience.

Resource Planning Summit: St. Louis, MO, USA, 11-14 June 2023

This an annual four-day event for industry experts and Resource Planning professionals at all levels. The Resource Planning Summit covers a wide range of topics that appeal to anyone trying to navigate resource capacity vs. demand.

This article first appeared at Rebel's Guide to Project Management

Best PRINCE2 Books for 2024 (Including PRINCE2 Agile Books)

The PRINCE2® certification exam is tricky to pass because of the style of objective testing and the number of questions you have to answer.

But PRINCE2® itself is not a difficult method to learn – and the official manual is actually pretty easy to follow and understand. The latest manual, that came out in 2023 (you’ll hear this called PRINCE2 7) edition is even easier to read, and I feel like I can say that with some confidence as I was one of the reviewers for the text.

When I did my Foundation and Practitioner exams, I only used the two official PRINCE2® handbooks:

Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2®

and the partner book:

Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2®.

To be honest, I didn’t think about buying any other books at the time, as those were enough alongside the course material from my training provider.

As an aside, the PRINCE2® training provider I recommend for is MPlaza. Their materials are great.

However, there were a wide range of books available to help you understand the core practices (these used to be called themes), principles and processes of PRINCE2®. At the time of writing (December 2023), there really aren’t that many guidebooks to PRINCE2 7th edition as it is so new, but there are some, which is more than I can say for when I first looked in September 2023 when there were zero.

The lack of choice shouldn’t be a problem for you as the manual is all that you need to pass the exam. It is readable, if a little dull, but it will give you everything you need to be exam-ready. I would supplement it with a PRINCE2 exam simulator to test your skills at test taking, but the knowledge is all in the book.

If you are studying for your exam and wondering what to read to supplement your learning, here are my recommendations. Keep scrolling, as my favorite study guide is the last one on the list.

1. Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2®

I think you should read the original guidance. It’s written in a very accessible way. If your training provider does not provide it, it is worth investing in. Not least because Practitioner is an open book exam and you can tab and annotate your manual to help you in the test.

Make sure you get the 2023 (latest) version, known as PRINCE2 7.

It is expensive – see if you can put it on your business expenses but is the best PRINCE2® book and you can pass the exam with just this one.

Buy Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2® on Amazon

2. Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2®

Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2® is not an essential read for the exam, but it is super useful and provides a lot of background information about project context that is helpful.

This book is the partner book to Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2® (as the name suggests). It’s aimed at senior managers and senior project leaders. It covers the kinds of things that you need to know as a project sponsor working in a PRINCE2® environment.

The book approaches the project world from the perspective of someone in a leadership role, so it’s not directly relevant to project managers doing the day-to-day work. However, being able to see what the project process looks like on the exec side is very helpful and gives you a rounded view.

That background info is useful for improving your practice and filling in some of the gaps in how the whole thing is supposed to work.

If your manager is happy to fund this one, get it!

Note that this book is based on PRINCE2 2017 (6th edition) and we’re waiting for an updated version for PRINCE2 7.

Buy Directing Successful Projects on Amazon

3. PRINCE2 Agile®

Are you taking the Agile version of PRINCE2®? This is the book for you. It’s the official AXELOS handbook.

The book covers agile basics, PRINCE2® basics and has a useful section on what to fix and what to flex.

The second part of the book is the guidance, tailoring and techniques that are core for the exam. It looks at how to apply the principles, themes and processes in an agile way and explains how to manage product delivery.

Part 3 looks at areas of particular focus for PRINCE2 Agile® like the Agilometer and how to manage communications, releases and contracts. There are plenty of diagrams and I found it OK to read, not too dry.

Keith Richards is one of the authors and that gives me immense confidence in the quality and applicability of the text. I’m sure the other authors are great too, but I don’t think I know any of them! I hadn’t realized that Keith was behind this book.

Buy PRINCE2 Agile® on Amazon

4. PRINCE2 Agile®: An Implementation Pocket Guide

There are hardly any PRINCE2 Agile® exam prep guides around.

This book by Jamie Lynn Cooke is available as an Audible ebook and on Kindle as well as in paperback format. However, it is not an exam prep book for the agile test. Instead, it is a guide to implementing PRINCE2 Agile® in your own environment.

It covers the important things to know for agile success, how to switch from ‘ordinary’ PRINCE2® to the agile version, merging all the methods together and other topics that allow you to get agile going in your organization.

