cockte:
08082867377,Call me if u r serious bout it

Email me if you can do this. Let me know/see what you have done in the past. I am not a time waster. You can google our company.

Hi,

I am after anyone that can design/produce a 3D design drawing of a bottle for me. see the attachment below for example. you can use AutoCAD, Pro E or SolidWorks. Happy to pay a small amount of money. Please email modupe@nutritionalviands.com

hi Bayo,

You need to buy the prince2 manual, not sure you can get it for free anyway. It is the APMG approved reading/reference document, to pass the exams.

I ( Utmost consulting) can arrange for the exams for you. you have a choice of an exam center in Ghana or the British consulate office, Lagos. Can you drop me an email (enquiries@utmostconsulting.com) with you details and I can send you the cost details.

Also, be aware that it may take up to 6-8weeks for a exam date to be arrange at the British consulate in Lagos. I guess you know that the foundation exams come first. It is not easy cancelling the exams, so you need to be sure of when you will be ready to take the exams before booking

Goodluck

Hey Ulo & Kashif,

Very good article. But can I throw a spanner in the works here?

Is it not true that the constraints of the project: time , cost and budget must be prioritised by the project sponsor/board, in order of importance.? Sometimes, I find that prioritisation must be given to one or two these constraints, 'because the challenge of delivering all constraints can be almost impossible. This is usually with very big and complex projects. e.g. Beijing Olympics or 2010 London Olympics infrastructures. China/ UK will say that  it is important that the infrastructures are delivered on time, at the expense of cost and maybe sometimes quality (don't forget that quality, weather defined or agreed at the start, is a relative entity based on when, who and what is measured against) is not delivered to agreed specifications. They will rather have a stadium for the track games, even though it was delivered more expensive and in a lesser quality.

I find that these 3 constraints are usually best/easily best achieved in smaller projects.

Just on Kashif's comments on budget. Budget is such a loose term, that it means what it says “budget”, it will keep changing. The complexity of the projects, especially projects that have never being delivered before, makes the term "budget" very loose.

Another thought: I know PM methodologies portray a perfect/ideal work environment, but what effect does culture/work ethics have on delivering a project using PM methodology? E.g. I can deliver a project in Mobil easily, but when I try to deliver the same project in Agege Local government, it is almost impossible to deliver within the same constraints.

Adelinks,

On the PMI & MBA question. Funny enough I went to IMD - switzerland to attend a friend's MBA graduation on friday and I found it very inspirational. One thing I will advise you is that make sure you go to a top school if you can afford it, make sure you have at least 6-7yrs experience, 'cos MBA mean many things to many people and you will meet people, with a wealth of experience, accomplished in their fields and to stand up to them, you need to be very good at what you do, which comes with experience. This is my personal view, of 'cos you have people with 2-3yrs experience in MBA schools and doing well.

Professional qualifications are good. PRINCE 2 or/and PMI.

Another good thing is to make sure you work on is varying projects. Don't just stick to one sector/type. You can work on HR projects, procurement, contructions etc. all in the same company.

Hey people,

I have been away too long and missed this very intellectually, stimulating and interesting forum. Thanks adelinks. You are definately in the right direction.

Just to let you know that our recent PM & Six Sigma training in Nov. went really well. We are also fully booked for January. We have had alot of people on the course say alot of people are still not aware of the benefits of these training and many mentioned that a 3weekend course will probably work best 'cos people find it difficult to take time off work during the week. Some people also mentioned reducing the cost. Anyways, all points have be duly taken into consideration. To action one of the suggestions, my colleague (Six sigma expert) will be running an awareness/information session in the new year. If you are interested, please register your interest at enquiries@utmostconsulting.com. We may make available some training materials for sale on that day, just to get you all started on taking the PRINCE 2 exams.

In the meantime, the next training will now be in Feb or March '08. Also I will be updating our website(www.utmostconsulting.com) with some free training materials, to get you all going.

I met with someone form this forum online a while ago, he is studying in the UK and we went through alot of things he can do to get himself ready for the Uk and Europe job market next year. So guys, let me know if you have any questions. lets keep the discussion in this forum going.

Anyone know what is happening in the corporate social responsibility market in Nigeria? I am interested in getting my teeth into one of these projects. I am not necessarily looking to be paid. I want to either observe or offer free consulting expertise. Guy, I no be fake oh!, I just believe in giving back to the community.

hi Shawl,

Well done on your achievements - it is not easy to get a distinction in Engineering. I am not sure what you mean by a masters in Tel co - telecoms engineering? Don't you think that is too restrictive, in terms of your engineering specialisation. Also, you need to think about what your long term ambitions are. Do you want to remain an engineer or aspire for a managerial role, maybe in an engineering/related company? Being a PM is not restricted to engineering at all. You can be a PM, applying your skills in all other areas, food manufacturing, brand,marketing , sales, corporate responsibility, NO, government etc.

