BA/PMO/PM training and experience

**Old Greg** · 13 January 2011, 13:58

Originally posted by Jog On View Post

I'd like to shift into more of a project delivery role (and of course get up into the £5-600/day bracket

).

Most of my experience has been in support, some at fairly high level until now where I am in the application deployment team migrating 3000 financial apps from XP to a Windows 7 x64 desktop at a top tier IB.

Current gig runs until July unless extended which gives me enough time to invest in some training/certs and proactively get involved in parts of the project that I could call upon in an interview situation. I know that BA/PM roles can vary a lot so my niche would be desktop migrations as I have done a lot of that in the past as a deployment officer (support monkey), application packager (App-V/MSI) and some discovery. I've worked very closely with BAs and PMs and know how these projects work pretty well.

Can anyone recommend any training/certs I can do so I can start looking for junior PM/BA roles when this gig ends? I'm looking at:

ITIL
ISEB BA foundation
Prince 2

Are these along the right lines? Also who should I 'make friends with' and help out - apart from the PM of course! Any suggestions would be great

I would suggest that you need PM experience (although PRINCE2 would also be useful, but probably not without the experience). How to get it? Is it possible to ask, within a gig you already have, to take on PM responsibilities for a small project? You could pitch it as helping them out. You'll get used to the planning, reporting, risk and issue management etc., and can then go after contracts with demonstrable experience.

**northernrampage** · 13 January 2011, 14:24

Originally posted by Old Greg View Post

I would suggest that you need PM experience (although PRINCE2 would also be useful, but probably not without the experience). How to get it? Is it possible to ask, within a gig you already have, to take on PM responsibilities for a small project? You could pitch it as helping them out. You'll get used to the planning, reporting, risk and issue management etc., and can then go after contracts with demonstrable experience.

WHS. When I was a permie, I got someone onto my team as I'd worked with her before (she didn't come from a PM background, was a developer) as I liked her and knew she was really good at her job. I'd quite happily have done it for a contractor if I knew they were good/liked them. I persuaded my boss that the other person with PM skills wasn't right (and they weren't, they were terminally lazy).

If you work with several PMs, pick the one you get on with best/likes your work and have a chat. Or if they don't make the decisions/no-one you get on with ask one of the managers who doles out the projects. If they say no, at least you've asked. You could always pick a project you know the tech background to and say you'd be an asset... I'd offer to stay late now and then if the business wanted me to do something else (that's probably just me).

**cojak** · 13 January 2011, 15:06

As for ITIL, you're going to need to do a bit of research from now on as ITIL V2 (Foundation and Manager's Certificate) has now ended and you'll have to take the V3 route http://www.itil-officialsite.com/Qua...ifications.asp. This involves deciding which part of the life cycle you want to focus on/do you want to be a specialist or generalist. (among other things).

Have a look at the ITIL overview http://www.best-management-practice....of_ITIL_V3.pdf and certification overview itSMF UK - ITILV3 Qualifications Guidance and http://www.itil-officialsite.com/nms...ID=1011&sID=86 as well as different providers.

It costs a lot of money to gain the certification these day and you can't roll up, take a few courses and you're all ITIL'ed up.

Try and get the experience first before you start looking at the qualifications.

As for Business Analysis - the aim is the Diploma (although I'm just taking the courses as and when I need them for contracts...)

**Jog On** · 13 January 2011, 15:33

Thanks for the responses. I'm going to see what I can do in the way of experience, I have a feeling it's not going to be too easy as the PMs are all permies...

**Old Greg** · 13 January 2011, 18:46

Originally posted by Jog On View Post

Thanks for the responses. I'm going to see what I can do in the way of experience, I have a feeling it's not going to be too easy as the PMs are all permies...

Start small. Help out with the regular status reports for the workstream or whatever. Make as if you're helping out. See if there are some pm tasks you can help with when the pm is on leave. Show your worth and put it on your cv as project workstream lead. And watch Employee of the Month.

**manclarky** · 14 January 2011, 08:27

Originally posted by Old Greg View Post

I would suggest that you need PM experience (although PRINCE2 would also be useful, but probably not without the experience)

WHS

I did the PRINCE2 / ITIL certifications last summer, but am still sat in 'development'.

One thing I have noticed in my current gig is that employer is happy for me to push my role into more BA stuff, but that's still a long way off getting into PM.

If you can get a PM role, go for it - then get the certs as they're pish to pass (I got both P2 Practitioner and ITIL V3 foundation in 2 easy weeks)

**Jog On** · 17 January 2011, 11:30

Thanks gys and girls,

I'm thinking of going in the BA direction as my current packaging/packaging prep role is involving a lot of "discovery" and liasing with the customer on their requirements when an app we're about to do is not Windows 7 compatible and what to do next etc.

I think this might be easier than trying to get into PM. I'm looking at the ISEB BA certs, is ITIL still a good idea and maybe some basic knnowledge (foundation cert) of Prince 2?

BA/PMO/PM training and experience