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Project Planning and Scheduling - Intermediate
Course Description
Course Title
Project Planning and Scheduling - Intermediate
Overview
The planning phase of a project is key. When planning and scheduling, we set ourselves up to succeed. Conversely, if we get it wrong at the planning stage, implementation is going to be very hard, and we are likely not to deliver to target. As the saying goes, “if we fail to plan, we plan to fail”. This course is for those who already have some project controls experience and wish to build on it, who want to plan and schedule projects comprehensively and well, and maximise the chances of delivering projects to time, cost, quality, and scope.
What You Will Learn from This Course:
• Why planning and scheduling are important
• How planning and scheduling fit into project management and into project controls
• The different approaches to planning
• Planning project scope using breakdown structures
• How to estimate project costs and link to the project budget
• How to estimate a project schedule using CPM and calculate float and critical path
• How to resource a schedule
• Optimising the schedule, including “crashing” and fast tracking
• Building quality into plans and schedules
• Communicating plans and schedules
• Baselining plans and schedules
• Managing stakeholders
• Health and safety considerations
• How to manage change in the planning phase
• Risk management and its use in planning and scheduling
• Record keeping and learning
Why Should You Attend this Course?
This course is set at an intermediate level, for those who already have some project controls experience but wish to improve their knowledge of project planning and scheduling. Covering the key principles and practices, it aims to develop the skills and knowledge required in a planning role.
Starting in the context of project management, you will learn why good planning and scheduling are key to project success. By gaining a thorough understanding of the process that underlies this discipline, you will be well placed to plan and schedule your projects effectively, and thereby increase the chance of success.
Because good planning and scheduling are critical to project execution, each of the areas involved is examined in detail, and the various options and approaches are considered.
Because risk management, change management, quality checking and are record keeping are important parts of planning, these topics are also covered, meaning that you can deal effectively with a variety of project situations.
All of this means that you should emerge from the course with a high degree of knowledge and a good set of tools and practices to apply in real-life project work.
The course is full of practical techniques and examples, with the intention of turning knowledge into practical benefit. The worked examples, case studies and exercises given are intended to help you to apply the knowledge you have gained.
Finally, the instructor will include opportunities to discuss the real-world problems and issues and questions that are affecting you in your own projects and working life, so that you can implement improvements and solutions as soon as you return to your desk. Often, helpful advice can be gained from the experience of other delegates, and the course setting provides opportunities for you to do this.
Who Should Attend This Course?
• Project planners and schedulers
• Project controls staff and team leaders
• Project managers
• Project team members
• Project Management Office (PMO) Staff
• Project cost management staff
Outcome of this Course
By the end of this intensive course, you will be able to:
• Understand the place of planning and scheduling in project management
• State a project’s scope using a range of breakdown structures
• Estimate project costs and link them to the project budget
• Estimate, resource, baseline and communicate a project schedule
• Optimise the project schedule
• Manage risk, change and quality in the planning and scheduling phases
• Learn lessons from previous projects to improve current and future projects
Course Length
16 hours (4 sessions of 4 hours each)
Course Content
An interactive mix of presentations, case studies, group discussion and activities will be used to illustrate and apply the methods, tools and techniques of planning and scheduling. The following topics will be covered:
Introduction
• Why project planning and scheduling?
• Projects and project management defined
• How planning and scheduling fit into project management and project controls
• The relationship between planning and scheduling
• Approaches to planning and how to select the best one for the job
Project Definition
• Project familiarisation
• Project business case
• Project requirements, including quality aspects
• Project scoping
• Understanding and creating breakdown structures
• Project stakeholders
Project Cost Planning
• The cost estimating process
• Different types of cost estimates, including when and how to use them
• Project budgeting and cost breakdown structures
• Review and quality control of cost estimating
Scheduling Phase
• Different scheduling approaches and types
• Schedule design
• Schedule construction, including dependencies and constraints
• Estimating durations
• Resourcing the schedule
• Critical path and float
• Schedule review and quality control
• Baselining and communicating the schedule
Risk Management
• Managing project cost risk in the planning phase
• Managing project schedule risk in the planning phase
• Quantitative and qualitative risk management tools
Record Keeping & Learning
• Keeping records and document management in the planning phase
• Learning lessons
Miscellaneous
• Planning and scheduling for agile projects
• Assurance of planning and scheduling
• Managing change
• Performance measures and KPIs
• Health, safety and environmental considerations
Case Studies
• Presentation of real-life examples and case studies of how planning and scheduling are deployed in a variety of projects
Practical Exercises
• Worked examples, where you will participate in groups or teams to plan some fictitious but realistic projects.
Summary And Next Steps
• Summary
• Things you can do next
• Reference Material
