There are plenty of blog and Twitter lists around, but for the first time here is the most complete list of Project Management communities on the web.

If you're new to project management then this is a great way to learn from others in the field and pick up some helpful advice; of course the best way to get started it with our Project Management for Beginners Course!

These resources aren't just for beginners- many of the communities include very experienced project managers who are there to help others and work on the more complicated areas of the discipline. PRINCE2 Practitioners are common in the groups which make them the perfect location to get advice passing your exam.

Without further ado here's the list, which includes all the best places that project managers connect and hang out online.

There is an art to being a great trainer or teacher; something our Train the Trainer facilitators know very well!  

If you look at the quotes below by some of the world's most respected scholars you can begin to understand what makes a great teacher or trainer so special. Note the reoccuring themes: 

• People learn by doing
• Great teachers can empathise with their audience
• It's not what you teach but how you teach it
• You cannot make people learn, you must help them discover
• Learners should be encouraged to feel emotion (you can make them laugh, surprise them, pull them in with a story)
• The teacher and learner is a two way relationship; engagement is key

So let's take a look at what some of the greatest ever minds have to say about teaching.

Here's a brief re-cap on the benefits of PRINCE2 for your organisation:

PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is a structured method for effective project management. It is a de facto standard used extensively by the UK Government and is widely recognised and used in the private sector, both in the UK and internationally. Here is just a quick list of some of the benefits that using PRINCE2 brings:

• It will mean that there is a common project language and gives flexible decision points.
• It gives a standard approach to managing projects
• It is easier to see the possible problems that might or are occurring.
• It offers reviews of progress against the business case and project care.
• It will also mean that there is a good flow of communications between the stakeholders and other project teams, as well as improved levels of customer satisfaction
• It will also provide a way for being able to manage any deviations from the project plan

Tips for Successful PRINCE2 Management

A PRINCE2 project is not always the easiest job; however here are some quick tips to help you along the way.

Preparation

Being a manager is a position of responsibility, so take it seriously and make sure you properly plan and organise what you want to happen before hand. If you have a clear and organised plan you can give clear and organised instructions and as a result both you and your team will be better off.

A common Understanding

It is essential that both you and your team know what has to be done and are agreed and understand how it is that they are going to do it. Any misleading issues should be carefully explained and any mistakes rectified.

Monitoring

This is a vital part of any management project. You should be taking an active interest in what is happening, who is doing what and, more importantly, if they are doing it correctly or not.

Prioritise

Realise that you cannot do everything at once, or at least do it well, and that it is necessary to prioritise the most important issues and make sure that they are done first.

Competency Within the Team

Make sure that all your team members are up to the task, there is no point letting them continue if they are clearly over their heads, it will not be a good experience for them and it will damage the project. If it is the case that they are capable of doing it but do not understand what is being asked of them then it may be possible to keep them on the project, however if they are clearly struggling then it is their best interests to bring in new people.

Here's a brief re-cap on the benefits of PRINCE2 for your organisation:

PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is a structured method for effective project management. It is a de facto standard used extensively by the UK Government and is widely recognised and used in the private sector, both in the UK and internationally. Here is just a quick list of some of the benefits that using PRINCE2 brings:

• It will mean that there is a common project language and gives flexible decision points.
• It gives a standard approach to managing projects
• It is easier to see the possible problems that might or are occurring.
• It offers reviews of progress against the business case and project care.
• It will also mean that there is a good flow of communications between the stakeholders and other project teams, as well as improved levels of customer satisfaction
• It will also provide a way for being able to manage any deviations from the project plan

Tips for Successful PRINCE2 Management

A PRINCE2 project is not always the easiest job; however here are some quick tips to help you along the way.

Preparation

Being a manager is a position of responsibility, so take it seriously and make sure you properly plan and organise what you want to happen before hand. If you have a clear and organised plan you can give clear and organised instructions and as a result both you and your team will be better off.

A common Understanding

It is essential that both you and your team know what has to be done and are agreed and understand how it is that they are going to do it. Any misleading issues should be carefully explained and any mistakes rectified.

Monitoring

This is a vital part of any management project. You should be taking an active interest in what is happening, who is doing what and, more importantly, if they are doing it correctly or not.

Prioritise

Realise that you cannot do everything at once, or at least do it well, and that it is necessary to prioritise the most important issues and make sure that they are done first.

