Real-World Project Management
Overview:
This course is a comprehensive look at project management. It covers the steps of project management from definition and planning to implementation, monitoring, completion and evaluation. Students will be able to complete a thorough and accurate project plan including task identification, scheduling and budgeting; monitor the key project issues of schedule, budget and performance deliverables; develop appropriate responses to potential problems, and deliver a formal evaluation to finalize a project.
Audience:
Individuals interested in learning how to efficiently and successfully manage projects from start to finish.
Prerequisites
None.
Course duration:
2 days
Course outline:
1. Define the project
- Why project management?
- What makes project management so unique?
- The functional manager vs. the project manager
- Assessing your project management skills
- Who is the client?
- What are the objectives and deliverables
- Determining your constraints
- Defining the scope of your project
2. Plan
- Creating a work breakdown structure (WBS)
- Estimating time
- Scheduling: Building a Gantt chart
- Real-life scheduling: Critical Path Method (CPM)
- Creating realistic budgets
- Using a project resource/cost-estimate worksheet
- Managing risk
- Putting together the project team
- Role clarity
- Getting client approval and sign-off
3. Implement
- Project communications
- Choosing how to communicate
- Team meetings
- Team problem-solving guidelines
- Project reporting
- Managing through influence
- Team issues
- Keeping the project on track
4. Monitor
- Using project management tools
- Early warning systems
- Project problem solving I: Performance
- Project problem solving II: Cost
- Project problem solving III: Time
- Renegotiating
5. Complete
- What to do if you project is abandoned
- Finalizing deliverables and closing accounts
6. Evaluate
- The postmortem
- Team celebrations
