High Speed Project Management

About This Course With accelerated schedules driving many technology projects today, the smart project manager must rapidly retool their skill set. This course offers a breakthrough model for dealing with the realities of managing projects at supersonic speeds. Learn to meet and win the challenges of truncated timelines, short-staffed project teams, skimpy budgets and crippling risks.

PMBOK® Guide, PMI®, PMP®, CAPM®, and the PMI R.E.P. logo are either marks or registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

ed2go is a global Registered Education Provider for the Project Management Institute (PMI). Registered Education Providers (R.E.P.s) offer programs and courses that are preapproved for professional development units through PMI and have been reviewed by a project management professional (PMP) to ensure that they meet PMI's expectations for professional development in project management.

This program/course is a good choice for those looking for project management experience and those aspiring to obtain a PMI credential. It's also an excellent choice for existing PMI credential holders looking for an approved activity for PMI's continuing certification PDUs. At the end of this course, you'll receive a certificate indicating your completion of PDUs equal to the number of hours of this course through ed2go, R.E.P. #3213. Please visit pmi.org to learn more about PMI's credentials and how they may fit into your continuing education plans.

About The Instructor

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Tom Myers.

Tom Myers is a certified project manager who has been active in managing information technology projects for more than twenty years. A graduate of George Washington University's Project Management program, Tom has taught technical project management and certification courses for two of the largest software companies in the U.S. His published works include "Software Project Management A Methodology" and "Gambling on ProjectsWinning, Not Losing". Tom is also the head of a firm that specializes in rescuing failed projects.

Syllabus

A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week 1

Wednesday - Lesson 01

What’s the big hurry? Don’t be kept in the dark about why you’re required to manage your project at such a fast pace. In this lesson, you’ll learn the reasons. Then you’ll be in the driver’s seat and ready to focus on running a successful project.

Friday - Lesson 02

Three factors are always critical to the success of any project. In this lesson, we'll take a close look at each factor. You’ll also learn what speed indicators are and how to use them to stay on top of a fast-moving project.

Week 2

Wednesday - Lesson 03

In this lesson, we'll look at Factor 1: The team. The project team members are the keys to your success. You’ll learn techniques to motivate and keep a team focused while working at high speed.

Friday - Lesson 04

This lesson is all about Factor 2: Time vs. Money. We’ll look at actual case studies to illustrate new ways of adjusting project speed and increasing overall productivity.

Week 3

Wednesday - Lesson 05

This lesson addresses Factor 3: Risk. Managing risk at the speed of light is not for the fainthearted, but it can work to the advantage of the well-prepared manager. In this lesson, we'll explore the risks that are most prevalent and learn how to plan for them when and if they occur.

Friday - Lesson 06

In this lesson, you’ll learn the first five steps of fast-track planning. Quickly creating a comprehensive project plan is crucial to staying on target. We'll look at ways to abbreviate the process from developing a scope statement to finalizing the project team.

Week 4

Wednesday - Lesson 07

Today’s lesson continues the planning process by addressing when and if you should use network diagrams and critical path analysis. You'll learn how to estimate time and costs that are in sync with an e-speed project. And we'll review the pros and cons of the critical chain management theory.

Friday - Lesson 08

We'll continue the planning process in this lesson. Here, you'll look at templates and real-world examples that will demonstrate how to speed up the development of plans for project procurement, quality management, and risk management.

Week 5

Wednesday - Lesson 09

Today, we'll take a look at the final steps in the planning process. You’ll examine templates and real-life examples for rapid development of change control plans, communication and management plans, and the final project plan. You'll also learn the importance of obtaining plan approval sign-off and when and why to use a kickoff meeting.

Friday - Lesson 10

In this lesson, you’ll see that the project plan is finalized and primed to provide a roadmap and navigational aides for the e-speed project. You'll learn how to allocate time and effort to achieve the greatest advantages for the project. We'll pay special attention to applying the best practices for managing tasks, quality assurance, team development and verification, and progress meetings.

Week 6

Wednesday - Lesson 11

Projects developed at e-speed require strict processes for managing changes in performance, scope, quality, risk, schedule and cost. In this lesson, we’ll take a close look at the value of management toolkits that are simplified and easy to use.

Friday - Lesson 12

The project is not over until you cross the finish line and throw all the shutdown switches. This lesson is designed to walk you through the final seven steps to end the project on a positive and professional note.

Requirements

Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader).