This 1-day course is for you if you have been asked to run, or take part in a project, and ‘Project Manager’ is not in your job title.

We create projects as a structured way to make things happen or to deal with change. This may be things like moving office, organising an event, installing a new system, planning a campaign or developing a product.

This one day workshop will introduce you to a straightforward and jargon-free way to manage projects. Once learned, you can apply these simple but effective skills to any project.

The course is also a useful introduction for project team members enabling them to gain an overall understanding of the benefits of a structured Project Management Approach.

Delegates will learn how to get the project off the ground through to successful completion. We will share with you the simple principles you need to plan, run and finish your project.

 Course Content

Project Fundamentals

This module provides an overview of project management and introduces delegates to the simple but effective four stage process.

• Definition of a project
• The stages of a project
• How projects can go wrong
  

Time Management

The role of project manager can be a busy one, especially if you are trying to react to everything and everyone in the project. Good time management can help you to choose where best to spend your time, it can help you to be more proactive and spend less time fire fighting.

• Measure twice cut once
• Project planning, risk management and issue management.
• Separate the urgent from the important
• Tools and techniques that you can use to make better use of your time
• Prioritise your tasks and delegate where necessary
• Realise the value of setting clear objectives

Stage 1 - Getting Started

This first stage will help delegates to think about the outcomes of the project and how success will be recognised measured and signed off.

• Setting clear objectives
• Agreeing the scope of the project
• Putting a team together
  

Stage 2 - Creating a Plan

Planning is about thinking of all of the activities that need to happen to complete the project and recording what has to be done, who will do it, and when it has to happen.

• How to create a project plan
• Estimating how long each task will take
• Prioritising tasks
• Allocating tasks to the team
  

Stage 3 – Running the Project

In order to manage the project there are a few regular tasks that have to be carried out. Participants will be introduced to the routine activities that keep projects on track.

• Running project meetings
• Weekly project review
• Identifying issues (problems you know of)
• Identifying risks (what could go wrong)
• Updating your plan
• Creating a progress report
  

Stage 4 - Finishing the Project

One of the most difficult parts of a project is closing it and agreeing with the project sponsors that the project is complete.

• Why it’s important to close your project
• How to close a project
• Managing expectations
• Lessons learned
• Creating a project close report