Project Management: Beyond the Basics

Projects are always completed for a customer, whether internal or external to your organization. A good project manager must anticipate their customers’ ongoing needs and adjust to inevitable changes that occur on a regular basis. This power-packed course covers all the fundamentals of project management, and then goes beyond. You’ll learn how to flex, adapt, and reschedule—and still finish on time.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the project process and lifecycle
• Set project goals and action plans.
• Use standard methods to prepare for projects.
• Learn practical scheduling tools to map project paths.
• Anticipate external factors.
• Manage project changes, personnel, and conflicts.
• Meet customer expectations.
• Manage expected and unexpected risks.
• Monitor and control project execution.
• Evaluate project effectiveness and adjust to project changes.

Course Agenda

1. Set accurate targets combining the elements of schedule, technical performance, cost, and customer expectations.
2. Structure a winning project team that is supportive and communicates well.
3. Identify key expectations of the project stakeholders.
4. Anticipate customer needs that will alter project plans.
5. Learn how to make adjustments without affecting your budget or timeline.
6. Keep team members productive, motivated, and performance-based.
7. Understand conflict that can and most likely will take place during any project.
8. Teach your team how to handle necessary changes without throwing them off track.
9. Learn the “Partnering Process” of executing projects with a higher degree of success.
10. Avoid conflicting objectives.
11. Provide useful feedback to keep your team enthused and results-oriented.
12. Use a practical approach to risk management and project uncertainty.
13. Spot potential “bugs” in your plan that may affect project tasks, deadlines, or costs.
14. Develop contingency plans for potential problems.
15. Handle staff turnover and project setbacks without falling behind.
16. Learn how to manage crisis without disrupting the flow of your projects.
17. Use deliberate steps to turnaround a project that has fallen “off track.”