Here is what I will advise, for your first job, 2-3 yrs after graduation, if you can get a job in engineering, go for it. Also get involve in project management, which takes you to managerial role, but in the long term, if the opportunity arises for you to go into other areas, even HR, then go for it.

Let me give you an example, the current MD of Mobil Nigeria - Mr Olu Onakoya is a chemical engineering graduate from Leeds university, then he went to work for Mobil, straight after graduation, he spent all his years, working across different departments, Head of HR, maintenance, production etc and I am certain that because of the broad skills acquired working in different areas, he went off to head Mobil Ghana, Zimbabwe and now Nigeria.

Take me for example, not a prestigious as the example above, I am a manufacturing engineering and left school to work for food manufacturing company, delivering quality management systems, I have since worked in consulting, delivering strategies, through to government, delivering IT projects, in Tel co, delivering varying projects from websites, IT projects, corporate responsibility strategies, content policies and frameworks.

I guess what I am saying is that you can become a PM in engineering, but there is alot more you can do outside engineering with your PM skills and analytical skills from being an engineering.

I hope this is useful. Good luck.

Hi Mystikal,

I have sent you an email with the cost details from a separate email.

I will advise anyone interested to complete the online registration form
(www.utmostconsulting.com) and you will receive an auto response with cost, venue and the contact details of our Nigerian partner running the registration.

We are considering running a CV building session, as an add on, due to popular demand, but nothing is set in stone yet. We have had some good interest from senior managers in construction and the banking industry, so it might be a good chance to network.

it will be great to put faces to some of the names in this forum, Have a good week everyone.

8 weeks to xmas!!!

I am with Kashif on this one.

You don't necessary need to specialise as a project manager in any industry or field. In my experience, I have been a PM in manufacturing, telco, communications, media, even government. delivering websites, corporate responsibility strategy, implementing production improvements, quality systems, new processes, new IT systems, moving offices etc.

But on the other hand, I work in a developed society, maybe in developing countries like Nigeria, employers will be more biased to PM that are specialist in a particular industry. It makes no difference to the work itself anyway, if you are a fast learner and you have a solid understanding of what your role is " Implementing the process to delivering the product or end result".

PMs are not suppose to be doing the work itself, they should be managing the wholistic process of getting the job done.

On the subject of having both qualifications, PMI & PRINCE 2; I am still not convinced on the value.

Well said. I rest my case.

as per the six sigma, I am not an expert in this area, I only have the basic, because my background is manufacturing engineering; but my parter will be in Nigeria next week, a black belt holder, and if you complete the registration form, with your contact details, I will ask her to get in contact and give you all the downlow.

it is basically a process improvement approach to delivering business value, I believe it originated from manufacturing, unlike PRINCE 2 or PMI, which are from IT based projects/Industry. There are 3 levels, Yellow, Green and Black Belt, in this order. Our training, will train to Green Belt certification. I must say, the 5 days are intensive, I mean; we would require attendees to put in at least 20-30hrs extra reading time, outside the 5 days. All the training resources, including text book, software, templates and workbook will be available in advance of the training, upon registration.


Unfortunately, there are no up-to-date manuals or materials on the web. It is always down to the training companies. I guess the other reason why it is not readily available is 'cos most black belt holders are strategic decision makers, at very senior levels, usually a job below board seats.

I will get her the black belt consultant to call, it requires a conversation. In the meantime, look at the website for a quick explanation of what it details - www.utmostconsulting.com

I missed out something, Kashif, I did not say PMI is not recognised outside the US, I said " it is not widely recognised outside the US". They are very two separate meanings.

I can explain with a simpler analogy. In the US, the only accepted entry to universities is SAT, it is a known standard, because of the many number of universities in the US and their profiles on the world league table. The the UK, it is A'Levels, This does not mean that a minority of universities will not accept SAT results, but A'Levels is the supreme. In the rest of Europe ( 'cos of the European union), A' levels also rules. Some will always accept SAT, there is no doubt about that.

Back to PMi and PRINCE 2, they aim to achieve the same objectives, in terms of Project management, but there are just two separate methodology, e.g Darwin's evolution vs all the religious creationism, ALL OF THEM NA THE SAME. HUMAN LIFE BEGAN SOMEWHERE.

