Project Management Skills for Success

Project management is being increasingly recognized as a vital skill-set for many management positions, not just those with the title of “project manager”. This course provides in-depth, practical, project management skills training. You will discuss projects from your own organization, and review tools and templates we use every day to manage real projects.

Who should take this Project Management Skills for Success course?

This course is for existing project managers who are interested in learning more about formal project management techniques, and anyone who is interested in becoming a project manager.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• Understand the language and structure of the Project Management Institute’s Body of Knowledge.
• Discuss the advantages of different life cycle approaches.
• Understand the value of project charter documents.
• Identify and engage stakeholders more effectively.
• Consider the impact of the environment or context in which your projects occur on your planning processes.
• Develop work breakdown structures to better define your project and reduce the likelihood of missed scope.
• Develop network diagrams that model how your project will be executed.
• Schedule your project and identify the critical path.
• Use various tools and reports to improve project communications.
• Add resource and cost information to your plans.
• Run better project status meetings.
• Better estimate your project costs and durations.
• Identify, prioritize, respond to, and manage, project risks.
• Track issues and action items in a more systematic manner.
• Update your project plans on a regular basis.
• Measure how your project is progressing.
• Document procurement options and contract types.
• Work with schedule delays and modify your project plan appropriately to minimize their impact.

Course Content

Day One:

• Approach to Course
• The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide®)
• What is a Project?
• Project Creation
• What is Project Management?
• Collections of Projects
• What’s Driving the Need for Project Management?
• The Project Management Institute
• Predictive Project Life Cycles
• Phase Gates
• Iterative/Incremental Life Cycles
• Adaptive Life Cycles
• Project Management Process Groups
• Progressive Elaboration
• PM Knowledge Areas
• Tailoring
• Governance
• The Project Manager
• Organization Structures
• Project Management Office (PMO)
• Project Sponsors
• A Basic Approach the Project Management
• Why Some Organizations Struggle to Implement Project Management
• Business Cases
• Project Benefits Management Plan
• Project Charter

Day Two:

• Organizational Process Assets
• Enterprise Environmental Factors
• Project Stakeholders
• Project Team
• Project Management Team
• Program Manager
• Portfolio Manager
• Project Manager Competences
• Strategic/Business Management
• Leadership and Management
• Politics and Power
• Project Integration Management
• Assumption Log
• Baselines
• Project Management Plan
• Performance Measurement Baseline
• Project Management Plan
• Develop Project Management Plan
• Project Documents
• Deliverables
• Issue Log
• Manage Project Knowledge
• Explicit Knowledge
• Lessons Learned
• Tacit Knowledge
• Knowledge Management
• Information Management
• Monitor & Control Project Work
• Variance Analysis
• Change Management Plan
• Four Types of Change Requests
• Configuration Management Plan
• Perform Integrated Change Control
• Change Management Process
• Change Control Boards
• Close Project or Phase
• Final Report
• Project Stakeholder Management
• Identify Stakeholders
• Stakeholder Register
• Stakeholder Stake
• Stakeholder Analysis
• Power/Interest Grid
• Stakeholder Cube
• Salience Model
• Plan Stakeholder Engagement
• Stakeholder Engagement Plan
• Active Listening

Day Three:

• Project Scope Management
• Product/Project Scope
• Plan Scope Management
• Collect Requirements
• Requirements Documentation
• Traceability Matrix
• Define Scope
• Project Scope Statement
• Create WBS
• WBS: Rolling Wave Planning
• WBS: Checklist
• WBS: The 100% Rule
• WBS: Control Accounts
• WBS: Planning Packages
• WBS Dictionary
• WBS Templates
• Scope Baseline
• Control Scope
• Variance Analysis
• Validate Scope
• Adaptive/Agile Lifecycles
• Project Schedule Management
• Plan Schedule Management
• Releases
• Time-Boxed Period
• Kanban Board
• Sequence Activities
• Precedence Networks
• Schedule Network Templates
• Internal versus External
• Mandatory versus Discretionary
• Leads and Lags
• Estimate Activity Resources
• Resource Requirements
• Project Management Information System (PMIS)
• Estimate Activity Durations
• Common Estimating Themes
• Parkinson’s Law
• Voting
• Analogous Estimating
• Parametric Estimating
• Three-Point Estimating
• Reserve Analysis
• Contingency Reserves
• Management Reserves
• Develop Schedule
• CPM Scheduling
• The Importance of Total Float
• Schedule Constraints
• Positive Total Float
• Negative Total Float
• CPM: Different Kinds of Float
• CPM: Near Critical
• Resource Optimization
• Resource Leveling
• Schedule Compression
• Crashing
• Agile Release Planning
• Schedule Baseline
• Project Schedule
• Milestone Charts
• Bar Charts
• Control Schedule
• Control Schedule: Agile
• Work Performance Data
• Collecting Actuals
• Progress Collection Considerations
• “Actuals” Collection Strategies
• 50/50 Progress Reporting Rule
• Keys to a Successful Status Meeting
• Status Meeting Agenda
• Typical Status Meeting Topics
• Meeting Notes

