Course Overview
This project management fundamentals course will:
- Define what constitutes a project.
- Give an overview of the project management process.
- Outline the roles and responsibilities of the project lead.
- Review essential templates, tools, and project documents.
- Recommend methods for dealing with project creep.
- Offer ideas for increasing stakeholder buy-in and commitment during a project.
- Prepare participants to manage common issues project teams encounter.
Successful projects don’t just happen. They require careful thought, effective planning, and deliberate implementation. This online, instructor-led program uses a variety of exercises and activities to teach project management at an introductory level. Taught in three two-hour segments, the course covers the fundamentals anyone working on a project team should understand.
Segment one defines what constitutes a project, explains the benefits of a formal process, discusses project charters, and addresses steps for successfully launching an initiative. The second workshop segment takes a closer look at project charters and then discusses project planning, execution, timelines, and risks. The course’s final session reviews best practices for: addressing scope creep, creating a communication plan, maintaining buy-in, closing out a project, and avoiding common errors many project teams encounter.
Segment One Objectives
At this segment’s conclusion, participants should be able to:
- Differentiate a project from a program or other routine work responsibilities.
- Outline conditions that contribute to the success and failure of projects.
- Explain the importance of clearly defining a project, identifying sponsors, and generating buy-in.
- Outline the project manager’s roles and responsibilities.
- Discuss basic knowledge of which a project manager should have command.
- Gather project requirements.
- Identify key components of a project charter.
Segment One Modules
- Pen to Paper: Defining a Project
- Success or Failure: Outlining Common Causes
- At the Head: Exploring the Role of a Project Manager or Lead
- A Road Map and Guard Rails: Gathering Requirements
- The Project Charter: Writing It Down
Segment Two Objectives
At this segment’s conclusion, participants should be able to:
- Craft a project charter.
- Identify project resources.
- Determine methods for gathering requirements.
- Create a work breakdown structure.
- Create timelines, milestones, and deadlines.
- Identify common risks.
- Manage risks with various tools.
Segment Two Modules
- Your Turn: The Project Charter Continued
- Limited Resources: Managing What’s Available
- A Piece at a Time: Breaking Down the Work
- On Time and Track: Articulating Timelines, Milestones, and Deadlines
- What If…: Addressing Risk
Segment Three Objectives
At this segment’s conclusion, participants should be able to:
- Describe steps that promote accountability.
- Explain three areas of project creep and methods of handling each.
- Discuss communication tactics for improving the strength of a project.
- Suggests ideas for maintaining ongoing stakeholder buy-in and commitment.
- Describe project close-out activities.
- Provide tips and techniques for collecting lessons learned.
Segment Three Modules
- Feet to the Fire: Maintaining Accountability
- Coloring Within the Lines: Controlling the Creeps
- Broadcasting the Message: Communicating Effectively
- Hang in There: Encouraging Stakeholder Commitment
- How Did it Go?: Conducting the Postmortem
By this program’s conclusion, participants should understand the fundamentals of managing a successful project.