Project Management Essentials

THE ESSENTIAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS SUITE

Developing a key competency for the 21st century workplace

Why is Project Management a Critical Skill?

Every year, thousands of projects fail, are cancelled before completion, or cost multiples of their original budget estimations.

Organizations that value project management have significantly higher project success rates and many multiples less financial waste than those that undervalue or simply ignore project management.

Maximize your project’s chances of success by mastering one of today’s key workplace skills – project management.

Who is Project Management Essentials for?

Project Management Essentials is designed for anyone looking to build the skills to manage projects successfully from start to finish.

How will your employees benefit?

Your employees will learn how to run projects successfully, manage resources, control costs, and reduce risks.

How will your organization benefit?

Developing project management skills across your organization will help ensure that your organization’s projects are aligned with business and strategic goals, using effective, successful communication approaches for both teams and stakeholders, and resulting in consistent delivery of quality projects on-time and on-budget.

What does Project Management Essentials focus on?

Ten microlearning units (detailed below) deliver in-depth, professional project management processes and tools to implement right now and increase project success with practical, robust techniques and toolkits.

Employees will learn everything about successfully running projects from start to finish, including how to manage resources, control costs, reduce risks, and deliver and successfully close projects.

1

Project Fundamentals (20 mins)

Understand the purposes and parts of a project, project management methods.

  • Projects vs. business as usual (BAU)
  • Triangle of balance – cost, time outcome
  • Typical stages in a project; the stage gate process
  • Project methodologies – waterfall vs. agile
  • Six essentials for project success

2

Initiating Projects (20 mins)

Make the key decisions to get your project off on the right start.

  • Starting a project
  • Defining the project-project charter
  • Going for goals- the goals pyramid
  • Project Partnership-identifying stakeholders
  • Connecting to convince

3

Defining Projects (20 mins)

Map out your project’s scope and deliverables and decide the best way to deliver the outcome within time and cost

  • Identifying the scope of a project
  • Defining and prioritizing project deliverables – pain-gain analysis
  • Defining deliverables using SMARTER objectives
  • Assigning responsibilities – SWIFT brainstorming, work breakdown structure

4

Create a High-Level Project Plan (20 mins)

Learn the importance of questioning assumptions and tackling uncertainties.

  • The nature of project planning; planning assumptions and uncertainty
  • Identifying key activities and interrelationships
  • Identifying time determining activities –critical path concept
  • Initial estimating of project time and cost

5

Developing a Project Action Plan (20 mins)

Learn how to choose the right format for your detailed action plan.

  • Choosing the right planning levels
  • Working with others to create a detailed action plan
  • Being realistic
  • Publishing the plan: choosing a suitable format
  • Keeping plans current using plan-do-review

6

Recognizing and Managing Project Risks (20 mins)

Recognize the four key steps of risk management, learn how to develop a risk management plan.

  • The four steps of risk management
  • Developing a risk management plan
  • Keeping a risk register

7

Tracking and Controlling Projects (20 mins)

Uncover the essential elements of project
tracking and control, how to manage changes.

  • Essentials of proactive and reactive control
  • The three key control components
  • Putting project controls to work with plan-do-review
  • Identifying and managing scope creep
  • The importance of trend analysis
  • The challenges of managing multiple projects and personal time management

8

Building Project Team Performance (20 mins)

Learn what makes a winning project team.

  • The challenges facing project teams
  • Harnessing the power of teamwork
  • Bringing teams together – Tuckman’s five stages
  • Managing team dynamics
  • Choosing the right leadership style

9

Completing Projects (20 mins)

Recognize the key activities to be completed
before a project can be considered closed

  • Planning for completion
  • Involving your clients
  • Ensuring project benefits are fully achieved
  • Reviewing your project’s performance

10

Agile Project Fundamentals (20 mins)

Learn about the fundamentals of agile project management

  • The evolution of agile
  • The agile philosophy
  • Methods, terms and techniques
  • Choosing a project management approach

Get started now with Project Management Essentials and make Project Management a core capability in your organization. Contact us today to find out more.

Get started now with Project Management Essentials and make Project Management a core capability in your organization. Contact us today to find out more.