Fast Start in Project Management (PMG110)

This Fast Start in Project Management course is designed to equip you with a foundational understanding of project management within a business environment. Whether you're part of a team or an individual seeking to enhance your skills, this workshop will provide valuable insights into managing projects effectively within your organization. You will explore project management principles, essential methodologies, and practices that make significant contributions to successful project outcomes.

We kick off with an Introduction that covers logistics and materials, guiding you on maximizing your experience throughout the workshop. You'll learn the objectives and contents to set clear expectations from the start. Following this, the course delves into Project Management Concepts, discussing how project management fits into enterprise environments. Understand the roles of programs, portfolios, and PMOs, and gain clarity on project phases, life cycles, and key success factors essential to mastering the art of project management.

As you progress, you'll navigate through The People Side of Project Management, where you'll learn to work effectively with different social styles and their corresponding strengths and challenges. Mastering communications, both virtual and in-person, becomes a focal point, ensuring collaboration and versatility are at the forefront of your skillset.

Moving on to Initiating the Project, we emphasize defining needs and feasibility, managing stakeholder engagement, and finalizing a project charter. These foundational steps set the tone for planning and executing projects with precision. Following this module, you'll dive into Planning the Project, which highlights the importance of creating an effective project management plan, including defining scope, constraints, and deliverables.

A pivotal part of the course is Decomposition Using a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Learn to deconstruct projects into manageable sections, enhancing clarity and organization to improve execution and tracking. Combined with Estimating techniques, you'll acquire skills in analyzing effort and cost, ensuring robust planning and budgeting for all projects.

The course then focuses on Sequencing and Scheduling, helping you determine project timelines, critical paths, and dependencies through comprehensive scheduling techniques and tools. Additionally, dive into resource management with Organizing and Acquiring Staff, where you will plan and acquire your project team efficiently.

Another important aspect covered is Control Plans. Develop quality management and communication plans to effectively monitor projects and manage change confidently. The Risk Management section prepares you to identify and address potential risks, ensuring you proactively safeguard project objectives.

Subsequently, the focus shifts to Executing the Project. Acquire guidelines and tools essential for implementing project plans and keeping track of progress, ensuring successful project phases. This naturally leads to Monitoring and Controlling the Project, where you will learn how to measure performance, interpret trends, and enforce controls to keep projects on track and within scope.

Finally, the course wraps up with Closing the Project. You'll cover administrative closure activities and lessons learned to ensure a comprehensive debriefing process, setting the stage for future success. By the end of this course, you will possess a strong foundation in project management practices, enabling you to confidently support or lead projects within your organization.