It’s something to read before you take a training course, to give you a bit of background on the terminology and context, especially if you already sat the ‘vanilla’ Practitioner exam and are now adding agile to your toolkit.

Buy PRINCE2 Agile®: An Implementation Pocket Guide on Amazon

5. PRINCE2 7 Foundation Companion

This book by Beate Friedrich is a study guide for the Foundation exam. Normally, people do both the Foundation and the Practitioner exam quite close together — if you are going to make the effort to study for one, you may as well study for both, right? That’s what I did anyway.

This book is relatively straightforward to read, but for me it was very similar to the official manual. If you struggle with the language in the official manual, you might find this one easier to get your head around, but broadly the books are laid out in the same structure.

This book does have exam study advice at the back, which the official manual does not. It’s not an expensive book if you get the Kindle version, so worth a read if you feel like having someone else explain the concepts will get you through the materials more quickly.

Buy PRINCE2 7 Foundation Companion on Amazon.

6. Mastering PRINCE2 7: An In-depth guide to key terms and concepts

Mastering PRINCE2 7 by Charles Crawford is a huge book, coming in at 429 pages. I would say (although I haven’t got my PRINCE2 manual here to check) that it’s longer than the official guidance! Why would you need an extra, heavy read for your exam prep?

The benefit of this book is that it is full of real life examples and practical applications. If you are struggling to see how PRINCE2 comes to life, then this book will help you work out how to put the concepts into practice.

It’s a gigantic glossary of terms with best practices and implementation tips, but you have to be pretty dedicated to get through the whole thing. Best for dipping in and out when you need a refresher of the core concepts or vocab.

Buy Mastering PRINCE2 7 on Amazon.

7. PRINCE2 7th Edition Exam Prep

PRINCE2 7th Edition Exam Prep by Charles Crawford is completely dedicated to helping you pass the exam. It’s simple, clear, easy to read and it steps you through the things you need to learn to pass the exam.

It also covers study strategies and key takeaways. As with the book above, it’s a huge read, but you wouldn’t need any other book (apart from the official manual, which I don’t think you can get away without looking at).

If you feel like you need another book to sit alongside your manual, and you are taking the Practitioner exam, this is the one to get.

Buy PRINCE2 7th Edition Exam Prep on Amazon.

How to choose PRINCE2® books

The most important consideration, whatever PRINCE2® book (or books) you end up buying, is to make sure they are aligned to the latest version of the manual. There are still old versions of several books floating around out there, so double check that you aren’t getting the 2017 or 2009 version by mistake.

Next, think about what other materials you are going to get as part of your training course. If you are self-studying, it’s more important to have the right reading material. However, too many books to read just gives you more to do, and I think that time is probably better spent doing practice exam questions.

Good luck with your test!

If you are looking for some other suggestions for project management books to read, you can check these out:

Books by Elizabeth Harrin (that’s me!)Best books on project collaborationBest leadership books for project managers8 must read books on stakeholder management10 best books on change management

This article first appeared at Rebel's Guide to Project Management

Project Management Conferences in Europe 2024

Looking for project management conferences in Europe to attend? We have compiled a list specific to Europe for events where you can network with other project managers and improve your skills.

We also have lists for project management conferences in the US and Canada and project management conferences in the UK, Asia, and Oceania.

Do you know of an upcoming event to add to the list? Please fill out this form.

January to March 2024

PMI Sweden Passion for Projects: Helsingborg, Sweden, 11-12March 2024

The PMI Sweden Chapter holds this annual event with inspiring speakers, professional colleagues, and companies in different sectors gathered with the goal of sharing their knowledge and experience in project, portfolio, and program management.

April to June 2024PMI Global Summit Series, Berlin, Germany 10-11 April 2024

The Global Summit Series comes to Germany. It looks like there will be continued focus on the role of AI in project management, as well as the standard PMI conference format of networking receptions, fantastic speakers and a huge exhibition hall.

Portfolio Conference: Basel, Switzerland, 22-24 May 2024

This PPM conference is focused on Project, Program, and Portfolio Management for Pharma & Biotech. This year’s theme is New Ways of Working, and speakers will be covering the latest innovations. This is a great opportunity for learning and networking.

IRNOP Conference 2024: Stockholm, Sweden, 11-14 June 2024

The 15th IRNOP Conference will be held in Stockholm with a theme of Project Management in a Sustainable Future. They are currently accepting papers through 31 January 2024.

