5 Gan courses in Edinburgh

Price £750 inc VAT Finance options In Company training - £750 for groups of up to 8 delegates. Discounts for Nonprofits/Charities...  Study method On-site Duration 2 days, Full-time Qualification No formal qualification Certificates Certificate of completion - Free Additional info Tutor is available to students -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Course Objectives At the end of this course you will be able to: * Identify the components of the Microsoft Project environment * Create a new project plan * Create the project schedule * Use different views to analyse the project plan * Create, allocate and manage resources in a project plan * Finalise a project plan * Track progress * View and report project plan information ' 1 year email support service Customer Feedback * Very good course. Learnt a lot. Looking forward to the next level. * Alexandra - CIAL 1 year email support service Take a closer look at the consistent excellent feedback from our growing corporate clients visiting our site ms-officetraining co uk With more than 20 years experience, we deliver courses on all levels of the Desktop version of Microsoft Office and Office 365; ranging from Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced to the VBA level. Our trainers are Microsoft certified professionals with a proven track record with several years experience in delivering public, one to one, tailored and bespoke courses. * Our competitive rates start from £550.00 per day of training Tailored training courses: You can choose to run the course exactly as they are outlined by us or we can customise it so that it meets your specific needs. A tailored or bespoke course will follow the standard outline but may be adapted to your specific organisational needs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DESCRIPTION Introduction to Microsoft Project * Recap on project management concepts * Project environment overview * The 3 databases: Tasks, Resources and Assignments * Different ways of displaying the Project Plan * Access Help Creating a Project Plan * Create a New Project Plan * Project Information * Create and apply the project calendar * Defining recurring exceptions to the calendar * Defining the calendar's work weeks * Create the Summary tasks * Create the Work Breakdown Structure Task creation and scheduling * Exploring the Entry Table and its fields * Task editing and the Task Information window * Task Durations * Defining Milestones * Manual Scheduling vs Automatic Scheduling * Changing the Task's Calendar * Create a split in a Task * Create Task Relationships * Adding Lag or Lead to a Relationship * Identifying the Critical Path * Adding Constraints and Deadlines to Tasks * Create Recurring Activities * Adding Notes and links to Tasks Managing Resources * Exploring the Entry Table and its fields * Resource editing and the Resource Information window * Resource Types * Fixed Costs vs Variable Costs * Adding Resource Costs * Defining when costs accrue * Changing the Resource Calendar and Availability * Project calendar vs Resource and Task Calendar * Assigning Resources to Tasks * Effort Driven Scheduling * Resolving Resource Overallocation Tracking the Project Progress * Setting a Project Baseline * Entering Actuals * Different ways of viewing the Progress * Checking if the Project is on track Viewing and Reporting Project Detail * Adding Tasks to the Timeline and sharing it * Modifying the Timescale and Zoom level * Formatting the Gantt View * Filtering and Grouping Tasks * Print and Troubleshoot the Gantt View * Using built-in Reports in Microsoft Project WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR? This course is designed for a person who has an understanding of project management concepts, who is responsible for creating and modifying project plans, and who needs a tool to manage these project plans. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REQUIREMENTS General knowledge of the Windows OS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CAREER PATH Microsoft Office know-how can instantly increase your job prospects as well as your salary. 80 percent of job openings require spreadsheet and word-processing software skills

This programme concentrates on the core planning skills needed to develop sound practical project plans in a team environment. This enables the plan to be modified should requirements change or difficulties arise. The programme also gives participants the confidence to practise those skills and apply them in the work environment and deliver their projects more successfully in the future. Participants learn fundamental project management concepts and terminology, demystifying the project management process, and, in particular, how to: * Break a project down into manageable sections and ensure nothing is left out * Understand and apply estimating techniques to develop realistic estimates * Sequence work effectively and carry out critical path analysis to determine project duration and which tasks to pay closest attention to * Manage project risk effectively to protect project value * Monitor, control and