Project Management Fundamentals

Industry research shows that one third of IT projects are delivered later than planned. Research firms further report that 74% percent of all IT projects fail, come in over budget or run past the original deadline, and that 28% of projects fail altogether. These figures demonstrate an obvious need for professionals to supplement traditional technical skills with high value business delivery skills. The required skills must cover three critical domains:

• General business knowledge
• Project management processes, techniques and tools
• Interpersonal skills

This 3-day course will provide participants with the essential knowledge and skills to either manage a project or be an effective, valuable member of the project team. It covers the fundamental steps in any project lifecycle. The course uses a case study to effectively follow a project from its conception through to completion.

Target audience

This course has been created for the following audience:

• Experienced project managers wishing to formalize their skills
• Technical specialists and engineers moving into a project management or team leadership role
• Technical specialists and engineers who are working for a project manager

Students should either be currently working in a project-based environment or are planning to do so in the near future. Basic PC and Windows user skills are necessary for successful completion of this course.

On successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Plan, baseline and control a project effectively
• Understand how to identify, manage and control change throughout a project
• Have an awareness of estimating and managing pitfalls
• Understand methods of identifying and controlling risks
• Pick up essential tools and disciplines
• Make successful cost/schedule/performance trade-offs
• Understand quality management and customer expectation management
• Identify and control risks
• Know why, when and how to report progress
• Create schedules, manage resources, track and control project plans

Course content

Why Projects Fail Incidence Of Project Failure . The Chaos Report (1995) . The KPMG Canada Survey (1997) . Completion Anxiety: Seven Habits Guaranteed to Avoid Project Failure . Factors Contributing To Project Success

Project Management Principles What is a Project? . What is a Programme? . The Principle of Triple Constraint . What is Project Management? . What is the Essential Project Management Philosophy? . Project Management Principles . Organisational Structures

Roles and Responsibilities Definition of Players in a Project Management Environment . How Do Projects Managers Manage The Team? . Communication Plan . Responsibilities Assignment Matrix - Example . Creating the Responsibilities Assignment Matrix

The Project Life Cycle Introducing the Project Life Cycle . The Basic Phases . The Project Life Cycle . Project Management Skills

Project Planning (Scoping) Introduction to Scope Definition . Business Need Definition . Preliminary Project Concept . Balanced Requirements . Objective of Scoping . Components of a Scope Document . Identifying Stakeholder Requirements . Systems Requirements Analysis . Scope . The Project Management Plan . Strategies for Building Consenus . Key Documents For IT Projects . Planning Phase

Project Planning Tools Planning and Control Techniques . Work Breakdown Structure . Developing a WBS . Network Planning . Scheduling and Resourcing . Project Schedule . Task Sheet . Critical Path . Critical Path Calculation

Project Planning (Estimating) Estimating . Effect of Project Factors on Estimating . Causes of Estimating Failures

Risk Management Risk Management . Why Manage Risks? . The Risk Management Process . Risk Management Flow Chart . A Typical Risk Management Plan Layout

Vendor and Quality Management The Vendor Management Plan . Quality Management Planning and Communication . Quality Testing . Quality Assurance During Turnover . Quality Management - Monitoring amd Measurement

Monitoring and Control Communication . Sample Format Project Status Report . Project Tracking . What To Do When You Start Falling Behind . Questions to Ask Yourself when Reviewing Project Progress . Earned Value Management

Change Control Change Control . Scope Creep . Applying the Change Control Process . Change Control Activities . Evaluating Alternatives to Scope Changes . Preventing Scope Creep

Project Closure The Importance of Project Closure . Final Customer Acceptance Meeting . Project Review . Identifying Lessons Learned . Final Project Reporting

Glossary of Project Management Terms

Answers to Exam Questions

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