The eLearning Center for Gatlin Education Services

The Project Management Institute labels the four stages of a project as, “forming, storming, norming, and performing”.

The inclusion of a stage called “storming” is an admission that we could do a better job with the human side of projects: especially on large projects involving hundreds of people and hundreds of millions of dollars.

This course is designed for any project manager or project engineer that would like to consider a way to speed the forming stage, potentially eliminate the storming, and get to “performing” more quickly than in the traditional manner.

This course takes the student beyond the traditional two or three teambuilding meetings that may occur with a large project to demonstrate that we must change that concept into one with more depth and the potential for greater endurance and performance: team development.

We see traditional team building as an activity that begins with the project team member and flows outward dealing with their role on the project, their relationship with other team members, and their work in support of the project.

Our proposed approach for team development begins before the first team member arrives on the project. It starts by defining measurable performance expectations regarding technical and non-technical skills for each function. Then creates a system whereby the project team members are able to self-monitor their performance allowing them opportunities for professional and self-development that are not so evident in a traditional team-building environment.

The ultimate goal with this course is a project that is delivered on time, on budget, meets all of the client’s expectations, and team members can’t wait to work together again on the next project!

The student must take a multiple-choice quiz consisting of fifty-five (55) questions at the end of the course to obtain PDH credits.

State Board Acceptance

This course can be used by professional engineers to fulfill PDH requirements mandated by state and provincial licensing boards. Decatur Professional Development is an approved provider of continuing education in all states that pre-approve course providers. In all other states that mandate continuing education for engineers, it is the individual engineer's responsibility to determine the suitability of activities for PDH credit. The state boards typically accept online* courses that cover technical, managerial** or ethical content and which are relevant to the practice of engineering. The course must have a clear purpose or objective with a content that will maintain, improve or expand the skills and knowledge of the licensee's field of practice. For questions about your mandatory PDH requirements, visit the website of your state licensing board.

*Online courses are accepted by all state licensing boards that mandate continuing education. Other than New York (which limits online courses to 18 PDH) and Iowa (which limits online courses to 6 PDH), there are no limits placed by other states on the number of hours that can be earned through online continuing education. Consult with your state licensing board if you have any questions about the acceptability of online courses.

**The New York State Board of Engineers does not accept general office management courses, but will accept project management courses that are offered by an approved provider and that are technical in nature and contribute to the engineer's professional practice.

Please Note: Continuing Education credits for this course are awarded as PDH (Professional Development Hour Credits).