Introduction

This course equips participants with essential project planning and control skills. It covers creating project scope statements, developing Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), establishing performance indicators for schedule and budget monitoring, and applying capital budgeting techniques for project feasibility. Participants will also learn to effectively engage stakeholders and manage their expectations.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Plan projects using a Statement of Work (SOW) and Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Schedule project activities and build a project network model
• Calculate project budgets and schedule variances using Earned Value (EV) techniques
• Select the right projects using capital budgeting techniques
• Engage and communicate effectively with project stakeholders

Target Audience

• Project Managers
• Members of Project Management Offices (PMOs)
• Project Sponsors
• Functional Managers
• Senior Management
• Individuals interested in project management

Course Outline (5 Days)

Day 1 – Planning Projects

• Projects versus operations
• Project management definitions
• Managing project constraints
• Applications and benefits of project management
• Project life cycle
• Project charter, scope statement, specifications
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and project decomposition

Day 2 – Scheduling Projects

• Linking activities and WBS sequencing
• Predecessor sequencing techniques
• Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
• Critical Path Method (CPM)
• Forward and backward scheduling
• Gantt chart and milestone chart
• Slack management and schedule compression techniques
• Resource planning and leveling

Day 3 – Organizing and Controlling Projects

• Project organization and control
• Earned Value Management (EVM)
• Schedule and budget variances
• Schedule and cost performance indexes
• Project management reporting and auditing
• Role of software in project management

Day 4 – Selecting Projects Using Capital Budgeting

• Definition of capital budgeting
• Accounting Rate of Return (ARR)
• Payback Period (PP)
• Net Present Value (NPV)
• Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

Day 5 – Managing Project Stakeholders

• Identifying stakeholders and their types
• Managing stakeholder engagement
• Project manager skills for negotiation and communication