Project Management Professional Development Program annual report, 2013

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Annual Performance Report - 2013

Table of Contents
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 1 Program Overview.................................................................................................................................. 2
Certification Programs........................................................................................................................ 2 Professional Development Courses.................................................................................................... 2 Certification Programs............................................................................................................................ 3 Competency Evaluations .................................................................................................................... 3 Participating Agencies ........................................................................................................................ 4 Participant Progress ........................................................................................................................... 4 Professional Development Courses........................................................................................................ 5 Course Demographics......................................................................................................................... 5
Participants per Course .................................................................................................................. 5 Participants per Agency.................................................................................................................. 6 Course Evaluations ............................................................................................................................. 7 Course Material .............................................................................................................................. 7 Instructor Effectiveness.................................................................................................................. 7 Course Relevance to Job Duties ..................................................................................................... 7 Expectations Met............................................................................................................................ 7 Overall Rating ................................................................................................................................. 8 Course Examinations Performance .................................................................................................... 8 Overall Exam Percentiles ................................................................................................................ 8 Exam Results by Course.................................................................................................................. 8 Exam Results by Agency ................................................................................................................. 9 Future Directions .................................................................................................................................. 10 Agency Outreach Initiative ............................................................................................................... 10 Course Development........................................................................................................................ 10 Knowledge Center Information System ........................................................................................... 10

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Project Management Professional Development Program, sponsored by the Georgia Technology Authority, continues to be enthusiastically accepted by state agencies and their personnel participating in program activities.
Two project management certification programs were implemented in January, along with 11 new course offerings for project management professional development. A PMP Exam Preparation course is now being offered to help prepare project managers to achieve the Project Management Professional (PMP) credential offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI). Several individuals have already achieved their PMP credential as a result of this program.
Participation levels in the certification programs and the professional development courses remain high, and interest continues to rise. There are 66 individuals from 19 agencies participating in the certification programs, while 322 individuals across 17 agencies are participating in the professional development courses. The large response is primarily attributable to word-of-mouth by individuals telling their colleagues about the courses. One surprising aspect we did not anticipate was the number of business and management-level folks desiring to achieve the Associate certification. The agency business community is demonstrating a desire to understand project and portfolio management in a way that will enhance their ability to execute and deliver on the agencies' strategic goals through project management.
Participants continue to express their approval of the courses with evaluation scores showing 99% satisfaction with the instructor, 98% stating that expectations were met, and a 97% overall satisfaction rating. The program continues to gauge the evaluations for improvement opportunities.
Participants are also scoring well on course exams. Based on exam results, 97% of participants achieved passing scores and more than 74% of participants scored a 90% or higher score on their exams.
The Competency Assessment for participants in the certification program was initiated this year and indicates there is work to be done to improve project management competencies within the State. Because the course objectives in the program are mapped to the competency framework, an individual will be able to target the areas of improvement as well as bolster areas of strength.
In the near-term, the program will complete the development of five remaining courses and begin work on course improvement and an agency outreach initiative. The program will also focus on researching requirements and costs of a Knowledge Center information system to assist in automating registration, course material collaboration, and creating online access to courses. This will greatly expand our reach and serve a larger segment of the state government's project management market on a more timely and efficient basis.
Believing that project management is the execution mechanism for delivering agency and state strategic objectives it becomes imperative to increase project management performance competencies and personal attribute competencies of project managers and other project personnel. The Project Management Professional Development program facilitates this through its program offerings. The following report discusses the accomplishments and direction of the program.

