5-Day Information Technology (IT) Project Management

Duration

5 days

OVERVIEW

The course is intended for managers and executives in IT technical and non-technical work areas who need to acquire a high competency in IT project management including project control, documentation, tools and processes. The entire course content is compliant with the standard Project Management Body Of Knowledge (PMBOK) of the Project Management Institute (USA).

A demonstration of a web-based Project Management Information System (PROMISE) is included, and sufficient information is provided in discussions on how to set up a Project Management Office.

Highlights of the course:

• Learning project management lifecycle, methodology and terminologies, and making it the backbone of any IT project organization.
• Applying project templates for IT project management documentation
• Anticipating possible project problems, opportunities, action steps, project contingencies and project risks
• Appreciate the use of project management software like MS Project, WBS ChartPro and @Risk for Project for visualizing the IT project
• Preparing an IT Project Management Office

The Goals

The course aims to provide delegates a working set of processes which are compliant to the PMBOK, and using project documentation and templates to systematically plan, execute, monitor and control project delivery, whilst being alert to changing stakeholders’ needs and expectations. Delegates will be exposed to leadership, techniques and strategies of managing stakeholders and team.

The Delegates

Managers and executives who are directly involved in planning and implementation of any kind of IT projects, and those requiring an advance set of tools to assist in cost estimation, cost tracking, procurement, contract, risk assessment and management, quality control and scope verification.

The Process

This project management course is carefully designed to provide the best mix of experience, theory and practice in a professional learning environment. Formal presentations will be brief and used mainly to introduce key concepts and significant elements of project management. Emphasis is on real case studies, and practical applications through “hands-on” action learning.

Special Note

Delegates are encouraged to bring their laptop PC and examples of their IT projects to the session. The use of project management software and techniques will be used to help delegates understand project management concepts. Project management documentation such as templates, forms and checklists are provided in the course material, and delegates may freely use or modify them for use.

The Benefits

Delegates will benefit from:

• Comprehensive understanding of the various processes of IT project management.
• Having an advanced set of project management tools and techniques for immediate IT project application at the workplace.
• Having a ready set of working templates, forms and checklists relevant for use in IT projects at their place of work.

The Results

Organisations sending delegates to this course will find their delegates able to contribute in setting up a Project Management Office and utilise project processes and templates for project management delivery.

The Programme Content

Day One

The Project Management Background

• The generic project life cycle: initialising, planning, execution, monitoring & controlling, and closing processes
• Staffing and cost curves over a typical life cycle
• The nine knowledge areas within PMBOK: scope, time, cost, quality, risk, human resource, communications, procurement and integration
• The triple constraints – time – cost – quality and project scope triangle
• Functional – matrix – projectised organisation hierarchies
• Project management stakeholders and their implications on projects
• Stakeholder conflicts of interest, and how to resolve them

The Project Manager And Project Team Assembly

• Support from senior management
• Roles and responsibilities of a project manager in the team environment
• Project team anxiety and commitment
• Selecting project manager and team members
• McClelland's three needs theory on personality profiling
• The role of a Project Management Office (PMO)

Practical Exercise: Personality profiling

Project Leadership, Motivation, And People Skills

• Project leadership competencies
• Project leadership styles
• Forms of power
• Team development phases
• Conflict resolution techniques
• Motivation
• Communication

Practical Exercise: Creating a communications management plan

Day Two

Project Initialising Process

• Decomposing an IT project need into specific and measurable project objectives using S.M.A.R.T. technique
• Appraising IT project investments – tangible and intangible quantification techniques
• Understanding and estimating IT cost compounding and cost recovery
• Selecting project using feasibility studies of a single project – Payback Period, Benefit-Cost Ratio, Net Present Value (NPV), etc.
• Developing the project charter document for senior management sign-offs -- listing the project goals, objectives, high level deliverables, constraints, assumptions, business need, product description and preliminary resource requirements

Practical Exercise: Creating a project charter for a group project

Project Planning Process

• Decomposing an IT project scope until task level using the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) technique

Practical Exercise: Constructing a WBS for an IT group project

Practical Exercise: Producing a task (work package) listing

• Sequencing project tasks using network diagramming technique

Practical Exercise: Creating a network diagram

• Determining IT resource requirements (HR, material, facility, equipment, others) for each activity

Practical Exercise: Determining resource requirements and task costs

• Estimating activity duration
• Using Gantt Chart to visualise the project schedule
• Network analysis – earliest start and end times, latest start and end times, and float

Practical Exercise: Calculating start and end times, and float of a project

Day Three

Project Planning Process (continued)

• Critical Path Analysis/Method (CPA/M) – to determine critical tasks and critical paths
• Resource planning – resource scheduling and resource levelling

Practical Exercise: Resource levelling assignment

Practical Exercise: Developing a schedule management plan

Practical Exercise: Creating a cost management plan

• Determining roles and responsibilities of team members using Resource Assignment Matrix (RAM) technique

Practical Exercise: Creating a human resource management plan

• Risk management strategies
• Risk management planning – identification, qualification, quantification and response planning

Practical Exercise: Creating a risk management plan

Practical Exercise: Risk brainstorming exercise and creating a risk register

• Procurement management – planning, solicitation, selection, and administration
• Contract types and risks – cost plus formats (CPPC, CPFF & CPIF) and fixed price formats (FPI & FFP)

Practical Exercise: Creating a procurement management plan

Practical Exercise: Creating a statement of work (SOW) for contractors and vendors

• Issue and change management processes

Practical Exercise: Developing a formal project plan, and get approval

Day Four

Project Executing Process

• Executing the project plan
• Managing the project progress using schedule and cost baselines
• Completing work packages or tasks
• Distribute project information to stakeholders – management and technical reports

Practical Exercise: Creating a technical report

Practical Exercise: Creating a management report

• Quality management and the cost of quality
• Incorporating quality assurance into the project
• Practical Exercise: Creating a quality management plan

Project Monitoring & Controlling Process

• The change control system (change management plan)

Practical Exercise: Creating a change request

Practical Exercise: Creating a change log

• Project performance measurement
• Create performance measurement report
• Baseline techniques / Earned Value Management (EVM) – provides both “real-time” schedule and cost statistics to compare against the agreed planned performance

Practical Exercise: Finding EVM numbers of a project

Practical Exercise: Creating EVM baselines

• Performance reporting

Practical Exercise: Creating a performance report

Day Five

Project Monitoring & Controlling Process (continued)

• Scope change control
• Quality control techniques using Pareto, histogram, check sheet, cause-effect diagram
• Risk monitoring and control
• Schedule control
• Cost control
• Scope verification
• Corrective actions

Closeout Process

• Contract close-out administration - procurement audits
• Administrative close-out - product verification, acceptance, lessons learned, project records, and release resources

Practical Exercise: Creating a formal acceptance document

Practical Exercise: Creating a handover acceptance document

Practical Exercise: Creating a lessons learned document

Project Case Studies

• Mobile field sales force automation using PDA and wireless technology
• Web-Enabled Project Management Information System
• Real case (stories) on challenges: System deployment and change management, change of user groups and effect on project, a new project manager facing difficulties to get team support and loyalty, project managers being treated like project administrators by the CEO, and many others.

Programme scope, delivery arrangements and suitability are confirmed during enquiry.