Contract Professionals' Project Management Skills

Introduction:

The “Project Management Skills for Contract Professionals” module is designed to equip participants with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively oversee projects managed by contractors from inception through to completion. This interactive course emphasizes the development of project plans and budgets, as well as the management and coordination of contractors throughout the implementation phase.

In the pre-award phase, contract professionals will enhance their technical project management skills, which are crucial for formulating a robust business case and project charter. These skills lay the groundwork for effective contract administration and management.

The course focuses on improving project management techniques and adopting strategies such as work breakdown structures, time and resource estimation, and risk management for both projects and contracts.

Objectives:

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Identify core activities in the project management process from a contracting perspective.
• Enumerate key tasks, activities, and tools for managing the contracting partner.
• Formulate a contracting strategy and address critical contractual terms.
• Prepare comprehensive project schedules and manage schedule deviations.
• Explain various contract forms and their impact on stakeholders.
• Outline post-award procedures, including control measures, change management, and contract administration.

Training Methodology:

• Interactive workshops
• Case studies
• Group discussions
• Simulation activities
• Role-playing scenarios
• Course review and feedback sessions

Course Outline:

Unit 1: Overview

• Definition of a project and project management
• Relationship between defense and contract as project
• Phases within a project
• Stakeholders benefiting from a project

Unit 2: Principles of Contracts

• Definition and purpose of a contract
• Parties involved in the agreement
• Goals of contract management
• Understanding contract documents
• Scope of work and conditions
• Contract lifecycle stages

Unit 3: Pre-Award Phase

• Business case development
• Project outline and description
• Contracting plan
• Finding and pre-qualifying contractors
• Project design formulation

Unit 4: Project Planning

• Creation of Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Estimating time and resources
• Dependency relationships
• Basic network and activity diagrams
• Critical Path Method (CPM) analysis
• Gantt charts and milestone charts
• Task resource allocation
• Cost estimates and risk management

Unit 5: Award Phase

• Approval guidelines and evaluation plan
• Standard price contracts
• Cost compensation contracts
• Constraining clauses in agreements

Unit 6: Post-Award Phase

• Crisis management
• Project status tracking
• Change management
• Contract management and dispute resolution
• Change orders and claims management
• Conflict resolution and contract breaches

Conclusion

This course will enhance participants’ ability to formulate, develop, and expand their project management skill sets, providing both standard and technical project management skills essential for positive project delivery.