Category: Humanitarian Sector

• What was your first contact with project management?

My first contact with Project Management was in 2005 when I joined Crown Agents in Bangladesh. I used to work with a number of development projects in Bangladesh across multiple sectors. 

• How did you hear about PMD Pro – what interested you about this? Your journey.

I first heard about PMD Pro some time in 2011. At that time, I was working full time for Crown Agents in the UK and used to deliver project management training at the Crown Agents International Training Centre in London. The project management course was focused on development projects as most of the participants were from public sector organisations from the developing countries. So, we were considering aligning the course with PMD Pro certification. However, we did not get necessary internal approvals as the PMD Pro certification was deemed too much NGO focused. 

In 2015, we reviewed the decision and decided to align the existing two-week course on Project Management with PMD Pro. I led the project and the first Crown Agents PMD Pro course was held in 2015. I led the delivery of that course as well and it was great to have all candidates successfully passed PMD Pro Level 1. 

Since then I have delivered many PMD Pro training courses in the UK, Bangladesh, Kenya and Lebanon. Last year, I delivered PMD Pro training courses to participants from more than 50 organisations in Lebanon public sector. 

At Game Changer we have also created online training courses on PMD Pro Level 1 and Level 2. 

• How did PMD Pro improve your work?

PMD Pro has helped us to build project management capacity of organisations. Majority of the participants value the learning and certification highly. It helps people to gain the key knowledge and skills to manage project and give them confidence. Although certification itself does not make someone a good project manager, it does help as it means the certified professionals are likely to use standard project management tools and principles. 

• Why do you think PMD Pro is important for development organisations?

Adopting PMD Pro in any development organisation can be highly beneficial for the organisation as it will ensure all the project managers are applying the best practices in managing their development projects. It’s surprising how many development organisations do not have any particular project management methodology although a significant part of their core work is done through projects. Effective project-based organisations usually develop their own project management methodology based on one or more standard project management methodologies. For development organisation like NGOs, donor organisations, and public sector organisations, adopting PMD Pro can be a great start as it is developed by the sector and are highly relevant to develop projects.