IS Project Management

Course Overview

To be successful, project managers must consider the processes and people issues, as well as being able to plan and control tasks. There are special problems associated with managing project teams and communicating effectively with all those involved with the project. This course addresses all these key aspects of project management. Training methods used include presentations, discussions, video films, exercises and extensive casework.

The course contains a significant amount of evening work in order to provide maximum practical experience.

Audience

Project managers, project leaders, team leaders and other staff with responsibility for information systems projects.

Skills Gained

This course will enable delegates to:

• Identify their role and responsibilities as Project Managers.
• Define a firm foundation for project success.
• Produce a project cost justification.
• Consider various development approaches, eg. package software and Rapid Development.
• Manage project risk.
• Use planning and control techniques to manage projects in a multi-project environment.
• Use a model of role behaviour in working groups to analyse individual roles and improve group effectiveness.
• Understand the particular problems of managing project teams.
• Produce plans to reduce the impact of change on the customer's organisation and improve the chances of successful implementation.

Prerequisites

Delegates are assumed to be familiar with the basic techniques of project planning and control or to have attended either , Project Planning and Control using Microsoft Project [PPH] or Project Management Techniques [PCT] .

Course Outline

Managing projects

• The project management life-cycle.
• Project work structure.
• Project management roles and responsibilities.

Strategy and objectives

• The relationship between project goals and objectives and business aims.
• Scoping the project.
• Prioritising projects.

Project initiation and justification

• Project definition.
• IS Development options including package software and Rapid Development.
• Project justification and cost/benefit analysis.

Risk management

• Identification of risk to the project.
• Analysis of risk.
• Actions to reduce risk.
• Monitoring and controlling risk.

Project planning

• Products, activities and dependencies.
• Estimating effort and duration.
• Contingency allowances.
• Project costing.
• Management decision points.

Team skills management

• Understanding teams.
• Team role specifications.
• Improving team performance.

Project control

• Quality in a project environment.
• Change control and configuration management.
• Progress and cost control.
• Managing issues.
• Taking corrective action.

Managing project teams

• The project team and matrix management.
• Management style and communication.
• Motivation.

Managing change

• Reaction to change.
• Dealing with resistance.
• Implementing change successfully.

Project completion and review

• Successful completion and handover.
• Learning from experience.
• The post-implementation review.