Sample Agenda: Half-Day Session


8:30 a.m.

Introduce Objectives and Agenda (10 minutes)

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Display slide 7-1 as participants enter. Welcome participants and show slide 7-2, asking them to select the three objectives that are most important to them. (They will indicate their top three objectives in completing the Workshop Evaluation Form at the end of the session.) As a brief ice-breaker, ask participants to introduce themselves and share their top three objectives.

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Show slide 7-3 and discuss logistics for starting and ending times, lunch breaks, and breaks during the session, using a flipchart page to record the information for reference throughout the workshop.

8:40

Defining Project Management (10 minutes)

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Show slide 7-4 and move directly to slide 7-5 to introduce the definition of a project, using the PMBOK definition of ‚“project ‚½ as the starting point. Walk participants through the chart, which analyzes the terms shown with the idea of differentiating between projects and processes (ongoing activities that have no end). Also point out that projects produce something (products or services ‚ as well as such things as documentation or training). Show slide 7-6 and ask if someone would like to offer a definition of project management. After hearing several suggested definitions, thank the group and let them know that their definition of what project management entails will continue to grow over time.

8:50

Life Cycle (5 minutes)

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Show slide 7-7 to illustrate how projects typically are organized into phases that are collectively known as the Project Life Cycle. Show slide 7-8 and point out that even though there are many different approaches to the life cycle, this is the one that will be used for this workshop. Discuss briefly the purpose of each phase and ask participants for ideas about typical activities that would take place in each. Ask why it may be useful to use a consistent approach to managing projects within an organization by using a standard life cycle. Help conclude the discussion with slide 7-9, showing that by repeating the life cycle in future projects, project teams are able to apply valuable lessons from earlier projects, much as travelers become more proficient in navigating routes based on their earlier travels along the same highways. This is why the discussion during project closure of lessons learned is so important.

8:55

Post-Project Review Preview (20 minutes)

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While showing slide 7-9, introduce Learning Activity 11-4: Post-Project Review Preview (chapter 11, page 164). After the activity, reaffirm the value of the review process in continuously improving project management within the organization.

9:15

Project Selection (5 minutes)

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Display slides 7-10 and 7-11 and ask participants if any have been involved in deciding whether a project should be launched. Normally, few will have had that experience, so you needn ‚ t spend a great deal of time here. However, you should indicate that normally there are more projects than resources and that, even though many of us are not involved in the selection, part of project management entails finding benefits and other good reasons to start projects.

9:20

Project Charters (15 minutes)

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Display slide 7-12 to begin discussion of the project charter. Indicate the importance of this document and emphasize it as a true ‚“charter ‚½ or ‚“license to do business. ‚½ Define the terms on the slide, including ‚“project sponsor, ‚½ asking for examples of sponsors for projects in which some of the participants may have been involved. Note the importance of the charter as a communication document. Projects are risky undertakings, and charters provide tangible proof of support from management.

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Show slide 7-13 and point out that project charters serve a number of other useful purposes. Show slide 7-14 and distribute copies of Training Instrument 12-4: Project Charter Worksheet (chapter 12, page 207). Ask participants for some of the most impressive projects they can remember in recent times. (If they seem to draw a blank, start by suggesting the lunar landing project of the 1960s or the building of the Panama Canal.) Use a flipchart and gather two or three good examples of important projects in history. Refer to the worksheet and ask participants to write down what they would consider the mission of each of those projects. Share these with the entire group and indicate that, although many of their projects may not have equal inspirational nature, it is important that every project have a clearly defined mission that can be expressed in relatively few words.

9:35

Break (10 minutes)

9:45

Writing SMART Objectives (10 minutes)

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Display slide 7-15 as participants return from break. Point out that the Project Charter Worksheet asks for project objectives. Cover each of the elements of a SMART objective. Ask each participant to write one objective statement for one of the important historical projects cited, using the SMART criteria. Then have them work in pairs to fine-tune their objectives. Have five or six of the participants read their refined SMART objectives.

