Introduction

Project Management Course Goals: The main aim of this course is to provide participants with essential skills necessary for:

• Planning projects through the development of project scope statements and project work breakdown structures.
• Establishing key performance indicators to oversee and control project timelines and budgets.
• Evaluating project viability using capital budgeting methods.
• Planning effective engagement with project stakeholders and managing their expectations.

Course Objectives

• Design Projects: Utilize the statement of work and Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
• Organize Project Activities: Construct the project network diagram.
• Assess Project Financials: Use Earned Value (EV) analysis for project budget and schedule discrepancies.
• Select Optimal Projects: Apply capital budgeting methods.
• Improve Stakeholder Interactions: Enhance negotiation and communication abilities.

Course Outlines

Day 1: Planning Projects

Project Management Basics:

• Define project management terminology.
• Differentiate between projects and operations.
• Manage project constraints.

Project Management Tools and Benefits:

• Utilize project management applications.
• Discuss the benefits of project management.

Project Lifecycle and Documentation:

• Explain the project life cycle.
• Specify project requirements.
• Create Statement of Work (SOW).
• Document project specifications and milestone schedules.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS):

• Construct Work Breakdown Structure.
• Address WBS decomposition challenges.
• Provide WBS guidelines and checklists.

Day 2: Scheduling Projects

Task Linking and Scheduling:

• Associate tasks and WBS sequencing.
• Apply forward and backward scheduling.

Project Scheduling Methods:

• Implement Critical Path Method (CPM).
• Manage project slack.
• Use Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT).
• Explore schedule compression techniques and myths.

Resource Management:

• Plan and level resources.

Day 3: Organizing and Controlling Projects

Project Organization and Control:

• Discuss project organization structures and control methods.
• Master earned value management.

Project Variance and Reporting:

• Manage schedule and budget variances.
• Forecast project performance.
• Report on project management.
• Audit projects.

Project Management Software:

• Discuss the role of software in project management.

Day 4: Selecting Projects Using Capital Budgeting Techniques

Capital Budgeting Basics:

• Define capital budgeting.
• Understand cost of capital.
• Evaluate Accounting Rate of Return (ARR).
• Analyze Payback Period (PP).
• Calculate Net Present Value (NPV).
• Determine Internal Rate of Return (IRR).

Day 5: Managing Project Stakeholders

Stakeholder Identification and Management:

• Identify stakeholders.
• Categorize types of stakeholders.
• Analyze stakeholder power and interest grid.
• Plan and manage stakeholder management.
• Control stakeholder engagement.