re-plan the project to best keep it on track * Close out the project and ensure the project comes to an orderly end 1 INTRODUCTION * Self-introductions and personal objectives * Course objectives * Sharing of project issues 2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS * Characteristics of a project and what should be kept as operational responsibilities * Understanding the triple and quadruple constraints - and their limitations * Prioritising requirements through the MOSCOW technique * Product v project life cycle * Key project roles and responsibilities - the importance of sponsorship and clarity of roles 3 STARTING A PROJECT, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TERMS OF REFERENCE / PROJECT BRIEF * Avoiding the pressure to 'just do it'! * The importance and benefits of planning * The best time to learn! * Initial project documentation - the BOSCARDI approach 4 BREAKING THE WORK DOWN * Understanding alternative breakdown structures such as the product breakdown structure and work breakdown structure * Guidelines for creating a work breakdown structure to ensure the full work scope is identified 5 ESTIMATING * Alternative estimating techniques and associated confidence levels * Further considerations - loss and resource factors 6 ORGANISING THE WORK * Use of network diagrams to develop a clear sequence of work * Critical path analysis and calculating the project duration and task float - and usage 7 THE MANAGEMENT OF PROJECT RISK * Understanding the nature of project risk * The risk analysis and risk management processes * How to best manage threats and opportunities * Running a risk workshop * Using the risk register 8 SCHEDULING THE WORK * The importance of the Gantt chart and understanding its limitations * The Gantt chart layout and using alternative views such as the tracking Gantt * Using alternative dependencies 9 RESOURCE ISSUES * Assigning resources and resolving resource overloads * Crashing and fast-tracking your project and potential issues to look out for 10 CONTROLLING THE PROJECT * The control cycle and alternative feedback mechanisms * Alternative progress reporting * Assessing the impact * The importance of re-planning * The benefits of control * Change control - the importance of impact analysis * The steps of change control and the use of the issue register 11 CLOSING THE PROJECT * The project closure checklist * Reviewing the project - things to avoid * Developing meaningful lessons and ensuring they are applied effectively * The post-project review - its importance to the organisation

Many organisations find that project teams struggle to create and maintain effective plans. Estimates are often overly optimistic and risks go unmanaged until the inevitable happens. Resource managers also find it hard to forecast the likely loading on their departments and requests for support are not provided in a consistent format. This programme has been developed to address these needs in a very practical, hands-on format. Case study work can be based on simulations or on the organisation's current projects for maximum benefit to participants. The aim of this training is to develop and enhance participants' planning and risk management skills in order to maximise the success of project work undertaken by the organisation. The principal training objectives for this programme are to: * Provide a structured, integrated approach to planning and risk management * Demonstrate practical tools and techniques for each stage of planning * Show how to organise and involve relevant people in the planning process * Explain how to use the plan for forecasting and pro-active project control * Identify ways to improve planning, both individually and corporately The course will emphasise the importance of participative planning techniques that improve the quality of plans whilst reducing overall time and cost of planning. The course will encourage discussion of internal procedures and practices and may be customised to include them if required. DAY ONE 1 INTRODUCTION (COURSE SPONSOR) * Why this programme has been developed * Review of participants' needs and objectives 2 PROJECTS AND PLANNING * Why plan? The benefits of good planning / penalties of poor planning * Planning in the project lifecycle; the need for a 'living' plan * The interaction between target setting and the planning process * Team exercise: planning the project 3 PLANNING THE PLAN * Defining the application and structure of the plan * Impact of planning decisions during the project lifecycle * Using available time to create an effective plan 4 DEFINING DELIVERABLES * Assessing the context; reviewing the goals and stakeholders * Developing the scope and defining deliverables; scope mapping * Understanding customer priorities; delivering value for money * Case study: defining the project deliverables 5 CREATING THE WORK BREAKDOWN * Building the work breakdown structure * Detailing the tasks and sub-tasks; structured brainstorming * Defining task ownership; the task responsibility matrix 6 CREATING AND USING A LOGICAL NETWORK * Developing the logical network; task boarding * Determining the critical