June to December 202428th International Congress on Project Management and Engineering, 2-4 July 2024, Spain

This annual event hosted by IPMA will be held in Jaén, Spain this year with a hybrid format. You’ll need a free IPMA login to see more information about it.

Past events

Check out these past events. At the time of publishing this article, these events hadn’t released their new dates but it is likely that many of them will run again during next year. Watch this space for updates!

Bridge 2023: PM & PMO Conference: Vilnius, Lithuania and Online, 21 September 2023

The annual event has a theme of Projectized-Digitized-Connected and will be dedicated to a sustainable way of working this year. This hybrid conference will bring together project management professionals for education and networking.

34th IPMA World Congress: Sevilla, Spain, 21-22 September 2023

The IPMA World Congress is a two-day in-person conference. It will be held in Spain this year, with a full agenda to come.

The Program Committee of the Congress includes more than 30 experts from Europe, Asia, America, and Australia, heads of large companies, leading scientists, and practitioners representing various areas of management, economics, and digital technology.

11th International Scientific Conference on Project Management in the Baltic States: Riga, Latvia, 28-29 September 2023

The theme of this year’s conference is Practice and Perspectives. They are gathering to discuss the results of scientific research in project management issues, as well as networking and establishing new contacts.

This article first appeared at Rebel's Guide to Project Management

Coursera Plus: Why It’s Worth It (in 2024)

As a project manager, we are always learning new things. If you hold a professional certification like the Project Management Professional, an APM qualification, or PRINCE2, you’ll also be expected to carry out some professional development each year as well.

And that all costs money – often money that our employers won’t pay for us. There is another way to build your skills and manage your budget: Coursera Plus.

What is Coursera Plus?

Coursera Plus is Coursera’s subscription plan.

Coursera is a global online learning platform that has training material on a wide range of business-related topics. Think of it as an alternative to LinkedIn Learning, with content from world-class universities and tutors.

The Plus membership opens the doors to all of those online courses – there are thousands of courses.

There is a monthly or annual payment option. There is also a free trial, so you can check out what is included in the Plus program and make sure that you are comfortable committing to a subscription.

So what do you get for your money?

What’s included in Coursera Plus

It gives you access to 7,000+ courses and specializations (which are a collection of courses that lead to a certificate) with one monthly or annual subscription.

Over 90% of the courses on the platform are available with the Plus subscription.

You have unlimited access to the training from 170+ leading companies and universities. And you can earn certificates for all of them (there might be a few that don’t offer certificates – everything I looked at did, and Coursera advertises that you can earn unlimited certificates).

There are more than 15 Professional Certificate programs (including all the courses from Google) available too, but degrees and some other classes are excluded from the subscription plans.

How much is Coursera Plus

The cost of Coursera Plus in the UK is £47 per month or £322 per year ($59 USD per month or $399 USD per year), which represents a saving on the monthly version. The annual plan would be my recommendation if you know you want to commit to a year.

Alternatively, if you browse around and only want to buy one course, it might be cheaper to skip Coursera Plus and just go with paying for that course or specialization as a one-off. Courses range from £40-65 per month, with many programs being able to be completed in a month if you really go for it.

Check the pricing in your country, but it is going to be similar.

Benefits of Coursera Plus

Here are 7 benefits of Coursera Plus, based on my experience using the platform for professional development.

1. Study anything

Want a course on work breakdown structures? Agile methods? How to give presentations? Coursera has all of those and much more.

Does Coursera Plus include all courses?

No, it does not. The subscription excludes online degree courses and training from some partners such as IBM and Stanford University. But with around 90% of the content available to Plus members, you will be sure to find a course to help you progress.

Use the search filters to find the right kind of courses for you. I quickly found what I was looking for once I filtered out certain providers and languages.

2. Cost-effective learning

Coursera has a free option, but the content is limited. For example, while you can audit the Google Project Management Certificate (auditing a course means you can see the materials), you can’t take the assessments or do the peer reviews without a subscription.

Having said that, using the auditing feature was how I managed to get through so much of the Google Project Management certificate without having to pay for many months of access.

If you are planning on doing a few courses during a 12-month period then the Plus option gives you access to loads of quality learning materials without having to pay extra.