Day Four:

• Earned Value Management
• Planned Value (PV)
• Earned Value (EV)
• Actual Cost (AC)
• Variances
• Performance Indices
• Project Cost Management
• Plan Cost Management
• Estimate Costs
• Analogous Estimating
• Parametric Estimating
• Reserve Analysis
• Cost Estimating Software
• Activity Cost Estimates
• Determine Budget
• Project Funding Requirements
• Common Budgeting Problems
• Control Costs
• Cost Tracking
• Project Quality Management
• Customer Satisfaction
• Prevention over Inspection
• Continuous Improvement
• Management Responsibility
• Cost of Quality (COQ)
• Mutually Beneficial Partnerships
• Quality versus Grade
• Precision versus Accuracy
• Quality and the 12 Agile Principles
• Gold Plating
• Plan Quality Management
• Quality Metrics
• Manage Quality
• Quality Checklists
• Process Analysis
• Cause and Effect Diagrams
• Audits
• Control Quality
• Inspection
• Project Resource Management
• Agile/Adaptive Teams
• Plan Resource Management
• Recognition Plan
• Team Charter
• Organization Breakdown Structure
• Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS)
• Assignment Matrix
• Acquire Resources
• Negotiation
• Virtual Teams
• Develop Team
• Team Development Stages
• Conflict Resolution Techniques
• Motivational Theories
• Team Building
• Personnel Assessment Tools
• Training
• Team Performance Assessments
• Manage Team
• Control Resources
• Plan Communications Management
• Communication Technology
• Communication Blockers
• Communication Methods
• Communications and Agile
• Manage Communications
• Nonverbal Communications
• Project Reporting
• Monitor Communications

Day Five:

• Project Risk Management
• Overall Project Risk
• Stakeholders and Risk
• Risk and Agile
• Plan Risk Management
• Risk Categories
• Risk Breakdown Structure
• Identify Risks
• Checklists
• Assumption and Constraints Analysis
• SWOT Analysis
• Document Analysis
• Prompt Lists
• Risk Register and Risk Report
• Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
• Probability and Impact Assessment
• Impact Rating Table
• Assessment of Other Risk Parameters
• Plan Risk Responses
• Contingent Response Strategies
• Strategies for Overall Project Risk
• Contingency Reserve Calculation
• Implement Risk Responses
• Monitor Risks
• Risk Reviews
• Project Procurement Management
• Contract Life Cycles
• Buyers and Sellers
• Organizational Influences
• Contracts and Contracting Terms
• Agreements and Risk
• The Procurement Process
• Procurement and Agile
• Plan Procurement Management
• Fixed Price Contracts
• Cost Reimbursable
• Time and Material (T&M)
• Contract Types and Risk
• Make-or-Buy Analysis
• Source Selection Analysis
• Procurement Management Plan
• Procurement Strategy
• Delivery Methods
• Bid Documents
• Statements of Work (SOW)
• Terms of Reference (TOR)
• Contractual Terms and Conditions
• Independent Cost Estimates
• Conduct Procurements
• Bidder Conferences
• Selected Sellers
• Screening System
• Control Procurements
• Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
• Closed Procurements
• Payments
• Early Contract Termination
• Seller Performance Evaluation Documentation
• Next Steps