path and calculating float * Accelerating the plan; concurrent programming and risk * Individual and group exercises DAY TWO 7 DEVELOPING RESOURCE SCHEDULES * Deriving the Gantt chart from the network * Developing the detailed resource schedules * Calculating the expenditure profile ('S' curve) 8 ESTIMATING TASK DURATIONS AND COSTS * Understanding estimates: effort, availability and duration * Estimating tools and techniques * Application of estimating techniques during the project lifecycle 9 CASE STUDY * Developing the project plan * Refining the project plan * Team presentations and discussion 10 MANAGING RISKS AND REFINING THE PLAN * Awareness of contractual issues associated with risk * Identifying and evaluating risks; deciding ownership * Managing risks: determining levels of provision and contingency * Controlling risks: maintaining an up-to date risk register 11 PLANNING FOR PRO-ACTIVE CONTROL * The earned value analysis (EVA) concept and its predictive value * Deriving the measures needed for cost and delivery performance * Practical issues associated with implementing EVA 12 USING AND MAINTAINING THE PLAN * Tracking progress and updating the plan * Publishing and controlling the plan 13 COURSE REVIEW AND TRANSFER PLANNING (COURSE SPONSOR PRESENT) * Identify ways of implementing the techniques learnt * Sponsor-led review and discussion of proposals * Conclusion

This five-day programme empowers participants with the skills and knowledge to understand and effectively apply best practice commercial and contracting principles and techniques, ensuring better contractor performance and greater value add. This is an assessed programme, leading to the International Association for Contracts & Commercial Management (IACCM)'s coveted Contract and Commercial Management Practitioner (CCMP) qualification. By the end of this comprehensive programme the participants will be able to: * Develop robust contracting plans, including scopes of work and award strategies * Undertake early market engagements to maximise competition * Conduct effective contracting and commercial management activities, including ITT, RFP, negotiated outcomes * Understand the legalities of contract and commercial management * Negotiate effectively with key stakeholders and clients, making use of the key skills of persuading and influencing to optimise outcomes * Undertake effective Supplier Relationship Management * Appreciate the implications of national and organisational culture on contracting and commercial activities * Appreciate professional contract management standards * Set up and maintain contract and commercial management governance systems * Take a proactive, collaborative, and agile approach to managing commercial contracts * Develop and monitor appropriate and robust KPIs and SLAs to manage the contractor and facilitate improved contractor performance * Appreciate the cross-functional nature of contract management * Collaborate with clients to deliver sustainable performance and to manage and exceed client expectations * Understand the roles and responsibilities of contract and commercial managers * Use effective contractor selection and award methods and models (including the 10Cs model) and use these models to prepare robust propositions to clients * Make effective use of lessons learned to promote improvements from less than optimal outcomes, using appropriate templates * Effectively manage the process of change, claims, variations, and dispute resolution * Develop and present robust propositions * Make appropriate use of best practice contract and commercial management tools, techniques, and templates DAY ONE 1 INTRODUCTION * Aims * Objectives * KPIs * Learning strategies * Plan for the programme 2 THE CONTRACTING CONTEXT * Key objectives of contract management * Importance and impact on the business 3 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS * Essential features of professional commercial and contract management and administration * The 6-step model 4 PUTTING THE 'MANAGEMENT' INTO COMMERCIAL AND CONTRACT MANAGEMENT * Traditional v 'new age' models * The need for a commercial approach * The added value generated 5 DEFINITIONS * 'Commercial management' * 'Contract management' * 'Contracting' * ... and why have formal contracts? 6 STAKEHOLDERS * Stakeholder mapping and analysis * The 'shared vision' concept * Engaging with key functions, eg, HSE, finance, operations 7 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES * Contract administrators * Stakeholders 8 STRATEGY AND PLANNING * Developing effective contracting plans and strategies DAY TWO 1 CONTRACT CONTROL * Tools and techniques, including CPA and Gantt charts * A project management approach * Developing effective contract programmes 2 THE CONTRACTING CONTEXT * Key objectives of contract management * Importance and impact on the business 3 TENDERING * Overview of the contracting cycle * Requirement to tender * Methods * Rationale * Exceptions * Steps * Gateways * Controls * One and two package bids 4 TENDER ASSESSMENT AND CONTRACT AWARD I - FRAMEWORK * Tender board procedures * Role of the tender board (including minor