Introduction to Project Management for IT Professionals

2 Day Course

Who Should Attend

IT, and other communication professionals,who need a quick and usable introduction to project management concepts, documentation and effective techniques.

What You Will Learn

• Learn the concepts and principles of project management.
• Master the fundamentals of initial planning, sizing and documentation of project management.
• Learn how to effectively conduct project and vendor meetings.
• Learn how to manage changes in project scope and costs including documentation for “adds, moves and changes”.
• Study various techniques on team consensus building and conflict resolution.
• Evaluate the different software packages available for project documentation.
• Master project management administrative techniques including PERT/Gant charts, critical path analysis and Work Breakdown Structures (WBS).

Course Details

A. Overview of Project Management

• What is a project?
• Types of projects
• Phases of a project

• B. Conceptualization phase of a project

• Who is involved:
• Executive team
• Technical team
• Users
• Vendors
• Definition of the project

C. Feasibility phase

• Technological analysis
• Impact analysis
• Cost analysis
• Impact on company strategy
• Defining clear project objectives and scope
• Is it doable?
• What are the deliverables?

D. Initial Planning Phase

• Project Manager and team selection
• Project team lifecycle
• Documentation of:
• Mission statement
• Team structure
• Preliminary schedule
• Risks and assumptions
• Resources needed
• Meetings with users, vendors and project team
• RFIs, RFPs, and RFQs– use and abuse

E. Detail Planning Phase

• Planning meetings
• Equipment negotiations
• Service Level Agreement negotiations
• Project scheduling and time lines/milestones
• Resource negotiations
• Resource loading and leveling
• Risk analysis and contingency plans
• Work Breakdown Schedules (WBS)
• Testing, quality control and training
• Implementation and testing schedule
• Schedule of deliverables

F. Execution and Documentation Phases

• Meetings
• Tracking and monitoring progress
• Progress reviews
• Time line maintenance
• Change management
• Testing and Training
• Documentation
• Cut-over and turn-over

G. Project Management Techniques

• Leadership and management tips and techniques
• Team building
• Managing conflict
• Managing information sharing
• Visibility
• Delegation
• Group dynamics

H. Post Project Evaluation

• Evaluation of:
• Cost
• Time
• Success
• Follow-up projects

Course Leader:

Zachary Cohen, Briarwood Associates