9:55

Stating Assumptions (10 minutes)

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Slide 7-16 shows two graphics: one of a mind-reading psychic ( enclosed in the universal ‚“no ‚½ symbol) and a scribe. It may be impossible to capture every assumption people may have about the project, but the project charter should capture as many important ones as is feasible . Ask participants for some false assumptions they ‚ ve encountered during previous project experiences and if they can suggest some written assumptions that might have prevented the misunderstanding.

10:05

Applying the Triple Constraint (5 minutes)

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The project objectives and assumptions are two of the most fundamental activities that occur during the writing of the project charter. Another important part of the charter is the statement of project constraints. Constraints are any pre-established requirements that affect how the project is to be completed. Show slide 7-17 as you describe the most common constraints that affect projects: time, cost, and quality or scope. Satisfaction with the third constraint could be defined as meeting the stated requirements for the project, but in any case the third constraint involves the amount of effort put into the project or the number of features delivered. Some people formally refer to these three elements as ‚“the Triple Constraint. ‚½ Others prefer the informal ‚“fast/cheap/good. ‚½ A shoe repair shop owner was reminding customers of the three constraints with his sign that read ‚“Time, Money, Quality: Pick any two. ‚½

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As you display slide 7-18, explain how the Triple Constraint inevitably requires trade-offs. If one constraint changes, one or both of the other two elements must change as well. Ask for examples of such trade-offs that the participants may have experienced either in projects or in their own personal experiences.

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Slide 7-19 illustrates a recommended project tool: the priority matrix. This simple form requires the project sponsor and stakeholders to agree upon the relative priorities of each of the three constraints and to indicate any specific measurement. Go over the example provided on the slide, pointing out that the priority matrix would become part of the project charter.

10:10

Project Stakeholders (10 minutes)

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Show slide 7-20 to indicate that, having completed several key sections of the project charter, the project begins to move into the project definition phase. Earlier, some of the charter may have contained preliminary information, but now it would be time to get a clearer picture of scope, stakeholders, and risks threatening the project. Suggest that a project is a little like a great dramatic production, often with a cast of thousands ‚ er, well at least dozens ‚ of individuals with vested interest in the project. Show slide 7-21 and describe some of the key players listed. Discuss why some of these people are on the list. Make certain everyone understands how the roles listed on the slide might be stakeholders in a project. The main point is that the array of stakeholders is much broader than most people think and that it ‚ s important to identify those who need to be involved as early as possible in order to avoid misunderstanding and missed project requirements.

10:20

Project Scope (10 minutes)

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There is not sufficient time in this short version of the workshop to introduce some of the powerful tools available for managing scope. Show slide 7-22 and ask for comments about the phenomenon of ‚“scope creep. ‚½ Ask how many of the participants have experienced this and the consequences to the project. Ask for suggestions on how to manage scope via a scope statement. Indicate that there are several tools available for managing scope and that these are covered in the longer versions of the workshop. For now, the most powerful concept is being specific both about what is within scope and what is outside of scope. By clearly delimiting the boundaries of the project, project teams have a much better chance of managing expectations and negotiating successful outcomes .

10:30

Managing Risk (10 minutes)

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The project charter addresses several potential risks, such as unclear mission, scope creep, mistaken assumptions, and failure to agree upon project priorities. However, in addition to clear objectives, clearly written scope statements, and early identification of important stakeholders, it ‚ s important to have formal risk management process. Show slide 7-23 and discuss how risks can be identified, ranked by importance, and managed. Distribute copies of Training Instrument 12-7: Risk Identification Worksheet (chapter 12, page 211) and provide explanations of each of its sections. Go over each of the items in detail, explaining that when we ignore a risk we decide to live with it and hope for the best (not a good idea if it ‚ s a serious threat). When we eliminate a risk, we generally change our project direction to ‚“ detour ‚½ around it (for instance, we might avoid a technical risk by using a pen-and-paper solution). When we choose to manage a risk, we are making a commitment to take steps to anticipate, help prevent, and implement a contingency plan if the risk actually does take place. In other words, managing a risk costs time and effort ‚ rather like buying insurance. We can ‚ t buy insurance for everything, so we have to carefully examine risks to decide which are the most threatening and must be managed. If we decide to manage a risk, we will take actions that would be logged to the Risk Identification Worksheet.

