Project Management Essentials* - 21 PDUs

* Please note that at the University of Waterloo this course is called
  Project Management Applied Tools and Techniques

“Without a doubt the best course I have attended… very informative, exceptionally well-organized, presenter was a blast!”
 – Lori Clarke, Department of Health

A construction sector version of this course is also available*:

Project Management  Essentials for Construction - 21 PDUs + 3 SICs*

July 4 - 6 in association with the University of Toronto

* PME for Construction is part of the CCA Gold Seal Certification program.

Course Description: Project Management Essentials

This 3-day course provides project managers and project team members with essential tools needed to deliver successful projects. The course covers the complete project lifecycle – from project initiation and definition, through project implementation, and finally to the often neglected project completion phase. With hundreds of in-house client deliveries and hundreds of public sessions (delivered in association with Universities and Colleges across Canada), the Project Management Essentials course is firmly established as one of the most popular fundamental project management courses available.

Who Should Attend

• Project Managers — both new to project management and experience project managers who have not had formal project management training 
• Project team members
• Account managers
• Anyone wishing to be more competitive in today’s job market
   

When delivered in-house, Project Management Essentials is very effective in “jump-starting” a team embarking on a medium to large-scale project.
 

Materials

• Course binder containing presentation slides, course reference book, case study, exercises and sample solutions
• Sample project management templates (e.g., project charters, communication plans, etc.)
• Reference CD containing course specific and general project management reference materials
• Certificate of completion (framed for in-house clients)

Learning Objectives

Participants of this course will be able to…

• Identify and avoid common causes of project failure
• Identify options for structuring a project team, and use learned criteria to select the best option for a given project
• Recognize common areas of project misunderstanding and how to avoid them. Examples:  project purpose, key deliverables, risk tolerance, stakeholder roles, etc…
• Identify key areas of project risk, assess their impact and identify options for avoiding or mitigating the impact of risk
• Use work breakdown structures to identify the true scope of work. Break down a new or complex project into discrete, manageable activities complete with measurable deliverables.
• Model the flow and timing of a project during the planning stages, and test different “what-if” scenarios to both optimize and ensure that a project is “doable” before starting
• Reduce unnecessary project delays by identifying “critical path activities” and undertaking high priority tasks first
• Represent non-project activities, project unknowns and project uncertainties in a visible and justifiable way
• Assess project resource requirements, recognize resource assumptions, and evaluate resource conflicts and potential solutions
• Develop an accurate project budget
• Reduce the tendency for a project's scope to creep
• Improve overall project communication between stakeholders
• Create and maintain a productive project team environment
• Accurately compare the current project status to the original plan to identify potential problems and make proactive decisions
• Properly close out a project, and avoid the “project that never dies” syndrome

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Click here for the full PDF course description and outline.

For information on how to arrange for an in-house delivery of this course, or for information on the location and dates for public deliveries of this course, contact
in-house@wcpconsulting.com or call 905-660-7184.

* At the University of Waterloo, this course is called Project Management Applied Tools and Techniques. Participants of the Project Management Essentials course will earn credit towards a University of Waterloo Certificate in Project Management and University of Toronto Certificate in Applied Project Management.

The Project Management Essentials course may be taken as a stand-alone workshop or applied to one of the following University level project management certificates:

• University of Toronto Certificate in Applied Project Management
• University of Waterloo Project Management Certificate

Participants of this workshop may therefore also be interested in the other courses that make up these certificate:

• PM Essentials Part 2: Monitoring and Control
• PMP Exam Prep - The Velociteach System
• Hands-on Microsoft Project
• Juggling Multiple Projects
• Business Analysis in for the PM
• People Skills: The Secret Behind Project Success
• Managing Stakeholder Expectations

For more information, email PMcertificates@wcpconsulting.com

What our clients say about
Project Management Essentials...

“Without a doubt the best course I have attended… very informative, exceptionally well-organized, presenter was a blast!”
 – Lori Clarke, Department of Health

“Excellent!!! Presentation of topics was great! The course is a great asset to the new and old (experienced) Project Manager.”
– Robert D’Ambrosio, Bell Canada

“Skills instantly applicable; can take away and use immediately in the work environment,… made the course enjoyable… extremely informative and applicable.”
– Karen Haffey, AT&T Canada

“Did a great job of covering all basic elements of project management. Reinforced/reiterated all important points. Excellent use of real life examples to illustrate both the principles and practical utility of the techniques presented!”
– Randy Lavoie, Primus Telecommunications Inc.

Paul is a fantastic and motivating teacher with a great sense of humour. I look forward to hopefully taking more of his classes.
- Jennifer Jones, Online Fundraising Projects Manager, International Fun for Animal Welfare

Paul knows the subject well.  Notes are awesome.  Space for our notes.  The course reference book not only augments class slides but expand on them. - John Miller, IT consultant