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Introduction to Project Management
Course Description
Overview
Starting out in project management? Want to understand what it’s all about? Do you need to work with project teams as part of your role? This course provides a thorough grounding in the fundamentals of project management. It covers the basics of the discipline and aims to give the student a grasp of the key concepts of project management. This enables the delegate to become an effective and knowledgeable project team member, thereby increasing the benefit gained by an organisation from its projects. It also prepares attendees for more advanced courses.
What You Will Learn from This Course:
- Fundamentals or project management and the context in which they are used
- The project lifecycle
- The management structure under which projects work
- Basics of project planning
- The fundamentals of project scope
- The basics of scheduling and resource management
- Basic risk and issue management
- The basics of project quality management
- Project communications
- The basics of project leadership and teamwork
Why Should You Attend this Course?
It is now common for organisations to introduce change via projects. Most organisations employ project teams, either directly or in their supply chain. It is therefore key to understand how a project works and how to participate as a project team member.
When done properly, projects are an effective means of delivering change, and knowledge of how they work will benefit project team members, those who work alongside projects on a regular or intermittent basis and therefore ultimately benefit the organisation.
The techniques used to manage a project are distinct from those used in general management and unless staff are aware of these, projects will have reduced effectiveness. Whether you are a project team member, an aspiring project manager, or someone whohas to interface with a project team, knowing the processes, skills, concepts and terminology used in projects will enable you to work better with and in these teams.
Projects are vehicles for change and each one is temporary and unique. They must also deliver that change within pre-defined constraints on scope, time and cost. Achieving this needs a specific set of structures, tools and techniques and this course will explore such things as project planning, project execution, team compositions, risk management, change management and quality management. This course will supply the basic knowledge required to understand these and also some practical exercises so that delegates can begin applying the knowledge quickly and effectively.
Like all work activities, good leadership, communications, stakeholder interaction and negotiation skills are key in projects, and this course will help you to gain and use these effectively. Portfolios are collections of programmes, projects and business change, and they require a distinct process and skills to implement them well.
Not only will project team members benefit from this course, but staff from otherdisciplines will gain a deeper understanding of all that is involved in projects, thus helping them to interface better with project teams and also perform better in their own role.
The course is full of practical techniques and examples, with the intention of turning knowledge into practical benefit and the worked examples, case studies and exercises are intended to make applying the knowledge gained much easier.
Finally, the instructor will include opportunities to discuss the real-world problems and issues and questions that are affecting delegates in their own projects and working lives, so that improvements and solutions can be implemented as soon as delegates return to their desks. Often, helpful advice can be gained from the experience of other delegates, and the course setting provides opportunities to do this.
Who Should Attend This Course?
- Aspiring Project Managers
- Project Controls Staff
- Project Management Office Staff
- Project Team Members
- Senior Management
- Staff who interface with project teams
Outcome of this Course
By the end of this intensive 5-day course, attendees will be able to:
- Know the basic concepts, processes and terminology used in project management
- Participate gainfully in project activities
- Understand and facilitate some project management tasks
- Understand and use key project tools such as plans, schedules, reports and reviews
- Be a more effective team project member
Course Length
5 days
Course Content
An interactive mix of lecture, case studies, group discussion and activities will be used to illustrate and apply the methods, tools and techniques needed to manage projects. The following topics will be covered:
Project management and its operating environment
- Definition of a project, also contrasted with definitions of a programme and a portfolio
- Definition of project management, and relation to programme and portfolio management
- Purpose and benefits of project management
- Difference between a project and business as usual
- PESTLE definition
Project life cycle
- Definition and phases
- Reasons for phase structure
- Handover and closeout stages
Management structures for projects
- Project roles and responsibilities, including: project manager, project sponsor, project team, project steering board, project management office, project end user
Project management planning
- Purpose and benefits of a project management plan
- Ownership and approval of the project management plan
- Introduction to the business case and relationship to project manager and project sponsor
- Benefits management – introduction and purpose
- Key performance indicators
- Stakeholders – introduction to analysis and management
- Project success criteria and success factors
- Introduction to estimating
- Introduction to project reporting
Scope management
- Scope management defined
- Introduction to product breakdown structure (PBS) and work breakdown structure (WBS)
- Introduction to change control
- Introduction to configuration management
- Project definition, configuration and change control
Scheduling and resource management
- Introduction to basic terms (float, critical path, Gantt chart, baseline, milestone)
- Introduction to resources and resource management, including levelling and smoothing of resources
- Introduction to procurement
- Risk and issue management
- Definition of risk management and issue management
- Introduction to risk management process, including use of risk register
- Introduction to issue log and escalation process
Project quality management
- Definitions of quality terms, including quality, quality management, quality planning, quality assurance, quality control, continual improvement
- Differences between quality control and quality assurance
- Project reviews, including gate, peer and benefit reviews
Communication
- Definition of communication
- Methods of and barriers to communication
- Effective communication and communication plan
Leadership and teamwork
- Definition of project leader and project team
- Role of a project team and models of teamwork
Case Studies
- Presentation of real-life examples and case studies of how project management is used in a variety of projects
Practical Exercises
- Worked examples, where delegates participate in groups or teams to manage some fictitious but realistic project.
Summary And Next Steps
- Summary
- Things you can do next
- Reference Material