IMCPM04 Project Scheduling and Cost Control Course Outline January 2012
Project Scheduling and Cost Control Course Aim Project Scheduling and Cost Control is a five-day (5 day) course which provides participants with a solid understanding of the concepts and techniques to plan, schedule, monitor and control time, resources and costs on a project. The course is aligned to the knowledge areas of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ) Guide and links through the five key project management processes required for all projects including: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring & controlling and closing. This course is ideal for all project managers, project team leaders, and project management facilitators who aspire to manage large and complex projects. You will learn how to be successful at managing project time, costs and resource allocation. You will learn that project time management is a process of strategic planning, monitoring and control to accomplish a timely completion of a project. Completing projects on time is often one of the key success criteria for a project. This workshop will provide participants with tools and techniques to plan, manage and control project time more effectively to give more certainty to the project sponsor and stakeholders. You will also learn to successfully manage project costs based on realistic project budgets, develop reliable cost estimates, evaluate and risk-adjust cost estimates prepared by others, set budgets, undertake committed project cost monitoring, forecasting and control. At the end of this course you can expect to: Identify and document project requirements Facilitate the process of identifying and estimating project activities Design and create a work breakdown structure Develop an accurate schedule for project deliverables Use the work breakdown structure to develop a network diagram Calculate schedules using PERT/CPM Predict future project performance based on historical data Monitor changes and close out projects on time Monitor and control the project schedule, and determine if the project will complete on schedule Identify and implement strategies to crash and fast track project schedules Identify, assign and tabulate resource requirements 3
Optimise the application of resources Forecast and track resource usage Predict costs and work time using specific levels and estimate types Identify reliable cost estimates by identifying and assessing required project resources Develop realistic project budgets with management reserves and contingency allocations Assess the likelihood that the project will be delivered within budget, identify and mitigate related risks Plan for contingencies and anticipate variations Evaluate the reliability of cost estimates developed by others Monitor, control and report on project cost This course will cover: The techniques and the tools for estimating, forecasting, budgeting, monitoring, controlling, analyzing and reporting time, resources and costs and interpreting the meaning of earned-value data, and manage project time and costs effectively. The course will cover the following topics: Deriving information from project scope and constraints Identifying manageable activities Building a deliverable-oriented WBS that defines the scope of the project Translating a WBS into an activity list Project Scheduling & Time Management techniques Applying network diagrams, CPM and PERT Defining precedence relationships, establishing dependencies and determining lead and lag times Differentiating between estimating models, and the difference between effort and duration Estimating for activity duration and the use of productivity to determine true duration Conducting a forward and a backward pass through the network diagram to determine activity start and end times Calculating float to identify areas of flexibility in the schedule Calculating the critical, near-critical, and noncritical path Creating Gantt charts Establishing the project duration and end date Identifying resource requirements and building a resource breakdown structure Identifying the project resource pool and resource constraints Creating a baseline schedule Maintaining the Schedule 4
Collecting activity status from activity owners Recording actual durations Updating the project schedule Determining the variance between planned and actual values Forecasting the impact to the Critical Path and project duration Responding to change Distinguishing between fast-tracking the project and crashing the critical path Estimating costs Tracking cost commitments, variations and payments Monitoring, evaluation and forecasting time and cost Developing project control procedures for time and cost Establishing procedures for maintaining and updating the project schedule and cost Creating the project control plan including roles and responsibilities matrix Defining the frequency and sources of status reports Updating and maintaining the plan Change management and control Change requests, evaluation, approval and version tracking Communicating with Stakeholders Establishing standard project reports Reporting project status using EVA, milestones and Critical Path Measuring and Improving Performance Performing schedule-based Earned Value Analysis (EVA) Lesson learned Workplace Skills Communication Consulting with stakeholders and others on developing a range of project control plans Utilising excellent interpersonal skills and producing a wide range of reports and charts to document project progress, milestones and outcomes Teamwork Defining roles and responsibilities for the team for the implementation of project control plans Problem Solving Analysing data and evaluating the effectiveness of systems Calculating resource requirements and acquiring them 5
