Improving Your Project Management Skills: The Basics for Success

Build a solid, practical foundation in project management knowledge, tools, and techniques through this hands-on workshop that takes you through every phase of the project life cycle.

As organizations take on more complex work with tighter timelines and limited resources, the need for skilled project managers has never been greater. This seminar delivers the essential tools and techniques proven to drive project success, taught through a combination of lectures, discussion, and hands-on exercises. While the course is aligned with the Project Management Institute's (PMI) framework, it is deliberately designed to emphasize practical application over theoretical knowledge. You will return to your organization ready to manage projects effectively from day one.

Who Should Attend:

• Individuals who are new to project management
• Accidental project managers, meaning professionals for whom project management is a secondary part of their role
• Business analysts, subject-matter experts, managers with project responsibilities, and experienced project managers looking to reinforce and refresh their skills

How You Will Benefit:

• Set up your projects for success from the very start
• Learn the fundamentals of gathering and documenting requirements effectively
• Understand the distinct roles of the project manager, business analyst, and other contributors
• Develop an integrated project plan that includes realistic scope, schedules, budgets, and risk assessments, then turn that plan into successful results
• Learn how to track and communicate project progress clearly and consistently
• Build credibility with your project team and earn the confidence of senior management

What You Will Cover

An Overview of Key Project Management Concepts

Foundational discussion of key concepts, terminology, and roles, including:

• The project triangle and how it governs every project decision
• The definition of a project and how it differs from ongoing operations
• The five core PM process groups

Initiating the Project:

• Creating a project charter and connecting it to the business case
• Gathering and documenting requirements with rigor
• Setting clear expectations with customers, sponsors, and team members

Identifying the Work:

• Building the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) based on the charter and product requirements
• Assigning clear ownership to each task

Estimating the Work:

• Applying industry best practices to create realistic, defensible estimates

Scheduling the Work:

• Creating precedence diagrams to show task dependencies visually
• Building Gantt charts to map project timelines clearly
• Determining the critical path and calculating float

Creating the Budget:

• Estimating and tracking personnel costs and out-of-pocket expenses

Outline

The Project Management Framework

• Define the Basic Project Management Framework
• Describe Key Project Management Terminology
• Explain the Triple Constraints of the Project Triangle
• Differentiate Between Operations and Projects
• Describe Project Management in a Business Context

Initiate the Project:

• Describe How Projects Are Initiated Within Organizations
• Describe the Difference Between Project Requirements and Product Requirements
• Explain the Purpose and Key Content of the Project Charter
• Describe the Purpose and Content of the Product Requirements Document
• Apply the SMART Model When Writing Requirements
• Identify Effective Information-Gathering Techniques

Identify the Work:

• Discuss the Purpose and Structure of a Kick-Off Meeting
• Develop a Work Breakdown Structure

Estimate the Work:

• Apply Guidelines for Making Better, More Accurate Estimates
• Explain the Use of Three-Point Estimating

Schedule the Work:

• Describe Task Dependencies and Their Impact on the Schedule
• Sequence Tasks Using Precedence Diagramming
• Develop the Project Schedule with Milestones and Deliverables

Create the Budget:

• Determine the Personnel Costs Required for Project Success
• Determine Expense Costs Required for Project Success
• Differentiate Between Bottom-Up and Top-Down Cost Planning and Identify When Each Is Appropriate

Complete the Plan:

• Create the Project Communications Plan
• Describe the Project Risk Management Process
• Explain the Purpose of the Procurement Plan
• Discuss the Role of Reserves in Project Budgeting

Execute the Plan:

• Create a Clear and Useful Project Status Report
• Identify the Key Indicators of Project Health
• Describe How to Run an Effective Project Status Meeting
• Describe the Change Management Process and Why It Matters

Close the Project:

• Identify the Elements of Administrative and Contractual Closure
• Describe the Different Ways Projects Can Be Concluded or Terminated
• Explain the Importance of Capturing Lessons Learned and Maintaining a Project Repository