Measuring the benefits of Project Management training programs in Austrian Companies – an empirical study

Project Management (PM) is well accepted as a domain for the exercise of professional expertise in Austria. Organizations spend enormous amounts of money on PM-training without really being sure that this money is adding value. Most Project Management training programs are embedded into a complex context where cultural and competitiveness issues are often at odds with each other. Another aspect is that most organizational decisions relate to changing an unsatisfactory situation or to the continuation of an already ongoing change process; this is not different for PM-training programs. This paper reports the findings of a survey designed to capture the experiences of PM-personnel in PM-training programs in Austrian companies. Because of the numerous variables involved in PM-training, it is difficult to apply existing theoretical models to measure the success of the PM-trainings. A process model is proposed to measure the added value of PM-training programs, related to organizational factors. Evaluation of PM-trainings must be based not only on feedback of the participants but also on developing and operating a long term strategy. The proposed model has been developed with the input of experts from the field and issues missed by the companies in their current processes have been included. The model will be basis for further research and practical testing.

Measuring the benefits of Project Management training programs in Austrian Companies – an empirical study Keywords:

Project Management Training , PM-training , Measuring success , Evaluation of benefits , Decision mode , Training programs , PM-education