Managing IT Project Management Concepts (PM13)

Course Outline

Unit 1 – Introduction

• Course Goals
• Student Introductions
• Class Objectives
• Class Materials
• Class Norms

Unit 2 – The Project Management Framework

• What is a Project?
• Discussion – Why are IT Projects So Challenging?
• Challenges with IT Projects
• How do you define success?
• Project Constraints
• Where do projects come from?
• Why is there interest in project management?
• What is Project Management?
• Goals of Project Management
• Role of the Project Manager
• Program Management/Portfolio Management
• Role of the PMO
• Phases & Life Cycles
• Product Life Cycle
• Life Cycle Models
  • Waterfall Model
  • Spiral Model
  • Incremental Model
  • Evolutionary Model
  • Agile Model
• Exercise – Choose a Life Cycle Model
• What is a Process?
• Underlying PM Concept

Unit 3 – Concept Phase

• Business Case for the project
• Project Initiation
• Stakeholders
• Stakeholder Analysis
• Exercise – Identify Project Stakeholders
• Project Charter
• Project Objectives
• Exercise – Develop a Project Charter
• Project Approach/Methodology
• Managing Uncertainty
• Progressive Elaboration
• Rolling Wave Planning   

Unit 4 – Analysis Phase

• Analysis Phase
• Planning Processes
• Project Management Plan
• The Management Plans
• Project Scope Management Plan
• Exercise – Review a Project Scope Management Plan
• Gathering Requirements
• Requirements Analysis
• Requirements Gathering Techniques
• Exercise – Gather a project’s Business Requirements
• Prioritizing Requirements
• Exercise – Prioritize the Requirements
• Configuration Management System
• Requirements Management Plan
• Scope Statement
• Assumptions
• Constraints
• Exercise – Create a Project Scope Statement   
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Product-oriented WBS
• Process-oriented WBS
• Steps for Decomposing a project
• Exercise – Develop a WBS

Unit 5 – Design Phase

• Developing the schedule
• Determining the Activities
• Activity Lists
• Exercise – Develop an Activity List
• Activity Dependencies
• Schedule Network Diagrams
• Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
• Types of PDM Dependencies
• Leads and Lags
• Exercise – Create a Project Schedule Network Diagram
• Estimating Task Durations
• Duration vs. Effort
• Estimating techniques
• Exercise – Estimate Activity Durations
• Estimate Resource Requirements
• Developing the Schedule
• Schedule Analytical Techniques   
• Critical Path Method (CPM)
• Exercise – CPM Calculation
• CPM Critical Path   
• Exercise – Develop the Project Schedule and Identify the Critical Path
• Gantt Charts
• Schedule Compression
• Exercise – Compress a project schedule
• Resource Leveling
• Schedule Reserves
• Developing the Project Budget
• Cost Baseline Curve
• Cost Estimates
• Determining the Cost Baseline
• Cost Reserves
• Exercise – Develop a high-level Project Budget
• What is Quality?
• Cost of Quality
• Product vs. Process Quality
• Planning for Quality
• The Quality Management Plan
• Quality Management Plan Components
• Exercise – Review a Project Quality Management Plan
• Planning Project Communications
• Communication Concerns
• Project Communications Management Plan Components
• Communications Planning Table
• Exercise – Create a Communications Plan   
• Project Risk
• Risk Planning
• Risk Characteristics
• Risk Management – A Structured Approach
• Risk Management Planning
• Risk Identification
• Exercise – Identify Project Risks
• Risk Assessment
• What is a Probability/Impact Grid?
• Exercise – Assess the previously identified risks
• Responding to Risks
• Risk Response Strategies
• Exercise – Plan Risk Responses
• Contracting on a Project
• Setting the Performance Measurement Baselines
• Variance Analysis

Unit 6 – Build Phase

• Project Plan Execution
• Distributing Project Information
• Quality Assurance
• Project Team Development
• Stages of team Development
• Risk Tracking
• Calculating Variance
• Exercise – Determining variances off the project plan

Unit 7 – Test Phase

• Tracking and Controlling Activities
• Project Reviews
• Performance Reporting
• Quality Control
• Testing
• Risk Control
• Issues Management
• Reacting to Variances
• Exercise – Make recommendations for dealing with project variances
• Scope Creep
• Change Control Process
• Change Requests

Unit 8 – Deploy Phase

• Formal Acceptance
• Transition Documentation
• Transitioning the team
• Discussion – What typically happens during your project’s deployment?

Unit 9 – Project Closeout

• Maintenance/ Support Activities
• Maintenance/ Support Concerns
• Formal Project Closure
• Discussion – What typically happens during project closeout?
• Contract Closure
• Administrative Closure
• Project Archives
• Lessons Learned

Course Exercises:

This seminar uses the context of an IT project case study to allow the participant to practically apply the tools and techniques covered in the class.  Using this case study, the participants, working in teams, will work on the following exercises:

1. Why are IT projects challenging?
2. Why is there interest in project management?
3. Choose an appropriate Life Cycle
4. Perform a Stakeholder Analysis
5. Create a Project Charter
6. Create a Project Scope Statement
7. Review a Project Scope Management Plan
8. Perform Requirements Analysis and Prioritization
9. Create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
10. Develop an Activity List
11. Create a Project Schedule Network Diagram
12. Estimate Activity Durations and Resources Required
13. Develop the project schedule and identify the critical path
14. Compress a project schedule
15. Develop a high-level project budget
16. Define Project and Product Quality
17. Review a Project Quality Management Plan
18. Create a Project Communications Management Plan
19. Identify project risks
20. Assess project risks previously identified
21. Develop risk responses
22. Determine variance from a project plan
23. Make a recommendation for dealing with project variances
24. Perform Change Control
25. Perform Project Closeout