State of Georgia Project Manager Certification Program

Information Technology Solutions

COURSES OFFERED
Project Management Foundations You will learn the concepts and best practices of project management; the fundamentals, techniques and tools to manage a project to success.
Planning, Scheduling and Control You will get hands-on experience practicing skills in requirements gathering, work breakdown structure, scheduling and budgeting.
Identifying and Managing Risk You will learn the concepts and techniques to successful risk management: identify, analyze, respond and monitor.
Recovering Failing Projects You will learn to see the early signs that your project is in danger, using techniques to identify the root cause of your problems, analyze the potential solutions and select the solution that will rescue your project.
Managing Project Requirements You will learn to apply the concepts for effective requirements management, what makes up a good requirement, the difference between functional and non-functional requirements, and best practices for eliciting, validating and verifying requirements.
Building Project Relationships You will learn to apply principles and techniques for building strong relationships among project stakeholders, negotiating to win-win conclusions, using analytical problem-solving techniques, managing resistance to change and applying the appropriate communication style to achieve results.
Contact GTA's Enterprise Project Management Office at epmo@gta.ga.gov

State of Georgia Project Manager Certification Program
The current Project Management Development Program offers courses in fundamental concepts and practices. This program has served the state well for a number of years. Over this time, the environment of state projects has changed and evolved, requiring the need for an expansion of a project manager's competency base. As budgets tighten and our constituents demand more accountability, the need for more business-focused project management practices becomes imperative. This requires project managers to have a broader skill set than those represented by the PMP credential. Those traditional project management skills are still needed. However, the State of Georgia Project Manager Certification Program broadens those skills beyond the PMP credential to encompass a business-focused project management competency. The curriculum, assessments, reviews and coaching have been designed to teach you how to ensure a project delivers a valuable business solution that aligns to the agency's mission. If you want to broaden your competencies today to become one of the state's leaders for the future, this certification is for you. Keep reading and discover how to get involved.
Participants in the program take one of two tracks depending on whether they have the PMP credential.
Georgia Technology Authority 47 Trinity Avenue Atlanta, GA 30334
http://gta.georgia.gov/egap/professional-development

COURSES OFFERED
Leadership for Project Managers You will learn effective techniques to develop your own leadership skills, to understand the importance of influence to lead others and to "lead from the middle".
Managing Organizational Change You will understand how changes in organizations are achieved one individual at a time and how to develop plans to assist people in making the transition from the current state to a future state.
Successful Project Meetings You will learn concepts and techniques to effectively manage all of your project meetings. You will also practice these techniques through role play exercises and use best practice processes to plan, facilitate and get results from meetings.
Procurement Practices for PMs You will learn the 7-stage process for procurement used by the state of Georgia, along with industry best practices in contract administration and management. You will also learn Request for Proposal review techniques for your project. For fullservice GETS agencies, the Request for Solution process will be discussed.
Advanced PM Concepts You will learn a business driven project management approach that will link organizational strategies and project plans and deliver business objectives, and not just complete a project.
Managing Projects with EPLC You will learn the state standard project management lifecycle and how to use this framework to manage your project and develop major deliverables for each phase of the lifecycle. You will also learn how a stage gate review is conducted.

How the Program Works
The Enterprise Portfolio Management Office at the Georgia Technology Authority has created a Project Manager Certification Program to advance project management competencies in state government.
Participants applying to the program may enter through one of two tracks. The first track is determined by whether the applicant holds the PMP credential. The second track is for those not holding the credential. All applicants will submit a PM Competency Assessment that will be used to establish a competency baseline and assist in creating a development plan.
The applicant will then complete the required curriculum based upon the development plan. In order to receive the Certified Project Manager designation, applicants must have managed projects for a period of at least two years within the State of Georgia, the most recent being no less than one year before applying to the program. For those applicants who are not managing projects, an Associate of Project Management certification can be attained.
Next Steps
Send an e-mail to epmo@gta.ga.gov requesting to apply to the Georgia Certified Project Manager Program.
Complete the application and Project Manager Competency Self-Assessment and send them back to the program director.
The program director will review your assessment with you and assist with your development plan.
Register for the appropriate courses in your track, and you are on your way to achieving your certification.