Workshop Description - 2 or 3 days in length

This comprehensive course covers the broad range of skills needed to plan and manage projects of all types and sizes. Essential Skills for Managing Projects is ideal for project managers, subproject leaders, team members and project stakeholders. Experienced project managers as well as new project managers will benefit by learning through application of CORE PM (Collaborative, Organized, Results-Focused, Easy) methodology in an interactive case-study-based exercise:

Based on The Project Management Memory Jogger, a pocket guide for project teams.

Aligned with the internationally accepted standards outlined in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), Project Management Institute, Inc.

Course Objectives

In this course, participants learn a simple, powerful, collaborative method to organize, plan, and manage projects from beginning to end using proven techniques to efficiently and effectively define project plans and progress. Participants will:

  • Create a project charter
  • Define the scope of the project, project deliverables and acceptance criteria
  • Create a work breakdown structure (WBS) with clear accountability
  • Develop schedules: interdependent and milestones
  • Create a project budget & project effort estimate
  • Assess risk and develop responses to reduce risk in a fun, credible, and creative way 
  • Manage project change to prevent scope creep, project progress and issue project status reports
  • Closeout the project 

Table of Contents

Instruction ModulesTopics
Introduction
  • Overview and Key Terms
  • Ground Rules
  • PM Process Overview
1. Initiation: Project Management Overview & The Charter
  • Project vs Operations
  • Charter
  • Roles, Responsibilities
  • Brainstorming
  • Project Problems
  • PM Process Overview
2. Planning: Working with the Team
  • Kickoff Meeting
  • Parking Lot
  • Issues List
3. Planning: Project Scope
  • Scope Description
  • SMART Acceptance Criteria
  • Deliverables Table
  • Interim Deliverables
  • Project Boundaries Analysis
  • Work Breakdown Structure
4. Planning: Project Risk 
  • Project Risk Definitions
  • Project Risk Analysis - Scope, Schedule, Cost
  • Advanced Project Risk Analysis
5. Planning: Team Membership
  • Team Membership Analysis
6. Planning: Scheduling
  • Project Schedule Definitions
  • Milestone Schedule
  • Deliverables Schedule
  • Schedule Risk Analysis
  • Contingency
  • Quality Plan
  • Scheduling Software
7. Planning: Effort & Cost
  • Effort Estimate
  • Cost Estimate
  • Procurement Plan
  • Communication Plan
  • Organizational Change Management
  • Project Change Management
  • Assemble the Plan
  • Project Management Plan / Leadership Summary
  • Project Planning Checklist
8. Execution
  • Project Team Meetings
  • Project Status Report
  • Meeting Evaluation
  • Customer Sponsor Review Meeting
9. Closeout
  • Customer Sponsor Satisfaction & Feedback Survey
  • Lessons Learned
  • Project Closeout Report
  • Final Project Status Report
Worksheets
  • Project Worksheets 

Who Should Attend

This workshop is designed for:

  • Project managers
  • Subproject leaders
  • Project team members
  • Project stakeholders

Essential Skills for Managing Projects includes a participant workbook and a copy of The Griffin Tate Group's best-selling book, The Project Management Memory Jogger™.