PPSO Essentials Training Justification

And whilst it’s a good thing to have a certification in the job you do, doing it because it’ll look good on the CV isn’t really going to cut it as a reason with your manager.

Your answer to the question ‘why’ will help you to create a great justification email or conversation so it needs to be a robust answer and in preparation for that, it makes sense to make sure you know exactly what PPSO Essentials is all about.

First Steps

Make sure you understand everything there is to know about the PPSO Essentials course.

• Find out more about the British Computer Society (BCS), they’re the Chartered Institute for IT.
• Read through the overview of the course from the British Computer Society (BCS) website
• Read the syllabus for the PPSO Essentials course and how the examination works.
• Read through everything we have on the course too.
• 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?

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

Answer questions such as:

• What new skills and knowledge could I learn?
• How will it help develop my existing 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?
• Is there anything on this course that could help improve my efficiency in the role?
• What behaviours might change in me if I do this course?

You’re starting to create your justification for doing the PPSO Essentials 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 three 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.

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 PPSO Essentials 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:

• What new skills and knowledge could I learn?
• How will it help develop my existing 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?
• Is there anything on this course that could help improve my efficiency in the role?
• 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:

What new skills and knowledge could I learn?

• About the fundamentals of project management – that’s the techniques, methods, processes in project management
• Key project support tasks and activities such as resource management, risk management, stakeholder management and so on
• How to support project and programme managers on everyday project and programme management tasks
• Learn about PMOs and what they do and what value they bring to an organisation.

How will it help develop my existing skills?

• If you’re completely new to project management, it will teach you the fundamentals of project management and how they can be applied in the workplace.
• It will cover the different functions and services a project support officer is expected to carry out when working on a project/programme.
• It’ll give you the bigger picture and a context to the role you’re expected to perform.
• Confidence to carry out new tasks and activities and suggest improvements to current practices.

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

• Increased confidence in working with project managers and programme managers
• A clearer idea of what is expected in the role when working on projects and programmes
• How to carry out key activities and tasks across the fundamental project management techniques across the lifecycle
• Increased confidence to take on additional responsibilities and to improve your overall skill levels.

What benefits would it bring to the project or programme you’ll be supporting?

• Doing my job more effectively and efficiently
• Building my confidence to work on new tasks and activities
• Knowledge that there is a set of common activities to be carried out which demonstrates best practice approaches for the project/programme.
• An understanding of the project and programme you are supporting, what’s happening and what your role is.
• Confidence to contribute to the introduction of new functions and services and the approach to take.
• A deeper understanding of the project support role; function, roles and responsibilities and how to improve these

What benefits might it bring to the business?

• Bringing best practice project management knowledge on approaches, processes, techniques and tools to improve my personal performance
• Using the fundamentals to continue to build my knowledge, capability and confidence – boosting my morale and job satisfaction
• Understanding the organisation’s approach to project management – how change works and my role in how to support and improve that
• Improving customer satisfaction when working with project and programme managers by providing the best support service I can
• Carrying out my role effectively and efficiently and becoming a trusted, competent member of the project/programme team.

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

• Learn about the fundamentals of project management – the lifecycle, methods, processes, techniques and tools.
• Learn about what your role is in the fundamentals of project management – what role should I be carrying out every day.
• Understand what is expected of me in a project/programme support role and how to carry out the role in accordance with best practice and use those in my day to day work.
• Gain practical advice and guidance on key project management tasks that can be implemented in the workplace
• 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 role is required of me
• Better communication skills as a result of that confidence
• More confidence to try out new tasks and activities
• The drive to want to do a better job and contribute to the success of the project/programme.
• Gain greater trust and accountability from the project/programme manager to try new tasks and activities.
• The ability to help others

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 four day PPSO Essentials certification training course being held by PMO Learning in London focuses on the fundamentals of project management and gives practical guidance on how to use best practice models, processes, techniques and tools in my day-to-day role. Training in the area of project support will increase my knowledge and confidence and enable me to understand better how to support our projects/programmes (the first benefits to you).  The modules of the course which address the core role of the project support officer would be of particular use for me and the project manager as it covers areas such as reporting, governance, assurance and planning which are all areas I’m expected to support on (demonstrate understanding of that the course offers).  The course also covers areas such as methods, processes, tools and techniques in project management. These areas are particularly of interest and are timely as I feel my knowledge and confidence is lacking and I’d like to improve on this and become much more effective to my project manager (Benefits to PMO, business and to you)

I believe completing the PPSO Essentials course will help to improve how I perform in the day to day role of project support officer, giving me fresh perspectives on how to carry out my work more efficiently. I also think that increased knowledge in areas such as planning will give me more confidence when working with my Project Manager. This training will allow me to make sure I’m using all the processes and techniques available to me.  I’d like to contribute more and understanding the bigger picture of how projects work within our organisation and where I can contribute to project success, that would be really valuable.(More benefits to you and the PMO)

The cost of the training is £XXX + VAT. There will further costs for my accommodation and travel expenses which I estimate to be ££ based on the research I’ve done to find budget accommodation near to the training venue. The training course is four 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’ve also checked with the project manager and they are fine with that timing.

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 PPSO Essentials training course and make your booking, we’re delighted you’re joining us!