IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT - PROCESS, TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

Learn from the Project Management Thought-Leader Dennis Comninos

Today’s IT and Communication projects present unique challenges to the project manager requiring coordination with many stakeholders and integration of various technological capabilities.

Industry research shows that only approximately 30% of IT projects achieve their time, cost and specification goals. This statistic demonstrates an obvious need for IT professionals to supplement their traditional IT technical skills with high-value business and project delivery skills. These required skills must cover three critical domains; general business knowledge, project management tools, techniques and processes, and interpersonal skills.

This comprehensive and highly interactive course provides you with proven techniques, tools and processes for conducting successful IT projects. The course content draws upon current research as well as the extensive experience of the facilitator's involvement in managing projects. You’ll discover critical success factors and hidden risks inherent in IT projects and you’ll leave with an understanding of strategies and techniques developed in the field by experienced IT project managers for successfully managing IT projects.

It addresses all areas of project management and focuses specifically on the processes and people involved. It addresses the role of the project sponsor, project manager and the project team at each phase of the project life cycle, helping you gain the foundation, basic experience, techniques and tools to manage each stage of your project. The course shows how to manage IT projects rather than how to automate their administration using a specific methodology.

Although specifically designed for professionals involved in IT and Communication projects, professionals involved in business projects without an IT background will also find this course very beneficial. Modern project management focuses more on the people and process components rather than on technology and this course subscribes to that by keeping discussions of technical detail aspects and IT jargon to a minimum.

The course is about how to deliver results and not about IT systems analysis, programming, telecommunications and other detailed technical aspects of systems development and implementation.

BENEFITS OF ATTENDING

At the end of this course, the participant will:

• Be able to demonstrate an understanding of Project Management principles and philosophies and their application and context on IT and business projects.
• Understand how IT projects are conceptualised and initiated in support of the strategy and business plans of the organisation.
• Be introduced to the concepts of “early stage” planning to obtain commitment and buy-in through the application of a Project Definition Workshop.
• Consider various development approaches and methodologies such as Agile Project management and the Prince2 methodology.
• Be able to define the roles of the IT project team members and to develop a results-driven project management team
• Understand the issues surrounding the selection and prioritisation of projects in a multi-project environment and the concepts of project portfolio management.
• Be introduced to the concepts of Benefits Realisation or Value Focused Project Management and their application on IT projects
• Be introduced to and learn how to apply traditional and alternative project management techniques, processes, and strategies
• EARN 35 PDU's from Project Management Institute (PMI), USA
• Practice and learn how to apply the PM Bodies of Knowledge (PMBOK™) to:

• Define the scope of a project.

• Organise the project team.

• Use the fundamental principles and tools of Project Management.

• Plan, schedule and control a project.

• Manage a project by results rather than activities.

• Apply various applicable Project Management tools and techniques.

• Apply the applicable processes and methodologies of Project Management

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• Programme Managers
• Project Managers
• Project Leaders
• Project Administrators
• Project Team Leaders
• IT Managers / Engineers / ERP Specialists
• Telecom Managers / Engineers
• Software Developers / Analysts
  

 

Those involved in Business, IT and Communication Projects will greatly benefit from this course. In particular, the course is designed for managers who are tasked with delivery on Business focused IT and Communication projects. Some knowledge of and experience in project management practices, the IT environment and general business environment is recommended but not essential. This course in different variants has been successfully presented internationally to a wide range of audiences from IT, engineering, and business environments. It is applicable to all levels of management including existing Project Managers, and technical and engineering personnel.

Even those who have had specific methodology training (e.g. Agile, Prince2, etc.) or who are already certified will find this course highly beneficial as it shows how theory is applied in a practical way to IT projects by formalising and structuring existing skills. The course is also ideal for people who may have managed projects before, but not IT projects, as the course describes the specific challenges posed by IT projects and how they might be dealt with in a “non-technical” manner.

MEET THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT THOUGHT LEADER

Dennis Comninos is an International Project Management Consultant and a director of a number of companies specializing in project, strategic, and human capital management consulting.

He has over 36 years of experience in strategic, general, and IT management relating to almost all industries as a business and systems analyst/developer and project manager. In total he has over 28 years of Project Management experience covering strategic, IT, development, engineering, construction, and business projects. He has spent some 21 years lecturing and consulting in the subject.

