P3O® Practitioner Training Justification

First Steps

Make sure you understand everything there is to know about the P3O® Practitioner.

• Read through the overviews from the AXELOS website on P3O®
• Read the syllabus for the P3O® course and how the examination works (there is a wealth of information available in this document)
• Get your P3O® manual out again and familiarise yourself again
• Do some research on Linkedin, find out if others have attended the course and what they thought about it – and why they opted for the course. Or you can ask around at events like PMO Flashmob.

Now, Why Do You Want to Do the Course?

Have you already done the P3O® Foundation level course? If not, you need to consider this course first (you can’t do the Practitioner before you’ve done the Foundation) [click to read about the P3O® Foundation course justification here] I know we already told you about that, we just want to make sure!

If you’re already done it, great, we can focus on justifying why you’re looking to do the Practitioner.

After you’ve done your research and found out more about P3O® Practitioner, make a few notes about what appeals to you about the course.

Answer questions such as:

• How will I use this knowledge in my current role?
• How will it help develop my PMO management skills?
• What benefits might it bring for me in my day to day role?
• What benefits would it bring to our PMO?
• What benefits might it bring to the business?
• What behaviours might change in me if I do this course?

You’re starting to create your justification for doing the P3O® Practitioner course.

1. How much will it cost – including any extras like accommodation
2. How many days will you be out of the office and what will happen to the work whilst you’re away
3. What benefits will the course give you, and in turn, how those benefits will provide a return on the investment you’re asking them to make

Planning Out of Office

Often there are pressures in the office which means you taking time out for a training course can be difficult. It can be useful to think about that before asking to attend a course. Here are a few things to think about:

• Is there a certain time of the year that is better than others to take time out for the course?
• How about certain times of the month? Often the month-end reporting cycle means that time is definitely out.
• Is it possible to plan your work in such a way that the two days out will mean minimal disruption – like no project meetings planned or the project is not at a crucial time in the lifecycle?
• Can someone stand in for you? Are there others on the team that could pick up the slack whilst you’re out? Or someone else who is close enough to the project and understands your role to keep things ticking over.

When all else fails, you can opt for a weekend course (yes we schedule those too)

What are the Benefits?

What benefits will the course give you, and in turn, how those benefits will provide a return on the investment you’re asking your manager to make.

Just like in project management – articulating the benefits of doing something can make the difference between success or failure. Or you getting that training or not.

Some benefits are difficult to argue with and that’s what you’re looking for when you’re justifying why you should be able to take the P3O Practitioner course.

Normally benefits mean a monetary return like an increase in profits or a decrease in costs but that’s not what we’re looking to articulate here.

Think back to the initial questions:

• How will I use this knowledge in my current role?
• How will it help develop my PMO management skills?
• What benefits might it bring for me in my day to day role?
• What benefits would it bring to our PMO?
• What benefits might it bring to the business?
• What behaviours might change in me if I do this course?

Let’s take a look at those in turn, with some examples which will help you identify your own answers:

How will I use this knowledge in my current role?

The P3O® Practitioner course focuses mainly on the design and implementation side of PMOs so are you able to articulate why this knowledge is needed right now in your current role. If you’re looking for knowledge about creating new PMOs or refreshing existing ones and that knowledge is needed right now in your organisation then the justification will be easier.

If you’re not currently in a role where set up or refresh of PMOs is likely to be a thing, the justification here is going to have to be about your career pathway to becoming a leader or manager in the future. If you’ve already had discussions along those lines, doing the P3O® Practitioner at this stage is about getting on that knowledge building path.

How will it help develop my PMO management skills?

• It focuses on the design side of different types of PMOs
• It gets into the creation of a business case for the PMO
• It looks at the different types of roles that work in a PMO and how to resource one
• It looks at setting up the PMO – at different levels, stages and working with different stakeholders

How will it help develop my existing skills?

• Understanding of the current best practice in the different types of PMO constructs within the P3O model
• Confidence to design and set up PMOs
• Provide different approaches, tools and techniques in designing and setting up PMOs

What benefits might it bring for me in my day-to-day role?

• Increased confidence in working with stakeholders
• Ideas on alternative approaches to PMO design and implementation
• Increased confidence to challenge and suggest different approaches to design and set up
• A clearer understanding of what the different roles could offer and suggestions for additional responsibilities

What benefits would it bring to our PMO?

• A PMO designed and implemented which is fit for purpose
• Building confidence to work on new requirements or PMO refreshes
• Knowledge that there is a framework or model to work towards which demonstrates best practice approaches for the PMO
• Confidence to produce business cases that get approved
• Confidence to lead the introduction of new functions and services and the approach to take
• A deeper understanding of the PMO function, roles and responsibilities and how to improve these

What benefits might it bring to the business?

