Certificate in Project Management for Engineers and Technicians

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

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

Create quality project plans
Generate effective work breakdown structures
Create computerised PERT and Gantt charts for your projects, add and level resources, and monitor/report on your project effectively
Define appropriate cost reporting mechanisms for your projects
Define, analyse and manage the risks associated with your projects
Introduce appropriate quality management procedures
Keep your projects on track using the 'Earned Value Analysis' method
Exercise an appropriate leadership style and keep team members creative and motivated
Avoid the pitfalls caused by a lack of understanding of the legal issues pertaining to projects
Use appropriate software to leverage your time and expertise
Deal with projects that have a large degree of inherent uncertainty and/or a strong emphasis on timely completion

OVERVIEW

More and more engineering and technical professionals are making career transitions from product design into project management. This, however, requires formal training and a willingness to learn new skills. All the technical know-how in the world will not deliver a project successfully, i.e. with the required level of quality, within cost constraints and on time, without proper project management skills. Unfortunately very few engineering professionals have any degree of formal project management training, which results in a great deal of personal stress as well as cost blow-outs and other woes.

The lack of training often applies to the 'people skills' required for effectively leading the project team as well. To address this problem, the course will focus on the critical project related activities such as work breakdown, scheduling, cost control and risk management, and show how these can be performed with software to lighten the project manager's workload. The 'soft' (but equally important) aspects such as team leadership and contract law are also covered. All topics will be supplemented with practical exercises focusing primarily on the areas of electrical/electronic (including instrumentation) and mechanical engineering. If delegates wish to do so they can choose, as a basis for the practical exercises, small projects from their work environment so that they are familiar with the attributes thereof.

COURSE OUTLINE

MODULE 1: Introduction

Project definitions
Project life cycles
Professional Bodies of Knowledge
Project organizations
Project success criteria
Critical success factors

MODULE 2: Fundamentals

Quality project plans
Work breakdown structures
Assignment for Modules 1 & 2:
Developing a Work Breakdown Structure

MODULE 3: Time Management

Critical path method
Precedence method
Gantt charts

MODULE 4: Fundamentals

PERT charts
Resource levelling
Progress monitoring and control
Software Selection
Assignment for Modules 3 & 4: Generating PERT and Gantt charts

MODULE 5: Cost Management

Cost estimating
Estimating methods
Forecast final cost
Budgeting
Financial control
Change control
Assignment for Module 5:
Tracking cost variations

MODULE 6: Earned Value Analysis and Management

EVA/EVM concept
Definitions
Examples and case studies
Assignment for Module 6:
Calculating EVA parameters

MODULE 7: The Project Manager

Management vs. Leadership
Management/leadership theories
Cultural influences
Authority and power of the project manager
Project management functions
Project manager selection

MODULE 8: Quality Management

Quality concepts and definitions
Quality management fundamentals
Supply chain relationships
Quality assurance systems
ISO 9000:2005 quality system guidelines
Assignment for Modules 7 & 8: Quality structures and processes

MODULE 9: Risk Management

Definitions
Risk management
Risk identification
Risk analysis
Risk treatment
Assignment for Module 9: Risk analysis for given project

MODULE 10: Contractual Issues

The Commonwealth legal system
Attributes of contracts
Procurement strategies
Tendering
Extensions and termination of contracts
Remedies for breach
Assignment for Module 10: Questions on selected legal case studies

MODULE 11: Evaluation of Financing Options for a Project

Overview of Financial statements
Time lines of Money
Compounding
Discounting
Future Value of Money

MODULE 12: Time Value of Money and Related Concepts

Present Value
Present Values of Multiple Cash Flows
Net Present Value (NPV) of Multiple Cash Flows
Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Assignment for Modules 11 & 12: Establishing Internal Rate of Return