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PROGRAM OVERVIEW
In January 2013 the Project Management Professional Development Program added 11 new courses and two new certification programs, the Georgia Certified Project Manager (GCPM) and the Associate Project Manager (APM) certification programs, which are integral to advancing the project management and leadership competencies for all state agencies. The overarching objective of the program is to achieve a business-focused project management practice across state government.
The definition of project management as stated in the PMBOK Guide is "the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to a broad range of project activities to meet the requirements of the project." The program supports this definition through the use of competency assessments, development courses, and individual mentoring. Each development activity has the student's professional development in mind by first determining the need and then applying the appropriate development activity that fills a gap in knowledge, skills, tools, or technique. This approach will advance the practice and competency of project management across state government.
Certification Programs
In the first six months of operation, the two programs have 66 participants across 19 agencies. Several of the participants are nearing the half-way point in their curriculum and those in the Associate program will complete their program by managing a project capstone simulation over a 4-5 week period to receive their certification. We are excited about the overwhelming support for this program and the enthusiasm from its participants. One surprising aspect we did not anticipate was the number of business and management level folks desiring to achieve the Associate certification. The agency business community is demonstrating a desire to understand project and portfolio management in a way that will enhance their ability to meet the agencies' business objectives and constituent needs. The future of the program looks promising as we listen to our customers and shape the program to meet their needs. We are already looking at an enhancement to include an executive-level certification that was recommended by some of the business folks participating in the program.
Professional Development Courses
The purpose of the Project Management Professional Development Program is to enhance and increase the competencies of project managers within Georgia state government. This is being accomplished by concentrating on development initiatives that are based on industry best practices, standards, and processes. The program supports 15 courses designed to build the project manager and personal attribute competencies described in the Competency Framework. Participants are tested in each course on their understanding and knowledge of course objectives.

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CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS
Competency Evaluations
The programs track two levels of project management competency: project management performance and personal attributes. When participants enter the program, they complete a self-assessment in these two competency categories. These assessments are used to capture a baseline for the participant to gauge improvement over time in the competency categories and are only seen by the participant and the program director.
The program uses the Project Management Competency Framework developed by the Project Management Institute (PMI) as the basis of its assessment. The scores of the current participants are combined to determine the overall assessment averages for each category.
Initial results indicate that on average, the participants are just below or just above competency expectations in the project management performance competencies. Participants score slightly higher in the personal attributes competencies.
These results indicate a solid justification for a project management development initiative and its continued support. State of Georgia project management competencies are in need of improvement at least as indicated by this initial assessment of program participants.

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Participating Agencies
In the first six months of operation, the two programs have 66 participants across 19 agencies. Individuals from many agencies continue to inquire about the program after reading informational material, or learning about it on the website or through word-of-mouth from colleagues.
The Department of Human Services has the highest number of participants, followed closely by the Department of Community Health.
Participant Progress
Many participants in the program were able to start their program tracks in January. For those not able to start their program tracks, the lack of availability of a course is the primary reason. As the new schedule is announced, the majority of these individuals will be able to start their tracks. Many of the participants have completed over half or nearly half of their course requirements as of the end of the fiscal year.

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES

Course Demographics
This section breaks down the demographics by course and agency participants, course examination results, and course evaluations. During the 2013 fiscal year, 20 course sections were offered with 298 registrants for the year and 322 participants. The program continues to experience a high rate of interest among the customer base as represented by the high registration rate and number of individuals on the waiting list. The table below indicates the 2013 course offerings and the number of registrants and individuals on the waiting list. It can be concluded that even with an expanded schedule for fiscal year 2014, the program may not be able to accommodate new interest.

Course Project Management Foundations Project Planning Scheduling and Control Identifying and Managing Risk Recovering Failing Projects Managing Project Requirements Managing Organizational Change Managing Projects with EPLC Procurement Practices for PMs Leadership for Project Managers Successful Project Meetings Building Project Relationships MS Project 1 MS Project 2 PMP Exam Prep Advanced PM Concepts
Total

2013 Count 44 59 36 32 40 0 27 23 0 0 0 18 0 19 0
298

Wait List 27 25 27 23 27 6 25 19 27 8 24 12 8 8 0
266

Participants per Course
Four new courses were included in the offerings this year, along with the PMP Exam Preparation course, which is licensed from TenStep, Inc. The PM Foundations and the Planning courses continue to have the highest attendance. There were three sections offered for these two courses due to the high demand. The new offerings experienced a high attendance, particularly the Requirements class. The remaining new courses, which are under development, are full and we expect similar attendance results for these courses as well.

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Participants per Agency
During fiscal year 2013, the largest participation from an agency came from the Department of Revenue, followed by the Department of Community Health and the Department of Human Services. Overall, 17 agencies participated in the program.

With the inclusion of the project management certification programs, the program can now track how many individuals are taking the course work associated with their certification programs. The chart below indicates the total number of agency participants and the number participants in the Associate and State certification programs. The Department of Human Services has the highest number of individuals pursuing their certificate course work, followed by the Department of Community Health, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Revenue. The State Road and Tollway Authority shows the highest percentage of participants pursuing their certification course work. The agencies with no participants in the certification programs present an opportunity to expand certification into these agencies.