Recommended Google Project Management Certificate 5.0

A solid, professional, well-recognized project management course from a great training provider. Perfect for beginners and people interested in learning more about project management as a career.

Learn more We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you #ad 3. Fits with your schedule

How many of us have the time to put aside a week for a classroom course? I can hardly believe that’s what I used to do. I can’t imagine it now: flexible learning is the way to go.

The good thing about online learning is that you can fit it around your day job.

For example, I listened to some Agile training while I was going about my other tasks. I downloaded the Coursera app and had that on my iPad, so I could watch the videos while I was cleaning my teeth and …er… doing other bathroom things, and I also had the videos on while cooking dinner.

I managed to get through a lot of the content without having to ‘sit and learn.’ Note: don’t do this if you feel like you learn best if you take a lot of notes. I would never have got the potatoes peeled if I had to stop and jot down notes all the time.

4. Earn certificates

The main reason I signed up for Coursera is because I wanted certificates.

Does Coursera Plus include certificates?

Yes, it absolutely does!

Is it worth paying for Coursera certificates?

I think so, but you do have to acknowledge that they aren’t ‘worth’ as much as, say, a degree or a professional certification like the Project Management Professional (PMP)® that also recognizes your experience in the field and has certain eligibility criteria and a proctored exam.

I am a bit of a learning snob: I’m happy to learn stuff for the sake of it, but I am more motivated to learn when there is something at the end of it, like a Credly badge or a completion certificate that I can share on LinkedIn.

5. Respected by employers

Coursera is the platform that the training is hosted on. The training is delivered by world-class universities and training providers. For example, I did a course from IBM. I’ve also taken courses from Google.

Loads of universities have made their individual courses available on the platform, so if you are asking yourself if Coursera is respected by employers, I would say yes.

You can probably find some courses on there from establishments that don’t carry the same kudos as a prestigious university, but employers will trust the development you’ve gained from leading educational establishments.

6. High quality content

The quality of the video learning materials does depend on the provider, but the courses I have taken have been well-put together and taught by experts.

These are professionally-shot videos and professor-level instructors. It’s a high-quality learning experience, so you can guarantee that you are getting expert tuition.

Use your common sense, though. Choose providers who have ‘name recognition’ for their brands, universities and courses with lots of top star reviews. The Coursera platform does have ‘quality’ features built in like transcripts, note-taking, reminders etc but the quality of slides, videos and the presenters’ delivery is going to be down to the individual providers themselves.

7. Totally worth it!

I can say that personally, I’ve gained confidence in Agile methods through the learning I have done on the platform. While I don’t work with a Scrum team on a daily basis, I do interact with Scrum Masters and Product Owners regularly, and it helps to know more about their world.

Is Coursera Plus worth it? 87% of learners on Coursera report career benefits, so yes, it is. As long as you use it.

Pros of Coursera Plus

Lovely user interface that keeps you motivated to complete the training. The design is good, it’s easy to use, and key dates are highlighted so you remember what you are supposed to be doing next. It steps you through the training, making it difficult to fail to complete the course.

Offline option. You can download the videos and transcripts to watch them when you are offline.

Easy to understand pricing. The pricing for Coursera in general is confusing. I couldn’t find out how much a course was until I’d enrolled in the free trial, and they do make it hard to know how much it will cost to take a whole certificate as the price is often based on monthly subscriptions (for professional certificates and Coursera specializations, for example). But the Plus pricing is easy to understand: it’s one price per month for everything, or a one-off annual fee.

14-day money back guarantee. If you pay for the premium subscription plan and get the annual option, you have 14 days to check it out. Do use this time, as if the subscription service isn’t for you, this is your moment to cancel it.

Forums. One thing I have enjoyed about the courses I’ve taken is the option to participate in forums. There are thousands of students online (and plenty of social proof about what it means for their careers), and the majority are willing to chat in the forum. That makes learning a social experience, even though you are at home.

Tip

Networking in the Coursera Forums can be very helpful to share experiences, networking, and get advice from other project managers.

Cons of Coursera Plus

Many beginner courses. Most of the courses I looked at were aimed at beginners. You’ll have to dig to find content aimed at career professionals with more experience. There’s nothing wrong with going over the basics, but if you have been doing a job for a while, try to seek out the modules that will help you the most to save time.

Time commitment. You’ll get the most out of Coursera Plus if you do two courses in a year, or some learning every month. That is a commitment. Go for a monthly subscription if you aren’t sure you can keep that level of learning up for a whole year.

