COURSE OVERVIEW

This course helps attendees develop effective measures for scheduling and controlling projects by putting the tools of project management   to work. The focus is on managing the constraints faced on any project: limits on time, human resources, materials, budget and   specifications and provides proven ways to work within identified constraints, without letting predefined limits curtail creativity or innovation.

Delegates receive hands-on experience for practicing their skills in building project requirements and the work breakdown structure. They learn a sound, logical framework for scheduling and controlling project activities and master techniques for estimating, forecasting, budgeting, monitoring, controlling, analysing and reporting costs and interpreting the meaning of earned-value data.

Individual and small-group exercises feature scenarios that help hone these skills and a comprehensive toolkit provides practical field guidance. The course materials also include comprehensive reference materials specific to each unit of the course.

Through a number of sophisticated tools and techniques that can be used to manage time and costs effectively on every type of project, this is one of the programme’s most popular courses.

Participants in this course will receive our Earned Valued Formula Finder, which puts the information needed to determine cost, schedule, estimate at completion and estimate to complete values for projects right at their fingertips.

LEARN HOW TO

• Identify documentation needed to provide inputs to scheduling and cost control activities
• Use the WBS to identify, assign, and tabulate resource requirements
• Predict costs and work time using specific levels and estimate types from the WBS
• Predict future project performance based on historical data
• Use the WBS to develop a network diagram
• Calculate schedules using the programme evaluation and review technique (PERT) and the critical path method (CPM)
• Interpret data gained from time-phased distribution of project costs
• Apply the discipline of earned value to a project
• Monitor changes and close out projects on time

PMBOK®  KNOWLEDGE AREAS

• Project Scope Management
• Project Time Management
• Project Cost Management
• Project Risk Management
• Project Procurement Management

COURSE TOPICS

Project Definition

• Definition of scheduling and cost control (S&CC)
• Project constraints
• Project life cycle
• Requirements review
• S&CC documentation
• The work breakdown structure (WBS)

Resource Allocation and Estimating

• Resource planning
• Roles and responsibilities matrix
• Resources as estimating sources
• Estimating durations
• Duration considerations
• Productivity and availability in resource- driven estimates
• Types of estimates
• Estimating recommendations
• Estimating tools and techniques (analogous estimates, parametric estimating, vendor bids, bottom-up method: detailed estimates)
• Cost categories and types of costs
• PERT
• SD in PERT estimates
• How to review an estimate
• Estimating caveats

Scheduling

• Defining activities
• WBS and network scheduling
• Validating the time frame
• Considering risk in schedule estimates
• Network diagramming
• Precedence diagramming method (PDM)
• The basic finish to start relationship
• Building a precedence diagram
• Forward pass and backward pass
• Float / slack
• Critical path
• Lag and lead times
• Additional PDM relationships (start to start, finish to finish, start to finish)
• Hammock activity
• Gantt and milestone charts
• Techniques for decreasing project duration
• Cost / time slope
• Resource levelling
• Resource loading

The Baselines

• Basics of baselines
• Types of baselines
• Baseline costs plus reserve
• Cumulative cost curve
• Review the baseline
• The project management plan

Evaluation and Forecasting

• Evaluation
• Control considerations
• Performance control charts
• Defining earned value management (EVM)
• Key EVM terminology
• Key EVM formulas
• Interpreting EVM formulas
• Estimating percent complete
• Analysing variance
• Reporting status

Change Management Within the Project

• Understanding the project change management process
• Sources of change
• Document change requests
• Determining the impact of change
• Coping with approved changes
• Updating the plan
• Communicating project changes

The Exit Strategy: Closing the Project

• Exit strategy process
• Fulfil contract obligations
• Conduct final WBS review
• Organise files
• Assess lessons learned
• Conduct transition meetings
• Celebrate success
• Close project or phase