Project Management Essentials

Course Overview:

If you are taking this course, you probably have some exposure to managing projects, or you may be considering embarking on a career as a professional project manager. Your ability as a project manager to demonstrate best practices in project management on the job is becoming the standard to compete in today’s fast-paced and highly technical workplace. In this course, you will apply the generally recognized practices of project management to successfully manage projects.

Project managers are always under severe pressure to complete projects on time and within budget. However, most projects fail to meet these demands, and, as a result, many projects are terminated early. Successful project management requires knowledge and experience. This course is designed to provide you with the skills needed to be a successful project manager in today’s rapidly changing world. The skills and knowledge you gain in this course will help you avoid making costly mistakes and increase your competitive edge in the project management profession.

Course Objectives:

In this 3-day course, you will apply recognized practices of project management to manage a project from start to finish.

You will:

  • Identify the basic concepts of project management.
  • Launch a project.
  • Estimate project work.
  • Create a project schedule.
  • Plan project costs.
  • Plan for project risks.
  • Plan for project quality and compliance.
  • Manage human and physical resources for the project.
  • Manage project procurements.
  • Plan for change management and monitor the project scope.
  • Monitor and optimize project schedule and cost.
  • Monitor the quality of the project work and the risks involved.
  • Plan communication strategies and manage stakeholder relationships.
  • Close a project.

Target Student:

This course is designed for any individual who might need to perform project management activities in their job role on either a formal or informal basis, or any individual who wants to build upon their current project management knowledge to be more productively involved on a project team.

This course is not specifically designed for students who are seeking project management-related certification. Rather, it is designed to introduce a structure to help students more effectively manage projects as well as participate fully on a project team.

Prerequisites:

To ensure your success in this course, you should be familiar with basic project management concepts and have some working experience with project management. Experience with a specific project management software tool is not required. Basic computing skills and some experience using Microsoft® Office is desirable but not required.

You can obtain this level of skills and knowledge by taking the following Logical Operations courses:

  • Microsoft® Office Word 2016: Part 1
  • Microsoft® Office Excel® 2016: Part 1

Course-specific Technical Requirements

Hardware:

For this course, you will need one computer for each student and one for the instructor. Each computer will need the following minimum hardware configurations:

  • 1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
  • 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
  • 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
  • CD-ROM drive (if installing any software from a CD-ROM)
  • Keyboard and mouse (or other pointing device)
  • 1,024 x 768 resolution monitor recommended
  • Network cards and cabling for local network access
  • Internet access (contact your local network administrator)
  • Printer (optional) or an installed printer driver
  • Projection system to display the instructor’s computer screen

Software:

  • Any current version of Microsoft® Windows®
  • Microsoft® Office Word 2016
  • Microsoft® Office Excel® 2016
  • If necessary, software for viewing the course slides. (Instructor machine only.)

Course Content

Lesson 1: Getting Started with Project Management

 Topic A: Define Project Management Basics

 Topic B: Identify Influencing Factors

 Topic C: Define Project Management Certifications

Lesson 2: Launching Projects

 Topic A: How Organizations Choose the Right Project

 Topic B: Identify Project Stakeholders and Their Expectations

 Topic C: Authorize a Project

 Topic D: Identify the Project Scope

Lesson 3: Estimating Project Work

 Topic A: Develop a WBS

 Topic B: Identify the Relationships Between Work Packages

 Topic C: Identify Resources

 Topic D: Estimate Time

Lesson 4: Creating the Project Schedule

 Topic A: Develop a Project Schedule

 Topic B: Create a Schedule Baseline

Lesson 5: Planning Project Costs

 Topic A: Establish Project Costs

 Topic B: Establish the Cost Baseline

 Topic C: Reconcile Funding and Costs

Lesson 6: Planning for Risk

 Topic A: Create a Risk Management Plan

 Topic B: Identify Risks and Triggers

 Topic C: Analyze Risks

 Topic D: Develop a Risk Response Plan

Lesson 7: Planning for Quality and Compliance

 Topic A: Deliver the Desired Project Results

 Topic B: Verify Compliance Requirements

Lesson 8: Managing the Project Team

 Topic A: Plan Your Project Team

 Topic B: Assemble the Team

 Topic C: Develop the Team

 Topic D: Manage the Team

Lesson 9: Managing Project Procurements

 Topic A: Plan for Project Procurements

 Topic B: Obtain Responses from Vendors

 Topic C: Select the Right Vendor

 Topic D: Manage Vendors and Procurements

Lesson 10: Managing Change During Project Execution

 Topic A: Prepare for Project Execution

 Topic B: Manage Project Changes

 Topic C: Monitor the Project Scope

Lesson 11: Monitoring and Controlling the Schedule and Cost

 Topic A: Monitor and Control the Project Schedule

 Topic B: Optimize the Project Schedule

 Topic C: Monitor and Control the Project Cost

Lesson 12: Monitoring and Controlling Risk and Quality

 Topic A: Monitor and Control Risks

 Topic B: Put Quality Plans into Action

 Topic C: Control Project Quality

Lesson 13: Communicating and Reporting

 Topic A: Communicate During a Project

 Topic B: Distribute Project Information

 Topic C: Manage Stakeholder Relationships and Expectations

 Topic D: Report on Project Performance

Lesson 14: Closing the Project

 Topic A: Deliver the Final Product

 Topic B: Close Project Procurements

 Topic C: Close the Project

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