Senior Project Managers Workshop

Overview

The important skills of understanding and managing the dynamics of a complex project environment are the focus of this course. The course explains how to manage projects in a pro-active way, focusing on the Critical Success Factors to fulfil the business objectives and demands of senior management.

This in-depth course is both stimulating and varied, with a strong practical orientation. It demands a high level of commitment from delegates and involves evening case studies and practical work. It also provides delegates with the opportunity to expand and develop a network with those facing similar exciting challenges.

Please be aware, this course also provides 21 Hours of Contact Education/Professional Development Units towards PMI PMP certification/re-certification

Course style

This is an intensive three-day course which follows a case study project simulation. Delegates will be presented with a number of typical scenarios which are likely to occur when dealing with large projects and senior business management. The project outcome and situations that develop are dependant on actions and decisions delegates take. Therefore, this is learning through "real-world" practical experience and application. Due to the highly interactive nature of this course it is run with a maximum of eight delegates.

Recommended follow-on courses

• Managing Successful Programmes for Practitioners (inc examination)

Prerequisites

Delegates should have a sound understanding of common project management practice and have worked, or are about to work, at Senior Management or Director level on projects. Also, delegates should have ideally attended QA's Project Management course.

Delegates will learn how to

• Establish partnerships, ownership and accountability
• Manage expectation and conflict
• Build effective relationships with the Sponsor and Key Stakeholders
• Influence project outcomes and decision making
• Recognise motivational drivers and political game-play
• Construct and implement communication plans
• Understand project management and roll-out strategies
• Establish a project cockpit
• Run critical reviews
• Undertake project recovery
• Predict and manage resistance to change

Course Outline

Establishing Partnerships

• Gaining the first impression
• Getting acquainted
• Building the relationship

Role of the Sponsor

• Sponsorship issues
• Sponsor expectations, ownership and accountability
• Managing the relationship

Expectation & Conflict Management

• Crucial Success Factors
• Managing the expectation gap
• Resolving unrealistic expectations

Motivational Cocktail

• Cocktail Ingredients
• Motivational drivers
• Hot buttons
• Understanding the value chain

Project Communications Management

• Terms of Reference
• Building a Responsibility Matrix
• The Communication Wheel
• Communication plans

Risk Management

• Identification, qualification and mitigation of business risk
• Running risk workshops

Time Contracts

• Timeboxing
• Triangle of balance
• Working to deadlines
• Negotiation
• Compromise and pre-positioning

Managing Change

• Change models
• The Change Champion
• Human reaction to change
• Change cycles
• Critical success factors for change

The Project Cockpit

• The 7 key aspects to manage
• Instrumentation and sensors
• Building a dashboard

Rollout & Recovery Strategy

• Crafting the strategy
• Escalating potential conflict
• "Selling" the strategy