Introduction to Effective Project Management

This highly practical introductory course provides you with all the essential skills, tools and techniques that you''ll need to support you in your project management role. The course concentrates on the practical techniques that you can apply directly back to the workplace.

This course is focused on exploring the fundamental principles of successful project management and incorporates a number of easy to apply, effective tools and techniques that, when applied in the workplace, will allow the attendees to become more confident and competent in managing a project.

The terminology and principles used throughout this course are designed to reflect the current syllabus for APMP qualification.

Is it right for me?

This course is suitable for individuals who are:

    * New to the role of project manager and/or lack any formal training in the discipline of project management.
    * Looking to adopt a project approach to managing work or are setting up a Project Support Office.
    * On the first steps of achieving APMP accreditation.

What will I learn?

By the end of this course you will be able to:

    * Recognise when it is appropriate to adopt a ‘project’ approach to managing the workload.
    * Apply a simple lifecycle to a project to break it into easy to manage stages.
    * Clearly define the purpose of the project to avoid any ambiguity or unrealistic expectations being set.
    * Confidently plan, organise and document a project by using tools that add value to the management process.
    * Identify and manage risks proactively to minimise the impact of any deviations from the original plan.
    * Become more effective in monitoring and controlling by working in a competent and logical manner.
    * Understand what lessons can be learnt from managing work using a project approach.

What will it cover?

What is a Project?

    * Defining what we mean by project working and how it differs from the day job
    * Understanding the role of the project manager and other key stakeholders
    * Determining a structured approach to managing projects - the project life cycle
    * Understanding why projects fail - what to watch out for

Defining a Project

    * How to clearly define a project
    * Setting and agreeing objectives, scope and constraints
    * Understanding what questions to ask

Planning a Project

    * Exploring the basic planning tools and techniques used in planning a project including Gantt Charts and Critical Path Analysis
    * What documentation and data display methods are available to the project manager?
    * How to make time and cost estimates more credible and realistic
    * Simple risk management tools and techniques available to avoid surprises

Implementing a Project

    * How to monitor, track and control activities
    * What impact will changes have on the project?
    * Determine corrective actions to ensure the project remains on track
    * How to communicate the status of a project more effectively

Closing and Reviewing a Project

    * Measuring what actually happened against the plan
    * Learning lessons - both positive and negative
    * Closing down and moving on