Planning and Managing Complex Multi-Million Dollar Projects

OBJECTIVE: This course provides advanced instruction about how to manage large scale and complicated projects. It also describes the roles of a Project Manager, goal setting, prioritization and problem solving. The course has four major sections:

A. Start Up Stage

Learning Outcome: Participants will learn about components of the Critical Path, various duties of the Project Manager and appropriate assignment of responsibilities.

  • Definitions and descriptions
  • Critical Path and
  • Critical Success Factors
  • Roles of the Project Manager
  • Leadership styles and implications for the team
  • Communications
  • Determining team composition
  • Assignment of duties
B. Development & Planning

Learning Outcome: Participants will develop skills in resource allocation, document preparation and leadership development while learning how goals drive a project. Comparative discussions of Objectives and Risks will provide knowledge of how to balance speculation with quantitative analysis.

  • Correct resources
  • Status reports
  • Leadership determination
  • Resource scheduling
  • Goals – SMART System
  • Draft preparation
  • Scope
  • Objectives
  • Deliverables
  • Risks
  • Critical Success Factors and Path
  • Status Report
C. Execution & Problem Solving

Learning Outcome: Participants will review several case studies that involve problem solving of complex projects and how they can be resolved. Prioritization of duties and providing status reports and feedback to upper management will also be discussed as a key component to the success of a project.

  • Warning signs of bad projects
  • Suggestions for resolving bad projects
  • Helping management with prioritizing of tasks
  • Crucial members of the steering committee
  • Group status reports
  • Business Process Improvement
  • Task distribution and analysis of project needs
  • One year group exercise
D. Completion & Efficiency Issues

Learning Outcome: Participants will be given more problem solving tools and learn how to advance a project towards completion. Coordination of multiple tasks and projects will show how the Project Manager can accomplish numerous objectives simultaneously. Business Process Improvement and elimination of redundancy will be highlighted as we look at ways to increase the organization and efficiency of managing a project.

  • Problems and obstacles and how to work through them
  • Frustrations of handling projects
  • Stress associated with projects
  • How to deal with non – performance
  • Ways to complete a project, BPI
  • Consistent method of determining Critical Success Factors
  • Relationships between multiple projects and resource sharing
  • Expense determination
  • Segmentation of various budget groups
  • Budgets – Projected vs. Actual