and major tender boards) * Membership * Administration * Developing robust contract award strategies and presentations DAY THREE 1 TENDER ASSESSMENT AND CONTRACT AWARD II - PROCESSES * Pre-qualification processes * CRS * Vendor registration rules and processes * Creating bidder lists * Disqualification criteria * Short-listing * Using the 10Cs model * Contract award and contract execution processes 2 MINOR WORKS ORDERS * Process * Need for competition * Role and purpose * Controls * Risks 3 CONTRACT STRATEGY * Types of contract * Call-offs * Framework agreements * Price agreements * Supply agreements 4 CONTRACT TERMS I: PRICING STRUCTURES * Lump sum * Unit price * Cost plus * Time and materials * Alternative methods * Target cost * Gain share contracts * Advance payments * Price escalation clauses 5 CONTRACT TERMS II: OTHER FINANCIAL CLAUSES * Insurance * Currencies * Parent body guarantees * Tender bonds * Performance bonds * Retentions * Sub-contracting * Termination * Invoicing 6 CONTRACT TERMS III: RISK AND REWARD * Incentive contracts * Management and mitigation of contractual risk DAY FOUR 1 CONTRACT TERMS IV: JURISDICTION AND RELATED MATTERS * Applicable laws and regulations * Registration * Commercial registry * Commercial agencies 2 MANAGING THE CLIENT-CONTRACTOR RELATIONSHIP * Types of relationship * Driving forces * Link between type of contract and style of relationships * Motivation - use of incentives and remedies 3 DISPUTES * Types of dispute * Conflict resolution strategies * Negotiation * Mediation * Arbitration DAY FIVE 1 PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT * KPIs * Benchmarking * Cost controls * Validity of savings * Balanced scorecards * Using the KPI template 2 PERSONAL QUALITIES OF THE CONTRACT MANAGER * Negotiation * Communication * Persuasion and influencing * Working in a matrix environment 3 CONTRACT TERMS V: DRAFTING SKILLS * Drafting special terms 4 VARIATIONS * Contract and works variation orders * Causes of variations * Risk management * Controls * Prevention * Negotiation with contractors 5 CLAIMS * Claims management processes * Controls * Risk mitigation * Schedules of rates 6 CLOSE-OUT * Contract close-out and acceptance / completion * HSE * Final payments * Performance evaluation * Capturing the learning 7 CLOSE * Review * Final assessment * Next steps

Masterclasses? Refreshers? Introductions? It depends what you're looking for and where you want to pitch them, but here are six tried-and-tested highly focused sessions that organisations can take individually or as a series, to help develop their teams' project management capabilities one topic at a time. Objectives for each individual session are set out below, as part of the session outlines. Taken together, as a series, however, these modules are an ideal opportunity to develop your team's levels of project management capability maturity, whether that's by introducing them to the basic principles, refreshing them on best practice, or giving them the opportunity to really drill down into a specific area of challenge in your particular operating environment. SESSION OUTLINES 1 Stakeholder management SESSION OBJECTIVES This session will help participants: * Understand why stakeholders matter to projects * Be able to identify and engage stakeholders * Be able to categorise stakeholders by their significance 1 KEY PRINCIPLES * What does 'stakeholder' mean - in theory? * What does this mean in practice? * Why stakeholders matter * Consequences of missing stakeholders * The stakeholder management process: * Identify * Assess * Plan * Engage 2 IDENTIFYING STAKEHOLDERS * Rapid listing * CPIG analysis * PESTLE analysis * Drawing on the knowledge and experience of others * Other ways to identify stakeholders 3 ASSESSING STAKEHOLDERS * Which stakeholders are significant? * Stakeholder radar * Power-interest maps * Power-attitude maps 4 PLANNING * The adoption curve * Dealing with obstacles * Who should engage which stakeholder? * How should the project's organisation be structured? * How will communication happen? 5 ENGAGING * Seven principles of stakeholder engagement 2 Requirements and prioritisation SESSION OBJECTIVES This session will help participants: * Understand how clarity of requirements contributes to project success * Use different techniques for prioritising requirements * Agree requirements with stakeholders * Manage changes to requirements 1 UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING STAKEHOLDER NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS * What are 'requirements'? * What is 'requirements management'? * Sources of requirements - and the role of stakeholders * Are stakeholders sufficiently expert to specify their needs? * Do they understand the detail of what they want, or do they need help to tease that out? * What do stakeholders want to achieve? * Working within constraints * Prioritising requirements - three techniques 2 MOSCOW PRIORITISATION * 'Must have', should have', 'could have, 'won't have this time' * When to use MoSCoW 3 THE KANO MODEL * Customer satisfaction - 'attractive' and 'must-be' qualities * When to use Kano 4 VALUE-BASED