Course description

This foundation course is a practical, hands-on, case-study based approach to managing projects that focuses on the principles of project management planning. It provides practical examples of project planning concepts of scope, schedule, and stakeholder analysis. This high-impact project management course provides an overview of key project concepts and terminology and best practices. This course is designed to bridge the gap between theory and the practical use of Microsoft Project. Using a simple case study and hands on techniques, students will learn how the software works "under the covers." They will learn how to create custom views (including Gantt charts), tables, filters, groups, and reports that will both facilitate data entry and enhance their report generation and presentation capabilities.

Who should attend

Individuals who will benefit from this course include team leaders and team members, project managers, and all professionals seeking to improve their project management skills and knowledge.

What you will achieve

• Apply project management methods in the workplace.
• Differentiate the relationships among project management and project life cycles.
• Apply best-practice tools used within your organization.
• Understand the fundamental structure of Microsoft^® Project.

What you will learn

Key Takeaways

• Project Management Framework — as described in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide)
• Essentials of creating a project charter and tying it to a business case and stakeholder expectations
• The process of project planning, beginning with gathering and documenting requirements, progressively elaborating the scope baseline, creating a work breakdown structure (WBS) based on the project charter and project requirements, followed by the schedule
• Project schedule network diagram — how to create precedence diagrams to show task dependencies, determine critical path, and calculate float using MS Project

Course Outline

Module 1: Project Management Overview

• Project Management Process Framework
• Project Life Cycles

Module 2: Initiating Process Group

• Overview of the Initiating Process Group – Introduce Charter
• Stakeholder Management

Module 3: Planning Process Group

• Overview of the Planning Process Group
• Project Scope Management
• Project Time Management
• MS Project Overview and Application