Duration
3 days
Suitable for participants who have some or no project management knowledge.
Course Overview
This course is intended for executives in technical and non-technical work areas, who need to acquire working knowledge and skill in planning, monitoring or tracking, measuring the implementation of client’s projects (for both generic, engineering, and IT specific projects). In addition, they will also acquire knowledge of project costing and budgeting with cost reserves. Their participation through an action-learning methodology will facilitate an immediate transfer of such competency to workplace.
Participants are to bring their REAL projects for hands-on group planning exercises to help reinforce the learning.
This course is carefully designed to provide the best mix of experience, theory and practice in an adult learning environment. Formal presentations are used mainly to introduce key concepts and significant elements of project management. Emphasis is on practical applications through “hands on” action learning.
A high level of participation and team involvement is required. Maximum opportunities will be given to participants to inject their own examples and issues into the course and continually relate the material to their own contexts.
Participants are encouraged to bring their projects to the session. The appreciation of project management software and techniques will be used to help participants better understand project management concepts; reflecting on their current project practices, and knowing how to improve them. Ample case studies, examples and interactive individual/group exercises are provided.
Objectives
- To provide project management fundamentals (i.e., the project management framework) for participants to understand the project management methodology.
- To understand the use of project management tools for initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing projects.
- To instil the habit of anticipation with regard to identifying possible project problems, opportunities, project contingencies and project risks with regard to project costing and finance.
- To appreciate and understand the use of Project Management tools (MS Project and MS Excel) for determining accurate project costing, cashflow planning, including tracking project expenditures.
NOTE: This is not a MS Project or MS Excel training course but the use of these software by the course leader is to help participants visualise the schedule, cost and budgeting results. However, the participants are required to bring their notebook computer for group presentation purposes using MS Powerpoint on the last day.
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Have comprehensive understanding of the various processes of project management especially in scope, schedule, cost and risk management.
- Determine task/project durations, and costs.
- Use financial and economic tools and techniques to evaluate projects and/or wealth-creation of projects
- Appreciate various kinds of project evaluation for use in making management decisions
- Determine cost variances and bringing the project into cost control
- Support on-going and pre-evaluation of projects; including setting, measuring, and interpreting cost performance metrics
- Evaluate risk management planning of projects.
- Track project progress and making project reports.
Detailed Course Content
The sessions will normally start at 9.00 am and end at 5.00 pm, or at client’s timing preference; with two 15-minute tea breaks and an hour lunch.
Day 1: Morning
Project Management Background
The time-cost-quality & project scope triangle.
Project management stakeholders and their implications on projects.
Project management context and roles.
The project life cycle – initiating-planning-executing-monitoring & controlling-closing phases.
Project Initialising Process
Project manager and team member roles, accountability, and responsibilities.
Project team assembly.
Defining project needs and measurable objectives to meet project requirements (scoping).
Day 1: Afternoon
Project Planning Process
Scope definition & planning.
Activity: creating a project charter.
Work breakdown structure (WBS).
Activity: constructing a WBS.
Work task listing.
Activity: constructing a work task list.
Work sequencing and scheduling (Network diagram, Gantt & milestone diagram).
Activity: constructing a Gantt chart and a milestone chart of a project.
Understanding the Critical Path Method and Critical Chain.
Network logic analysis – earliest start and end times, latest start and end times, and
float.
Day 2: Morning
Project Planning Process (continued)
Establishing baselines.
Resource listing – human, material, facility, equipment, etc.
Identifying controllable costs – direct and indirect costs.
Activity: creating a resource list.
Analogous, parametric and bottom-up task-based costing methods for project budgeting
Time-phased distribution of costs – cumulative cost curve (S-curve).
Project Investment Appraisal and Selection Techniques
Understanding tangible and intangible benefits and returns
Financial appraisal techniques & terminologies, including pros and cons – Payback Period, Benefit Cost Ratio, and Net Present Value (NPV).
Day 3: Morning
Project Execution Process
Executing the project plan.
Tracking project schedule progress using Gantt Chart.
Activity: Using project management software to track project progress.
Activity: Gantt Chart and project progress.
Responding to project risks (executing risk responses monitor and control the execution of the responses).
Work-around risk responses (for risks unidentified in risk management plan).
Risk monitoring.
Activity: Risk response activation and rules.
Verifying project scope deliverables and stage sign-offs.
Project Closeout Process
Administrative close-out checklist.
Activity: Product verification (formal acceptance and handover sign-offs), closing project books, post-mortem, documenting lessons learned, archiving project documents, disbanding, rewarding and thanking the team.
Day 3: Afternoon
Group Project Presentation
Training Approach
The training uses practical exercises that take individuals outside their comfort zones. By giving the participants help and guidance during the process, confidence and skills are strengthened. We make the sessions challenging and practical through the use of role-play, experiential learning and group exercises. Participants will quickly discover their strengths and weaknesses in communicating with others. Moreover, this interaction makes classes enjoyable and motivational.
The tempo of the training is light-hearted and fast-paced. Our experience suggests that this makes people actually look forward to attending our training sessions and reinforces the motivational effects. Peer group pressure, structure and relaxed atmosphere are the key elements to the success of our courses.
Methodology
Presentation, case studies, and hands-on activities.
Who Can Benefit
Executives who are directly involved in planning, estimating, scheduling, monitoring (tracking), and measuring, and reporting the implementation progress of projects. Examples, case studies and templates are provided.
Programme scope, delivery arrangements and suitability are confirmed during enquiry.