1) Don't attend a mass lecture. In this type of training an instructor can only manage a few relationships with people in a workshop at a time. An instructor can only address so many issues and answer so many questions. We have been doing public training on project management software since the 1980s and we are convinced that the maximum number of participants for a public class on this system is six.

Onsite, you can handle more people because everyone has the same issues, environment, configuration, etc., but not in a public workshop setting, not effectively.

Regardless of what any company might say, adult learning and small group research will support the value of small class sizes. So does our experience.

In addition, one of the primary reasons for taking a public class is the collaboration among participants. 

Red Flag: The public workshop you are evaluating is held in a traditional computer lab setup with several rows of computers and 10 to 12 seats for participants. These labs might work for, well labs, but not for collaborative learning experiences.

 2) Find a class that isn't taught by a parrot. The training model for many firms is to A) buy a course from, say Microsoft, and then, B) train a bunch of trainers to deliver it.

Bottom line, "experts teach their own content" so if you are going to take a class, consider getting in touch with the instructor and asking them if they designed designed or developed the workshop, just to be sure you are getting an expert.

If you can, you might as well take a workshop by an "expert" rather than a "parrot." If you do choose to sit and listen to someone sing along with a script, you should at least get a great price on the workshop! We think that should be about the same price you might expect pay for a CD from the "Video Professor" but not a penny more.

Red Flag: A firm lists out a whole page of locations and dates for their workshops where they are probably conducting "mass production" or "cookie cutter" training. Likely, they do not provide instructor bios on their web-site, nor encourage you to talk to the instructor before you sign-up.

3) Get written confirmation that the workshop will not be canceled for low enrollment. Most every company that offers public training has a break even number and if they can't fill a certain number of the seats they cancel the class. Nothing wrong with that, for them. But it doesn't work well for you. If a firm cannot guarantee 100% that they will hold the workshop even if you are the only one that shows up, then keep looking because the odds are, the class will cancel if the company can't make their profit regardless of the hassle for you. See participant comment.

Red Flag: This is such a major issue in the training business, that any reputable firm is going to clearly state their policy unmistakably for you to understand. However, most firms do not guarantee to run with low enrollment. Imagine an airline that said, "We will sell you a seat on this flight, but if 10 days before the flight is scheduled to take off, we don't have 25% of the seats on that airplane filled we are going to cancel the flight!"

4) Meet your instructors. That is right, call them up and talk to them. You know, it isn't so important which company is offering the workshop, but it is highly important to know who is going to teach the workshop. The training firm isn't going to train you, a person is.

Determine the credibility and experience of the instructor; ask them who they have done consulting work for, the outcome of that work, to show you examples of their own projects etc. See if you can determine if they can communicate content effectively. Ask for their class ratings and comments. Focus on performance and experience over any certification they might have purchased.

In addition, find out if they are going to tell you the truth. You know the good, the bad, and the ugly. In fact, ask them, "tell me 5 things about Microsoft Project or MS Project Server that you think doesn't work, or causes your customers a lot of pain. If they hesitate, what value will you receive from their training? Everyone knows that software is not perfect, especially enterprise software, and training should not only tell you what works, it should also tell you want doesn't.

Red Flag: The instructor is mostly just an instructor. There is an old saying, "Those who can't do, teach." We don't think that is completely true, but we do think that experts do a lot more than just teach.

5) Resist pre-giving strategies. Everyone wants you to sign up for their course and some training companies might even offer you an iPod, or some other gadget or fun thing to do in an attempt to get your money.

Look, it is nice to get a gift or a massage, but you are going to be spending your valuable time base your selection on quality vs. a gadget, sailing trips, or whatever else they might be offered.

Red Flag: Offers unrelated to the EPM workshop. Gifts, discounts on other workshops, tours, boat-rides, etc.

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