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Project Management Training Course

This course is currently delivered face-to-face or live online with our expert facilitators

A one day Project Management Training Course

Whether you’re planning the rollout of a new IT System or a holiday to the Bahamas, you will carry out the basic tasks involved in managing any project. So how should you do it?

Project management is something that most people do without even realizing it.

It’s possible to plan a project using a complex project management system, or the back of an envelope. It’s a case of finding the most appropriate method for your project. The real skill comes in bringing the project to a successful conclusion and to do that you need to have everyone on board, pulling their weight and communicating effectively with each other.

So on this project management training course, although we include some elements of the process, like critical path analysis and post completion reviews, the main focus is on the people management skills.

Project Management Training Course in London

Learning Outcomes

As a result of attending this project management training course you will:

  • Understand a generic project management process
  • Recognise critical elements of project implementation
  • Be able to set well defined project outcome
  • Know how to motivate yourself and others to deliver the project
  • Be able to use creative thinking techniques to overcome barriers
  • Be able to give effective feedback to project members when things are going well and when they are not
  • Improve your ability to bring projects to a successful completion
  • Recognise your own strengths as a project manager

Here is a selection of exercises from the programme:

  • Your Project
  • The Project Managers Role and You
  • Setting Project Objectives
  • Perfect Project Plans
  • Critical Paths
  • Detailed Project Planning
  • Motivating the Project Team
  • Project Communications
  • Generating Ideas
  • Making Decisions
  • Monitoring Progress
  • Giving Feedback
  • Post Completion Reviews
  • Selling Your Projects Success

To book an in-house project management training course please contact us today. If you are hoping to book onto a public course, we recommend taking a look at our Strategic Planning course.

Book your place today!

Want to know more about our Project Management Course?

If a project is going to deliver a great result on time and on budget, it’s a good idea to pay attention to some key project management practices.

On this course we don’t adhere to (or cover) any particular project management tool (such as PRINCE) or philosophy (for example, Agile). Instead we  look at those important things that most projects have in common, regardless of tool or philosophy.

A Project

All projects have a beginning, a middle and an end. It is that that differentiates them from ‘Business As Usual’ – ongoing tasks that are part of normal day-to-day operations.

Some people work predominantly on a project basis. Others perform more routine tasks with the occasional project. Either way a common set of project management principles apply.

The scope of a project lays out the boundaries of what you are trying to achieve – what you are working towards. But there are other parameters that contribute to determining what it is possible to accomplish and by when. We like to talk about the triangle of quality, time, and resources in relation to the scope of a project. If you change one thing, others often have to change too to retain the balance. So, if you alter the scope, you may have to alter the timescale, resource or quality of the end product. Alternatively, if you bring forward the end point, you may have to bring in extra resources. Or come up with a creative solution or innovation in how you deliver – more of this later.

How will you know when you’ve finished?

Defining the endpoint of a project is crucial. So many projects run late because the result is not quite perfect and, with a bit more time and effort, the team could get closer to the ideal.

A clear definition of the end criteria can help. Sometimes that will be achieving a particular deliverable to a stated standard. In other circumstances, a project manager will define an endpoint as whatever they can achieve by a certain time or budget – based on best endeavours.

The clearer the definition of the endpoint the more likely it is that the project will deliver on time and on budget.

Your Project Team

Some projects are more complex than others. Some projects rely heavily on the input of a vast range of people, while others rely on one person to get them done.

Identifying your project team and their role in the project is essential. We use our DICE model to bring a bit of structure to this bit of the process. It helps to define the roles of different members of the project team and who needs to know what, why and by when. It comes in handy when you’re designing the project communications plan.

The Importance of Contingency

The best-laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley

Budgets should always have some leeway in them for the things you have forgotten, the disasters that emerge, or the miscommunication that often happens along the way. Being clear about the risks involved in the project and then building in appropriate contingency means that things are more likely to run according to plan.

Alongside that, letting the people responsible for various tasks know what the budget is for their part is always a good idea and the sooner the better. Preferably before they go too far down the path of constructing a Rolls Royce solution to your problem.

Critical Paths

In laying out a project plan there will often be a natural sequence of events that have to happen. Some can happen at any time, independently of anything else, others are dependent on earlier tasks being completed. For example, you can only tile your bathroom after the plastering has been done, not before. The inter-relationship of different events allows the construction of a critical path – the minimum time needed for execution of a project.

Delays in projects are often caused by a failure on the critical path or, more basically, a failure to recognise that there is a critical path and to communicate it to others involved in the project.

If I don’t know that the report you are waiting on from me is on the critical path for your project, I may not give it the attention and priority it deserves.

So communicating with your project team around critical deliverables is essential. Combining critical path thinking with the DICE model earlier can make it much clearer to see who needs to know what and when.

Problem Solving

It’s almost inevitable that a project will, at some stage, come up against a problem.
At this point, if what you are doing isn’t working, then logically, you need to do something else. The trouble is that the alternative isn’t always obvious.

Our brains are accustomed to following paths of thought that have worked for us in the past. It can be difficult to tread a new path, so we go round in circles in our thoughts.

The idea of our creative thinking exercises is to break out of the pattern of thinking and start from a new point. New creative or innovative solutions often emerge. And we just love the exercises!

Decision Making

One of the things that often holds projects up is a reluctance by the project manager or by one of the stakeholders to make decisions. Decision paralysis can scupper a project. Making no decision can be worse than making a less-than-perfect one. We have several tools that can break the deadlock and help with timely decision-making.

Project Communications

Communication can make or break a project. Having a plan that incorporates the DICE tool and critical path analysis, along with regular review meetings and cascade processes is essential.

Giving timely feedback (using the Aspire feedback toolkit) will help enormously – both in addressing issues as they arise and in encouraging those who are doing well.

Monitoring Progress

If all is going well on your project, monitoring progress is fairly straightforward.  Unfortunately, projects rarely run strictly according to plan.

Knowing the usual pitfalls and common solutions from previous similar projects can be helpful – either from your own experience or from other project managers.

Post-project reviews are really helpful in this respect. Especially when they focus on what went right as well as what went wrong. Lessons can be learned from both.

If you pay attention to these things, hopefully, you will produce that beautiful but rare beast – a project that delivers the desired outcome on time and on budget.