Project Management

Project Management

Duration: 2 days

Overview

This ‘Fundamentals of Project Management’ workshop aims to build participants understanding of the key phases of a project and the roles and responsibilities of a project manager in each phase. This workshop also focuses on developing participants skills in applying basic project management techniques. This workshop builds understanding on how the different phases of the project impact each other and why a consistent and robust project management approach is required.

Objectives:

• To understand the key phases of a project and the roles and responsibilities of the project manager in each phase.
• To understand the need to correctly define the project.
• To be able to apply simple project management techniques.
• To produce a project plan.
• To be able to effectively manage communication.
• To understand how to control change and manage risk on projects.
• To understand the value of a post completion analysis and report.
• To understand how the different phases of a project impact each other.
• To understand why a robust and consistent project methodology is required.

Key Features:

• Understanding of both the What and Why of project management (eg what is project management and why a best practise methodology is required.
• On-going Case Study used during the workshop.
• Apply knowledge to work based projects.
• On-line templates and models provided for use after the course.
• Methodology for best practice in project management.

Benefits to You and Your Organisation:

• Enhanced confidence in participant’s ability to lead and manage projects.
• Increased knowledge and expertise in the participants project management capability.
• The opportunity to implement an organisation wide, common approach, to the management of projects.
• Improved culture, communication, understanding, planning and teamwork on projects.
• Improved delivery of participants project objectives and the efficiency of participant’s resource application.

Who should attend?

• Employees who need to project lead or project manage internal or external projects.
• Anyone who is a member of a project team and who wants to understand the role of a project manager and the key phases of a project.
• Anyone who may need to project lead or project manages in the near future.

Delegates Numbers

• Maximum 8

Course Content - Day One

9:15 –10.45

• Introductions – Delegates share project management experience, learning objectives, project success factors - (30 mins).
• Course content (15min) • Exercise – Why do projects fail? - (15 mins) – build on this through course. • What is Project Management? - (10 mins).
• Differences between a project and a process - (10 mins). • Definition of Project Terms - (10 mins).

10:45 - 11:00

Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:45

• Phase One – Define the Project

• Establish common purpose to your project (Mission Statements – Tug and boats) – Exercise on mission statements – (20 mins).
• What is a project brief? How do you scope out a project – (5 mins).
• Use of check-lists in a project – (5 mins).
• Exercise: Project Brief (produce list of questions to gather information for the project brief (based on case-study or own projects). Identify what questions and what suggestions you would make to sponsor. – (30 mins).
• Review of questions and project brief template – (15 mins).
• What is a project strategy? – (10 mins).
• Phase Two – Establish the Project Team.

The Structure of The Project Management Team (20min)

12:45 – 13:45 Lunch 13:45 – 15:10

• Exercise – mini project – Highlights need to define role and responsibilities, assess risk, prototype and agree communications – (30 mins)
• Roles and Responsibilities of the Project Team – (10 mins).
• Exercise: Produce structure and agree R&R of sub-teams and project manager (based on case-study or own project) – (20 mins).
• Report Distribution Matrix – (10 mins).
• Project Manual – need for self-management – Documentation - storing, co-ordination and version control - (15 mins).

15:10 – 15:25 Coffee Break 15:25 – 16:50

• What is Risk Management? How do you identify risks? Risk Breakdown structure. Acceptable and non-acceptable risks - (15 mins).
• Risk Assessment Process – Exercise: Delegates apply the risk assessment process to the case-study or their own project. Identify some solutions for non - acceptable risks - (30 mins).
• Managing the Interfaces (Peaks and Troughs) - (10 mins).
• Creating your own project culture (What project culture do you want? What will get in the way? How can you change this?) – (15 mins).
• Summary road map of day one - (15 mins).

Finish at 16:50 – Prepare for day two.

Course Content - Day Two

9:00 – 10.20

• Introduction – Review of Day One, road map of Day Two and key learning about project management - (20mins).
• Add to list of project issues? - (5 mins) – build on this through course.
• Phase Three – Project Planning
• What is a project plan? How is this used in project management? - (10 mins).
• How do you create a project plan (five key steps) – (5 mins).
• Sequencing activities and identifying gaps (Flow Chart Exercise) Including team presentations and leaning – (40 mins).

10:20 – 10:35 Coffee Break 10:35 – 12:20

• Creating a project plan (Project Plan exercise) – (40 mins).
• Resource Matrix - (5 mins).
• Managing communications on your project. What types of communications happen? What communication problems happen? How can you ensure project communications are managed effectively on the project? – Communications Exercise - (30 mins).
• Project Status Update Meetings – How can you plan for meetings? How can you ensure meetings are focused and effective? How can you ensure ownership of doing actions? Exercise – (30 mins).

12:20 – 13:20 Lunch 13:20 – 15:00

• Phase Four - Project Implementation
• Project Monitoring? How do you monitor project progress? What do you need to communicate to the project sponsor? – (30 mins).
• Traffic Light Technique of project monitoring? – (10 mins).
• Managing Changes to the project brief? Change Order Control Exercise: Identifying key elements of a change control process – (30 mins).
• Phase Five – Project Completion and Handover
• What project activities are undertaken in this phase eg go-live, business support activities – (20 mins).
• Project Life Cycle – (10 mins).

15:00 – 15:15 Coffee Break 15:15 – 16:55

• Phase Six – Post Project Completion
• Project Success – the Dome (15 mins).
• Post project analysis and report (20 mins).
• Revisit project issues and identify solutions – review of learning (30 mins).
• Action Planning- Final Summary Group Exercise (35min)

Finish at 16:55

The Key Phases of a Project - Flow Chart

This flow chart indicates the key phases of a project and the sequence in which these phases occur during a project.

Key activities and outputs

• Define the Mission Statement
• Produce a Project Brief
• Define the Scope of Work
• Define the Specification / Quality • Identify the expected Outcomes
• Identify the Time Scales
• Identify the Budget
• Produce the Overall Project Strategy
• Identify Roles and Responsibilities
• Define the Project Culture
• Start the Project Manual
• Agree the Structure of the Project Teams
• Identify Report Distribution Systems
• Establish effective Risk Assessment and Management process.
• Produce the Project Programme
• Produce a Resource Matrix
• Chair/facilitate Meetings
• Manage Communications

Phase Six: Post Project Completion

Phase Five: Project Completion and Handover

Phase Four: Project Implementation

Phase Three: Project Planning

Phase Two: Establish the Project Team

Phase One: Define the Project •

• On-going Project Monitoring
• Completion and
• Project Success
• Effective Change Management Handover Activities
• Project Analysis
• Chair / facilitate on-going Meetings and Report
• Produce Sponsor / Client Reports
• Training
• Maintenance