Project Management Level I: Initiation & Planning

Master the initiation and planning phases of the project management life cycle in this interactive 1-day project management workshop.

In this course, students learn the required skills for initiating and planning projects. This course is designed to be an engaging, interactive workshop where participation is encouraged throughout. Students will receive a workbook that contains both practical knowledge along with a large variety of exercises to be completed during class.

By the end of this course, students will understand how to choose appropriate projects, and how to plan extensively for project success. Students may take this course as a stand-alone course, or in conjunction with Project Management: Execution, Controlling, and Closing to be exposed to the complete project management experience.

Course Overview

After a brief introduction to project management as a science, students will begin to explore the first two phases of the project management process. While learning about the Initiation phase, students will be both identifying and selecting projects. They will practice creating a project charter and accurately compose a project scope document.

Then, it is a deep dive into the Planning phase, where a large degree of project success is determined. In the first part of the Planning phase, students will create diagrams and charts while learning the value in interpreting them. In the second part, students will gain technical experience by using strategy to determine such concepts as float and resource management.

The last part of the course is a facilitated discussion on project managers and what it takes to become a successful one. Students will explore the most relevant skills and traits, discuss the vital importance of delegation, and the best strategies for managing change.

This one-day workshop concludes with a brief overview of Project Management software/apps, Project Management associations, and Project Management certifications.

This class is for students that:

• Want an overview of project management theories and methodologies
• Desire a career in project management
• Need a review of project management concepts and approaches

What You’ll Learn at a Glance

• Understand the project lifecycle
• Initiate a project with a charter and scope
• Define activities and delegate work
• Manage resources and slack
• Learn key project manager skills

Course Syllabus

• Project Fundamentals
• What is a Project?
• Characteristics of Projects
• The Project Triangle
• The Project Lifecycle
• What is a Gantt Chart?
• Project Management Methodologies
• Brief Overview of Methodologies (Waterfall, Agile, etc.)
• The Initiating Phase
• Project Identification
• Project Selection
• Project Charter
• Project Scope
• The Planning Phase
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Task Responsibility
• Defining Activities
• Sequencing Activities
• Network Diagram
• Estimating Activity Resources
• Resource Management In the Planning Phase
• Activity Resources
• Resource-Constrained Planning
• Resource Requirement Plan
• Resource Utilization Plan
• Start/Finish Times, Critical Path, and Slack
• Establishing Project Start & Completion Times
• Critical Path
• Total Slack
• Free Slack
• The Project Manager
• Project Manager Responsibilities
• Project Managers Skills
• Delegation
• Managing Change

Learn more about Project Management Level I: Initiation & Planning at NYIM Training.