Project Management Fundamentals

Audience:

This class is ideal for all project managers.

Prerequisites:

None

Description:

Project management isn’t just for construction engineers and military logistics experts anymore. Today, in addition to the regular duties of your job, you are often expected to take on extra assignments, and to get that additional job done well, done under budget, and done on time. This one-day workshop is not intended to take you from a supervisory or administrative position to that of a project manager. However, these topics will familiarize you with the most common terms and practices in terms of working on projects.

Course Objectives:

This one-day workshop will help you teach participants how to:

• Describe what is meant by a project
• Explain what project management means
• Identify benefits of projects
• Identify the phases of a project’s life cycle
• Sell ideas and make presentations related to pitching a project
• Prioritize projects
• Begin conceptualizing your project, including goals and vision statements
• Use project planning tools
• Contribute to creating a Statement of Work

Outline:

Lesson 1: Course Overview

You will spend the first part of the day getting to know participants and discussing what will take place during the workshop. Students will also have an opportunity to identify their personal learning objectives.

Lesson 2: Defining Projects and Project Management

To begin the day, we will look at what a project is and what project management means. We will also look at some of the key players in a project team.

Lesson 3: The Role of a Project Manager

This session will examine some of the key skills that a project manager needs. We will also look at developing a proposal for your project.

Lesson 4: How Can Projects Help Me?

Often, people see projects as just more work to do. However, if managed properly, projects can provide tremendous growth and satisfaction for all those involved. We will look at some of the benefits and challenges of projects in a lecture and a case study.

Lesson 5: A Project’s Life Cycle

This session will explore the four major phases of a project. Participants will complete a mix-and-match exercise to reinforce the concept.

Lesson 6: Selling a Project

If you can identify a project that will bring benefits to your company, that’s great. However, getting support for that project can be a whole other story. This session will look at some ways to prioritize and sell projects.

Lesson 7: Creating a Vision

Before you start planning a project, you must know what you want the project to achieve. The best way to do this is to create a vision statement. We will discuss what a vision statement is and how to create one. Then, participants will work in small groups to create a vision for a sample project.

Lesson 8: Project Goals

This session will discuss the six key parts to a project goal. Then, participants will write some goals for a project they are working on.

Lesson 9: Using a Target Chart

A target chart can help you identify the biggest priorities in your project and help you see how to achieve your goals. This session will explore how to create and use a target chart.

Lesson 10: Preparing Your Project

Once you have decided which project to promote to others and identified your vision and goals, there are some considerations you want to be prepared for. Participants will discuss six key considerations in small groups.

Lesson 11: Laying out the Project

Now that we have a good idea of what our project will entail, we can create the charter and statement of work. We will also look at using a project planning worksheet.

Lesson 12: Workshop Wrap-Up

At the end of the course, students will have an opportunity to ask questions and fill out an action plan.