Why attend this programme?

Imagine you get assigned to manage a project or participate in a project as a team member. You have heard a lot and may have read-up on project management but feel uncertain about how to structure the project, how to plan it effectively or how to take control over its implementation. Alternatively you may find yourself in project teams wondering (i) what exactly do people mean by ‘scope, schedule, cost and quality’, (ii) how do you measure success against those factors and (iii) how can you establish and deliver the expectations that have been set. In a world of continuous innovation and rapid change, where projects are increasingly viewed as “business-as-usual”, MCE’s new “Project Management Fundamentals®” equips you with: 

• the language and skill-set of project management 
• the competence to work effectively with project teams 
• the awareness of team dynamics so you can get the best out of yourself and your project team members  

Who should attend?

Anyone working in projects who: 

• has no project management experience and is being asked to coordinate project work 
• may have experience but hasn’t had formal training in project management 
• isn’t certified as a project manager 
• wishes to adopt a framework for organising their approach to managing projects  

How will you benefit?

After participating in this programme, you will be better able to: 

• Apply the “Best Practices” of project management 
• Be able to effectively define a project and successfully participate in its initiation 
• Create realistic project plans 
• Identify and manage project requirements, risks and stakeholders 
• Use the key elements of those project plans to successfully implement projects 
• Contribute in the monitoring and controlling of projects during their execution 
• Close projects and contribute in identifying lessons learned 
• Work more effectively in project teams  

What will you learn and practice?

Day 1

• Introductions 
• Introduction to Project Management 
• Initiating the Project 
• Project Organisation & Stakeholders: Workshop I: Stakeholders and their Requirements 
• Effective Planning – Project Scope: Workshop II: Creating a Project Charter 
• Effective Planning – Work Breakdown 
• Summary of the Day: Learning Log Completion 

Day 2

• Previous day Learning Logs review: Workshop III: Creating the WBS 
• Effective Planning – Schedule and Budget: Workshop IV: Scheduling and Budgeting 
• Managing Risks: Workshop V: Risk Identification 
• Executing and Controlling the project 
• Summary of the Day: Learning Log Completion 

Day 3

• Previous day Learning Logs review: Workshop V: Project Control 
• Defining Project Quality 
• Project Communications and Reporting: Workshop VI: Workshop on Communications 
• Working with Teams 
• Workshop VII: Workshop on Team Work 
• Closing the Project 
• Summary of the training: Learning Log Completion and next steps 

Exercises and activities

• Open discussions during the session to connect content with participants’ experiences and to ground content in actual practice – before each new section of the course and before each exercise 
• Small-group exercises with clear instructions and timetabled into the course – as a “first practice” for participants to identify how to put learned concepts into practice. 

Case studies

• A project management ‘case study’ to run through the full programme that includes an application exercise for each PM skill-set, including team management.

Tools, Instruments and Assessments

Pre

• Undertake a self-paced interactive learning module that captures the entire course in less than 12 slides or an interactive eLearning package of the overall PM framework – accessed via the LMS (learning management system) – that participants will complete in advance of the F2F session 
• Complete a manager and participant questionnaire – pre (one month before) and post (three months following attendance) – to assess skills in each of the ten skills sets 
• Scope a ‘personal case’ – a ½ A4 answering 5-7 questions that describes a real situation you have experienced or are experiencing and which the course will help you address. This will be your first point of application for learning from the programme 
• Read: A simple (not simplistic) PM article that will be referenced during the session 

During

• An introductory PM ‘project management case’ to which participants, working in small groups, apply the learning 
• Organise a group dinner on first day of the course, hosted by the course faculty and MCE course project manager, to enhance the participant experience, build the participant network, encourage deeper learning during the session and gain commitment to the post-course conference calls  

Post

• A manager and participant questionnaire – pre (one month before) and post (three months following attendance) – to assess skills learnt in the course, including the ten PM skills sets 
• Recommended: Two participant calls, 3 and 6 months following the session, to encourage and review application of learning, to share successes, to seek collegial support, to build a community of practice. These will be self-managed by participants 
• Tweet messages from MCE faculty every two weeks for two months.