Might have additional costs. Check what Coursera courses are included in the Plus subscription before you sign up, as if the one you want to do is not, you might incur additional costs. For example, I found the IBM Professional Project Management courses were not all included in Coursera Plus when I did them.

Other considerations before you sign up

There are a few other niggles I had with it. For example, they constantly talk about earning a ‘shareable certificate’. All that means is you can directly share the image of your certificate to LinkedIn, and it includes a link back to verify your achievement on their platform if an employer wanted to check out that you had actually earned it.

All certificates are ‘shareable’ – I could photocopy a certificate and send it to you. It feels a bit ‘social media’ but I get the sentiment, and these days when you could mock up something in Canva it is good to have the validation of a link back for evidence.

Know your goals

Finally, it’s really important to have some idea of your career goals before you sign up. Is it worth your time to learn about data analytics? Should you focus on Excel for Business? What about social sciences, leadership, financial accounting…?

You could go down the Coursera rabbit hole and end up studying a wide range of topics that will have no impact on your career prospects at all, so go in with a game plan!

My top 10 recommended courses on Coursera will give you a good starting point.

Are you ready to check it out yourself? Sign up for a free 7-day trial and have a look around. I’ll see you there!

Coursera Plus

Unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs in a monthly subscription program.

Learn More We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you #ad

Pin for later reading

This article first appeared at Rebel's Guide to Project Management

PM PrepCast PMP Training and Exam Simulator Review (2024) + Discount Coupon Code

Recommended The PMP PrepCast Elite PLUS $389

This complete self-directed PMP Exam course is our top pick. The Elite PLUS bundle includes the PMP training course, the PMP Exam Simulator, The Formula Guide, and The StudyCoach Guidebook, giving students a PMP Study Plan to follow.

Buy Now We're pleased to be affiliates for The Project Management PrepCast #ad

This article is an honest PM PrepCast review and gives you the lowdown on one of the top courses I recommend for PMP prep. Let’s get you started and on the way to certification with the PrepCast!

TL;DR: This is the best PMP exam prep course I have come across. Reasonably priced, easy to use, comprehensive and fully updated to the latest exam specifications and PMBOK 7th Edition.

Want money off?

Scroll down for the latest PM PrepCast coupon code to get a discount on your training. There are new codes each month!

It can be insanely difficult to find time to study, especially when you are working. That’s why I love the Project Management PrepCast as an exam prep tool for both PMP® prep and the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®, because the learning comes in bite-sized chunks.

Why listen to me?

I’ve been a PMI member for many years and I’ve very familiar with the content of this course (and the other courses I review).

I’m a Fellow of the Association for Project Management in the UK and hold several other certifications relevant to project management so I have a good grounding of what it means to study for professional exams and the PMI content that the PMP exam expects you to know.

So, what’s this course and why am I recommending it to you?

What is the Project Management PrepCast?

The Project Management PrepCast is an incredibly popular, formal, online 35-hour training course from Cornelius Fichtner, PMP, CSM. His company is an experienced training provider, so you know the course has been vetted and is top quality.

The online course is delivered via video and audio, through an online course platform. You login, and everything is there for you inside one website.

The course meets the PMI requirements for formal project management education (35 contact hours) and provides you with a certificate for evidence in case your PMP application is audited.

Having the 35 hours certificate is a must if you want to apply for the PMP® exam and either don’t have any prior project management education or can’t be bothered to dig out all those certificates from years ago to evidence your education.

Recommended CAPM and PMP Prep BooksThe PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try by Andy CrowePMP Exam Prep by Rita MulcahyCAPM Exam Prep by Rita MulcahyA Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide from PMIThe 50 PMP Exam Questions Everyone Gets Wrong by Cornelius Fichtner

When you login for the first time, this iswhat you see:

The PM PrepCast homepage. The website guides you through exactly what to do and what to study in what order.

Recommended The PMP PrepCast Elite PLUS $389

This complete self-directed PMP Exam course is our top pick. The Elite PLUS bundle includes the PMP training course, the PMP Exam Simulator, The Formula Guide, and The StudyCoach Guidebook, giving students a PMP Study Plan to follow.

Buy Now We're pleased to be affiliates for The Project Management PrepCast #ad What the course is like

Here’s an image from my iPad of what you get when you login to the PM PrepCast online training materials. You can use the contents list and mark items as complete. For me, that list acts as my study plan.

