InformationWeek

The program simulates a complex IT project budgeted at $250,000 or more and tests a person's ability to manage the project from start to finish. During a three-month period, project managers study a hypothetical company that has initiated dramatic changes to its software and hardware systems, operational requirements, and technical support. Managers are graded on their ability to complete the project and avoid saddling the company with significant financial problems resulting from the project.

According to Ted Smith, CEO of Gartner Institute, the organization has found that poor management is the leading cause of project failures, cost overruns, and delays.

Students log on to the Gartner Institute Web site using a password and an identification name, and download four modules. Each module presents a problem that needs to be solved, including business issues, technical issues, and IT personnel conflicts. The course provides fictitious background information about people working on the project, meeting notes, and status reports.

Patrick Macdonald, regional director for project management at RCM Technologies Inc. in Minneapolis, recently completed a beta version of the simulation. Macdonald says the course let him dig into areas in which he wasn't involved on a daily basis and provided him with more experience with managing E-commerce projects. "By challenging me to delve into every aspect of the project, from programming to strategy and development, I was able to better understand what my own IT personnel go through during the course of a project," Macdonald says. "Now I can better foresee what problems they might encounter." Macdonald was also tested on personnel-relationship management.

Before taking the final certification examination, Macdonald says, he had to send documentation to his "coach" at Gartner to prove he had completed each phase of the simulation. The coach was also available to answer any questions that arose during the program.