Designing control mechanisms and evaluating procedures Implementing continuous improvement processes as required Performing cost benefit analyses, budgeting, assessing and managing risk Performing schedule analysis, baselines, contingencies Solving complex and non-routine difficulties Tracking and monitoring projects Using a variety of problem-solving and decision-making strategies Initiative and enterprise Responding to new and changing circumstances to ensure project outcomes remain achievable Reviewing processes to inform future activity Planning and Organising Planning and managing projects in respect to time, cost and resource management Undertaking contingency planning, monitoring and controlling Self-management Managing own time and priorities and dealing with contingencies Taking responsibility as required by work role and ensuring all organisational polices and procedures are followed Using discretion and judgment required within complex environments Using judgment in planning and selecting resources for oneself and others Learning Providing learning and development opportunities for the project team Counseling staff as required on skill development requirements Technology Using electronic communication devices and processes such as internet, intranet, email, to produce written correspondence and reports Using project management specific software including time analysis and cost analysis tools Using technology to assist the management of information and to assist the planning process Program duration This consists of a five-day training course. 6
Delivery strategy The course agenda are described in the Course Session Plan below. A test of capability will be undertaken at the beginning and end of each course. This test will be undertaken online using our e-learning solution. Course Session Plan Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Session 1 Session 5 Session 9 Session 13 Session 17 Introduction and Expectations Estimating Activity duration Setting the baseline, contingencies, Monitoring and statusing the schedule. Forecasting critical activities and end dates. Updating the schedule Principles of cost estimating and cost control Performing Earned Value Analysis (EVA) Session 2 Session 6 Session 10 Session 14 Session 18 Scheduling standards and practice Activity sequencing and calculating the critical path and float Understanding fast tracking and crashing of schedules Formulating the interim cost baseline / budget Developing project controls procedures and generating reports Session 3 Session 7 Session 11 Session 15 Session 19 Identifying the work, project requirements, Work Breakdown Structures and project activities Session 4 Identifying resource requirements Session 8 Using computer based scheduling tools Session 12 Cost commitments and variations Session 16 Capability test Session 20 Understanding network diagrams, activity on arrow, activity on network, CPM and PERT Allocating resources and resource constraints Capability test Cost forecasting and control Capability Test 7
Course Aim This course covers the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to successfully manage relationships, build strong team ties and provides strong leadership in the workplace. The 2 day training course is structured around the knowledge and skills to manage teams in an area, a project or a business. Learn how to apply the latest in management thinking including leadership and business ethics. What will I learn? At the end of this course participants will achieve the following competencies: (1) Assess your managerial and leadership style (2) Promote leadership and team development in the organisation (3) Build and sustain working relationships externally and internally (4) Cultivate highly performing teams (5) Manage exceptionally high team performance Benefits of Attending Participants will develop the following knowledge and concepts: Understanding types of organisations, teams and structures Apply latest management theories and practices Understand organisational behaviours and team cohesiveness Increase your effectiveness as a leader and motivate your team Promote leadership in the workplace Set and reach personal and team objectives Increase confidence in dealing with objections Delegate effectively Understand stages of conflict What It Covers Latest leadership theories and principles including change management Motivation theories including needs and reinforcement theories Behavioural models including DiSC model Team cohesion including Tuckman Model Building trust and practice the art of empathy The power of stories, graphs, and colour and tapping into the five sense 8
Who should attend? Managers Supervisors and aspiring managers Program Outline Assess your managerial and leadership style Critically analyse your managerial skills, leadership style and communication Identify managerial and communications strengths and weaknesses Assess leadership preferences Define personal goals and develop an action plan accordingly Promote leadership and team development in the organisation Model high performance standards that are congruent with organisational goals Treat people with respect, integrity and empathy Apply suitable leadership style for a favourable impact on the organisation s climate Apply delegation technique effectively Build and sustain working relationships externally and internally Develop trust and confidence to create sustainable value to both business and community Identify barriers to communication to overcome Use organisations ethical standards to develop effective relationships Identify suitable mentors and coaches to enrich learning opportunities Cultivate highly performing teams Establish attributes of exceptional teams Build a positive team environment and establish group norms Form and align team members to a compelling visions Motivate your team to achieve goals Manage exceptionally high team performance Identify and mange Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor performance Provide mentoring and supervision to support individuals 9
Regularly review and improve workplace outcomes Reward excellence and manage poor performance into exceptional results Program design This course has been designed by our experienced trainers to be facilitated in two (2) days who combines academic excellence and industry experience. Delivery strategy This intensive 2 day program is engaging and practical and will be led by our experienced trainers. The course will contain a practical approach, a series of PowerPoint slides, a Student Manual with written activities, reflective tasks and great videos. 10