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Show slide 7-24 and distribute copes of Training Instrument 12-8: Risk Priority Worksheet (chapter 12, page 212). The version at the top of the slide shows the risks in the order in which they were identified. The version below shows the risks ranked by priority. Emphasize that risk priorities may change as the project evolves or as circumstances outside the project change. For example, air travel risks are considerably different now than they were a few years ago.

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Ask how many participants are already performing risk assessment on projects. Commend those that are and heartily endorse risk management as perhaps the most powerful tool available to the project manager.

10:40

Break (10 minutes)

10:50

Planning the Project and Planning for Communication (10 minutes)

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Show slide 7-25 as participants return from break. Indicate that the topic will now turn to project planning.

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Show slide 7-26. The significance of this slide is twofold:

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  1. It indicates the importance of brainstorming as well as formal research in creating the project plan.

  2. More important, it stresses that most project planning should be collaborative.

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Show slide 7-27 to introduce the concept of the Two-Floor Rule of project communications. The main premise of the rule is to keep everyone involved in the project up to date at the appropriate level of detail and to be ready at all times to provide information that is relevant to his or her particular role within the organization. You don ‚ t want to focus on the last file server downtime with the CEO unless that truly is the most relevant event at the moment ‚ probably not! Your team needs plenty of project details; your sponsor needs important financial data, updates on risks, and important milestones completed and pending. In order to keep all these levels of detail straight in an already over-burdened project manager ‚ s mind, a formal communication plan is a must. Show slide 7-28 to illustrate a typical example of a communication plan. Ask why it is important to develop a communication plan early.

11:00

Tools and Budget Issues (15 minutes)

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Slide 7-29 begins to address the commonly held belief that project management is all about software. Ask participants if any of them have used a tool such as Microsoft Project. If so, ask them which parts of the software were helpful and whether they used it for reporting or planning. Depending on your organization, share with the group the value of these tools in computing and tracking costs. Try not to leave the impression that software is not important, but stress that it is only one small component of the discipline of project management.

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Show slide 7-30 to move to the project implementation phase of the workshop. Spend a few minutes going over a few of the ‚“low-tech ‚½ solutions to tracking projects shown on slide 7-31. All four of these tools are easy to implement and easy for readers to understand. They are all of the ‚“two-floor rule ‚½ variety.

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The form showing accomplishments and setbacks could certainly be a standard weekly format for even the most overtaxed project team member. Ask if there are any risks in being too simple and whether these kinds of reports are too subjective . The Cost-to-Date Milestones and Schedule-to-Date Milestones reporting tools, on the other hand, are unblinking in their objectivity and for that reason are both highly recommended.

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Finally the Top Five Risks tool is a great way to keep track of the most threatening risks and serves as a reminder to revisit and reevaluate risks previously identified.

11:15

Project Close (15 minutes)

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Show slide 7-32 and indicate that the workshop has reached the final phase of the project life cycle. Distribute copies of Training Instrument 12-10: Post-Project Review (chapter 12, page 214) to illustrate its similarity to the post-project review preview used earlier in the morning. One of the important differences is on the final page, which has a place for signatures. Show slide 7-33 and point out that every project should capture lessons learned by all key participants and that a formal presentation of findings should be a major closure point for the project. Even more important is the reminder to ‚“Celebrate Successes! ‚½ It ‚ s a project management best practice.

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Display slide 7-34 as a final reminder that project management allows teams to learn new lessons with each project. This is why the concept of continuous improvement has become an important part of the project management life cycle.

11:30

Personal Action Plans (15 minutes)

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Display slide 7-35 (What ‚ s Next?) to introduce Learning Activity 11-20: Creating a Personal Action Plan (chapter 11, page 198). Use slides 7-36 through 7-38 to guide the participants through the form.

11:45

Final Words: Bibliography, Lessons Learned, Evaluations, Certificates (15 minutes)

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Display slide 7-39, open the floor for final questions, collect evaluations, issue certificates, and point to the bibliography on slides 7-40 through 7-42. If there is interest in any particular item, give your recommendation.

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Congratulate everyone on completing the workshop and once again wish them bon voyage on their journey into the world of project management.




Project Management Training
Project Management Training (ASTD Trainers Workshop)
ISBN: 1562863649
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 111

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