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Containing the essential
tools and techniques to help create, plan, optimise and control
projects more effectively, based on current best practices. A
detailed case study and ten practical syndicate exercises
confirm topics learned. |
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Anyone
responsible for managing projects or project
teams, wanting a fuller understanding of the
modern tools and techniques available and how
they apply to real projects. |
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None,
other than a willingness to participate in group
discussions and syndicate work.
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To expand upon the
competences developed, the following should be considered:
►
Microsoft Project Essentials
►
Project Mentor |
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Project management
preliminaries
This first section
discusses essential PM principles. Why projects fail and
the various types of project lead into interpersonal issues,
team building and communication. An exercise creates a
project methodology and a basic test determines initial PM
knowledge. |
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What is a project and
why do they go wrong?
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How do projects and
programmes differ?
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Types of projects
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Interpersonal issues
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Team building and
communication
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Creating a feedback
mechanism
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Project startup
From an understanding of
PM fundamentals, the project begins to take shape. The three
project resources of work, time and cost are discussed, along
with task delegation. The planning sequence is commenced,
starting with an understanding of a client's requirements.
A practical exercise discusses a project's feasibility. |
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The role of project
planning
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The three project
resources
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Knowing what the
client wants
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Creating a project
definition
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How feasible is the
project?
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Defining what to do
With a project's
feasibility confirmed, the project definition can be expanded
into just what is required (and at what level of detail for
reporting and control). A top-down approach creates a work
and cost breakdown, confirmed with a syndicate exercise. |
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Levels of detail
required for control
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Levels of reporting
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Creating a Work
Breakdown Structure
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Cost breakdown and
coding structures
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Adding milestones
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How to accomplish work
With the project scope
expanded, how it will be achieved is discussed. The work,
cost and time content of tasks is explained, along with sources
of this information. Task relationships are introduced and
an exercise creates a project network. |
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Sources of time /
work information
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Time vs. work
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The cost of doing
work and tasks
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Relationships between
tasks
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Tasks with multiple
predecessors / successors
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When things happen /
further timing influences
The network says how
things will be done. Critical path analysis determines
when: how quickly and how slowly. Gantt charts depict the
schedule of tasks and their spare time. Task relationships
are expanded to increase flexibility. Influences external
to the project are added to create a more realistic model of
reality. Practical exercises confirm the appropriate
techniques. |
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How quickly / slowly
can tasks be done?
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Tasks with spare / no
spare time
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Gantt charts to show
when
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Overlapping or
delaying tasks
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Constraining tasks
starts / finishes
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Influences from other
projects
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Who does what and when
People to perform the
tasks need to be added to the project to be a true model of
reality. Their influence is discussed in how they are
assigned and the problems that they can bring. Techniques
for resource management are introduced, along with the
implications in applying them. Practical exercises
optimise this resource usage and create a cost schedule. |
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Simple /
effort-driven assignments
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How resource usage
adds up
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Resource management
options
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Resource levelling
with / without delays
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Substituting
alternative resources
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Scheduling project
costs
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Assessing project
risks
As projects are modelling
the future, this implies an element of risk. Where the
risk comes from and when it should be reviewed are discussed.
Different types of risk are explained, together with their
probability of happening and the impact if they do happen.
Syndicate work confirms sources of risk and contingencies for
removing / alleviating the risk. |
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When and why manage
risk?
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Using risk diagrams
and matrices
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P.E.R.T. as a risk
management tool
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When to apply
contingencies
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Contingency effects
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Controlling work in
progress
Once a project goes live,
it is subject to (often dramatic) change. The necessity
for tracking what has happened is expanded to encompass updating
cycles and their frequency. What is captured and how it is
done are discussed, together with what is different to as before
and why it is different. A practical exercise tracks a
project's progress, compared to what should have been achieved.
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Change: its impact
and opportunities
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Update cycles and
their frequency
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Capturing: what; how
& who
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Comparisons to
original plans
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Introducing
earned-value analysis
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Evaluating the impact
of the change
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Replanning to stay on
track
Actual work accomplished
creates a requirement for replanning - at varying levels of
detail. Options to control time, cost and quality are
discussed, together with the need for timely action. The
importance of reporting and communication is emphasised. A
practical exercise deals with alleviating a number of project
problems, arising out or an update. |
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Why replan, and at
what detail?
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Changing how long
things take
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Changing task
relationships
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Keeping control of
costs and quality
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Keeping people
informed
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The need to update
regularly
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Reviewing after
progress
This final section
emphasises the importance of formally closing a project.
Confirming that it has met its requirements and that the project
team performed well are important lessons to learn for the
future. A final exercise re-runs a test on general PM
knowledge. |
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