Course Description

 

This course is designed to help managers and facilitators better coordinate their project teams.Participants will learn effective ways to help project teams set and achieve challenging time, cost and performance targets. The focus of this course is not only teaching these skills, but also teaching participants to transfer their learned skills to their team members. After completion of this course, facilitators will be able to help their project teams plan, schedule, and control their project more effectively.

Course Objective

 

♦ Learn the interpersonal and process skills required for successful facilitation of project teams.

♦ Understand a model for successful project management and then facilitate this process for

individuals and teams in the organization.

♦ Learn the key elements in a scope document and how to help teams create effective documents.

♦ Learn how to facilitate the identification of critical issues and how this helps clarify scope and do a more comprehensive job of planning.

♦ Learn three different methods for planning projects and how to help individuals and team develop plans.

♦ Learn how to help identify resources for planning as well as how time estimating turns plans into schedules.

♦ Learn when and how to use tools such as Gantt, CPM, PERT, PDM and Linked Bar Charts.

♦ Learn about tracking and controlling during implementation and how to adapt to a dynamic

environment.

♦ Learn a methodology for reducing project schedules and how to facilitate this process.

♦ Receive a model for conducting effective project status meetings.

♦ Learn about successful HR management strategies as well as how to take on different leadership styles as a facilitator in different project situations.

♦ Receive a model for improving project methods.

♦ Receive a tool for assessing projects in the organization.

♦ Receive an instrument for assessing risk and determining contingency plans and mitigation

measures.

♦ Receive a model to enhance project communication.

Who Should attend?

This course is particularly effective for Project Managers who need to develop facilitative skills to be more effective in their role, Project Team Members who someday want to be a Project Manager, and individuals charged with starting up a project office within an organization.

Course Outline

 

 Introduction to Project Management Facilitation

♦ The Role of the Project Management Facilitator

♦ Key Project Management Roles

♦ Expected Benefits

Select Project

♦ Selecting Projects

♦ Facilitating Project Selection – The Grid Approach

♦ Project Prioritization Grid

♦ Facilitation Practice: How to facilitate a group in selecting a project

Initialize Project

♦ What Is A Scope Document?

♦ When To Write A Scope Document

♦ How To Write A Scope Document

♦ Scope Document – Terms And Definitions

♦ The First Step: Stating Specific Goals

♦ Facilitating Scope Definition – Hints, Tips And Techniques

♦ Scope Document Examples

♦ Facilitation Practice: How to work with project sponsors in developing a scope document

Develop Critical Issues and Project Organization Structure

♦ Defining Critical Issues

♦ Example Critical Issues

♦ Facilitating Critical Issue Identification

♦ Resolving Critical Issues – Hints, Tips & Tricks

♦ Creating Teams & Subteams

♦ Critical Issues Template

♦ Team Summary Table Template

♦ Group Process Exercise: How to facilitate a group using the Nominal Group Technique

♦ Facilitation Practice: Skills practice in facilitating a project team developing critical project issues

Develop Top Tier, Logic Driven WBS

♦ Terms & Definitions

♦ Nine Step Planning Process

♦ Creating Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

♦ Strategies For Planning Projects

♦ Phase/Gate Systems For Project Management

♦ Hints, Tips & Tricks

Complete Project Risk Analysis

♦ Facilitating Potential Problem Analysis

♦ Potential Problem Analysis Examples

♦ Potential Problem Analysis Form

♦ Facilitation Practice: Facilitating a team going through a Potential Problem Analysis

Develop Detailed Project Plans

♦ Task Dependencies

♦ Task Relationships

♦ Benefits And Use Of Gantt

♦ Creating Gantt Charts

♦ Benefits And Use Of Network Diagrams

♦ Network Diagrams And The Six Block Method

♦ Time Estimating

♦ Resource Loading And Leveling

♦ Resource Planning Worksheets

♦ Facilitation Practice: Leading a team in developing a project schedule

Finalize Project Economics

♦ Cost Management Overview

♦ Project Status Reports

Step Eight: Develop Communication Plan

♦ Communication And The Project Manger

♦ Identifying Key Stakeholders

♦ Facilitating Communication

♦ Communication Plan Examples

♦ Developing A Communication Strategy

♦ Facilitation Practice: Helping team members develop a project communication plan

Step Nine: Reach Consensus on Project Scope, Plan & Economics

♦ Value In Reducing Project Time

♦ Facilitating Schedule Compression

♦ Compressing The Critical Path – Fast Tracking The Project

♦ Facilitation Practice: How to facilitate a project compression session

Step Ten: Implement, Track and Control

♦ Project Scheduler/Controller Role: Tracking And Controlling Projects

♦ Tracking And Controlling Projects

♦ Tracking/Controlling The Short Term Future With Project Management Software

♦ Milestone, Slack And Baseline

♦ Baseline Changes

♦ Filters – A Tool For Analyzing, Troubleshooting And Tracking A Project Plan

♦ Troubleshooting The Plan

♦ Views And Tables In Ms Project

♦ Facilitation Practice: How to facilitate the process of adjusting project schedules

Step Eleven – Close Project

♦ Punch List

♦ Lessons Learned

♦ Closure Process Example

Step Twelve: Post Project Assessment

♦ Key Success Factors

♦ Characteristics Of World Class Project Management

Situational Leadership Exercise

♦ Understanding Situational Leadership

♦ The Prescriber: High Task, Low Relationship

♦ The Persuader: High Task, High Relationship

♦ The Participator: Low Task, Low Relationship

♦ The Permitter: Low Task, Low Relationship

♦ Organizational Approach To Project Management

Appendix I

♦ Project Notebooks

♦ Reporting Elements

♦ Project Management Curriculum

♦ Wrapping It Up -- How To End Your Project

Appendix II

♦ Blank Gantt Forms

♦ Blank Scope Document Forms

♦ Blank Charter Forms

♦ Glossary Of Terms

♦ Suggested Readings