Overview

This short course, based on the newly-released Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide, Edition 7), provides an overview of the theory, framework, international standards, tools and techniques used to effectively design and deliver projects. It is designed for current professional staff in the private and public sector who manage or support projects that are aligned with the strategic objectives of their organisations.

In the course, participants will learn the overall approach and specific processes that best practices suggest, to ensure their projects are appropriately planned, strategically positioned, and properly executed within their organisations. While the traditional project manager may focus mainly on the schedule and budget, the strategic project manager cloaks a project in its organisational ROI, gives it a “brand identity”, and keeps it visible throughout the Project Management Lifecycle from Initiation through Closeout. This contemporary project manager also knows how to gain and maintain credibility in the project manager role and can lead others to view the project management process as a key business process. The framework, tools and techniques can be modified/tailored to work in virtually any project-driven organisation, so this course will help professional staff be selective about choosing the processes that balance scope, schedule, budget, resources, quality, risks and stakeholder expectations. Finally, the course will also assist them in learning how to know where to look when one is evaluating a project’s overall performance.

Learning Objectives

On successful completion of the course, participants will be able to:

• Explain how enterprise environmental factors and organisational process assets affect the management of projects.
• Explain the five stages of a project life cycle.
• Illustrate how the five stages in a project life cycle can overlap over time.
• Create a project management plan with subsidiary plans for each of the knowledge areas.
• Explain how progressive elaboration and integrated change management can keep these documents effective and relevant.
• Identify key project stakeholders and continuously engage them in appropriate project activities.
• Describe how the project management knowledge contained in the PMBOK® Guide can be used in practice.
• Explain the overlapping nature of project activities
• Practice Project Integration Management to coordinate the various project management processes.
• Illustrate how a project’s various baselines are determined, planned for, and managed.
• Discuss how to effectively manage human resources and communicate with all stakeholders.
• Explain the key methods used to estimate project schedule and cost at the beginning of a project and to forecast cost and schedule variances at any time during the project.
• Perform a walkthrough of project management software.