Information Technology (IT) Project Management

Course Details

• Course Overview
• Select high impact projects and abandon low-return projects
• Apply tools to thoroughly plan a project
• Identify and track quality and project metrics
• Establish yourself as a leader of high-performing project teams
• Create a cost management plan
• Analyze risks qualitatively and quantitatively
• 1. Introduction to Project Management
• Understand the growing need for better project management, especially for information technology (IT) projects
• Explain what a project is, provide examples of IT projects, list various attributes of projects, and describe the triple constraint of project management
• Describe project management and discuss key elements of the project management framework, including project stakeholders, the project management knowledge areas, common tools and techniques, and proje
• Discuss the relationship between project, program, and portfolio management and the contributions each makes to enterprise success
• Understand the role of project managers by describing what they do, what skills they need, and career opportunities for IT project managers
• Describe the project management profession, including its history, the role of professional organizations like the Project Management Institute (PMI), the importance of certification and ethics, and t
• 2. Project Management and Information Technology Context
• Describe the systems view of project management and how it applies to information technology (IT) projects
• Understand organizations, including the four frames, organizational structures, and organizational culture
• Explain why stakeholder management and top management commitment are critical for a project's success
• Understand the concept of a project phase and the project life cycle, and distinguish between project development and product development
• Discuss the unique attributes and diverse nature of IT projects
• Describe recent trends affecting IT project management, including globalization, outsourcing, virtual teams, and agile project management
• 3. Project Management Process Groups - A Case Study
• Describe the five project management process groups, the typical level of activity for each, and the interactions among them
• Understand how the project management process groups relate to the project management knowledge areas
• Discuss how organizations develop information technology (IT) project management methodologies to meet their needs
• Review a case study of an organization applying the project management process groups to manage an IT project, describe outputs of each process group, and understand the contribution that effective in
• Review the same case study of a project managed with an agile focus to illustrate the key differences in approaches
• Describe several templates for creating documents for each process group
• 4. Project Integration Management
• Describe an overall framework for project integration management as it relates to the other project management knowledge areas and the project life cycle
• Discuss the strategic planning process and apply different project selection methods
• Explain the importance of creating a project charter to formally initiate projects
• Describe project management plan development, understand the content of these plans, and review approaches for creating them
• Explain project execution, its relationship to project planning, the factors related to successful results, and tools and techniques to assist in directing and managing project work
• Describe the process of monitoring and controlling a project
• Understand the integrated change control process, planning for and managing changes on information technology (IT) projects, and developing and using a change control system
• Explain the importance of developing and following good procedures for closing projects
• Describe how software can assist in project integration management
• 5. Project Scope Management
• Describe the process of planning scope management
• Discuss methods for collecting and documenting requirements to meet stakeholder needs and expectations
• Explain the scope definition process and describe the contents of a project scope statement
• Discuss the process for creating a work breakdown structure using the analogy, top-down, bottom-up, and mind-mapping approaches
• Explain the importance of validating scope and how it relates to defining and controlling scope
• Understand the importance of controlling scope and approaches for preventing scope-related problems on information technology (IT) projects
• Describe how software can assist in project scope management
• 6. Project Time Management
• Understand the importance of project schedules and good project time management
• Discuss the process of planning schedule management
• Define activities as the basis for developing project schedules
• Describe how project managers use network diagrams and dependencies to assist in activity sequencing
• Understand the relationship between estimating resources and project schedules
• Explain how various tools and techniques help project managers perform activity duration estimates
• Use a Gantt chart for planning and tracking schedule information, find the critical path for a project, and describe how critical chain scheduling and the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT
• Discuss how reality checks and discipline are involved in controlling and managing changes to the project schedule
• Describe how project management software can assist in project time management and review words of caution before using this software
• 7. Project Cost Management
• Understand the importance of project cost management
• Explain basic project cost management principles, concepts, and terms
