Principles of project management

Course overview

Duration: 2 days (13 hours)

The ability to run a successful project professionally is a valuable transferrable life skill that can enhance your career and opportunities in any industry.

Our Principles of Project Management course takes a pragmatic approach to managing a project successfully.  It looks at the entire project lifecycle and key activities that must be done to give a successful project outcome.

This course is suitable for anyone who is involved in or about to run a project – either as a full-time project leader/manager or as a part of their role.

Objectives 

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• Identify 10 key principles for managing a project successfully
• Apply a common sense project lifecycle to a project regardless of its size or magnitude
• Develop robust project documentation throughout the lifecycle whilst keeping the documents to a minimum
• Identify the expectations of key stakeholders and develop a clear communication plan to engage with them
• Apply a range of planning and scheduling techniques to help manage the project timeline
• Produce realistic estimates to help monitor and control the project costs
• Manage key risks and issues associated throughout the project lifecycle
• Manage changes through a robust change control process
• Manage the Project team through the use of clearly defined Work Packages
• Identify and manage key areas of conflict throughout the lifecycle

Content

Introduction

• Key characteristics of projects v Business as Usual
• Definition of Programmes and Portfolios
• Project Lifecycles – A structured approach using phases
• Reasons why projects fail
• 10 principles of successful project management

The Concept (Feasibility) Phase

• Analysing the project context / environment
• Stakeholder needs and requirements
• Content of a Business Case
• Differences between Benefits, Success Criteria, Success Factors and Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)
• Purpose of the Project Brief

The Definition (Planning) Phase

• Defining the Scope of a project
• Assigning Project roles and responsibilities
• Product Breakdown structures and Work Breakdown Structures
• Approaches to estimating
• Detailed planning using Gantt charts
• Critical path analysis
• Using project management software – an overview
• Constructing a realistic project budgets
• Resource allocation and optimisation
• Producing a Communication Plan

The Implementing (Execution) Phase

• Delegating using a Work Package
• Project tracking and reporting
• Managing contractors
• Controlling changes to the project
• Risk and Issues management
• Managing conflict between stakeholders

The Handover / Closure Phase

• Measuring project success
• Capturing Lessons
• Post project review and evaluation
• Benefits Realisation
• Transferring the deliverable into Business as Usual