Day 1: Project Management Fundamentals & Initiation
- Introduction to Project Management:
- What is a Project? Characteristics of a project vs. operations.
- What is Project Management? Definition and importance.
- Project Success Factors and Common Failures.
- The Project Management Process Groups & Knowledge Areas (PMBOK® Guide Context - Simplified): Overview.
- Project Lifecycle Phases: Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring & Control, Closing.
- Project Roles and Responsibilities: Project Manager, Team Members, Stakeholders.
- Project Initiation Phase:
- Identifying Project Needs and Business Justification.
- Developing the Business Case: Problem, Solution, Benefits, Costs.
- Stakeholder Identification and Analysis: Who are they? What are their interests?
- Creating the Project Charter: Purpose, key elements, authorization.
- Introduction to Project Management Software (Conceptual): Role and types.
- Workshop: Developing a basic Project Charter and identifying key stakeholders for a sample project.
Day 2: Mastering Project Planning: Scope, Schedule & Resources
- The Planning Process Group: The Foundation of Project Success.
- Scope Management:
- Defining Project Scope: What's in and what's out.
- Creating the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS): Decomposing project work into manageable components.
- WBS Dictionary and Scope Baseline.
- Validation and Control of Project Scope.
- Schedule Management:
- Activity Definition: Identifying specific tasks.
- Activity Sequencing: Dependencies (Finish-to-Start, Start-to-Start etc.).
- Activity Duration Estimating: Expert judgment, analogous, parametric, three-point (PERT).
- Developing the Project Schedule: Network diagrams, Gantt charts.
- Critical Path Method (CPM): Identifying the longest path and managing float.
- Schedule Baseline
- Resource Management:
- Estimating Activity Resources (people, equipment, materials).
- Resource Allocation and Leveling.
- Developing the Project Team (roles, responsibilities, team charter).
- Practical Exercise: Developing a WBS and a simple Gantt chart with dependencies and identifying the critical path for a project scenario
Day 3: Mastering Project Planning: Cost, Quality & Risk
- Cost Management:
- Cost Estimating: Types of costs, estimating techniques (analogous, parametric, bottom-up).
- Cost Budgeting: Aggregating costs to establish the cost baseline.
- Contingency Reserves vs. Management Reserves.
- Quality Management:
- Planning Quality: Identifying quality requirements and standards.
- Quality Metrics and Checklists.
- Introduction to Quality Assurance vs. Quality Control.
- Risk Management:
- Planning Risk Management: Establishing the approach.
- Risk Identification: Brainstorming, checklists, SWOT.
- Qualitative Risk Analysis: Probability & Impact Matrix, prioritizing risks.
- Quantitative Risk Analysis (Overview): Numerical analysis.
- Risk Response Planning: Strategies for threats (avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept) and opportunities (exploit, enhance, share, accept).
- Risk Register.
- Laboratory Session: Developing a basic project budget, creating a Quality Checklist, and populating a Risk Register for a project.
Day 4: Project Execution, Monitoring & Control
- Project Execution Phase:
- Directing and Managing Project Work: Leading the team, implementing the plan.
- Managing Project Knowledge.
- Executing Procurement (linking to later topics).
- Project Monitoring & Control Phase:
- Monitoring Project Progress: Tracking actuals against baselines.
- Performance Measurement: Progress reporting, status meetings.
- Earned Value Management (EVM) Basics: PV, EV, AC, SV, CV, SPI, CPI (conceptual understanding).
- Variance Analysis: Identifying deviations from the plan.
- Integrated Change Control: Managing changes to scope, schedule, and cost baselines.
- Configuration Management (overview).
- Quality Control: Inspecting and verifying deliverables against quality requirements.
- Risk Monitoring and Control: Tracking identified risks, implementing responses, identifying new risks.
- Practical Exercise: Analyzing project performance data (simulated) to calculate variances and recommend corrective actions.
Day 5: Project Communication, Procurement & Close-out
- Communication Management:
- Planning Communications: What, who, when, how.
- Methods of Communication: Verbal, Written, Formal, Informal.
- Effective Project Meetings.
- Managing Stakeholder Engagement: Strategies for influencing stakeholders.
- Procurement Management (Buyer's Perspective):
- Planning Procurement: Make-or-buy decisions, contract types (fixed-price, cost-reimbursable, T&M).
- Conducting Procurements: Solicitations, source selection.
- Administering Procurements: Managing contracts, payments, changes with vendors.
- Project Close-out Phase:
- Closing the Project or Phase: Formal acceptance of deliverables.
- Administrative Closure: Finalizing contracts, updating records.
- Lessons Learned: Capturing knowledge for future projects.
- Team Dismissal and Celebration.
- Final Project Report.
- Project Management Best Practices and Continuous Improvement.
- Final Assessment: Participants will work in teams to develop a basic project plan and present a project status update, including identified risks and proposed solutions.
