Project Management

Project Management Certificate Program

• Traditional Classroom: 5-day
• Virtual Instructor-led: Ten 3-hr sessions

This foundational course is aligned with A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) — Seventh Edition, by the Project Management Institute (PMI^®). It begins with an overview of the practice of project management and covers the people, processes, and business environment particular to project management. Participants will learn how projects and their life cycles fit within the goals, structure, and culture of an organization and how to ensure projects deliver value. Both agile and predictive approaches are addressed throughout the course and used in activities. Through case studies and hands-on activities, participants will experience running a project from initiation to closure. The case studies used include planning a fundraiser race event and completing an environmentally friendly seaside resort hotel.

Target Audience

The course is designed for participants who have at least 1-2 years of project work experience, including:

• Project team members, project managers, and managers of project managers who are looking to establish a solid command of project management concepts and techniques
• Experienced project managers who are looking to formalize their project management knowledge and sharpen their current skill sets
• Individuals interested in entering the field of project management

Learning Objectives

• Utilize project management terminology and concepts effectively.
• Develop a business case for a project.
• Initiate a project with a vision statement and a project charter.
• Select a project life cycle and development approach.
• Create a project roadmap.
• Organize scope with a WBS and a backlog.
• Create a network diagram to show the flow of work.
• Estimate effort, duration, and cost using multiple techniques.
• Identify the critical path on a project.
• Compress a project schedule.
• Describe how critical thinking, stewardship, and emotional intelligence are used in projects.
• Allocate resources to project work.
• Identify and analyze project stakeholders.
• Develop a communications plan.
• Identify, analyze, prioritize, and respond to threats.
• Calculate the expected monetary value in an uncertain environment.
• Calculate risk-adjusted cost estimates.
• Identify methods to verify and validate deliverables.
• Apply alternatives analysis to make decisions.
• Practice resolving conflicts.
• Analyze project performance using earned value measurements.
• Develop a project dashboard.

Course Outline

Part One: Project Management Fundamentals and Project Start-Up

• PMO Terminology and Concepts
• PMO-Related Standards/Group
• PMO Success and Failure Factors
• PMO Benefits and Challenges

• Lesson 1: Project Management Fundamentals
  • Delivering Value
  • Progressive Elaboration
  • Competing Constraints
  • Tailoring
  • Individual Activity: Project Management Fundamentals Learning Assessment
• Lesson 2: Before the Project
  • Authorizing a Project
  • Aligning Projects with Business Strategy
  • Differentiate Between Benefits, Value, and Outcome
  • Financial Metrics — Present Value, Net Present Value, Payback Period, Return on Investment
  • The Business Case
    • Group Activity: Developing a Business Case
• Lesson 3: Project Origination
  • The Role of the Sponsor
  • Starting the Project — Project Vision Statement and Charter
    • Group Activity: Develop a Vision Statement
    • Group Activity: Develop a Project Charter
• Lesson 4: Project Life Cycles
  • Differentiate Between Life Cycles, Development Approaches, and Delivery Cadences
  • Development Approaches — Predictive, Iterative, Incremental, Adaptive, and Hybrid
  • Agile Values and Principles
  • Group Activity: Select a Development Approach and Life Cycle

Part Two: Planning and Estimating

• Lesson 5: Planning Overview
  • When and How Much to Plan
  • The Project Management Plan
  • Project Artifacts
  • Defining Project Milestones
  • Group Activity: Develop a Project Roadmap
• Lesson 6: Project Scope
  • Eliciting Requirements
  • Documenting Requirements Information
  • Organizing and Prioritizing Scope
    • Group Activity: Organize Work with a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
    • Group Activity: Prioritize Work with a Backlog
• Lesson 7: Scheduling Part I
  • Define Basic Scheduling Terminology
  • Project Network Diagrams and Sequencing Activities
    • Group Activity: Create a Network Diagram
    • Using a Kanban Board to Manage Work
• Lesson 8: Estimating
  • Effort vs. Duration
  • Types of Resources Used on Projects
  • Components of the Project Budget
  • Calculating Effort and Duration Estimates
  • Resource and Cost Estimating Methods
    • Individual Activity: Perform Project Estimates
• Lesson 9: Scheduling Part II
  • Define Scheduling Terminology
  • Precedence Diagramming and Identifying the Critical Path
    • Group Activity: Calculate the Critical Path
    • Individual Activity: Compress a Schedule Using Crashing
  • Components of a Release Plan
  • Calculating Estimated Velocity
  • Individual Activity: Schedule Practice