Dear readers, Kashif and I seem be taking the floor on this subject, lets have some more inputs!!!!!!!!!!!

oh dear Kashif,

I was not expecting you to result to abuses or insults because your opinion differs from mine. Infact, I read your last entry with alot of shock, slight amusement and wonder. I thought we were all professionals and can have arguments or different opinions and still give the rest of the readers an enriched intellectual experience.

If anyone is offended by my opinions, then I am sorry. My comments are not just a propaganda to highlight the upcoming training in Lagos in November, which by the way is not just project management, but it includes Six Sigma ( www.utmostconsulting.com).

I will not doubt your extras from a website, highlighting some awards recognition, but I am sure I can find another 1,000 extras from the web, showing the profile of Prince 2 or the other.

By the way, I am also PMI certified and from my experience in EUROPE and UK only, I know which ones companies ask for, and puts money in my wallet every month.

Kashif, I don't doubt your opinion, they just differ from mine. THERE IS NO NEED FOR THE HOSTILITY, INAPPROPRIATE COMMENTS OR RUDENESS, we are all professionals here.

I am sure enjoying my banter, I hope the rest of the readers are also doing so. Back to project management, anyone else has any questions. I will be happy to help!

Kashif,

It it the clarity of my explanation that is important and I have only managed to achieve this based on my experience.

I hope I have managed to sum up with project management is all about, stripping out the complexity of this subject area.

I agree with you, PRINCE 2 is simple and very easy read. On top of that, it is more widely recognised that PMI.

Also, I am curious, why do Nigerians refer to this subject as PMP ( project management professional)? It is not an industry recognised abbreviation here in Europe.

Everyone,

Just on the top professional qualifications to go for, for those with no previous IT related background, I will advise you to go for the project management training. Someone mentioned six sigma, that is definately a good option too.

There is an upcoming project management and six sigma training in Lagos, in November. view the website for more information www.utmostconsulting.com or send an email to enquiries@utmostconsultign .com

There qualification will give you a good background to how IT project work, if you decide to go into IT management and if you just aspire for management related careers, then they still coem handy. Also, they dont change very often, so there is no need for top up qualifications, like you have with oracle, CISCO etc.

There qualificatiosn are internally recognised, outside naija, so you are in for a winner in and outside naija.

ITIL is also very good, by the way.

hi,

Go to the project management thread, there is alot of nothing there. Project management is applicable in all industries, IT, Oil& gas, construction, engineering, banking, insurance etc.

There is an upcoming project management training in November, in Lagos, to be delivered by professionals from the UK. visit www.utmostconsulting.com
or send an email to enquiries@utmostconsulting.com

Just to add to the question on contracts, PO (Purchase order) in projects; my background varies from telco, oil & gas, local and central government etc. and this is applicable to a N1,000 to N100M projects. Purchase orders, PO, are simply vouchers for payment of a service, issued to the supplier.

Certainly, in the UK and Europe, they are used as the standard of payment to suppliers and they can be legally binding. Contracts are slightly different, they are contractual obligations of the transaction between one or more parties and these will include, product or services, down to maintenance, product life cycle of the product /service provided, the limitations of the product/services etc.

Everyone,

All of you can definitely benefit from project management trainings, it is a universal standard of delivering project - project by definition, is any piece of work - driven by strategic requirements, operational or just a business improvement requirement, with a sole aim of improving, creating or enhancing a system, people or function.

I will recommend PRINCE 2, it is more widely recognised in the UK and Europe. PMI is a U.S standard, not well known outside the US. Infact, only US multi-national companies outside the US use it.

Shell, Accenture and a few other multinationals have just moved to PRINCE 2 standards for a project delivery.

Drop me an email, if you want to have a conversation with me, on this training in Lagos in Nov - email: enquiries@utmostconsulting.com

Hello everyone,

Just to let you know that I am a PRINCE 2 accredited/ certified holder, with many years experience of working in FTSE 100 companies in The UK and western Europe. I also have a wealth of experience in telco, oil & gas, manufacturing and local/central government.

I am coming to Lagos in November, for a 5 days intensive project management and Six Sigma training. This is the first of its kind in Lagos and everyone interested in project management, process improvements and most importantly looking to gain world-wide recognised certifications, should definitely attend.

We have had an overwhelming number of interest and there a discounts available for people. visit our website: www.utmostconsulting.com to find out more or drop  me an email on enquiries@utmostconsulting.com