Course Overview
Project Management is one of todays fastest growing professions and has therefore become a very well defined discipline. With business environments and company structures changing as rapidly as they are it comes as no surprise that it is not just experienced Project Managers that find themselves involved in company projects. Many companies now manage all aspects of their business through a projectoriented approach and expect their managers to take this on board and run cross-functional projects with very little if any formal training.
This unique programme offers you the opportunity to obtain an in-depth grasp of the fundamentals of project management. You will gain all the tools and techniques to manage your projects time, cost and quality in order to achieve your business objectives. However, in addition to this and, even more importantly, you will gain an insight and understanding into the people side of project management. This will give you the edge over your peers ensuring all your projects are a recognised success. There are many methodologies, theories and definitions in the public domain. However, project management that is purely administrative, mechanistic and bureaucratic is inappropriate for today's dynamic business environment.
Audience
This course is ideal for anyone who feels they would benefit from a solid grounding in the principles of project management. This would include managers of all levels who find themselves implementing projects within their organisation even if it isnt strictly in their job descriptions. In addition this course would be invaluable for all new project managers and/or any project managers with little or no formal training in the subject. It would also prove extremely useful for any managers that oversee projects run by others.
Skills Gained
All you need to know in order to plan, lead and conclude all aspects of a highly effective and results focused project.
Over the intensive two-day programme you will learn:
The processes and principles of successful project management
How to plan, organise and document a project with confidence and in a logical manner with a robust toolkit to support the process
How to set clear and realistic objectives for a project with an understanding of the project life cycle
To assess the viability of a project taking into account budgeting, people and risk management issues
To identify the roles, skills and qualities of a successful project manager and their team
The importance of effective communication to gain the support and commitment from others
How to use project management to maximum effect in your organisation
How to benefit in the future from the strengths and weaknesses identified on completion of a project
Course Outline
Foundations of 21st century Project Management
What, why, when and how of project management
What makes a project a success
Understanding and choosing between professional bodies, accreditation, methodologies, processes and tools
Implications for the way you, the team and organisation work
It is as much about how you do it as what you do
The primary importance of people aspects to project work
Understanding yourself and others - The importance of effective communication and leadership
The dynamic between vision, strategy, business objectives, initiatives, programmes, projects, workstreams and tasks
Understanding the project organisation - what kind of matrix are we?
Running a project start-up workshop
How can my team generate and nurture ideas?
The importance of the sponsor
Foundational stakeholder identification (stakeholder value propositions)
Identifying high level requirements (functional scope)
High level planning - developing the delivery plan
Developing first cut business case - key components
High level planning
The Project Charter and Terms of Reference - ensuring the best chance of success
Getting to Grips with the Feasibility phase- Assessing viability of the project
Team preparation and mobilisation
Stakeholder management
Recruiting the right steering group
Communication planning
Change & issue management
Organisational change considerations
Developing the work breakdown structure
- Creating the responsibility matrix
- who does what!
Estimating, budgeting and scheduling
Understanding risk management and developing the risk management plan
Refining the project scope
The Project contract - the basis for agreement
Managing the Build phase - Organising for effective project execution
Monitoring and control processes - who needs to know what, when and how?
The importance of quality and change control
Progress reporting and the use of earned value
Managing the plan
Getting ready for the delivery - what does it mean for your project?
Implementation: planning for cut-over, operation and support
When things go wrong - dont panic
Practical Implementation - delivering the project on multiple levels
Launch communication - bringing it all together
Executing the implementation plan
Quality criteria for going live
Customer satisfaction and benefits tracking
Putting the right support mechanisms in place
Dismantling the team
Post implementation - evaluation of the project as a whole
Project closedown activities - who is responsible for it now?
Post implementation review - has the project delivered?
Supporting the team to seek new opportunities
Capturing the learning
Rewarding the participants
Building in continuous improvement
