Improving Your Project Management Skills: The Basics for Success

This practical, hands-on workshop gives you a comprehensive grounding in project management knowledge, tools, and techniques across the full project life cycle.

Who Should Attend:

This seminar is well-suited for professionals new to project management, "accidental" project managers for whom PM is a secondary job function, business analysts, subject-matter experts from any field who contribute to projects, managers responsible for overseeing project work, and experienced project managers seeking to refresh and reinforce their skills.

As competition intensifies across every industry, organizations are taking on more projects than ever, often without sufficiently skilled project managers to lead them effectively. In this seminar, you will practice the critical tools and techniques that have been proven to drive project success. Through lectures, discussions, and hands-on exercises, you will cover the essential elements of managing projects from initiation to close.

Although this course aligns with the Project Management Institute (PMI) framework, it is specifically designed to emphasize practical application over theory. You will leave with the knowledge and tools to launch your projects correctly and bring them to successful completion.

How You Will Benefit:

• Set your projects up for success right from the start
• Learn effective methods for gathering and documenting requirements
• Clarify the distinct roles of the project manager, business analyst, and other contributors
• Build an integrated project plan that covers scope, schedules, budgets, and risks, then execute that plan with confidence
• Track and report project progress in a clear, professional manner
• Earn the trust of your project team and build credibility with senior leadership

What You Will Cover:

An Overview of Key Project Management Concepts

Discussion of foundational concepts, terminology, and roles, including:

• The project triangle
• What defines a "project"
• The five core PM process groups

Initiating the Project

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

Identifying the Work

• Building a work breakdown structure (WBS) based on the charter and product requirements
• Assigning ownership to individual tasks

Estimating the Work

• Industry best practices for developing realistic estimates

Scheduling the Work

• Creating precedence (network logic) diagrams to map task dependencies
• Producing Gantt charts to visualize project timelines
• Determining the critical path and calculating float

Creating the Budget

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

Course Outline:

• The Project Management Framework
• Initiate the Project
• Identify the Work
• Estimate the Work
• Schedule the Work
• Create the Budget
• Complete the Plan
• Execute the Plan
• Close the Project