The live classroom training element of their course package uses Zoom for the interactive sessions.

This is part of the contents of the Project Management PrepCast – a screenshot from my iPad of the topics. The course goes on, it just wouldn’t fit on the screen. At the point I took this image, I hadn’t completed much of the course. Who is the Project Management PrepCast for?

The PrepCast team offer a full exam prep course for PMP® aspirants, compliant with the ever-more-strict PMI guidelines.

If you want to prepare for and take the PMP® exam, this is the course for you.

Studying for another PMI certification?

If you are preparing for the CAPM, get the PrepCast CAPM Elite instead, as it is better tailored to your syllabus and exam content outline.

Taking the PMI-ACP exam? Get this course instead.

PM PrepCast Exam Simulator Review

I recommend you get an exam simulator to go alongside your course materials. It is so hard to pass a 4 hour exam with no exam practice. Even if you know all the topics inside out, you need to have exam skills to get you through the hours in the exam room.

Test taking online is a different skill set. You need to be able to navigate through the questions, confidently skipping the questions you don’t know and then going back to them at the end when you have more time.

An online simulator lets you practice with those features so you don’t have to worry about seeing them for the first time in an exam room. Honestly, the idea of marking questions and reviewing them later took me a while to get my head around, so I was grateful for using the simulator to understand how best to use this feature.

The PM PrepCast offers a 5-star rated PMP Exam Simulator that has been fully updated for the latest changes to the exam, including PMBOK® Guide – 7th Edition.

And don’t worry if you think it is going totake you a while to get round to using the exam simulator. Your 90-day accessto the test exams only starts when you start your first exam, so you can study,and then test yourself when you are ready.

I have used the exam simulator, and I think it’s very realistic. It includes the new exam question formats including drag and drop, multiple choice, multiple select, hotspot questions that ask you to interpret charts and graphs.

The statistics that help you track your progress are GENIUS. So much time saved by helping you identify and topics where you need to spend more time.

Recommended The PM PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator $149.00

Practicing before you take your PMP Exam is the best way to pass the test. This proven tool is brilliant at improving your confidence and highlighting areas where you need to build your skills -- includes detailed answers and references to what to study next.

Receive $30 with the discount code Dec23 for the month of December 2023.

Learn more We earn a commission if you click and go on to make a purchase, at no cost to you #ad Pros

I found the course easy to use and verycomprehensive.

The course content has been designed byPMP® certificate holders. The material is clear and easy to understand,presented in a logical order.

I liked that I can do it in my own time,without the effort of going to the classroom. With my job, there is no way thatI could take a week out for study, which is effectively what you’d have to do(at least) to get through all the material in a classroom setting.

It’s reasonably priced.

The customer service is amazing and theteam is really helpful.

And… I probably shouldn’t judge a course onthis but…Cornelius’s voice is lovely! And I enjoyed his gentle sense of humourtoo.

Cons

Some of the videos are quite long. I am more used to studying with videos that are more like 10-15 minutes. The videos in the Google Project Management Certificate are really short so it feels like you are making progress quickly through the material.

I’m sure that says more about my attention span than the course material, and you can obviously pause the videos and go back later to watch the second half.

Many of the lessons are split up intomultiple videos, but they are more like 20-30 minutes long. That’s still shortenough to fit one into a commute or lunch break.

You have to remember to do the work. Having access to a classroom tutor helps while you’re in that part of the course, but with any online training materials, it’s your responsibility to login and study.

I think the design of some of the slidesfor the webinars is old-fashioned.

Here’s an example slide so you can see whatI mean.

A slide from the Benefits Realisation Management module in the Project Management PrepCast.

I mean, it’s OK, but it doesn’t look modern to me. So – know you are getting the course for the content, not the style! Wouldn’t you rather the price was low instead of funding a fancy design team?

You also can’t download the slides. When I run training courses, I make sure delegates have a copy of the slides to takeaway, but PrepCast doesn’t give you that option. Nothing to stop you screenshotting slides or making your own notes though.

Claiming PDUs

If you are not yet a PMP, you do not need to claim PDUs (Professional Development Units – PMI’s scheme for continuing professional development).

However, if you want to brush up your skills, for example, refresh your knowledge against the latest version of the PMBOK® Guide then you can claim PDUs if you take the PM PrepCast. It could be a fast, interesting and relatively cheap way to gain all your PDUs for one recertification cycle in one go.

