A Parallel developed course
Can be tailored to your learning objectives, to include your processes, templates and documents
Can be run face to face or online, over 1, 2, or 5 days
Project management is the management of change and it is a key part of the skill set of any manager. This course provides a practical overview of how to manage change in a structured way. The benefits of this approach are to:
Ensure support from the team through proper communication.Understand clear objectives and the benefits to be deliveredAgree realistic plans for implementation of the projectIdentify and manage the risk to the project.Maintain a simple but effective reporting structure and control changes.Understand how to build a project team.The workshop sessions will use active learning methods to engage all the delegates in the learning process. These include:
At the end of the course delegated will be able to:
Own small projects with supportTake over a larger project that has already been set up and maintain the documentationComplete tasks within a project that are allocated to them as well as work proactivelyYou can read about how we collect, store and use your information in our Privacy Policy.
Course Introduction
An introduction to the course, learning objectives and structure. Delegate introductions and discussion of their individual needs, the skills they bring to the group and the ideals for improving project delivery within their team
How Projects Impact on Business as Usual?
In this session we explore how projects generate change in business as usual and an overview of the tools and techniques used by project managers to implement change. This will include clarity about the roles of the sponsor, project manager and users and the use of a project lifecycle to provide a structured approach to project management.
Exercise: Mapping the project management roles across the project lifestyle
Tools and techniques used
Defining the Project Objective
As the start of any change it is important to fully understand the objectives, constraints and assumptions to be made. In this module we will use analysis of the external context using the “windows of wisdom” to identify the success criteria for projects, the constraints that apply and the role the project plays in corporate strategy.
Syndicate Exercise: An analysis of external project context for a case study or a real delegate project.
Tools and techniques used
Stakeholder Management
In this session we will also develop a plan for project communications based on an analysis of the different stakeholder groups.
Syndicate Exercise: A stakeholder analysis and communications planning for a case study or a real delegate project.
Tools and techniques used
A full understanding of the business case is developed by considering a number of options and the relative merits or each.
Once a clear strategy has emerged, then a project brief (or business case) can be used to authorise the project.
Syndicate Exercise: preparation of a project brief for a case study or real delegate project. This will include consideration of the different options for implementation of the project.
Tools and techniques used:
A practical exercise to demonstrate the application of project management to a stimulated project.
The foundation of good planning is a clear definition of the project scope.
This can be derived from an analysis of the project deliverables and requirements, followed by the progressive sevelopment of the work breakdown structure. In this session we will examine a number of ways in which a clear project scope can be defined including informal and formal techniques such as “the rope of scope” or the work breakdown structure.
Syndicate Exercise: defining the scope for a case study or real delegate project.
Tools and techniques used:
Understanding the dependencies between the delivery of different work packages and teams at an early stage is vital to the smooth delivery of projects. The precedence diagram is the method to develop these linkages between activities, work packages and teams. We will explore a range of linking relationship available to develop a fair representation of the work plan.
This session includes:
a.Development and use of the precedence diagram.
b. Typical dependencies including finish-start, start-start, finish-finish.
c. The use of leads and lags.
d. Critical path
e. Resource and cost planning
Tools used are:
Syndicate Exercise: defining the project schedules for a case study or a real delegate project.
Accurate estimating of cost and timescales is vital for many project plans. In this section we look at different tools and techniques to produce accurate estimates.
This includes comparative, parametric and bottom up estimating techniques.
Exercise producing and estimate with a tolerance of 1% accuracy.
Techniques used are
Every project is subject to risk and also generates risk for the business. In this session we look at how to manage risk on a project. Including risk identification, assessment and planning techniques.
Exercise evaluating the risks for our case study project.
Techniques used are
Successful project execution requires regular communications to ensure any issues are identified early and action is taken to keep the project on track.
This requires simple but effective reporting and a rigorous control of change. In this session we will look at case studies which have suffered from poor change control and report and evaluate how these have affected the project outcomes.
Exercises change control case study
Tools used are
A practical exercise to demonstrate the application of project management to a project
Self-reflection and action planning
The final session includes the presentation of the plans prepared in syndicate exercises for peer review by the group, followed by individual action planning to define the next steps to apply what has been learned in the course in the workplace.
Individual Exercise: Planning next steps in the workplace
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