1. Introduction
   1. Workshop Logistics
   2. Workshop Materials
   3. How to Get the Most Out of This Workshop
   4. Workshop Objectives
   5. Workshop Contents
2. Project Management Concepts
   1. Project Management in the Enterprise Environment
   2. Programs
   3. Projects and Sub-Projects
   4. Portfolios
   5. Project Management Offices (PMOs)
   6. So What is Project Management?
   7. Project Management Activities
   8. The Project Management Process
   9. Project Phases in Project Management
   10. Project Life Cycle (PLC)
   11. Rolling Wave Planning
   12. What Defines a Successful Project?
   13. The Project Management Triangle
   14. Critical Success Factors
   15. The Project Manager's Skills and Knowledge
   16. The Project Manager's Role
   17. The Project Participants
   18. The Project Sponsor
   19. The Stakeholders
   20. The Project Team
   21. The Project Environment
   22. Culture and Style
   23. Structure
   24. Project Management System
3. The People Side of Project Management
   1. The People Side of Project Management
   2. The People Side
   3. The Social Style Model™
   4. Behavioral Dimensions
   5. Assertiveness
   6. Responsiveness
   7. The Social Style
   8. Social Style Characteristics
   9. Social Style Strengths and Challenges
   10. Social Style and Backup Behavior
   11. Versatility
   12. Working with Others
   13. Analytical Social Style
   14. Driving Social Style
   15. Expressive Social Style
   16. Amiable Social Style
   17. Building on Your Strengths
   18. Classification Ethics
   19. The Communication Process
   20. Virtual Communications
4. Initiating the Project
   1. Project Initiation
   2. Defining Need
   3. Defining Feasibility
   4. Demonstrating Need and Feasibility
   5. Project Stakeholder Management
   6. Identify Stakeholders
   7. Stakeholder Analysis
   8. Plan Stakeholder Engagement
   9. Manage Stakeholder Engagement
   10. Monitor Stakeholder Engagement
   11. Project Charter
   12. Project Description
   13. Project Purpose
   14. Project Objectives
   15. Project Requirements
   16. Triangle Flexibility
5. Planning the Project
   1. Planning the Project
   2. Why Do You Plan?
   3. Developing the Project Management Plan
   4. Components of the Project Management Plan
   5. Project Scope
   6. Project Scope Statement
   7. Project Deliverables
   8. Exclusions
   9. Constraints
   10. Assumptions
   11. Approach
   12. Plan Procurement Management
   13. Characteristics of an Effective Project Plan
   14. The Investment of Planning
6. Decomposition Using a Work Breakdown Structure
   1. Project Decomposition
   2. Benefits of Decomposition
   3. Decomposition Using a Work Breakdown Structure
   4. Benefits of the Work Breakdown Structure
   5. Work Breakdown Structure Hierarchy
   6. Work Breakdown Structure Format
   7. Work Package
   8. Work Breakdown Structure Template
   9. Work Breakdown Structure Graphic Conventions
   10. Work Breakdown Structure Diagramming Rules
   11. Demonstration: Work Breakdown Structure
   12. Work Breakdown Structure List Conventions
   13. Work Breakdown Structure Dictionary
   14. Activity Definition
   15. Activities
   16. Skills Matrix
   17. Scope Baseline
7. Estimating
   1. Estimating Accuracy
   2. Effort, Duration, and Cost
   3. Effort vs Duration
   4. Methods for Estimating Effort
   5. Weighted Average
   6. Expert Judgment, Delphi, and Parametric Estimating
   7. Analogous and Computerized Tools
   8. Analogous Estimating
   9. Computerized Tools
   10. Function Point Estimating
   11. Function Point Analysis
   12. Estimating Variables
   13. Estimating Cost
   14. Cost Budgeting
   15. Cost Baseline
8. Sequencing and Scheduling
   1. Sequencing and Scheduling
   2. Determining Sequence and Schedule
   3. Project Schedule Network Diagram
   4. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
   5. Precedence Diagramming
   6. Dependencies
   7. Milestones
   8. Producing the Network Diagram
   9. Precedence Logic
   10. Estimating Activity Resources
   11. Estimating Activity Duration
   12. Lag
   13. Lead
   14. Apply the Calendar
   15. Critical Path Method
   16. Critical Path
   17. Determine the Critical Path — Forward Pass
   18. Calculating Float — Backward Pass
   19. Gantt and Bar Charts
   20. Time/Cost Trade-Off
9. Organizing and Acquiring Staff
   1. Resource Planning
   2. Acquire the Project Team
   3. Responsibility Assignment Matrix
   4. Constraints
   5. Resource Histograms
   6. Resource Leveling
   7. Develop the Project Team
   8. Team Website
10. Control Plans
    1. Planning for Control
    2. Quality Management Plan
    3. Quality Planning
    4. Quality Assurance
    5. Quality Control
    6. Communications Management Plan
    7. Developing the Communication Plan
    8. Examples of Communication Plans
    9. Change Control
    10. Reasons for Change
    11. A Typical Change Control Procedure
    12. Example of a Change Request Form
11. Risk Management
    1. Risk Management
    2. What is Risk?
    3. Elements of Risk Management
    4. Risk Management Planning
    5. Risk Identification
    6. Qualitative Risk Analysis
    7. Quantitative Risk Analysis
    8. Risk Response Planning
    9. Responses for Negative Risk; ie Threats
    10. Responses for Positive Risk; ie Opportunities
    11. The Risk Register
    12. Contingencies and Reserves
    13. Risk Management Method
12. Executing the Project
    1. Project Execution
    2. Guidelines for Executing a Project Phase
    3. Tools and Techniques for Executing the Project Plan
    4. Project Kickoff
    5. Work Results
    6. Tracking Progress via Status Reports
    7. Assessing Project Status via Status Meetings
    8. Pitfalls of Project Execution
13. Monitoring and Controlling the Project
    1. Project Control
    2. Key Control Activities
    3. Planning Versus Monitoring and Controlling
    4. Prerequisites for Effective Monitoring and Controlling
    5. Performance Monitoring and Reporting
    6. Performance Reports
    7. Current State Report
    8. Original Baseline Report
    9. Trend Report
    10. Narrative Overview Report
    11. Trend Analysis
    12. Interpreting Trends
    13. Example of Trend Analysis
    14. Questions to Ask Yourself
    15. Taking Corrective Action
    16. To Control Quality
    17. To Shorten the Project Duration (Time)
    18. To Reduce Costs
    19. To Accommodate Increasing Scope
    20. To Monitor Risks
    21. Tracking and Logging Changes
    22. Requested Modifications
    23. Corrective Actions
    24. Example Change Log Report
    25. Guidelines for Monitoring and Controlling a Project Phase
    26. Pitfalls to Project Control
14. Closing the Project
    1. Closing
    2. Administrative Closure Activities
    3. Lessons Learned
    4. Example Closeout Report

Each student receives a comprehensive set of materials, including course notes and all class examples.