There are better options though for earning PDUs and I have a couple of articles about that, like this one on how to earn PDUs fast, and this one on getting those hard-to-earn leadership PDUs.

Refund Policy

I know buying a course is a big deal, even one as reasonably priced as this. The Project Management PrepCast comes with an iron-clad refund policy. If it isn’t for you, you can ask for a full refund at any point in the first 30 days. No questions asked.

That makes it a safe bet!

PM PrepCast coupon

There is an amazing deal at the moment for people who are committed to taking their exams. And when I can get discounts on useful stuff I pass them on to you!

Discount coupon

$30 off the PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator Deluxe with discount code Dec23 from 1 December to 31 December 2023.

PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator Essential $99.00

Receive 30 days of access to this PMP Exam Simulator from the PrepCast. Perfect for when your exam is scheduled soon and you want to walk into the exam with confidence.

Buy Now We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you #ad Summary & Recommendation

If you’re on the fence, there are threeoptions as I see it:

You carry on as you are, looking for a way to finally get your CAPM or PMPYou buy the Prepcast training package, you don’t like and you’ll get a refund (full 30 day refund, no questions asked)You buy the Prepcast training package, do the course and (hopefully) pass the exam (of course you will, be positive!).

Irecommend this course, if you are prepared to be self-motivated and do thework.

If you need someone else to hold youaccountable, or you are too busy to find time to schedule your study, then thiscourse isn’t going to work out for you.

Check out the course now!

What are you going to do with your next few months? I’ll be squeezing in some study time! I hope this PM PrepCast review has been helpful to you, and you know now what steps to take next in your PMP exam studies.

Recommended CAPM and PMP Prep BooksThe PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try by Andy CrowePMP Exam Prep by Rita MulcahyCAPM Exam Prep by Rita MulcahyA Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide from PMIThe 50 PMP Exam Questions Everyone Gets Wrong by Cornelius Fichtner Recommended The PMP PrepCast Elite PLUS $389

This complete self-directed PMP Exam course is our top pick. The Elite PLUS bundle includes the PMP training course, the PMP Exam Simulator, The Formula Guide, and The StudyCoach Guidebook, giving students a PMP Study Plan to follow.

Buy Now We're pleased to be affiliates for The Project Management PrepCast #ad PMP Exam Prep PM StudyCoach Guidebook $49.00

These guidebooks give you a week-by-week study plan to follow to help you in your quest toward your PMP certification. Earn your PMP in 4 or 12 weeks!

12 Week Plan 4 Week Plan We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you #ad

Pin for later reading:

This article first appeared at Rebel's Guide to Project Management

Project Management Conferences in the UK 2024

Attending a project management conference is an excellent way to network with other project managers, build your skills, and improve your career. We have compiled a list of project management conferences in the UK so that you can stay close to home.

Looking to travel a bit further? We also have lists for project management conferences in the US and Canada, as well as project management conferences in Europe, Asia and Oceania.

Do you know of an upcoming event to add to the list? Please fill out this form.

January to March 202426th European Pharma & Biotech Project, Program, and Portfolio Management Conference: London, UK, 25-26 January 2024

This PPM conference is focused on Project, Program, and Portfolio Management for Pharma & Biotech. The main takeaways will be about leveraging technologies for improved decision making, governance and risk management, and a deep dive into AI. The speakers will be covering the latest innovations. This is a great opportunity for learning and networking.

PMO: HE, University of Nottingham, UK, 14 March 2024

The House of PMO is running a Higher Education event this year in association with the University of Nottingham. Aimed at PMO professionals working in higher education, this is a truly tailored event for mixing with peers.

April to June 2024APM Project Management Conference: Coventry, UK, 5-6 June 2024

The APM PM Conference will have a theme of Navigating Tomorrow: Future Skills for Project Professionals. Details are still being planned, but new this year, there will be a networking dinner on the evening of 5 June with a special guest providing a thought-provoking talk.

PMO Conference UK: London, UK, 18-19 June 2024

Completely focused on all things PMO, the two-day PMO Conference features expert speakers, an exhibition with PMO products and services, plus the chance to connect with other professionals in the industry. There is also an event in November taking place in Scotland.