• Describe the process of planning cost management
• Discuss different types of cost estimates and methods for preparing them
• Understand the importance of project cost management
• Explain basic project cost management principles, concepts, and terms
• Describe the process of planning cost management
• Discuss different types of cost estimates and methods for preparing them
• 8. Project Quality Management
• Understand the importance of project quality management for information technology (IT) products and services
• Define project quality management and understand how quality relates to various aspects of IT projects
• Describe quality management planning and how quality and scope management are related
• Discuss the importance of quality assurance
• Explain the main outputs of the quality control process
• Understand the tools and techniques for quality control, such as the Seven Basic Tools of Quality, statistical sampling, Six Sigma, and testing
• Summarize the contributions of noteworthy quality experts to modern quality management
• Describe how leadership, the cost of quality, organizational influences, expectations, cultural differences, and maturity models relate to improving quality in IT projects
• Discuss how software can assist in project quality management
• 9. Project Human Resource Management
• Explain the importance of good human resource management on projects, including the current state of the global IT workforce and future implications for it
• Define project human resource management and understand its processes
• Summarize key concepts for managing people by understanding the theories of Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg, David McClelland, and Douglas McGregor on motivation, H. J. Thamhain and D. L. Wilemon o
• Discuss human resource management planning and be able to create a human resource plan, project organizational chart, responsibility assignment matrix, and resource histogram
• Understand important issues involved in project staff acquisition and explain the concepts of resource assignments, resource loading, and resource leveling
• Assist in team development with training, team-building activities, and reward systems
• Explain and apply several tools and techniques to help manage a project team and summarize general advice on managing teams
• Describe how project management software can assist in project human resource management
• 10. Project Communications Management
• Understand the importance of good communications on projects and the need to develop soft skills, especially for IT project managers and their teams
• Review key concepts related to communications
• Explain the elements of planning project communications and how to create a communications management plan
• Describe how to manage communications, including communication technologies, media, and performance reporting
• Discuss methods for controlling communications to ensure that information needs are met throughout the life of the project
• List various methods for improving project communications, such as running effective meetings, using various technologies effectively, and using templates
• Describe how software can enhance project communications management
• 11. Project Risk Management
• Understand risk and the importance of good project risk management
• Discuss the elements of planning risk management and the contents of a risk management plan
• List common sources of risks on information technology (IT) projects
• Describe the process of identifying risks and create a risk register
• Discuss qualitative risk analysis and explain how to calculate risk factors, create probability/impact matrixes, and apply the Top Ten Risk Item Tracking technique to rank risks
• Explain quantitative risk analysis and how to apply decision trees, simulation, and sensitivity analysis to quantify risks
• Provide examples of using different risk response planning strategies to address both negative and positive risks
• Discuss how to control risks
• Describe how software can assist in project risk management
• 12. Project Procurement Management
• Understand the importance of project procurement management and the increasing use of outsourcing for information technology (IT) projects
• Describe the work involved in planning procurements for projects, including determining the proper type of contract to use and preparing a procurement management plan, statement of work, source select
• Discuss how to conduct procurements and strategies for obtaining seller responses, selecting sellers, and awarding contracts
• Understand the importance of project procurement management and the increasing use of outsourcing for information technology (IT) projects
• Describe the work involved in planning procurements for projects, including determining the proper type of contract to use and preparing a procurement management plan, statement of work, source select
• Discuss how to conduct procurements and strategies for obtaining seller responses, selecting sellers, and awarding contracts
• 13. Project Stakeholder Management
• Understand the importance of project stakeholder management throughout the life of a project
• Discuss the process of identifying stakeholders, how to create a stakeholder register, and how to perform a stakeholder analysis
• Describe the contents of a stakeholder management plan
• Understand the process of managing stakeholder engagement and how to use an issue log effectively
• Explain methods for controlling stakeholder engagement
• Discuss types of software available to assist in project stakeholder management
• 14. Test Prep - (Optional)
• Test prep is provided for both the Project+ and the PMP exams. Whether you plan to take either exam or not, the test prep is a great course review.