Mastering Project Management: The Complete Skills Course

Introduction:

Project management is evolving from a skill to a core organizational competency. This course focuses on strategic project management and aims to enhance your effectiveness in managing any project, whether you're improving project management processes within an organization or actively participating in a project.

The advanced project management skills course integrates management, technical, and leadership aspects to achieve mastery in project management.

Keep an eye out for upcoming seminars and workshops on project management in your area. These events will feature hands-on activities, interactions with industry professionals, and exercises designed to reinforce the concepts learned in the course.

For those without specific project management experience, the initial module of this course provides the essential skills needed to pursue competency-based project management practice.

Objectives:

By the end of this practical project management training, participants will be able to:

• Make more informed selection decisions regarding projects.
• Enhance their ability to plan, schedule, and control projects.
• Develop and apply interpersonal skills necessary for effective team management.
• Establish feasible performance standards.
• Utilize a wider range of project planning methods.
• Learn valuable lessons and tips from experienced project managers.
• Evaluate the effectiveness and impact of simple and advanced project planning techniques.
• Improve their understanding of incorporating risk into project planning.
• Adhere to best practices in project planning and control.

Training Methodology:

• Case Studies
• Interactive Exercises
• Workshops
• Role Playing
• Simulations
• Group Discussions
• Expert Panels

Course Outline:

Unit 1: The World of Project Management

• Project management life cycle model.
• Project management constraints and understandings—Classical and modern.
• Project management maturity concept.
• Aligning projects with strategic organizational objectives.
• Structuring projects into programs and portfolios.
• Creating a project support office.
• Managing risk and uncertainty during project selection.
• Managing project information and knowledge.
• The project management discipline and profession.

Unit 2: Project Planning, Scheduling, and Budgeting

• Project management plan vs. project planning system.
• Time horizons—strategic, tactical, and operational.
• Contents of a project plan.
• Scheduling details and methods.
• Cascade plan and dependency structure technique.
• Introducing and managing uncertainty in plans.
• Budgeting and cost management systems.
• Types of budgeting processes.
• Enhancing cost estimates.
• Procedures and techniques in project planning, scheduling, and budgeting.

Unit 3: Project Resourcing, Monitoring, and Control

• Managing personnel.
• Project time framing and priority setting.
• The Critical Chain approach.
• Structuring the monitoring cycle.
• Performance indicators and feedback mechanisms.
• Earned value management.
• Documenting and controlling changes.
• Plan control and impact updates.

Unit 4: The Project Manager's Roles and Responsibilities

• Selecting an MPM (Master Project Manager).
• Building and empowering a project team.
• Band management issues.
• Comfort in delegation.
• Communication within the project team.
• Leadership and management of multidisciplinary teams.
• Conflict handling.
• Best practices in people-based project management.

Unit 5: Project Evaluation, Reporting, Closure, and Handover

• Evaluation parameters.
• Auditing the project.
• Project review meetings.
• Analyzing project activities.
• Progress reporting and record-keeping.
• Success factors for projects.
• Project handover procedures.
• Lessons learned and fostering a learning organization.
• Best practices in project evaluation, reporting, and closure.