Introduction to Project Management

Employees with essential Project Management skills are currently in high demand—research has shown that having these project management standards in place will significantly improve the probability of a project being successfully completed; however, when these protocols are absent, the probability of failure increases. As a result, companies now realize that project management plays a critical role in both the delivery of projects as well as the success of the overall organization. In this introductory overview of project management, students will explore a sample PM methodology as well as the industry standard concepts and body of knowledge to approach future projects with more knowledge and confidence.

Course Outline

• What are PMI® and PMBOK®?
• What is project and program management?
• Identifying the 3 constraints which impact project success
• The project life cycle – understanding project management process
• Understanding project environment
• Identifying types of project structures
• Determining effect of politics on projects

• Leader and influencer
• Team builder
• Communicator
• Negotiator
• Influencer and problem solver

• Phase overview
• Project due diligence
• Developing the business case for the project
• Project versus business risk
• Project selection

• Value of planning
• Forming the high-level project team
• Creating project plan
• Defining and validating project scope
• Project work breakdown structure (WBS)
• Statement of work (SOW)
• Determining project resources
• Developing project schedule
• Identifying project cost

• Phase overview
• Coordinating people and resources to carry out the plan
• Project team development
• Team structure/dynamics
• Understanding motivational theories
• Identifying appropriate management styles

• Understanding purpose of project control
• Dealing with change requests
• Controlling project by examining variances
• Crashing, fast tracking and resource leveling
• Computing earned value
• Measuring and controlling quality
• Evaluating project

• Close-out project contract & Close-out project plan

Learner Outcomes

• Describe the basic concepts, techniques, and knowledge areas of project management
• Describe a sample project management methodology and how to apply it within an organization
• Describe the key activities and tasks, which support this sample PM approach
• Identify key tools and templates used in managing projects