Advanced Project Management
A program for PMPs and experienced project managers

A 3-day, 21 PDU (2.1 CEU) instructor-led program Program Pre-requisite You must have successfully completed Five Sigma® Project Management (or hold PMP certification or its equivalent) and have: an interest in advanced, quantitative tools for better project management; experience managing white-collar projects; and a desire to complete projects that benefit the stakeholders' bottom line. Understanding and Integrating Business Value This program for the experienced project manager teaches you how to employ advanced tools and techniques (such as the "10% chart") to establish the value of a project to stakeholders and to the business' bottom line. You will review the fundamentals of powerful, range-based estimation. You will learn new diagramming techniques to help you better understand your network logic. You will apply what you have learned in a series of increasingly challenging simulations, where teams compete against each other and against their own estimates. The final simulation is a workshop featuring a competition between real projects from each work place. Creating and Managing a Robust Plan You will explore at length how to create durable plans that can absorb real-world shocks and meet planned costs and schedules. You will incorporate stakeholder values and risk contingencies into the basic plan. You will practice what you learn in an interactive game and on a real project of your own. Through an intensive final workshop, you will learn how to "game" your own project. Communicating with Others Other topics in the program include managing the regular reporting of progress, communicating with stakeholders, and reporting to senior management about the project. This course for the 21st century project manager includes the best of current and emerging project practices and reflects the latest terminology from The Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (The PMBOK Guide). Upon completion, you will be able to: ·   Analyze and develop business value from the espoused stakeholder values  ·   Define measurable, tangible, verifiable deliverables, tied back to business value ·   Produce cost and resource estimates from experience-based ranges. ·   Create a durable, resource-driven, critical path with merge effects, risk contingencies, and cost trade-offs included ·   Identify, analyze, and integrate risks into the plan ·   Conduct progress meetings that work ·   Know how to make better use of estimates-at-completion ·   Produce persuasive reports to senior management Who will benefit? ·   Experienced project and program managers who wish to refine their professional practice ·   Senior technical leads who want to acquire additional quantitative tools for managing projects ·   PMPs who wish to expand their knowledge of advanced scheduling tools and techniques  Agenda Day 1 Business Value ·   What is the economic framework for stakeholders' needs? ·   How do the projects' deliverables fit into the economic framework? ·   How do you compare the stakeholder value of scope, schedule, and cost (the "10% chart")? Cost and Resource Estimates ·   What are the fundamentals of range-based estimates? ·   How do you discuss estimates with teammates? ·   How can you squeeze out padding? ·   How do you collect data for better estimates? Day 2 Schedules ·   How do you create a time-scaled network logic diagram? ·   How do you modify a schedule to include multiple paths' merge effects? ·   How do you create a "Five Sigma" project schedule? ·   How do you incorporate resources into your schedule? ·   How do you integrate identified risks into the project plan? ·   How do you move beyond the "critical chain"? ·   How do you manage changes to scope and schedule? Day 3 Risks ·   How do you integrate identified risks into the project plan? ·   How do you assign risks to the network paths? Progress Measurement ·   How do you hold progress meetings that work? ·   How do you use earned value and estimates-at-completion to run a "lean" project? ·   How do you manage changes to scope and schedule? Organization ·   How do you make your best case to senior management? ·   How do you balance and communicate evolving stakeholder needs? Contact us early to be sure to get the training dates you need.