Fundamentals of Successful Project Management

Learn the secrets to successful project management with this comprehensive two-day workshop. Master all the essentials — how to create a plan, implement it, monitor progress, correct as necessary and deliver as promised. Whether you're managing a team or handling tasks independently, this course will help you transform even the most chaotic projects into a structured sequence of completed objectives.

Course Outcomes

Confidently balance project management with other job responsibilities
Develop clear, actionable project plans that set the foundation for success
Set timelines and estimate costs to keep projects on time and within budget
Effectively manage stakeholders throughout the entire project lifecycle
Proactively troubleshoot common project roadblocks to achieve milestones
Recruit, select and build top-performing teams that drive exceptional results

Course Agenda

12 hrs

Instructor-Led Training

Print Agenda

Day 1

Session 1: Key Considerations for Project Managers

The 6 unique characteristics that distinguish project management from other responsibilities
Mastering the 6-stage project management process
Recognizing the “triple threat” constraints you face with every project you start
Why deadlines are missed — how to avoid, up front, the single biggest obstacle to meeting the schedule
Avoiding the 4 most common problems that plague projects
How to identify and avoid the 3 biggest pitfalls that can keep a project’s outcome from living up to expectations
The 10 commandments for successful project management
The SMART approach to setting clear goals

Session 2: The Fundamentals of Project Planning

The basic purpose of planning
How to recognize and overcome the barriers to good planning
When planning really is a waste of time
The one rule to use for determining how much time to allow for planning
How to use a simple planning “safety net” to make sure nothing falls through a crack
Planning the time dimension — how to use PERT, Gantt, CPM — choosing the technique best suited to your needs
How to estimate a project’s cost — 4 straightforward methods
How to efficiently integrate and allocate the resources at your disposal (and how to make a powerful case for more resources when you need them)
There are 3 commonly accepted ways to provide for contingencies in project plans — we’ll show you which one top project managers prefer

Session 3: Getting Down to Work

Individuals receive trophies; teams win championships — how to recruit and select the winning project team
The 4 staffing rules for building an effective team
How to instill a high degree of motivation and commitment in team members
How to get the cooperation and involvement of the critically important “support” team
Why team member task assignments must include some “give and take”
How to conduct project meetings that get results
How to use the WBS system to tie work units to the time dimension
Choosing the right management tools: internal integration vs. external integration
4 vital “people factors” you must take into account when setting objectives

Day 2

Session 1: Monitoring and Controlling

How to structure reports for maximum value
How to determine the kinds of reports you’ll want
What written reports can and cannot tell you
How to determine how much detail reports should include and what the distribution should be
Recognizing the built-in bias of the report writer
Using periodic and topical reviews as your “off-course alarm system”
Communicating and coordinating — how to let everyone on the project know what’s expected of them and how they’re doing
How to establish checkpoints and milestones that tell you whether or not your project is on track

Session 2: Problem Solving and Troubleshooting

The 7-step problem-solving formula
How using a decision tree can often make the solution obvious
Dealing with the special problems of smaller projects
How to use the principle of “organized disagreement” to ferret out creative alternatives and solutions
How to handle the 7 most common sources of conflict in project management situations
How to get team members to accept changes when necessary
How to prepare for the changing nature and intensity of conflict as the project progresses
9 specific actions you can take immediately to save bogged-down, derailed projects
How to recognize and deal with the “dirty dozen” project productivity killers

Session 3: Managing Multiple Projects

Session 4: Computers and Project Management

Session 5: Putting It All Together

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