PROCESSWORKS :--

Course abstract

Session 1: Explaining the Project Management Framework

Session 2: Discussion on the Project Management Context

Appreciating the corporate priority chain, project phases, the project lifecycle, the project management lifecycle
Understanding project stakeholders and organizational influences
Styles, strengths & weaknesses of functional, projectized and matrix organizations
Brief discussion and pointers for general management skills - communication, organization, budgeting, leading, managing, negotiating, problem solving

Session 3: Review of the Project Management Processes

Significance of the project management process groups of Initiation, Planning, Executing, Controlling, & Closure
Core management processes of Scope, Cost, and Time
Facilitating management processes of Quality, HR, Communications, Risk, and Procurement
Summarizing the process groups with the project management processes

Session 4: Activities associated with Project Integration Management

Session 5: Project Scope Management

Business background to pre-project activity and associated difficulties for the project manager if not involved in the proposal and bidding phase
Significance of selecting a right project
Commencing and initiating a project in the right way
Importance of the project charter
Project scope planning - relevance of the scope statement vis-à-vis future project decisions
Scope definition, WBS development, tips, benefits, and uses
Scope verification - acceptance of project scope by stakeholders
Scope change control – sources of change requests

Session 6: Project Time Management

Managing time in the project vis-à-vis project realities
Defining project activities and sequencing these to form a project network diagram
Network diagramming methods
Activity duration estimating and determination of the project’s critical path
Project schedule development and time/cost tradeoffs
Project schedule control – system, performance measurement, PMIS, project re-planning, schedule updates and corrective actions

Session 7: Project Cost Management

Significance and expectations of project cost management
Resource planning/organizational policies for resource optimization
Estimation - the basis of project costs and cost estimating techniques
Significance of cost control limits and the cost management plan
Cost budgeting, the cost baseline, types of project reserves, depreciation methodologies
Cost control – cost tracking and cost change approval levels vis-à-vis project performance measurement and variances
Earned Value Management (EVM) – terminology, formulas and calculations – interpreting project cost and schedule performance via EVM. Rules for progress reporting

Session 8: Project Quality Management

What is quality – the PMI® focus
The quality management approach and the goals of a quality program
Implementing project quality management via Quality Planning vis-à-vis the cost of quality, Quality Assurance - the relevance of process adherence and compliance audits, and Quality Control – inspections and other quality control tools including the interpretations of control charts and data variances (sigma values interpretation), pareto analysis, etc

Session 9: Project Human Resource Management

The challenge of managing human resources with insights to project roles & responsibilities
Skills & responsibility for HR Management – moving the team along & working with the HR department
Organizational planning - understanding the business environment, and the handling of internal and external project stakeholders
Managing staff acquisitions vis-à-vis staffing pool realities
Developing project team members and motivating the workforce
HR practices and organizational theories
Creating the right project team – leading and developing the project team through the stages of team development
Leadership styles and types of leadership power
Handling project conflict – methodology and tips

Session 10: Project Communication Management

The function of project communication
Understanding the communication model, the characteristics of the communication process and the types of project communications
Tips for planning project communication- evaluating communication requirements
Leveraging technology for communication, communication constraints, stakeholder needs as the basis of project communication, evaluating project communication interfaces
Project information distribution - creating successful communications, communication terms, skills and dimensions, types of project records
Performance reporting vis-à-vis project status, progress and forecasts - reviewing project performance and performance related issues, the goals of analyzing project variances, the significance of performance reports and documentation of change requests
Administrative closure - the relevance of performance measurement documentation, product documentation and other project records, the creation of sensible project archives, procurement issues and project subcontracting, formal project closure, and the documentation of lessons learned

Session 11: Project Risk Management

The what, where and why of project risks
Proactive risk management planning
Identifying project risks – sources, participants in risk identification, risk categories
Qualitative and quantitative risk analysis – methodology, prioritization, benefits, probability -beta and triangular distribution, sensitivity analysis, decision trees, payoff tables, simulation, decision making under uncertainty
Risk response planning- techniques, contingency planning, contractual agreements, contingency planning and impact of project risks on the project plan
Risk monitoring and control - goals, techniques, work-around plans, corrective actions and change request incorporation

Session 12: Project Procurement Management

The procurement paradigm, strategies and the procurement cycle
Planning project procurement for project needs that can/should be met from outside the performing organization
Planning for the management of necessary contracts/documents for subcontractors
Soliciting and selecting a suitable subcontractor
Administering and closing contracts with subcontractors

Session 13: Professional Responsibilities of Project Managers