PRIORITISATION * Understanding risk v value * Using risk v value to prioritise features and schedules 5 AGREEING REQUIREMENTS * Perfect v 'good enough' * Establishing acceptance criteria * Requirements traceability * Agreeing project scope 6 CHANGING REQUIREMENTS * Why requirements change * Why change control matters * Impact on projects * A formal change control process * Paying for change - managing change for different types of project 3 Estimating SESSION OBJECTIVES This session will help participants: * Understand the different purposes estimates satisfy * Be able to use different estimating techniques * Understand how to achieve different levels of accuracy 1 KEY PRINCIPLES * What's an estimate? Informed guesswork * What needs to be estimated? Costs, resources, effort, duration * Tolerances * Precision v accuracy 2 ESTIMATING THROUGH THE LIFECYCLE * Start * Plan * Do 3 EARLY ESTIMATES * Comparative ('analogous') estimating * Parametric estimating * Using multiple estimating techniques 4 BOTTOM-UP ESTIMATING * Bottom-up ('analytical') estimating * Pros * Cons 5 THREE-POINT ESTIMATING * Three-point ('PERT': Programme Evaluation and Review Technique) estimating * Uncertainty and the range of estimates * Calculating a weighted average * Three-point with bottom-up 4 Scheduling SESSION OBJECTIVES This session will help participants: * Understand how to create a viable schedule * Be able to use different forms of schedule * Understand the concept of the critical path 1 KEY PRINCIPLES * The planning horizon * Rolling wave planning * Release planning 2 VIABLE SCHEDULING * Creating a viable schedule * Define the scope * Sequence the work * Identify the risks and build in mitigations * Identify the resources * Estimate the effort and durations * Check resource availability * Refine until a workable schedule is produced 3 CRITICAL PATH ANALYSIS * The critical path * Network diagrams * Sequence logic * Practical application: * Network diagram with estimated durations * The 'forward pass' * The 'backward pass' * Calculating total float * Identifying the critical path * Calculating free float * Gantt charts 5 Risk and issue management SESSION OBJECTIVES This session will help participants: * Understand the difference between risks and issues * Be able to identify and assess risks * Understand ways of mitigating risks * Manage issues 1 KEY PRINCIPLES * Understanding risk * Threats and opportunities * The risk management process * Preparation - proactive risk management * The process - identify, assess, plan, implement * Stakeholder communication * Roles and responsibilities * Risk management strategy * The risk register * Risk appetite 2 RISK IDENTIFICATION * Brainstorming * Interviews * Assumption analysis * Checklists 3 RISK ASSESSMENT AND PRIORITISATION * Probability, impact and proximity * Triggers * Qualitative risk assessment * Qualitative impact assessment * Qualitative probability assessment * Probability / impact grid * Bubble charts * Risk tolerance 4 PLANNING COUNTERMEASURES * To mitigate or not to mitigate? * Categories of risk response * Avoid and exploit * Reduce and enhance * Transfer * Share * Accept * Contingency * Secondary risks 5 ISSUE MANAGEMENT * What is an issue? * Tolerances * Issues and tolerances * The PRINCE2 view of issues * Ownership of issues * An issue management process * Issue register 6 Budgeting and cost control SESSION OBJECTIVES This session will help participants: * Understand what to include in a budget - and why * Choose - and use - the appropriate estimating technique * Align the budget with the schedule * Understand how to monitor spend and control costs * Trouble-shoot effectively to get projects back within budget SESSION FORMAT Flexible. The session can be tailored to the participants' average level of project management maturity - a 60-minute session (delivered virtually) is an effective introduction. A 90-minute session allows for more in-depth treatment. A half-day session (face-to-face or virtual) gives time for a more challenging workshop, particularly to discuss specific cost control issues with any of the participants' current projects. 1 WHERE IS THE MONEY COMING FROM? * Can we pay from revenue? Do we need to borrow? How long will the project take to pay back? * The lifecycle of the budget * Through-life costs * Stakeholder involvement 2 ESTIMATING COSTS * Reminder: the relationship between estimates * Reminder: possible estimating techniques * What do we need to estimate? * People * Equipment * Materials * Facilities and operating costs * Work package estimate * Estimated project costs * Estimating agile projects 3 ALIGNING BUDGET AND SCHEDULE * Scheduling and financial periods * Spreading the budget 4 RESERVES AND AGREEING THE BUDGET * Contingency reserve * Management reserve * Agreeing the budget 5 COST CONTROL * Planned spend over time * Actual spend over time * Work completed over time * Evaluating different scenarios: delivery v spend 6 TROUBLE-SHOOTING * Why are we where we are? * What has caused the project to spend at the rate it is? * Why is it delivering at the rate it is? * What are the root causes? * What can we do about it?