Technical Project Management

A best-selling seminar for managers and team members involved in IT and technical project management

In just 3 days, you'll understand the unique challenges of managing IT and technical projects and discover how applying project management methodology can give you a step-by-step approach to tackling your toughest challenges. You'll discuss the value of planning, scheduling and how to manage scope. Use tools and techniques to establish a sound estimating process. Find out how to keep projects on track and evaluate project performance. And participate in communications exercises to help successfully lead project teams.

Who Should Attend

• R&D professionals, IT, developers, engineers and scientists
• Analysts and plant managers
• Anyone else who administers IT and technical projects

• Apply WBS and network development
• Identify potential problems and solve them using troubleshooting techniques
• Track projects more effectively
• Create status reports that show top management where budgeting, scheduling and manpower trends are headed
• Cope with tight IT and technical project schedules

• Project management framework and terminology—process groups and the Nine Knowledge Areas of the PMBOK
• Life cycles in a technical environment

• Leading in an IT or technical environment

• Using the SMART model when writing objectives
• Creating the detailed scope statement

• Creating a customized WBS
• IT and technical project WBS examples

• Types of network diagrams
• Overview of critical path methodology

• Five considerations when making estimates
• Consideration of risks when estimating—three-point estimates

• The planning process group
• Project performance baselines

• Identify different approaches to planning IT and technical projects: rolling wave planning…stage gate process…critical chain project management
• Common construction project life cycle
• Common pharmaceutical project life cycle

• Status reports… project baselines…identifying variances

• Administrative closure vs. contractual closure

• Define the Basic Project Management Framework
• Describe Key Project Management Terminology
• Explain Project Constraints and the Project Triangle
• Differentiate Between Operations and Projects
• Describe Project Management in a Business Context

• Discuss How Projects Are Initiated
• Identify the Difference Between Project Requirements and Product Requirements
• Describe the Purpose and Content of the Project Charter
• Describe Two Methodologies for Developing Software—Waterfall and Iterative
• Describe the Purpose and Content of the Product Requirements Document
• Use the SMART Model When Writing Requirements
• Identify Information-Gathering Technique

• Discuss the Purpose of a Kickoff Meeting
• Develop a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

• Discuss Guidelines for Making Better Estimates
• Explain the Use of Three-Point Estimates
• Demonstrate the Concept of Rolling Wave Estimating

• Describe Task Dependencies
• Identify the Sequence of Tasks via Precedence Diagramming
• Develop the Project Schedule

• Determine the Personnel Costs Needed for the Success of the Project
• Determine the Expense Costs Needed for the Success of the Project
• Differentiate Between Bottom-Up and Top-Down Cost Budgeting, and State Which Is More Appropriate for Different Situations

• Create the Project Communications Plan
• Describe the Project Risk Management Processes
• Describe the Purpose of the Project Procurement Plan
• Discuss the Purpose of Reserves

• Create a Project Status Report
• Describe the Key Elements Required to Determine Project Health
• Describe How to Run an Effective Project Status Meeting
• Describe the Change Management Process

• Identify the Elements of Both Administrative and Contractual Project Closure
• Describe the Different Ways That Projects Can Be Terminated
• Explain the Importance of a Repository and Lessons Learned