Discussion on:

Build project management skills through training and coaching

It's great to see the author acknowledge training and coaching as potential responsibilities of the PMO. Effective training and coaching is critical to the success of any Project Management Methodology implementation. Many organizations define their PMO as simply a repository, such as a directory of documents stored on a server. Unless the organization already has mature PM processes with strong leadership, the PMO processes and tools will not be effective. If the organization does not havestrong project managers, with PM processes in place, the PMO must be properly staffed to provide effective training and coaching. Many times, the implementation of a formal Project Management Methodology represents a major cultural change, so effective PMO staffing is critical. In these situations, PMO staff must be "champions", with the proper authority to define and enforce PM standards.

sorry, i read this very rapidly, but the emphasis was so cognitive that i am relatively certain that i got the gist.

i am retired from both computer consulting and psychology but have seldom used them together except in a very informal way when iwas a PC trouble-shooter in the District at Energy and Labor.

i have the very strong gut feeling that people skills are not optimally approached cognitively but must be learned in process-oriented training, e. g. t-groups, etc.

larry constantine and i are in essential agreement regarding this, and besides his long history in structured programming and analysis, larry has maintained all thru the years a private practice in family therapy, at least until very recently when i have been out of contact with him for several years.

though i have not used t-group methodology in computing training, i did so a few years back in the training of mental health paraprofessionals in my native tennessee and feel confident that it is quite aproposin computing.

all the best,

d jay johns, phd

nashville tennessee