Purpose

Acquire the skills, behaviours and understanding that will help to achieve business goals, meet and exceed stakeholder expectations, satisfy customer needs, respect deadlines, work to budget, deliver to quality and fulfill regulatory requirments

 

Overview

Because projects have become so important for innovation and change, organizations can achieve more return on investment from project management than in almost any other part of the business.  However, projects are complex, and present unique challenges, which means that the development of skills, the adoption of good practices and the need for improved cooperation is never ending.

 

Participants

Since this course presents good practices applicable on any project, it is as appropriate for project managers at client companies and sponsors of projects as it is for project managers at supplier and for project team members. 

 

Objectives

• Use good project management practices to make the most out of your projects
• Optimise organisation and implementation within the team and amongst the project partners            
• Integrate scope, time, cost, quality, risk, communication and stakeholder satisfaction

 

Instructor

The instructor has experience in project management in many industrial sectors where change and innovation have been key factors, and has been consultant, facilitator, and project manager, manager of methods and quality, and trainer in large and small organisations. 

 

Programme

Review the nature of a project and project management

- Overview of project management

- Understand the role of project managers

- Recognize typical project challenges

Interactive session: Identifying the challenges of projects

- Set the framework of project management for better results

- Outline the project management process

- Understand the project life cycle and process steps

Define the project’s boundaries and purpose to meet your organisation’s business goals

- Describe and position the project, the critical success factors, principle objectives and risks

- Set the project scope, time, cost and principle objectives

- Determine what defines successful outcomes and how quality is measured and managed

Case Study: Defining a mission for the project (i.e. charter / terms of reference)

Perform an analysis of stakeholders, risks and benefits

- Analyse the influence, support and impact on key stakeholders

- Analyse risks and identify response strategies

- Prepare a communication plan in order to manage benefits and customer expectations

Exercise: Perform stakeholder analysis and risk analysis, produce a communication plan and a risk management plan

Structure and organize the project

- Develop the work breakdown structure and define work packages

- Allocate responsibilities using a responsibility matrix

- Develop estimating strategies to establish the overall cost and duration of work estimates

Case Study: Develop the work breakdown structure and define the work packages

Develop a project plan to manage the project

- Develop a comprehensive project plan to manage the project

- Define key project activities, determine dependencies and establish critical path

- Plan a schedule by setting clear milestones at the outset of the project

Exercise: Understanding critical path analysis methods

Case Study: Build the project plan, includ project budget and subsidiary plans, and establish a baseline for the project

Work on your management style to get the best results in a project team environment

- Recognize personal styles that contribute to effective teamwork

- Develop the attributes of teamwork that enable high performance

- Understand team management throughout the project life cycle

- Explore techniques to resolve conflicts and to handle pressures in a project team

Exercise: Group work on team development and conflict management

Effectively manage a project and control its progress towards successful results and to maximize ROI

- Set up a format and process to formally manage change requests, problems and incidents

- Explore criteria for decision making on change implementation

- Effectively manage a project and control its progress to meet targets

- Assess and manage the project performance at regular intervals

Case Study: Decide on appropriate responses to change requests, and manage project progress

Develop principles and methods to manage partners (managers, colleagues, suppliers) to optimize project team work

- Develop good practices for managing outsourced projects

- Use milestones, methods, measures and reviews to enhance visibility and deliver results

- Establish and develop communication skills to improve project partnering

- Review strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the critical purpose

Discussion debate: Management of partners on projects

Focus on methods and skills that improve and speed up your projects

- Evaluate emerging initiatives for improving, accelerating, optimizing and managing the project scope, cost and timeline

- Develop tactics to optimise personal time management and motivations

- Identify and respond to the differing motivations of individuals in the team

- Adopt appropriate communication and responses for managing differences

Exercise: Completion of a self-evaluation questionnaire

Close out the project, identify failures fast, and build on successes

- Close the project taking account of contractual, regulatory and administrative

- Learn from project successes and failures, and build project management maturity

Exercise: Review project closure from several different perspectives

 

Learning Method

 The course uses case studies as well as activities and learning games. 

 

Duration

3 days, either consecutive or 2 + 1

 

Benefits of the course

• A solid grounding in project management skills and familiarity with good practices
• Skills, behaviours and understanding that are commensurate with good practice
• Enhanced comfort in the project management life cycle
• Ideas discovered, developed and exchanged
• Hands-on practice