Project Management Integrated
Five-day course
Projects are essentially about managing change – and because change is an increasingly significant fact of business life – project management is an essential key skill in today’s working environment. Many people are involved in project work, either directly or in a supporting role, and yet they have never received formal training in the basic techniques that can make the difference between a successful project and an expensive failure.
For exactly the same reason, the introduction of computer-based project management tools can lead to disappointing results. Training someone to simply operate a computerised project-planning tool does not make him or her a project manager. Microsoft Project is a powerful scheduling tool but requires training to use efficiently.
Key skills in project management is the first step in bridging this skills gap. For many people it is all the training they will need to enable them to operate more effectively in a project environment and to make more effective use of their planning software.
Group training
This course offers a complete learning and hands-on experience in both methodology principles and computer-based software.
The course is designed for a team of people running projects or about to embark on a project. It requires consultation between the trainers and the client to ensure the appropriate training is delivered. This would be an ongoing process throughout the course delivery. A project or part of the project would be identified and developed in the course.
Course modules
A combination of learning techniques offering a complete learning and hands-on experience in both methodology principles and computer-based software. This course is designed to assist project managers and project teams manage new projects. The course focuses on thinking, developing and applying techniques for management activities required over the project life cycle, ensuring correct project initiation, scope management, time cost and resource planning, human resources and communications management along with disciplined monitoring control and reporting methods.
Project Management Overview
- History
- Project life cycle
- Common problems
- The project management framework model
- Project manager responsibilities
- Key traits of a project manager
Outcome: Project initiation
Project Planning and Execution
- The business case
- Project planning and control
- The project plan structure
- Identify stakeholders
- Scope management
Outcome: Scope definition
Time, Cost and Resource Management
- Work breakdown structure
- Activity identification
- Critical path
- Resource definition
- Estimating
- Schedule development
- Budget development
Outcome: Schedule, budget
Project Risk Management
- Attitudes to risk
- Context definition
- Risk identification
- Risk analysis
- Risk evaluation
- Risk monitoring, reporting and control
Outcome: Risk plan
HR, Communication and Contracts
- Assign resources to tasks/team development
- Functions of a manager
- Leadership skills
- Communication planning
- Information distribution
- Reports and reviews
- Contract selection
Outcome: Communication matrix, stakeholder plan, contract forms
Monitoring, Control and Finalisation
- Monitoring through the project life cycle
- Controlling the project
- Closing down a project
- Assess project performance
- Project finalisation and review
Outcome: Monitoring, control procedures and templates
Managing the schedule and resources Using Microsoft Project
Project Basics
- The screen, views, tables and Gantt charts
- Shortcuts and tool bars, tips and tricks
Creating a Project
- Steps in creating a project, defining initial goals
- Changing options, adjusting Project calendar
- Summary information
- Entering task information
- Entering duration details and milestones
- Displaying critical tasks
Working with Tasks
- Adjusting the timescale and Gantt formatting
- Relationships between tasks
- Displaying critical tasks
- Outlining
- Constraints
- Adding relationships
Creating Resources
- Creating a resource pool
- Assigning calendars to resources
- Assigning resources
- Resource levelling
Costs
- Variable resource costs
- Using cost per use and fixed costs
Updating the schedule
- Creating a baseline plan
- Comparing performance
- Getting back on track
Reporting
- Changing print setup
- Using Project’s report
- Printing sheet and chart views
- Creating filters and tables
- Working with multiple projects
Outcome: Ability to use MS Project to plan, manage and optimise resources to achieve your project goals
Course delivery
Delivery can be flexible – half days, full days, three days spread over a couple of weeks or a complete integrated five-day package delivered to fit your work schedule. We will work with the project manager to develop the schedule and deliver appropriate training. The course duration and delivery are determined by the client’s requirements. We also offer one – on – one training and online sessions for those wishing to experience a more personalised training experience.
At Project Advantage, we run our Melbourne project management short courses for groups of a maximum of 12 participants at customer designated locations offering substantially discounted rates compared to the costs for staff attendance at public courses. These workshops are delivered to business groups or units within organisation as well as to individuals.
Our customers provide the venue, equipment (data projector, whiteboard, flip chart and easel) and choice of catering. Project Advantage provides an experienced instructor, a notebook computer for course presentation, course materials (workbooks, CDs, handout materials for activities) and certificates of achievement for all participants.
- Minimum four participants on site – $2100 per person per course
- Six-Ten participants onsite – $2750 per day, per group
- One-on-one on-site – $3000 plus travel expenses
- Online sessions. 24 x 2 hour sessions over five weeks – $3600 per person
How do you benefit from our integrated project management courses?
This unique five-day course integrates contemporary project management methodology training with MS Project software applications training. Our training is timely and focused on your current project requirements. You will achieve greater retention of skills taught through this flexible delivery model.
Integration
The methodology, theory and business planning components support and complement the computer-based software application component.This combination of learning techniques offers a complete learning and hands-on experience in both principles.
Who will benefit from attending this course?
The primary audience for the course is people who are newly embarking on a project management career, with no prior training in the professional skills required for successful project management.
However, senior managers wishing to introduce a project-based approach to their own, or their staff’s work, will also find the course highly beneficial, as will people who have learned their project skills “on the job” and have never had any formal training.
Further groups of people with much to gain from the course are the “customers” or project sponsors. This course will give them the vocabulary and understanding to enable them to communicate more effectively with the project team.
Course benefits
- Cost effective
- Eliminates the need to construct the plan during work time, we will produce it in class
- Tailored to your particular requirements
- Training is also tailored to your needs. There is no need to learn parts of the application you will not use
- Greater retention when working on real-life examples drawn from your own work-based activities and tasks
- Develop your schedule during training
- On the completion of the course, your schedule is built
- Ongoing relationship and support
- Opportunity to undertake follow-up training on an as-needs basis
- Taking a flexible approach, we are able to offer this service on a day-rate basis. This means the training service can be offered in modules and delivered in a sequential fashion to gain the best results.[/tabcontent]Course Delivery
Project Advantage runs a range of project management courses including project management fundamentals training, project management essentials and a Melbourne project management introduction to get you up to speed with your skills and understanding of project management in Melbourne and other capital cities and regional centres.