Home / Project Management / Course Descriptions / Principles of Project Management
Principles of Project Management
Course Overview
This course provides delegates with a hands-on introduction to the theories and concepts of project management. The course will clarify what constitutes a project and identify the core principles of project management.
The contents of the course will be structured upon a generic project lifecycle, which is in three parts: Getting Started, Making Progress and Closing Down.
The three-day course focuses on learning project management concepts and then immediately applying them. The course is centred around activities based on a case study taking delegate through the project lifecycle from beginning to end. By using this case study, the delegates will undertake exercises, games and activities bringing theory to life in a safe environment.
Course Objectives
- Clear identification of projects from other types of work
- Identify the factors that lead to project success
- Explain the core principles of project management
- Review the lifecycle of a project from start to finish
- Identify key project management activities throughout the project lifecycle
- Define and apply negotiation skills within the context of a project
- Practising project management theoretical concepts by actually doing them in context to a case study scenario
Course Content
Day One
Basics of Project Management
Identifying the attributes of projects and differentiating projects from day to day work
- Definition of projects Vs ‘Business as Usual’
- Definition of project management Vs programme management
- Identify the factors that lead to project success
Understanding the project lifecycle
- Overview of the three parts of the project lifecycle - Getting Started, Making Progress, Closing Down
Getting started
- Explore the contents of the Project Initiation Document (PID)
- Review the roles of the project organisation structure
- Define the Objectives, Scope and Constraints for the project
- Review Business Case and PID
- Developing the project plan
Getting Started – PID Overview
- Overview of PID
- Purpose and benefits of a PID
Negotiation Skills
- Definition of Influencing and Influencing Styles
- Influencing versus manipulation
- Effective listening and open-ended questions
- Negotiation skills
Day Two
Getting Started – PID Development
- PID development
- Objective setting
- SMART Objectives
- Scope definition (“musts” and “wants”)
- Combating scope creep
Getting Started – Planning
- PID – customer quality expectations and effective listening
- Risk Management – learning to identify and respond to risks
- Communications Plan – communicating and influencing activities
- Project Plan – open ended questions, effective listening, use of tolerance
Getting Started – Risk Analysis
- Identifying risks and exploring the steps of Risk Analysis
- Identifying risks and assigning owners
- Risk evaluation; Impact and probability
- Risk Responses
Making Progress
Making Progress – Tolerance and Monitoring Progress
- Definition of Tolerance
- Types of tolerances
- Managing a project within tolerances
- Monitoring work within tolerances (Time, Cost, Quality)
Day Three
Making Progress – Change Control
- Types of change
- Impact of changes
- Corrective action or escalation
- Understanding tolerances and changes
Making Progress – Controlling the Work
- Defining a Work Package / Work Request
- Using a Work Package to control the work and monitor progress
Making Progress – Monitoring progress
- What is progress – Red, Amber, Green
- Collecting progress information
- Reviewing progress
- Reporting progress
Closing Down
- Identifying the information needed to close down a project in a controlled manner, including Lessons Learned, Follow On Actions and Benefits Realisation
Closing Down – Closing a project
- Benefits of Closing a Project
- Review of a Project Closure Report and a Post Implementation Report Templates
- Lessons Learned
- Benefits realisation
