1. Intro to the Project Management Course
Background to Project Management. What is a project? Why do we need to plan? Common Mistakes. Leadership and structure within the Project. Stakeholder interaction
2. Start Planning and don’t stop until the project is over
Bounding the Goal of the Project – Objectives, stakeholders, constraints, assumptions. Determining the SUCCESS criterion. Visualising the goal. Three factors that can be varied to suit your project
3. Objectives and Deliverables
Main Phases and the WBS – work breakdown structure. What is it and how to build one based on the Objectives
4. Detailed task list
The Granularity required for a successful project. Estimation and Informed guesswork. This is one of several passes through the plan. Checklists and catch-alls (Tollgates)
5. Staffing your project
Who does what and when? What kind of staff do you have? How to get the best out of them. What to do with troublesome colleagues
6. Contingency – you need it no matter what anyone says
Margin for Error. Types of Contingency. What to do if it all goes wrong
7. Communicating the plan and managing the expectations
Be visible and be brave. Telling the truth and staying “on message”. Giving the Kick-off presentation. Broadcasting your message and making sure everyone is on the same page
8. Your daily and weekly routine as a Project Manager
How often to re-plan? How to deal with the unexpected, and how to run meetings
9. Reporting and change management
Be real, be ruthless and be upfront. Need to know and sins of omission. The status report
10. The Post Mortem
Who should be there and when should it be done. What went right. What went wrong.
Lessons Learned and what you can bring with you on your next project