This course is available to all staff who have to combine project management with other responsibilities, or who have to do bigger-than normal pieces of work (projects?) on an occasional basis. Ideal for those with no or little experience of projects, or for those who want to make sure that what they are doing follows good principles and practice!

During this one-day course will consider a number of key areas, from the start to the end of a project:

• Scoping/Planning – clarity of aims and objects, anticipated benefits and cost, stakeholder satisfaction and communication, risk, resource allocation and time planning
• Implementation/Monitoring – the challenges of staying on top of a project, especially when it depends upon the contribution of other people
• Evaluation – learning the lessons so that your future projects will be even better

Ideally, delegates should come with a project in mind. This could be a project they are intending to do or one that is already underway or has been completed. Discussions on the course can then be based around your real projects.

By the end of this course you should be able to:

• Distinguish between a project and ‘business as normal’
• Identify the components of the Project Management Triangle and Star
• Identify common reasons why projects fail
• Describe the concept of the Project Life Cycle
• Describe the factors to take into account when scoping a project
• Describe appropriate tools and techniques to satisfy the different stakeholders
• Describe the use of project management tools: Gantt chart, Communication plan, Risk Log, Budgets
• Identify ways to justify a project (write a business case)
• Describe ways to monitor a project
• Identify potential actions to take if a project seems to be going off-target
• Describe how to review and evaluate a project