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Course Evaluations
The course evaluation results are based on surveys conducted in each course. A total of 280 participants were surveyed. Participants scored survey questions in four categories, rating them with values from 1 to 10. Scores from 8 10 signify participants agree with the statement, scores from 4 7 signify a neutral position, and scores from 1 3 signify disagreement with the statement. This year the program is setting service levels with a target of 90% in each category and a lower limit of 75% in each category.

Course Material
These questions evaluate whether the course materials, i.e., Student Guide, presentations, handouts, and supplemental materials, aided the participant in understanding the course topics and could serve as a reference in the future.
The overall results indicate that 96.43% of the 280 participants feel the course materials in all courses were useful and could be used for future reference.

Instructor Effectiveness
These questions evaluate the effectiveness of the instructor in presenting the course materials. The instructor is also evaluated on his/her ability to explain concepts clearly and engage with individuals.
The overall results indicate that 99.09% of the 280 participants feel the instructor performed effectively and brought value to each participant.

Course Relevance to Job Duties
These questions evaluate the relevance of the course to the participant's job duties and whether the participant could use the course concepts immediately in their job.
The overall results indicate that 95.54% of the 280 participants feel the course content would bring value to their job.

Expectations Met These questions measure whether the participant's expectations have been met. The overall results indicate that 98.21% of the 280 participants feel the course met their expectations.

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Overall Rating This rating is calculated as an average of all the evaluation categories. The overall results indicate that 97.73% of the 280 participants were satisfied with their course experience and that they received value from it.
Course Examinations Performance
The following results are based on exam results in each course. The total number of participants taking course examinations was 281. The course exams tested participants' knowledge of terminology, understanding of concepts, and how to apply those concepts to a project scenario. A secondary purpose of the examinations is to prepare participants interested in pursuing the PMP credential. The exams have been designed to resemble the PMP exam.
Overall Exam Percentiles This metric combines the percentiles of all courses to give an overall view of participant performance. Based on exam results, 97% of participants achieved passing scores. More than 74% of participants scored a 90% or higher score on the exams. The program does not give an exam for the PMP Exam Preparation course due to the nature of the course.

Exam Results by Course
The exam results indicate that participants are performing well in each course. A score of over 70% would be a passing grade. It appears participants had the most difficult time with passing the Planning exam. This may be due to understanding Earned Value calculations.
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Exam Results by Agency
This section displays the average exam results by individual agency. The data indicates agencies are performing very well on course exams at this time.

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FUTURE DIRECTIONS
One of the objectives from last year was building the ability to advise agency leaders on their agencies' project management capabilities and development efforts. During fiscal year 2013, the program gathered and tracked individual data of program participants. There is enough data collected to date to allow the program to begin an awareness and education campaign with the management of participant agencies. (This initiative is described below.) Feedback from the customer base also reveals a need for additional workshops. With the growing demand, we will need to begin planning for how to reach more people with course work while maintaining the current program head count.
Agency Outreach Initiative
As the program continues to gather data on participant competencies, course participation, exam results and progress along their certification track, we will work with agency management to bring an awareness of potential and rising project managers within their own agency whom they may not know about. The purpose of this initiative is two-fold. The first objective is to make management aware of program participants' acquired competency in project management. A second objective is to help agencies reduce the cost of contract project management labor and foster development opportunities for internal staff.
Course Development
Based on survey results, individual interviews, and class room discussions, the program is discovering opportunities for improving the course materials and program processes. The program will undertake several initiatives in the near and long term to address these opportunities:
1. Change the Requirements Practices for PMs class to include a lesson on testing practices and methods and how to incorporate them into the project plan and schedule.
2. Develop workshops for business case development and MS Project. The program will actually increase the MS Project I course to three days, with the third being the optional workshop.
3. Upgrade the old core courses to the latest edition of the Guide to the PMBOK. 4. Explore the development of an executive-level certification in project/program/portfolio
management for management and executive-level personnel. 5. Investigate a means to make courses more accessible to potential participants. This could be
through recorded webcasts, online courses, or distance learning materials. 6. Including the MS Project I and II courses as requirements for the State certification and the MS
Project I course as a requirement for the Associate certification.
Knowledge Center Information System
Over the next several months, the program will develop requirements and investigate pricing and availability of a Knowledge Center information system. This system will allow the program to not only maintain its level of service as demand increases, but also to decrease turnaround time to customers and create new or improved capabilities within the program.

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