July to September 2024EVA Performance: Virtual / London, UK, 8-12 July 2024

This year they are currently planning an in-person conference with an online component as well. It will be held at the BCS London office, as well as being presented on Zoom.

Details are still being planned, so watch this space for more information.

28th European Pharma & Biotech Project, Program, and Portfolio Management Conference: London, UK, 25-26 September 2024

This PPM conference is focused on Project, Program, and Portfolio Management for Pharma & Biotech. The main takeaways will be about leveraging technologies for improved decision making, governance and risk management, and a deep dive into AI. The speakers will be covering the latest innovations. This is a great opportunity for learning and networking.

APM Women in Project Management Conference 2024: London, UK, 26 September 2024

There are not many details yet for the return of the Women in Project Management conference, so watch this space. You can register your interest as well.

October to December 2024

The Future PMO: London, UK, 3 October 2024

The Future PMO is a day devoted to PMO professionals and this year’s theme is #PMOWizards. It sounds magical! This is a fun and unique conference that brings together experts across many industries to learn from each other. Network and meet with your peers, attend the keynote and morning sessions, and in the afternoon attend workshop sessions.

Once again, it is being held at the Novotel London West which is just a 3-minute walk from the Hammersmith Underground Station.

PMO Conference UK: Edinburgh, Scotland, dates to be confirmed, probably around November 2024

Completely focused on all things PMO, this two-day event features expert speakers, an exhibition with PMO products and services, plus the chance to connect with other professionals in the industry. There is a sister event taking place in London in June.

It will be held at the John McIntyre Conference Centre in Edinburgh, alongside the PMO Learn! event.

I’ve spoken at a previous conference about Stakeholder Engagification. My presentation looked at the differences between management and engagement in a project-led environment and provide practical tips for “doing” engagement and encouraging participation through game mechanics. I also did a similar webinar version you can watch here.

I also attended the conference in 2018 and interviewed Geoff Crane. Watch the video below.

Past events

Check out past events – many of these will run again in future years but at the time of publishing this article, the dates and details are not available.

Project Challenge: Manchester and London, UK

Project Challenge is an independent event for project, program, and resource management. It’s part exhibition, part conference, held at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester so nice and easy to get to. There is a sister event held in London too.

I spoke at the London event in 2023, on behalf of Planisware, talking about Managing Multiple Projects.

8th International Conference on Research in Management & Economics: Cambridge, UK, 15-17 December 2023

This annual conference will take place at the University of Cambridge, Homerton College. There is both an in-person and virtual option for this academic conference.

This article first appeared at Rebel's Guide to Project Management

Project Management Conferences in Asia, Oceania and Africa 2024

We have rounded up all of the project management conferences in Asia, Oceania, and Africa. Attending one of the conferences is a great way to network with other project managers, build your skillset, and experience career growth. Plus is is always nice to get out of the office.

Check out our lists other conferences around the world:

Project Management Conferences in the US and CanadaProject Management Conferences in the UKProject Management Conferences in Europe

Do you know of an upcoming event to add to the list? Please fill out this form.

January to March 2024Dubai International Project Management Forum: Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, 23-26 January 2024

Entering its eighth year, the Dubai International Project Management Forum is the largest project management event in the region had a theme of Fostering Wellbeing. This learning and networking event brought together over 2,000 project managers.

NZ Project Management Conference 2024: Wellington, NZ, 22-23 February 2024

After taking a bit of break, the PMI New Zealand Chapter is back to hosting their annual conference. The theme is Celebrating Diversity and will be a curated program that embraces the richness of perspectives and experiences within the project management industry.

Summer 2024PGCS Project and Program Management Symposium: Canberra, Australia, 13-15 August 2024

This is the PGCS Symposium, and this year’s theme is Capability Matters! There are 3 streams and masterclasses planned, so there is sure to be something for everyone.

PMI Africa Conference, Rwanda

The theme for this year’s PMI Africa conference is yet to be announced, and being in partnership with the PMI Rwanda Chapter, it’s being held in Rwanda during 2024. This 9th annual event is sure to be great.

Past Events

Check out these past events and look out for the dates of the next events when they are published.

2023 AIPM National Conference: Gold Coast, Australia, 29-31 October 2023

The Australian Institute of Project Management holds an annual conference. The theme is Impact and Influence, with a focus on equipping project professionals with the skills to maximise their impact and influence in the workplace.

This article first appeared at Rebel's Guide to Project Management