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Being AGILE and managing project in agile way is not only a statement but organisations have to “make it happen”. Organisations often think they are or could be agile. It could be a wishful thinking but in reality they have what I call an in-house “DNA”, usage, strong company culture which might not be in favour of developing agile practices. AGILE prior to be project management methods is first a mindset, a posture, a way of being. Be aware of “flawed AGILE”, it looks agile but it’s not. In this article we explore 5 examples of area to check before launching an agile project. TITLE: Ready for Agile? Five Questions to Test Your Company Culture ABOUT THE ARTICLE: Organisations are facing so much unknown that they have to be ready almost for anything. That means the ability to launch quickly project and mobilise multi-skilled resources either in house or through pre-agreed commercial subcontracts or a mix of both. The AgilePM guidance of ABC (Agile Business Consortium) has an interesting document called “PAQ : Project Approach Questionnaire” used at the outset of the project. The questionnaire is in fact a risk assessment for the management side of the project. It helps defining if all stakeholders are effectively able to work in agile. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Antoine Breton has 30 years of experience in project management and technical Operations.  He has been an agile management accredited trainer for the past 10 years on “Best Practices” in agile project and programs management: PRINCE2, DSDM - AGILE PM (Project Management and SCRUM) and AGILE PgM (Program Management). He performs consultancy work for embedding PRINCE2 and AGILE within organisations. He delivers training and support for the implementation of best practices. He is able to perform missions in English, and French. TO READ AND DOWNLOAD THE FULL ARTICLE: simply follow this link!    

If you don't plan it, you won't do it. Planning is very important in Project Management, and it is considered one of the most important skills of a great Project Manager; in one of the articles of our library, Planning is listed among the 5 MUST for every PM, beginners and experienced ones.

Then why you shouldn't be planning that important training you want to get done in 2018? Why you shouldn't be working on a plan for the certification that will prove your skills as Project Manager?

Agenda's can become very busy during the year, and planning that training that you've always wanted to take can be difficult at times: at QRP International we know it, that's why we've decided to help you schedule your next training with a great incentive: a 20% Early Bird discount on ALL PRINCE2 courses!

Keep reading to know how it works!

EARLY BIRD PROMOTION: HOW DOES IT WORK?

QRP International has decided to meet the needs of its customers by adding a special promotion for the full PRINCE2 Training Calendar: on all PRINCE2 Foundation and Combi (Foundation & Practitioner) courses of 2018, you can benefit from a very special Early Bird promotion (20% OFF!).

BOOK IN ADVANCE AND SAVE MONEY! Sign up for the best deals by making your ​​reservation early ​(at least ​30 days​ ​before the start date of the training)​ in order ​to benefit from the special 20% Early Bird discount!

To check out the full calendar of training available with the Early Bird option, visit the following pages:

• PRINCE2 Foundation: full calendar of courses in Early Bird Promotion
• PRINCE2 Combi (Foundation & Practitioner): full calendar of courses in Early Bird Promotion

GET IN TOUCH More than one person for one single course? Different inscriptions for different dates? Need extra info on our training calendar? We can help you: GET IN TOUCH!

The 2017 updated version of PRINCE2 has been developed closely with the PRINCE2 community worldwide and taking into considerations several drivers for change. One of the most urgent one is the increased professionalism within the PM community: project management will be more and more considered a wide business skill and this will, as a consequence, require a continuous improvement from every PM working in the field.

The only language ready with the 2017 version is ENGLISH: French, Spanish, Italian and Dutch will be translated starting from January 2018.

QRP International is scheduling the first PRINCE2 courses with the 2017 version, to make sure to provide the most up-to-date Project Management content to its customers: the first "PRINCE2 2017 Version" training will take place in August, and it's already CONFIRMED!

PRINCE2 Foundation + Practitioner training: 21-22-23-24-25 August 2017 => Follow this link to know more on the training and to hold your seat! If you register within the 21st of July, you will benefit from a 20% EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT!

