An Evaluation Model for Project Management Training Programs

Academia can benefit greatly from collaboration with training companies with a proven track record for developing, delivering and evaluating project management training programs. Because corporate clients demand cost effective as well as measurable outcomes, some training companies have developed sophisticated models and tools to assess PM training programs. This unique perspective is important to academic research in the assessment of cost-effective PM education and training practices. Over the past two years, the authors and Educational Services International, Inc. (ESI) have been engaged in assessing ESI’s project management core courses, but also in creating process models to provide a framework for project management solutions. As part of one study, two versions of the Learning Outcomes Template (LOTTM) were created to validate the learning outcomes of the curriculum, one to assess the outcomes, the other to baseline performance levels. These two tools could then be used to assist clients to customize curriculum as well as evaluate participant performance. The education and training evaluation model (ETEM) presented in this paper incorporates information from these studies and research in current best practices as well as several financial models (BCA, ROI, ROE). In this way, the model provides both quantitative and qualitative assessment tools