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Levels of Service. Inquire or Register.Project Management Essentials. Whether the project requires putting space
travelers on Mars, or developing a new software package, certain project fundamentals
must be followed. The participants in this session will learn these fundamentals
and how to apply them to a mock project. The session will incorporate discussion
on how to apply these fundamentals to projects that participants have experienced
or are currently experiencing. During the session each of the seven major project
management activities are examined in terms of what is likely to "go wrong"
and how to avoid these pitfalls. The benefits are lower cost implementation and on-time
delivery!
These topics have emerged from years of project management experience.
Start Cues.
In the project design, start cues are established that
begin a process or procedure. Either a specifically defined event or the calendar
may provide the initiating trigger. In either case, action results. Project managers
must understand the pitfalls of missed Start Cues resulting from confusion, or hesitation
caused from competence or confidence. These and other equally difficult project management
concerns must be recognized and overcome in order to launch action at precisely the
right point in the project design.
Team Development.
Personal style preferences cause people who must
work well together to differ in their opinions about design implications, urgency,
and implementation priorities (among other considerations). To be effective project
managers, understanding and effectively dealing with the human element is critical
to success. These sensitive issues must be dealt with early-on to achieve a smooth
project launch.
Document Creation and Management.
All projects require document
creation and management. Understanding the document flow is essential. Of equal importance
is understanding and acting appropriately on the measures designed into document
flow by the project design team. The "paperwork" provides the metrics that
trigger a wide range of activities designed to keep the project on time and on budget,
among other things.
Activities.
Activities are completed under a variety of identifiable
conditions. Each condition has an advantage and a shortcoming. Knowing these will
carefully allow the project management team to optimize the results of activity throughout
the project period. Embedded within activities are the full range of human dynamics
that spell project success or potential failure. Yet many simultaneous activities
will occur in isolation and appear disconnected. Other activities will unfold as
"committees" work with all the difficulty and strengths that emerge from
a group effort.
Resource Management.
Money, and what it can buy, provides the energy
necessary for progress. Managing money, schedules, materials and the host of other
resource concerns can spell success or failure. There will be a constant tug between
acceptable quality levels within resource constraints. The trade-off between the
demands of adhering to schedule and the demands of avoiding having to redo incomplete
work will always haunt the project. The project management team will have to balance
these concerns carefully.
Decisions.
Project decision-making is very difficult to design properly.
Most work flow diagrams reduce decision making to Yes/No simplicity while the "real
world" of project implementation is rarely this clear. Project design normally
incorporates the "authority" for a specific person to make the decision.
Yet deferred, consensual, democratic and even concordant decisions are often called
for at different times and under a wide range of conditions. Clarifying decision
making options and adjusting those options when required is critical to efficiency
and effectiveness.
Stop Cues.
One of the hardest elements to recognize in many long
term projects is the Stop Cue. Too often processes and procedures are stopped before
they are completed or prolonged beyond common sense. Either case produces wasteful
results. Stopping prior to completion will only cause an interruption or costly "restart"
later in the project, or protract activities beyond the resources available or planned
during project design.
Tuition: $195 per participant (minimum
of 15 participants per session).
Duration: One-day (longer configurations
can be designed to cover added depth or meet specific client requirements)
Materials:
Three ring binder. Transcribed copy of all materials produced during the session.
Location:
Quality of WorkLife Center or an alternative negotiated location.
Agenda:
Tailored to meet the needs of the client and participants.
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