Project Management Fundamentals
Overview
Projects succeed when scope, time, cost and people are managed as one system. This course gives a complete grounding in project management: initiating a project, defining scope, building a schedule and budget, managing risk and stakeholders, and controlling delivery through to a clean close.
Who should attend
New and aspiring project managers, team leaders, engineers and officers who take part in projects, and managers who sponsor projects.
Training methodology
Interactive presentations, practical exercises, case studies, group discussions, role-plays where relevant, and a personal action plan that participants apply in their own work.
Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Explain the project life cycle and the role of the project manager
- Write a project charter and a clear scope statement
- Build a work breakdown structure, schedule and budget
- Identify and respond to project risks
- Monitor progress and close a project properly
Course outline
Day 1Project Foundations
- What makes a project different from operations
- Project life cycle and phases
- Role and competencies of the project manager
- Organisational structures and authority
- Project success criteria
- Case study: why projects fail
Day 2Initiation and Scope
- Business case and project selection
- Project charter
- Collecting requirements
- Scope statement and exclusions
- Work breakdown structure (WBS)
- Workshop: build a WBS
Day 3Schedule and Cost
- Activities, durations and dependencies
- Network diagrams and critical path
- Gantt charts and milestones
- Cost estimating methods
- Building the project budget
- Exercise: schedule and budget a project
Day 4Risk, Quality and People
- Identifying and assessing risks
- Risk response planning
- Quality planning and control
- Stakeholder analysis
- Communication plan
- Building and leading the project team
Day 5Control and Closure
- Tracking progress against the baseline
- Earned value basics
- Change control
- Status reporting
- Project closure and lessons learned
- Personal action plan
