Essentials of Project Management

Course Category: Project Management
Course Duration: 2 Days
Hours: 14 Contact Hours

Course Description

As organizations have recognized the criticality of projects to their corporate success, project management has become a focal point of improvement efforts. Project management centres of excellence (e.g., project management offices), training programs and organization change programs to improve project management practices are increasingly common parts of strategic plans to improve organizational effectiveness.
Project management covers the full range of activities from the beginning to the end of a project and also needs to address the management of multiple projects within programs and across organizations.

In summary, Project Management as a profession now addresses

The application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to a broad range of activities to meet the order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a project.
Concern with the overall planning and co-ordination of a project from inception to completion aimed at meeting the client requirements and ensuring completion on time, within cost and to required quality standards.
Overseeing the execution of entire project, including hiring members of the production team, assigning tasks, organizing and scheduling the writing and production process, and attending to all administrative details – keeping in mind the defined goals of the project.
Project Managers need to have technical skills like scheduling, cost estimating and statistical risk management and encompasses complex disciplines such as scope (product) definition, procurement management, human resource management and communications.

Hence we can surmise that project management is a discipline. It applies principles, concepts, tools and techniques to improve project performance and organizational effectiveness. Project management adds value by improving the probability of consistently successful projects.

Workshop Objectives

This is an introductory course in Project Management. It is prepared for junior/middle level project team members and professionals who contribute to work in project teams. This workshop will serve well as an introduction to the “what and why” of project management. It would help participants understand and appreciate project management processes, and what the discipline of a project management achieves. It would also serve as a good insight to potential employees who desire to pursue a career in project management or in a projectized organization.

This course is grounded in commonsense and proven project management best practices. The curriculum is drawn from best practices within the project management profession and the Project Management Body of Knowledge from PMI® U.S.A.

Who Should Attend?

  • Module Leaders
  • Department Managers
  • Team Leaders
  • Team Members
  • Quality Professionals
  • Entry level project members

Course Outline

Unit 1: Introduction to Project Management

  • What is a Project & Project Characteristics?
  • What is Project Management?
  • Project Management bandwidth and responsibility
  • Project Context
  • Project Stakeholders and their concerns
  • Brief overview of the Project Management Processes
  • Project Integration Management
  • Issues for the Project Manager and the Project Team Appreciation of present-day project management realities
  • Describing the Management Spectrum of People, Product and Services Processes Stakeholder issues

Unit 2: The Project Management Framework

  • Definitions and jargon associated with Project Management
  • The Project Management Context
  • Project Management Processes
  • Facilitating Processes
  • Project Integration Management

Unit 3: Project Scope Management

  • Project Initiation
  • Scope Planning
  • Scope Definition
  • Scope Verification
  • Scope Control

Unit 4: Project Estimation

  • Phases
  • Attributes for Size, Effort & Schedule
  • How to estimate – challenges, basis and tips
  • Overview of estimation techniques

Unit 5: Project Planning

  • The project plan as a basis of project acceptance
  • Prince II model for project planning
  • Pointers for Project Plan development
  • WBS
  • PERT/CPM Network development and usage (PDM/ADM)
  • Time & Cost Tradeoffs
  • Resource Planning
  • Planning Guidelines

Unit 6: Project Risk Management

  • Risk Management and it’s associated processes
  • Types & Categories of Risks
  • Quantitative and Qualitative Risk Management
  • Prioritizing risk based on risk value
  • Risk Response Planning
  • Risk Reduction Strategies
  • Risk Monitoring & Control
  • Risk Case Study

Course Outline

Unit 7: Project Monitoring & Control

  • Purpose and importance of Project Tracking
  • Planning Vs Project Reality & Performance
  • Tracking & Control process
  • Project Review Baselines
  • Finalizing Tracking Requirements
  • Status Reports – Weekly, Monthly, Review discipline

Unit 8: Project Quality

  • Quality Planning
  • Quality Control
  • Quality Assurance

Unit 9: Human Resource Management

  • Team Structures – Functional through Matrix types
  • Organizational Planning
  • Staff Acquisition
  • Team Development
  • Leadership and Negotiation
  • Motivation Theories & performance drivers
  • Training Planning & Tracking
  • Managing Conflict

Unit 10: Project Costing

  • Cost Estimation
  • Cost Budgeting
  • Cost Control
  • Types of Project Costs
  • Types of Project Reserves
  • Earned Value (EV) Cost & Schedule Analysis

Unit 11: Project Communications Management

  • Communication Planning
  • Information Distribution
  • Performance Reporting
  • Information & Document Control
  • Administrative Closure

Case study material, exercises and appropriate handouts for extra reading/ knowledge will be provided.

Course Category: Project Management
Course Duration: 2 Days
Hours: 14 Contact Hours