Course Description

The Project Methods Overview course is a one-day event that introduces delegates to projects and project management approaches. It covers:

• What is special about projects, and why they are different to operational management.
• The key aspects of project management. Covering the reasons for the project and how to plan and deliver change to meet stakeholder needs.
• An overview of the most commonly used project management methods, including APM, PRINCE2, SCRUM, and AgilePM
• The options for managing projects including traditional and “agile” methods.
• The advantages, disadvantages, and “urban myths” of each method and how to choose which suits your projects.

Exam Certification

This course is not examined.

Course Materials

All delegates enrolled in virtual course bookings receive a hard copy of course materials sent to a preferred postal address.

Target Student

The course is aimed at anyone who wants to understand more about projects and how best to “set them up for success.” This may include those new to projects as well as those interested in getting an overview of project management methods and how to select the right approach for each project.

Pre-requisites

There is no pre-course work other than to prepare to attend and participate fully in discussions.

Performance Based Objectives

The objective of the course is to enable delegates to appreciate why projects require specific management approaches to address the uncertainty and complexity around delivering change in organisations.

Specifically, they will learn how Waterfall and Agile projects:

• Define the reasons why a project may be required.
• Identify the key stakeholders in a project and engage them throughout.
• Plan - How Waterfall and Agile planning differs.
• Identify the areas of risk and deal with issues during delivery.
• Learn throughout the project lifecycle.

Course Content

Module 1: Introduction

• Introduction to projects – project lifecycle, objectives, and links to organisational improvement
• Workshop to identify “Why projects fail?” and therefore leading to …
• The key areas that need to be managed in a project.

Module 2: Project Approaches

• An overview of Waterfall and Agile methods and their different approaches to delivering business change
• Waterfall
• APM
• PRINCE2
• Agile
• Scrum
• PRINCE2 Agile
• AgilePM
• Urban Myths about Waterfall and Agile approaches
• Workshop to discuss how each might be applied in delegates’ organisations.

Module 3: Why a project is required.

• The business case purpose, authorship, and content
• Exercise to develop a business case to address the “energy crisis” – options, risks, costs, benefits, and recommendations.

Module 4: Stakeholder engagement

• Identifying the key players and how to get them involved in the project
• Roles in managing Waterfall and Agile projects
• Interactive exercise to demonstrate the need for regular feedback and active communications in Waterfall, and especially, Agile projects.

Module 5: Planning the project

• The need for plans, planning, and re-planning.
• Planning Waterfall projects – estimating the project duration using task-based plans
• Planning Agile projects – estimating the effort to identify what can be delivered within immovable timeboxes.
• Exercise to demonstrate both approaches using everyday tasks as an example.

Module 6: Controlling the project

• Monitoring progress in Waterfall and Agile projects
• Managing quality – how good does the solution need to be?
• Dealing with change – how Waterfall and Agile projects deal with change differently.
• Managing risks and issues.
• Learning from successes and failures – fail fast, learn fast!

Module 7: Choosing the right approach for your project

• Understanding the complexity of and environment around your project
• Determining the key drivers and whether the project would suit one approach rather than the other.
• Getting buy-in from all stakeholders to the chosen approach.

Module 8: Retrospective

• What have you learned, and how will you apply these concepts to future projects?