WHAT'S NEW IN 2017 VERSION? METHOD CHANGES

The 2017 update of PRINCE2 builds on the proven strength of PRINCE2 while responding to current imperatives for flexibility and agility. You will discover how the core of the PRINCE2 method, like principles, processes and themes remain unchanged, while a renewed focus on the importance of tailoring has been added: the chapter on tailoring has been, in fact, elaborated and more prominently placed at the beginning of the manual, and it contains clear indications about:

• what you can and cannot tailor
• who is responsible for tailoring and documenting
• examples of different project environments
• tailoring and embedding PRINCE2 in an organization

Furthermore, the distinction between tailoring, adopting and embedding is explained in more detail and there is guidance on how to adopt and embed PRINCE2 in an organization.

WHAT'S NEW IN 2017 VERSION? EXAM CHANGES

• FOUNDATION EXAM --> The Foundation was previously of 75 questions, and it has now changed into 60 questions. The duration is still 1 hour, while the pass mark goes from 50% (35/70), to 60% (36/60).  Also the style of the questions have changed, since almost all negative questions have been removed and the number of list and missing word questions have been reduced.
• PRACTITIONER EXAM --> The Practitioner exam was previously of 80 questions, and it has changed into 75 questions. Duration and pass marks remain unchanged. Question styles retained are classic multiple choice and matching (2 columns), while multiple response (2 correct answers out of 5 possible answers) and assertion reason (True/false questions) have been removed. While previously the Practitioner exam only addressed 6 themes and 2 process with the NEW version all themes, all processes and the principles will be tasted. Last important change concerns the validity of the Practitioner certification: from the launch of the new exams the NEW Practitioner validity will be of 3 years ( not 5 years). To know more on the CERTIFICATION changes you can read this simple and informative article.

TO KNOW MORE ABOUT PRINCE2 2017 UPDATE

• WHAT’S THE FUTURE FOR PMs? – Read more
• WHAT CHANGES IN THE METHOD? – Read More
• WHAT CHANGES IN THE CERTIFICATION? - Read More

MORE THAN ONE COLLEAGUE FOR THE SAME COURSE?

Get in touch to get a personalized quotation, or get in touch to know more about KMO portefeuille.

PRINCE2 is firmly established as the world’s most practiced method for project management and is globally recognized for delivering successful projects. In January 2017 AXELOS, announced the upcoming arrival of updated PRINCE2 guidance and Foundation and Practitioner examinations. Together, these form PRINCE2 2017 and represent the first major update to PRINCE2 since 2009. TITLE OF THE WEBINAR: What is the PRINCE2 2017 Update? All You Need to Know ABOUT THE EXPERT: David Maegerman has over 10 years of Project Management experience, performing various roles in different types of projects. As a Project Manager, he delivered IT solutions as well as sales/marketing projects in the distribution and insurance industry. He’s a multilingual trainer for PRINCE2 and Agile Project Management, able to perform courses in English, Dutch and French. ABOUT THE WEBINAR: With this informative webinar QRP International wants to introduce you to the changes, understanding not only what changes in the content, but also what are the main reasons for the update, and how these updates will impact (or not impact) on your actual certification, and/or training plans. To WATCH THE VIDEO follow this link! Want to ask for a quotation for PRINCE2 courses? Follow this link and fill in the form Want to see the full calendar of our PRINCE2 Foundation courses? Follow this link Want to remain up-to-date? Register to our newsletter at this link

“Whichever it will be, we have no doubt that agile is transforming the field of project delivery and will fundamentally change the way the business and IT work together to successfully achieve change.” This is how the KPMG “Agile Project Delivery 2017 Survey” starts, and this one specific sentence already gives the clear idea about the increasing importance of Agile in the Project Management world. While the difference between Waterfall PM methods and Agile ones seems to be well known among the PM community, it is more difficult to find out if there is a clear and realistic view of what “Agile” really means: our goal with this interview is to highlight how different frameworks are in use within digital companies, and how developers, project managers and team members work together. TITLE: From Scrum to AgilePM: An Interview with a Web Developer ABOUT THE ARTICLE: Looking at the fast growing digital companies in Belgium, we have decided to interview Pàu: their team consists of different profiles ranging from conceptual UX over frontend/javascript developers to experienced backend developers. Pàu recently delivered successful projects for Telenet, BNP Paribas Fortis, Colruyt-Group, KBC, De Persgroep, Mediahuis, Essent, Proximus, Boondoggle and many more. “We are living in a rapidly changing environment in which the customer has extensive demands. To succeed in satisfying these demands, organizations are forced to respond extremely quickly to new developments in the market” (from KPMG “Agile Project Delivery 2017 Survey”) So it’s for Pàu: as specifically mentioned on their website www.pàu.be : “Rather than having a single method of working through the project lifecycle, we adopt elements of ITIL, PRINCE2, AgilePM and SCRUM to dynamically apply a methodology that suits the needs of that specific assignment”. This is why we have interviewed Kevin Pauwels, developer consultant, AgilePM certified and Scrum Master at Pàu, in order to investigate further the links between Agile and other well-known framework, such as Scrum, and to find out how this knowledge helps throughout the project. With Kevin's words: "From being Scrum Master, I see AgilePM as the next step, as a way to upgrade my role and my skills, from a more technical role to a less technical one" TO READ AND DOWNLOAD THE FULL ARTICLE: simply follow this link!

QRP International is hiring! A new opportunity has arisen for a talented Sales Executive to be joining our Belgian Team! Keep reading to know more on how to apply!

ROLE DESCRIPTION

We are looking for a talented (competitive and trustworthy) Sales Executive helping us build up our business activities in Belgium.

You will be responsible for discovering and pursuing new sales prospects and maintaining customer satisfaction. The goal is to meet and surpass the company’s expectations to drive rapid and sustainable growth.

A passionate for the “art” of Sales and will have experience and dedication relationship building.

The goal is to drive sustainable financial growth through boosting sales and forging strong relationships with clients.

The ability and willingness to travel is required.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for contributing to the country business strategies
• Responsible for contributing to the country marketing strategy
• To actively seek out new sales opportunities through cold calling, networking and social media
• Set up meetings with potential clients and listen to their wishes and concerns
• Prepare and deliver appropriate presentations on products/ services
• To negotiate/close deals and handle complaints or objections
• To find business opportunities and manage customer relationships.
• To manage and record all sales enquiries via CRM
• To provide trustworthy feedback and after-sales support
• To Report sales figures to BDM
• Collaborate with team to achieve better results
• Support BDM and Sales Manager in organizing various Sales projects
• Conduct market research to identify selling possibilities and evaluate customer needs

SKILLS

NATIVE ENGLISH or FRENCH or DUTCH SPEAKER

• The ability and desire to sell
• Thorough knowledge of sales and negotiating techniques (telephone and face to face)
• Experience as a sales executive in B2B
• Ability to drive the sales process from plan to close
• To negotiate/close deals and handle complaints or objections
• a good level of numeracy.

COMPETENCES

• Able to embrace QRP Core Values in everyday work
• We do our utmost to make our clients happy
• We enjoy working together as a team
• We keep our word
• Results orientation
• Autonomy
• Proactivity
• Interpersonal communication
• Assertiveness
• Teamwork
• Relational skills
• Flexibility
• Self-efficacy
• Sense of Belonging
• Resilience and the ability to cope with rejection
• Good level of numeracy
• Networking
• Excellent writer and communicator (in both the written and verbal form)

RELATIONSHIP

• Reporting to Business Development Manager Belgium
• Working relationships - Marketing Executive, Sales Manager, Operations Manager, Trainers, Consultants

CONTRACT

• 12 months
• 20.000 - 25.000 Gross salary
• Starting September 2017
• Based in Como, Italy
• Subsequent to the initial period and good performance QRP intend to offer long term contract to the successful candidate.

Liked the offer? Would you like to apply and join our international team? FOLLOW THIS LINK and upload your CV!