Good planning is more than a list of tasks: it is the backbone of a successful project. During an internal training session at Ditio, junior professionals had the opportunity to learn about the basics of network planning. Alfonso St. Jago, Director of Professionals, provided the session:
"Network planning allows a project team to place maximum focus on the activities that are critical to achieving timely milestones. This allows for timely adjustments and clear reporting."
The training covered topics such as the Critical Path method, closed network planning and analyzing S-curves. The goal: to give juniors tools to find structure and confidence in their first steps within project management.
For junior project controller Ellen van Aggelen, this was the first time she really applied network planning in concrete terms:
"What I found most valuable was practicing with cases on paper. Although we work with software with clients, the manual puzzling actually helps us understand the theory better."
Working on practical cases, she experienced how dependencies between tasks affect a project's lead time. "If task 5 may only start after tasks 2 and 4 are completed - what does that mean for the overall schedule? That puzzle makes it insightful."
The training offered not only content, but also collaboration between juniors from different backgrounds and experience. Ellen:
"Everyone complements each other. That makes you learn not only from the trainer, but also from each other."
According to Alfonso, the strength of this training lies in laying a solid foundation:
"Working with an established method allows juniors to gain immediate experience and gives them a handle on their first projects. The most important insight? Keep learning and working inquisitively - each training session is a stepping stone to the next."
With trainings like this one, Ditio underscores the importance of knowledge sharing and development. After all, the better our professionals understand how to effectively plan a project, the more value they can add with clients.
Do you also want to start your career in project management and learn from experienced professionals? Check out our vacancies and become a Ditiosi.