Strategic Project Management

Learn the secrets to successful project management … how to create a plan, implement it, monitor progress, correct as necessary and deliver as promised.

Course Outline:

Key considerations for project managers

• Mastering the 6-stage project management process
• Recognizing the “triple threat” constraints you face with every project you start
• Why deadlines are missed—how to avoid, up front, the single biggest obstacle to meeting the schedule
• Avoiding the 4 most common problems that plague projects
• How to identify and avoid the 3 biggest pitfalls that can keep a project’s outcome from living up to expectations
• The 10 commandments for successful project management
• The SMART approach to setting clear goals
• Planning the time dimension—how to use PERT, Gantt, CPM—choosing the technique best suited to your needs

Monitoring and controlling

• Structure reports for maximum value
• Determine the required reports and depth of details reports should include
• Using periodic and topical reviews as your “off-course alarm system”
• Communicating and coordinating—how to let everyone on the project know what’s expected of them and how they’re doing
• How to establish checkpoints and milestones that tell you whether or not your project is on track

Problem solving and troubleshooting

• Problem-solving formula
• Using a decision tree can often make the solution obvious
• Dealing with the special problems of smaller projects
• How to use the principle of “organized disagreement” to ferret out creative alternatives and solutions
• How to handle the 7 most common sources of conflict in project management situations
• How to prepare for the changing nature and intensity of conflict as the project progresses
• 9 specific actions you can take immediately to save bogged-down, derailed projects
• How to recognize and deal with the “dirty dozen” project productivity killers

Computers and project management

• Recognizing what project management software can do for you—and what it can’t
• 7 evaluation criteria to help you select the best software package for your needs