Part Three: People

• Lesson 10: Project Leadership
  • What Does Leadership Mean in a Project Environment?
  • The Importance of Self-Awareness in Leadership
    • Individual Activity: Recognizing Bias
  • Using Critical Thinking
  • The Leader's Role in Stewardship and Ethics
    • Group Activity: The Intersection of Stewardship and Ethics
  • Emotional Intelligence
    • Individual Activity: Emotional Intelligence Quiz
• Lesson 11: Working with the Project Team
  • Project Roles and Responsibilities
  • Organizing Team Members
    • Group Activity: Develop a Responsibility Assignment Matrix
  • Motivation Factors
  • Establishing a Productive Team Culture
  • Actions to Build a High-Performing Team
• Lesson 12: Engaging Project Stakeholders
  • The Impact Stakeholders Have on Projects
  • Identifying, Analyzing, and Prioritizing Stakeholders
  • Stakeholder Engagement
    • Group Activity: Create a Stakeholder Register and Perform Stakeholder Analysis
• Lesson 13: Project Communication
  • Key Concepts in Communication
  • Planning Project Communications
    • Group Activity: Develop a Communication Plan
  • Effective and Detrimental Communication Behaviors
  • Project Meetings — Types, Purposes, and Formats
    • Group Activity: Conduct a Team Retrospective
    • Individual Activity: Communication Worksheet

Part Four: Uncertainty

• Lesson 14: Working with Uncertainty
  • Uncertainty in the Project Environment
  • Identifying, Prioritizing, and Analyzing Project Risks
    • Probability and Impact Matrix
    • Group Activity: Document Project Risks
    • Group Activity: Prioritizing Project Risks
  • Quantitative Risk Analysis
    • Calculating Expected Monetary Value (EMV)
    • Decision Trees
    • Group Activity: Quantify Uncertainty
    • Establishing Reserves
  • Developing Risk Responses
    • Group Activity: Develop Risk Responses
  • Adaptive Methods of Working with Risk

Part Five: Value Delivery

• Lesson 15: Project Work
  • Identifying Quality Principles and Quality Metrics
  • Verification and Validation
    • Requirements Traceability Matrix
    • Group Activity: Select a Verification Method

• Lesson 15: Project Work (cont.)
  • Conducting Procurements
    • Contract Types
    • Individual Activity: Calculate Contract Costs
  • Working with Change
• Lesson 16: Leading the Project Team
  • Creating a Safe Environment for the Project Team
  • Using a Decision-Making Framework
    • Using a RACI Chart for Decision Making
    • Alternatives Analysis
    • Group Activity: Apply a Decision-Making Framework
  • Problem-Solving Methods
  • Resolving Conflict
  • Managing Information and Knowledge on the Project
• Lesson 17: Measurement and Reporting
  • Identifying Predictive Project Measures
    • Earned Value Management
    • Group Activity: Perform an Earned Value Analysis
  • Identifying Adaptive Project Measures
    • Lead Time, Cycle Time, Burn Charts, Velocity
  • Developing a Project Forecast
  • Presenting Project Information
    • Project Dashboards and Big Visible Charts
    • Group Activity: Create a Reporting Dashboard
• Lesson 18: Project Closure
  • Preparing to Transition the Project
  • Lessons Learned
  • Producing the Final Project Report
  • The Importance of Acknowledgement
  • Program Summary and Next Steps

MDP2020 Course Code