He has lectured and consulted extensively in the USA, Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Middle East, India and Europe on IT, Strategic, General, and Project Management. His experience covers consulting, process development, and lecturing on project, IT, and construction management in major organizations and at various universities and other tertiary education facilities at post-graduate level. Dennis is a sought after presenter of project management related topics at various seminars and conferences and is frequently interviewed on radio, television and in technical journals, and newspapers. He is a member of the Academic Advisory Board for Project Management at the Tshwane University of Technology and a part-time lecturer in Construction and Project Management at UCT’s GSB, and the UPE. He is also a project management consultant to the World Bank and the United Nations (UNDP).

He is the co-author, together with Enzo Frigenti of a best selling, internationally published book entitled "The Practice of Project Management - A Business Approach". The book is used as a prescribed textbook at various universities internationally. Their second book “The Practice of Project Management – a Guide to the Business Focused Approach” has recently been published internationally and has been awarded the Association of MBAs seal of approval for use as a textbook on MBA programmes. They are currently working on their third book.

TESTIMONIALS

“Good dose of dealing with People in projects”

Dr. Mansour Al Dajani, King Fahad University, KSA

“I enjoyed the training course and found it very useful”

Dr. Najeeb Al Shorbaji, World Health Organization, Egypt

“It has truly been an enriching and an enjoyable experience”

Munavvar Saqqaf, Dubai Duty Free, UAE

“Great job and preparation for such a great event, really appreciate your effort”

Mohammed Alam, PMP, Qatar Datamation Systems, Qatar

“Thank you for the effort”

Eman M. Al Tamimi, Qatar Electricity and Water Corp, Qatar

“Great Instructor”

Hussain Al Jishi, Arab Petroleum Investments Corp, KSA

GET PDF BROCHURE

April 08-12, 2012,
Al Bustan Rotana Hotel,
Dubai

REGISTER ONLINE

 

DAY TWO

The Management Concept in Project Management

• The definition of management
• Responsibility, Accountability and Authority

 

Project Participants

• The Project Environment
• Project Participants

 

Project Stakeholders

• Definition
• Stakeholder Management Strategies
• Stakeholder mapping

 

Project Roles

• The three organisational levels of Project Management
• Negotiations between levels
• The role of the Project Sponsor/Champion
• The role of the Project Manager
• Project Manager Attributes
• The role of the Project Team

 

The Project Life Cycle

• The generic Project Life Cycle
• Planning is a matter of Progressive Elaboration
• The Phase-based Project Life Cycle
• Mapping the Project Life Cycle to Systems Development Life Cycles (SDLCs)
• Classification of Projects – Obeng’s project types
• Process groups and phased links

 

Organisational Structures

• The influence of organisational structures on projects
• Organisational issues in respect of projects with reference to Functional, Matrix, and the Projectised Structure

 

DAY THREE

Focusing IT Projects on the Business

• Business IT Projects Issues and Context
• How do IT projects originate?
• Business Outcomes vs. IT Project Results
• Different view of Objectives
• Business view of an IT project
• Project “fatigue”

 

Focusing Projects on the Business

• The Wrappers™ Model (linking strategy, business, and project objectives)
• Business Focused Project Management (BFPM™)
• Funnels and Gates (Filters)
• Project Selection and Prioritisation
• The Project Portfolio
• The Project Support Office (PSO)
• Overview of Benefits Realisation Management

 

IT Project Management Processes

• The PMI® PMBOK™ generic processes
• Classical activity-based PM vs. Result-focused PM
• The Objective Directed Project Management (ODPM™) process
• IT Project Management approaches and methodologies (Agile, Prince2™, Promenta™)
• The use of COCOMO and Function Point Analysis (FPA). What is the current thinking?

 

DAY FOUR

The Project Initiation Phase

Describes the project initiation phase and addresses project manager selection, feasibility verification, stakeholder identification, and project charter development. Business case/proposals are the input to project initiation.

The Project Definition Phase

Focuses on the definition phase of a project, including the project definition workshop, project purpose, objectives, performance measures, critical success factors, and project scoping. The definition plan comes from results-focused planning and organising, including milestones, responsibilities, the stakeholder analysis and communications plan, risk analysis, and initial cost estimates.

DAY FIVE

The Project Planning Phase

Covers manageability and viability of the plan, and expands on the definition phase. Time (CPM), cost, quality, communications, human resources, procurement, cash flow, and project baseline are developed further developed from the definition phase.

The Project Execution Phase

Addresses the establishment of monitoring and control mechanisms, evaluation of project performance and progress, and production of performance reports. Focuses is on plan updating, problem solving, issues management and change control, while reviewing business objectives and benefits validity.

Project Close-out Phase

Considers close-out issues, process and planning. Addresses the necessary protocols and steps needed to bring a project to successful completion, including the final report and the post-implementation review, lessons learnt and benefits realisation.