What's the best way to manage training project progress?

Start by crystalizing your objectives for the training project. What are the skills or knowledge you want participants to gain? What's the scope of the project? Once you have this you can craft a blueprint that paints a vivid picture of all the tasks, deadlines, and resources you'll need. As mentioned below, tools like project management software can be your trusted companions here. Personally assign roles and responsibilities to your team members and make sure that each one knows their part in this project and what's expected of them. This is very important & where deviation and ability can arise. Set timeframes that are not just ambitious but realistic & consider the time it takes for content creation, testing, & feedback integration.

It's tempting to start designing and developing information once you start getting information. That's how you end up with a fully developed training plan that doesn't meet the needs of the business. You have to spend time on the analysis to make sure your training approach changes the right behaviors.

Before starting a training project, there are several key factors that need to be considered and managed. Here are some important steps to take before starting a training project: 1. Identify the training needs 2. Define the scope and goals 3. Develop a training plan. 4. Allocate resources 5. Design the training content 6. Identify and secure trainers 7. Prepare the training environment 8. Communicate with stakeholders 9. Assess risks and develop contingency plans 10. Evaluate and measure success By following these steps, you can effectively manage a training project and ensure its success in achieving the desired outcomes.

**Use Project Management Tools**: There are many project management tools available that can help you track progress, assign tasks, and manage resources. Some popular ones include Asana, Trello, and Microsoft Project. These tools can provide visual representations of your project timeline and help keep everyone on the same page. **Regular Progress Meetings**: Regular meetings can help ensure that everyone is aware of the project's status and any issues that have arisen. **Monitor and Control**: Keep a close eye on the progress of the project. This might involve reallocating resources, adjusting the project plan, or providing additional training or support to team members.

Managing training projects progress requires effective planning and coordination; determine the training objectives and goals, this will enable you to identify the required resources for the training project, such as qualify trainer who has the required skills and knowledge needed to develop the training modules, Subject matter experts, etc. Upon completion of the training conducted assessment to evaluate the training outcomes and record your findings, use the feedback from the assessment to identify area for improvement and ensure lesson learned reflects in future trainings

Ensure that training goes hand in hand with on the job training. This way you can measure the required outstanding training.

In training project management, efficiency is key. Leverage project management tools like Asana, Trello, Basecamp,Jira or Microsoft Project to plan, track, and communicate progress seamlessly. These tools empower you to assign tasks, share resources, and collaborate effectively. Harness the power of technology for streamlined success.

In my current organization, we're using Monday.com for project management. It's a great tool when it comes to ticket management, project collaboration, task tracking and even documentation. Some features that I really like are: 1. Unlike other complicated Apps, Monday is highly user-friendly 2. You can easily automate tasks based on the selections and changes in the status 3. The integration is pretty seamless and you can easily integrate Monday with popular tools like Slack, Trello, Google Drive, and more Monday also provides reporting and analytics features that users can use to track progress, identify bottlenecks and make data-driven decisions

Project management tools have been crucial in my experience developing training systems. Tools like Monday.com, make it extremely easy to set deadlines and delegate work. These tools also allow managers, organization leaders or clients to visually see the progress in one page.

Psychological safety is the key for communication. Create a safe environment for open dialogue by demonstrating respect and care. Use design thinking to carve out a solution-focused communication strategy. I prefer a predefined milestone check calendar (preferably virtual), where we discuss what has been done, what's the way forward and check any need for amendments.

Embracing Steven Covey's concept, "Begin with the end in mind," is paramount in effective training. We must first define our program's success, identifying the ultimate goal. This paves the way for a backward analysis of participant attributes and the application of design thinking to optimize training methods. It extends beyond content, encompassing pacing, language, delivery, and narrative tailored to each participant. Additionally, an agile approach is crucial. In my experience, I assumed a trainee's basic knowledge but was mistaken. I recalibrated, establishing a strong foundation before continuing. "Begin with the end in mind" fosters purposeful, adaptable training in professional development.

Having a defined vertical or horizontal responsibility of leaders for internal and external communication with defined time limits for responses will facilitate completion of projects on time

The best way to learn is to do, and I will try as much to simulate real world scenarios in my trainings. For example, I will use Trello boards and issue "tickets" which my participants will complete during the course. And each ticket has a specific skill or topic that is emphasized. So, that way, the participant will know their own progress, and what areas need more attention if they are struggling with a particular ticket.

Different tools—surveys, quizzes, —give you different insights. Example: If your goal is teamwork, don't just measure individual performance. Put them in teams and see if they sink or swim together! No Pain, No Gain: Even if the training seems perfect, there's always room for pumping more iron or... you know, improvement. Example: Maybe your "Anti-Stress Yoga" session was a hit, but everyone still complains about backaches. Time to introduce "Ergonomics 101"! The Proof is in the Pudding: At the end of the day, we all want to see results—whether it's pounds shed, or revenue gained. If your goal is teamwork, don't just measure individual performance. Put them in teams and see if they sink or swim together!

The No. 1 rule: work in small groups. In my experience my presentation training works best in a group of 6. It allows space for the benefits of groupwork and personalised work as well. I find that the best way to learn and to help my participants learn is by doing several tasks during the course of the training. I like to do workshop series based on my elearning material. We work both in groups and 1:1 coaching sessions on their presentations. This also helps to see where they are, the laggers don’t necessarily feel behind but motivated, because they can discuss their issues in a more intimate setting.

Understand the behavior change you want to see as a result of the training - and consider a simple 360 feedback measurement to learn of the training had its intended impact.

People learn in different ways and at different speeds. You have to be prepared for if your group "get it" quickly and easily. Equally you have to be prepared to explain and demonstrate the same thing 10 different ways of that's what it takes. Expecting a 1 approach fits all will lead to a disaster. You have to be able to adapt your plan on the fly to suit your audience

- know your students and their current expertise - develop your curriculum based on these 6 steps 1) self awareness. Let students do research to understand what is their current level 2) goal creation. Ask students to do research and set goals 3) create a plan with their participation 4) Set accountability. Create progress tracker 5) create daily updates and share in a a group 6) set a review mechanism for tracking of their results. Don’t go for sophisticated software’s for project management. They will be making only the charts. Let them make their own thing but share it in the group and create accountability. Your focus should be creating a world class curriculum. And this is not about you, your qualifications and awards.

It is important to remember the Ebbinghaus Curve of Forgetting. People will forget things. A lot of things and repeatedly. Taking this into account you need to remember this and build in refreshers, summaries and knowledge checking questions to re-enforce the learnings. Not only in one session but across multiple sessions and beyond. Only when things are committed to long term memory and easy to recall can you truly consider your training to be a success. If learning is forgotten a week down the line has your training really been a success?