Fundamentals of Successful Project Management

This course is also available as a virtual seminar.

You'll learn ...

• How to manage and work on projects while you're juggling your regular job responsibilities
• How to develop your project plan and get it started in the right direction
• How to apply the universal 6-stage project management model
• How to use 2 types of project reviews to give you early warning of trouble ahead
• And much more

Learn the secrets to successful project management ... how to create a plan, implement it, monitor progress, correct as necessary and deliver as promised. This two-day workshop will show you how to make projects an orderly progression of completed objectives, instead of a helter-skelter race with disaster.

Day one: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

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

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

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 two: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

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

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

Managing multiple projects

• The one management secret that will always serve you no matter how many "top priorities" you're juggling
• Recognizing which projects must take precedence
• Multi-project reporting systems

Computers and project management

• Recognizing what project management software can do for you-and what it can't
• 7 evaluation criteria to help you select the best software package for your needs
• How to "test the water" before you jump in

Putting it all together

• How to organize what you've learned into your own Project Action Plan