Competency Within the Team

Make sure that all your team members are up to the task, there is no point letting them continue if they are clearly over their heads, it will not be a good experience for them and it will damage the project. If it is the case that they are capable of doing it but do not understand what is being asked of them then it may be possible to keep them on the project, however if they are clearly struggling then it is their best interests to bring in new people.

As much as we love PRINCE2®, we will admit that the PRINCE2 manual can be a bit dry!

We've put together a PRINCE2 Crossword to Download to help enliven your revision a bit!

BEFORE YOU COMPLETE THE CROSSWORD: Read through the statements in this PRINCE2 Crossword Revision post.

You can also download the solution to check your answers at the bottom of the revision post (but no cheating please)!!

We're committed to making learning PRINCE2 as easy and enjoyable as possible - so before you attend one of our PRINCE2 courses we provide a comprehensive pre-course workbook which contains loads of quizzes and guidance to make preparing for the course as interactive as we can.

Why not also try our Interactive PRINCE2 Quiz (you'll need Flash for this).

PRINCE2® PROCESSES – Starting Up a Project (SU)

The purpose of the Starting up a Project process is to ensure that the prerequisites for Initiating a Project are in place by answering the question: do we have a viable and worthwhile project?

This process is triggered by a mandate and is designed to establish the following:

• There is a business justification for initiating the project (documented in an outline Business Case)
• All the necessary authorities exist for initiating the project
• Sufficient information is available to define and confirm the scope of the project (in the form of a Project Brief)
• The various ways the project can be delivered are evaluated and a project approach selected
• Individuals are appointed who will undertake the work required in project initiation and/or will take significant project management roles in the project
• The work required for project initiation is planned (documented in a Stage Plan)
• Time is not wasted initiating a project based on unsound assumptions regarding the project’s scope, time scales, acceptance criteria, and constraints.

Products produced during this process are as follows:

• Role descriptions
• Daily Log
• Lessons Log
• Outline Business Case
• Project Product Description
• Project Approach
• Project Brief
• Stage Plan

The PRINCE2 processes are covered in detail in our PRINCE2 Foundation training and PRINCE2 Practitioner training courses in Brighton, Sussex.

PRINCE2® PROCESSES – Starting Up a Project (SU)

The purpose of the Starting up a Project process is to ensure that the prerequisites for Initiating a Project are in place by answering the question: do we have a viable and worthwhile project?

This process is triggered by a mandate and is designed to establish the following:

• There is a business justification for initiating the project (documented in an outline Business Case)
• All the necessary authorities exist for initiating the project
• Sufficient information is available to define and confirm the scope of the project (in the form of a Project Brief)
• The various ways the project can be delivered are evaluated and a project approach selected
• Individuals are appointed who will undertake the work required in project initiation and/or will take significant project management roles in the project
• The work required for project initiation is planned (documented in a Stage Plan)
• Time is not wasted initiating a project based on unsound assumptions regarding the project’s scope, time scales, acceptance criteria, and constraints.

Products produced during this process are as follows:

• Role descriptions
• Daily Log
• Lessons Log
• Outline Business Case
• Project Product Description
• Project Approach
• Project Brief
• Stage Plan

The PRINCE2 processes are covered in detail in our PRINCE2 Foundation training and PRINCE2 Practitioner training courses in Brighton, Sussex.

PRINCE2® PROCESSES – Closing a Project (CP)

See our courses for PRINCE2.

The purpose of the Closing a Project process is to provide a fixed point at which acceptance for the project product is confirmed and to recognize that objectives set out in the original Project Initiation Documentation have been achieved (or approved changes to the objectives have been achieved), or that the project has nothing more to contribute.

The objective of the Closing a Project process is to:

• Verify user acceptance of the project’s products
• Ensure that the host site is able to support the products when the project is disbanded
• Review the performance of the project against its baselines
• Assess any benefits that have already been realized, update the forecast of the remaining benefits, and plan for a review of those unrealized benefits
• Ensure that provision has been made to address all open issues and risks, with follow-on action recommendations.

The main products of this process are as follows:

• Project Plan updated with final actual
• Product Status Account covering the status of all products for the project
• Issue register to identify any outstanding issues
• Follow-on action recommendations created with any outstanding issues to be addressed
• Configuration item records updated with current status of products
• Benefits review plan updated with dates for benefits realization
• Acceptance records for products completed
• End project report created
• Lessons Report created
• Close Issue, Risk, Quality registers, Daily and Lessons Log