No
man is wise enough by himself.
-- Plautus
This
course is designed to help managers and facilitators better coordinate
their project teams. Participants
will learn effective ways to help project teams set and achieve
challenging time, cost and performance targets.
The focus of this course is not only teaching these skills, but
also teaching participants to transfer their learned skills to their
team members. After completion of this course, facilitators will be able to
help their project teams plan, schedule, and control their project more
effectively.
Learning Objectives
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Learn
the interpersonal and process skills required for successful
facilitation of project teams.
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Understand
a model for successful project management and then facilitate this
process for individuals and teams in the organization.
-
Learn
the key elements in a scope document and how to help teams create
effective documents.
-
Learn
how to facilitate the identification of critical issues and how
this helps clarify scope and do a more comprehensive job of
planning.
-
Learn
three different methods for planning projects and how to help
individuals and team develop plans.
-
Learn
how to help identify resources for planning as well as how time
estimating turns plans into schedules.
-
Learn
when and how to use tools such as Gantt, CPM, PERT, PDM and Linked
Bar Charts.
-
Learn
about tracking and controlling during implementation and how to
adapt to a dynamic environment.
-
Learn
a methodology for reducing project schedules and how to facilitate
this process.
-
Receive
a model for conducting effective project status meetings.
-
Learn
about successful HR management strategies as well as how to take
on different leadership styles as a facilitator in different
project situations.
-
Receive a model for improving project methods.
-
Receive
a tool for assessing projects in the organization.
-
Receive
an instrument for assessing risk and determining contingency plans
and mitigation measures.
- Receive
a model to enhance project communication.
Audience
This
course is particularly effective for Project Managers who need to
develop facilitative skills to be more effective in their role, Project
Team Members who someday want to be a Project Manager, and individuals
charged with starting up a project office within an organization.
Course Outline
Introduction
to Project Management Facilitation
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The
Role of the Project Management Facilitator
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Key
Project Management Roles
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Expected
Benefits |
Step One:
Select Project
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Selecting
Projects
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Facilitating
Project Selection – The Grid Approach
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Project
Prioritization Grid
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Facilitation
Practice: How to facilitate a group in selecting a project |
Step Two:
Initialize Project
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What
Is A Scope Document?
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When
To Write A Scope Document
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How
To Write A Scope Document
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Scope
Document – Terms And Definitions
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The
First Step: Stating
Specific Goals
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Facilitating
Scope Definition – Hints, Tips And Techniques
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Scope
Document Examples
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Facilitation
Practice: How to work with project sponsors in developing a
scope document |
Step Three:
Develop Critical Issues and Project Organization Structure
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Defining
Critical Issues
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Example
Critical Issues
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Facilitating Critical Issue Identification
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Resolving
Critical Issues – Hints, Tips & Tricks
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Creating
Teams & Subteams
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Critical
Issues Template
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Team
Summary Table Template
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Group
Process Exercise: How to facilitate a group using the Nominal
Group Technique
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Facilitation
Practice: Skills practice in facilitating a project team
developing
critical project issues |
Step Four:
Develop Top Tier, Logic Driver Work Breakdown Structure
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Terms
& Definitions
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Nine
Step Planning Process
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Creating
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
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Strategies
For Planning Projects
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Phase/Gate
Systems For Project Management
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Hints,
Tips & Tricks |
Step Five:
Complete Project Risk Analysis
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Facilitating
Potential Problem Analysis
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Potential
Problem Analysis Examples
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Potential
Problem Analysis Form
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Facilitation
Practice: Facilitating a team going through a Potential Problem
Analysis |
Step Six:
Develop Detailed Project Plans
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Task
Dependencies
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Task
Relationships
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Benefits
And Use Of Gantt
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Creating
Gantt Charts
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Benefits
And Use Of Network Diagrams
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Network
Diagrams And The Six Block Method
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Time
Estimating
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Resource
Loading And Leveling
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Resource
Planning Worksheets
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Facilitation
Practice: Leading a
team in developing a project schedule |
Step Seven: Finalize
Project Economics
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Cost
Management Overview
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Project
Status Reports |
Step Eight:
Develop Communications Plan
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Communication
And The Project Manger
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Identifying
Key Stakeholders
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Facilitating
Communication
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Communication
Plan Examples
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Developing
A Communication Strategy
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Facilitation
Practice: Helping team members develop a project
communication
plan |
Step Nine:
Reach Consensus on Project Scope, Plan and Economics
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Value
In Reducing Project Time
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Facilitating
Schedule Compression
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Compressing
The Critical Path – Fast Tracking The Project
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Facilitation
Practice: How to facilitate a project compression session |
Step Ten: Implement,
Track and Control
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Project
Scheduler/Controller Role:
Tracking And Controlling Projects
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Tracking
And Controlling Projects
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Tracking/Controlling
The Short Term Future With Project Management Software
(MSP 98)
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Milestone,
Slack And Baseline
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Baseline
Changes
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Filters
– A Tool For Analyzing, Troubleshooting And Tracking A Project
Plan
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Troubleshooting
The Plan
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Views
And Tables In Ms Project
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Facilitation
Practice: How to facilitate the process of adjusting project
schedules |
Step Eleven:
Close Project
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Punch
List
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Lessons
Learned
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Closure
Process Example |
Step Twelve:
Post Project Assessment
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Key
Success Factors
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Characteristics
Of World Class Project Management |
Situational
Leadership Exercise
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Understanding
Situational Leadership
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The
Prescriber: High Task, Low Relationship
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The
Persuader: High Task, High Relationship
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The
Participator: Low Task, Low Relationship
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The
Permitter: Low Task, Low Relationship
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Organizational
Approach To Project Management |
Appendices
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Project
Notebooks
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Reporting
Elements
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Project
Management Curriculum
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Wrapping
It Up -- How To End Your Project |
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Blank
Gantt Forms
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Blank
Scope Document Forms
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Blank
Charter Forms
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Glossary
Of Terms
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Suggested
Readings |
Tools and
Techniques
This
course will give participants many practical tools that can be applied
immediately to their own team and organization.
One of these is the Leadership Style Testing.
As an important feature of this course, all participants will
fill out a leadership style survey as an assignment in the course.
During the afternoon of the fifth day, the instructor will review
the test results with participants and discuss the implications of these
scores for how they must personally approach and manage projects.
Prerequisites
In
this course, we assume that participants already have a good knowledge
of project management. The
purpose of the course is not
to teach project management tools, but instead to teach participants how
to facilitate the use of these
tools by others (e.g., team members, other managers).
In this course, we also assume that participants have already
acquired some level of expertise in group process tools (e.g., meeting
management, consensus tools, decision making tools, conflict resolution
tools) and facilitation skills.
It
is strongly recommended that participants have already taken the
following Cornelius & Associate’s courses (or courses with similar
content): Team Management and Team Facilitation Skills or Project
Management Skills Development.
Program Format- 5
Days
This
course is extremely hands-on and interactive.
Techniques and principles are illustrated with examples and
cases, and participants have many opportunities to ask questions and
discuss problems they have experienced.
Participants also have the opportunity to apply the skills and
principles that are taught throughout the program by working through an
actual project case study and several role-plays and small group
exercises. The
maximum class size is 20, but for optimum results 12-16 participants is
ideal. |
