Project Management Essentials

Project Management is an indispensable business function for business in achieving strategic objectives.  In a fast-paced business world, product lifecycles are much shorter which forces organisations to start new projects at an increasing rate.  However, as projects become more complex, project failures, delays, and missed deadlines are becoming increasingly common.

“Project management can be defined as a way of developing structure in a complex project, where the independent variables of time, cost, resources and human behaviour come together.” Rory Burke

According to the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), it is crucial that every business leader understand the nature of projects.  Business leaders don’t have to be practising, professional project managers, but at the very least, they need to be aware that the project world, which brings about positive change outcomes, is different from the ‘business-as-usual’ world.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE and RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING:
Learners accessing this qualification will have demonstrated competence in computer literacy, numeracy, literacy and communications at NQF Level 4 or equivalent

 WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• People in organisations who recognise that taking a project's approach to strategy and work leads to greater success.
• Project Team leaders or Team members, who have limited experience in managing projects, and who wish to gain a good understanding of the fundamentals of good project management.
• People with some experience who wish to refresh their exposure to the discipline of Project Management

HOW YOU WILL BENEFIT

By the end of this course you will be able to:

• Utilise a project approach to plan and manage work initiatives for greater success.
• Define what is meant by a project and how it differs from normal management tasks
• Identify and interview Stakeholders
• Influence others positively and negotiate satisfactory outcomes to problems
• Set clear and realistic objectives for a project and understand the stages of the project life cycle
• Appreciate the range of techniques and tools used in planning, organising and controlling projects and be able to select appropriate methods to suit the size and type of project being managed
• Understand how Project Management applications can help you to plan and track projects.
• Plan for effective communications
• Gain and maintain the support and commitment of others and clearly identify the role of project team members
• Monitor, control and adjust a project effectively and create an accurate picture of the progress achieved
• Review and learn from strengths and weaknesses identified on completion of a project
• All learners will receive a set of template documents – Project Charter, Kick Off Presentation, Change Control, Risk Management Action Plan, Skills Matrix, and Project Closing Checklist

 WHAT WILL BE COVERED

Project Definition and Life Cycle

• What is a project?
• Phases of the Life Cycle
• Stakeholder identification and interview
• Identifying project goals and key decision points
• Project organisational structures
• The project management system – procedures and documentation
• Defining and clarifying project objectives, scope and constraints
• Defining strategic fit and gaining agreement with key project roles

 Project Planning - Understanding the Principles

• Planning tools and methods
  • Work, product and cost breakdown structure
  • Critical path and slack time
  • Gantt charts - communicating the plan
• Identifying areas of risk and contingency planning
• Risk management and assessment during the lifetime of the project
• Practical use of Project Management software to help to plan and track Project Communication
• Maintaining communication throughout the project
• Achieving buy-in and commitment from all project participants and benefactors
• Keeping people informed - using communication to keep the project visible and alive

 Project Leadership and Team Working

• Building effective project teams
• Agreeing on ways of working - overcoming cultural differences
• The demands of virtual teams
• Keeping abreast of project progress
• Agile project management for – scrums as an effective management approach
• The roles and responsibilities of the Sponsor, Project manager and Team members in working together for project success

 Project Monitoring and Control

• Accurate capture of progress to date
• The critical management of the Triple Constraints – Time, Cost and Scope
• Responding to problems and changes
• Progress reporting and assessment
• Methods of monitoring and controlling a project
• Using review meetings and progress reports

 Post-Launch Review / Learnings

• Project completion and launch of the project
• Project performance – capturing and sharing the lessons learned
• Celebrating project success with all involved

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