Course Description:

With tight pressure to reduce costs and implement technology quickly, IT project managers are under severe pressure to complete projects not only at the promised quality but also on time and on budget. Yet industry figures consistently show that 90 percent of major IT project initiatives fail to be completed both on time and on budget. This course looks into the unique challenges of managing IT projects, and offers a roadmap to success

Course Goal:

You will define the IT specific challenges of project management, and methods to avoid common pitfalls

Course Objectives:

By the end of this course, the participant will be able to:

1. Determine the true nature of the problem or opportunity, ascertain its relevance and feasibility, and identify associated risks.
2. Establish the high-level timetable and budget for the project.
3. Create the project planning documents.
4. Create the documents that lay the foundation for the project.
5. Conduct the management planning activities.
6. Determine the ideal team composition, recruit, negotiate for, and assign team members.
7. Calculate schedule and budget variances, manage the critical path, team, and vendor relationships, and monitor quality metrics.
8. Identify variances and outline corrective action, negotiate changes, and identify the proper course of action to avoid scope creep.
9. Execute the project transfer steps.

Course Outline:

• Project Initiation: Discovery and Analysis
• Creating a Project Concept Definition
• Defining Business and Functional Requirements
• Define Technical Requirements
• Strategic and Operational Relevance
• Assessing Project Feasibility
• Perform Risk Assessment
• Project Initiation: Estimating
• Construct a Formal Estimate
• Create Time Estimates
• Create Cost Estimates
• Project Initiation: Framing the Project
• Managing Change
• Writing the Scope Statement
• Writing the Project Charter
• Writing a Statement of Work (SOW)
• Project Planning: Laying the Foundation
• Setting Expectations for the Planning Process
• Decomposing a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Creating a Network Diagram
• Identify and Analyze the Critical Path
• Creating Project Schedules
• Creating Project Budgets
• Project Planning: Developing the Plan
• Develop Resource Management Plan
• Develop a Risk Management Plan
• Develop a Quality Management Plan
• Develop an Operational Transfer Plan
• Develop a Communication Plan
• Compile a Comprehensive Project Plan
• Project Planning: Building the Team
• Assemble the Project Team
• Building and Supporting the Team
• Developing the Team
• Project Execution: Monitoring and Managing
• Monitor the Project Iteratively
• Calculate Earned Value
• Execute Schedule Updates
• Execute Budget Updates
• Managing the Critical Path
• Managing the Project Team
• Managing Project Quality
• Managing Vendors
• Project Control: Managing Chaos
• Interpreting Control Techniques
• Mitigating Scope Creep
• Managing Variances
• Project Closure: Tying Up Loose Ends
• Managing Documentation
• Managing the Operational Transfer Plan
• Write Project Closure Report
• Obtain Final, Formal Sign-off
• Document Lessons Learned
• Managing Administrative Closure

Who Can Benefit?

Project Managers of IT Complex Projects and those who are looking for formal project control training