• Bringing best practice PMO knowledge on approaches, processes, techniques and tools to improve the performance of the PMO
• Using the best practice approaches in business cases to propose PMO design and set up
• Understanding the wider change and delivery remit of the organisation – how change works and the role of the PMO to support that
• Improving customer satisfaction when working with our clients by providing the best PMO service we can
• Carrying out my role effectively, efficiently whilst advancing the PMO and leading PMO staff

Is there anything on this course that could help improve my efficiency in the role?

• Understand the different PMO constructs and how to design them
• Fresh perspectives on how to set up different types of PMOs
• Address certain skills gap areas which are currently holding me back in certain tasks and activities
• Increased confidence from knowledge gained, to seek out further guidance and mentoring from others

What behaviours might change in me if I do this course?

• More confidence in knowing what the PMO lead role is required of me
• Better communication skills as a result of that confidence
• More confidence to try out new approaches
• The drive to want to do a better job and lead a successful PMO
• The ability to lead others in the PMO team

What’s the accountability part? That’s about you being able to make a committment to using your training when you return back to work and what the results or outcomes of that will be. It’s the ‘bringing the benefits to life’ part and really demonstrates that you’ve really thought about this training request and your determination to do it and to use those new learnings for the benefits of yourself, your team and your organisation.

Justification Example

This example is not designed to be simply cut and pasted but should give you a good idea of how to create your own.

The two day P3O® Practitioner certification training course by PMO Learning builds on the knowledge I developed during the P3O® Foundation course last year, and focuses on the successful setting up and running of a PMO. Training in the area of PMO will increase my knowledge and confidence and enable me to understand better how to support our projects/programmes/portfolio. (the first benefits to you).  The modules of the course which address the best practice function and services areas of the PMO would be of particular use for me and the PMO team as it covers areas such as models and tailoring, the operation of a P3O and how to utilise P3O® roles to appropriately populate our PMO structure. (demonstrate understanding of that the course offers).  The course also covers areas such as developing the business case, and how to plan the implementation and successful running of a P3O® – these areas are particularly of interest and are timely as our PMO is working on improvement areas and I would like to increase my involvement in these activities.(Benefits to PMO, business and to you)

I believe completing the P3O® Practitioner course will help to improve how I perform in the day to day role in the PMO, giving me fresh perspectives on how to carry out my work more efficiently. I also think that increased knowledge in areas such as the adaption of the P3O® to fit the organisation’s needs will give me more confidence when working not only with our Project Managers and sponsors, but also with key stakeholders within the business. This training will allow me to make better decisions on the use of processes and techniques and contribute to the PMO continous improvement initiatives.  I’d like to contribute more to shaping the tools and techniques within the PMO, and continue to develop my wider PMO knowledge to support our team further. (More benefits to you and the PMO)

The cost of the training is £795 + VAT.  The training course is two days and if the training takes place in the middle of the month, after the reporting period, Jane Jones in the team will be able to keep an eye on my work and deal with any urgent enquiries.(The costs and out of work time)

I hope with the completion of the course that afterwards I will be able to not only share with other team members what I have learnt, I will also be able to improve my own performance through the new knowledge I have learnt. I believe attending the course and interacting with others as I learn will also bring a boost to my confidence which will be seen in my work going forward.(Accountability)

It’s an example which shows that you’re pulling together all the things you’ve thought about to attend the course.

You need to write it in the words you already use when speaking – just type as you speak for your first draft.

Then go back and look at it again.

Does it have:

• Details about the course – how many days, how much, where it is and when
• Does it mention the benefits that it will give to you?
• Does it mention the benefits that it gives to the PMO team?
• Does it mention the benefits to the organisation?
• Does it show that you know what the course is about (we mentioned some of the syllabus in the example)?
• Does it show how you might be after the course – the accountability bit, what results of the training might be seen in your job back in the office?

Start to make some edits – check for grammar etc

When you’re ready, send it to your manager.

Make sure you add at the end that you would like to talk to them about your request at a time that’s suitable for them.

Unsuccessful This Time?

Don’t be too dejected – there will be a number of reasons why now might not be a good time for training requests at your organisation.

If you do get knocked back this time, make sure that your manager will be willing to speak to you about it again in a few months time.

Get on with your work and carry on doing the best work you can. Try again when the timing seems better.

Success?

Give yourself a big pat on the back. You’ve just influenced your manager to support your training and development needs.

Now’s the time to get booking and planning!

Take a look at the P3O® Practitioner training course and make your booking, we’re delighted you’re joining us!