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Internationally it is well recognised that if the project gets off to a good start the overall success of that project is greatly improved. For a systematic approach to start-up to be successful, the participants must understand the objective of the process at any stage, and must be aware of the specific outputs needed to achieve the necessary level of understanding. These objectives are to:

1. Review the current project definition

2. Define the objectives of the current stage

3. Develop solutions and criteria for evaluation

4. Assess risk and assumptions

5. Prepare a strategic level work breakdown structure for the project

6. Prepare an operational level responsibility chart against the plan

7. Estimate work content and duration’s for the work packages

8. Schedule the work packages

9. Prepare initial activity schedules

10. Prepare a management and control plan.

 

 

In emergency situations or in very short duration projects there is no time for people to familiar with complicated procedures. However, some procedure needs to be in place if the project is to deploy it’s resources in an effective and efficient manner. This course follows a high level procedure that is easy to remember and has been proven to work over many years and does not rely on computers that often fail at the most critical times. This course is instructional in the use of:

The second day makes use of a project simulation to build on the procedure learnt in the first day.

Essentially a train the trainer exercise where the teacher is to manage a group of children to perform projects. This course is to present the fundamentals of project best practise in 4 stages of the lifecycle and ten strategic level steps to each stage of the lifecycle building a 40 step work break down structure in a unique fashion to clarify the delegation of work and to understand the use of time. A practical workshop where delegates learn simplistic but effective approaches to assembling projects.

Based on fifteen years of international research to find the elements of success and failure of projects across the spectrum and to consolidate those findings into a model that enhances the things that work and avoids the things that don’t. Making use of a unique project checklist delegates are first thought the theory of what makes projects successful and then practically work through an actual project proposal. Check lists for ten projects are included in the course material.

An exciting proven approach developed in South Africa and used internationally that assist in managing projects on a day to day basis. All the instructions, forms and checklists you require, to manage a successful project in an auditable environment. A pencil and paper approach to project management in an easy to use dairy for personal time management into which the project system is integrated. Audited by Ernest and Young for TRANSNET life critical projects and found to be the "preferred approach" to project management when peoples lives are at stake.

Students are arranged into groups and each group now has to apply module one to three to manage a project. The brief is given for each group to manage a project to host a tea party for two guests. Using the forms from the project system in sequential order, the proposal stage is completed when the group finds a sponsor to approve their resource constraints. Next each group calls a start-up meeting and determines the responsibilities. After the meeting the planning stage is performed up to the point where orders are placed at the "Shop". During the implementation stage they realise that there is only one tea set. They must solve the problem and complete the implementation stage. Once the guests have had their tea the project is closed. A cash flow statement and presentation of lessons learnt ends the day.

Tea is used as irrespective of country culture or education, knowledge of a "tea party" remains relevant and provides an easy platform to transfer knowledge to skill.

Day Three

Students individually spend 3 hours developing a real project ( one they will be working on after the training ) of their choice from concept to sponsors approval. One hour is spent at a "sponsors meeting" where students each present their project to the class to learn from and question each other.

Discussion on the practical application of: project funding and control of expenditure, effects of product risk, monitory value of time, prioritising projects and the management of multi-projects by cross functional teams within an organisation ends day three.

This course queries the over abundance of mathematical approaches to project risk management and looks at methods successfully applied in practise. The course teaches that project risk and product risk impact on the project life cycle differently and therefore need to be managed differently. International and local experience has shown that while project risk originates and impacts in the proposal stage of the project, product risk originates in the planning and impacts on the implementation stage.

Two models found in practise leading to project success is described and the applications using project life cycles is discussed. What is proposed is that when a risk is identified, it be made the end condition of a stage in the life cycle. The project would not progress until the risk is eliminated resulting in the entire project team focusing on the identified risk until it is solved. The solution is that risk must be eliminated at the point where it originates.

Quantitative and qualitative approaches are discussed and a methodology is introduced for gauging the criticality of a project, in order to determine the priority order of a project against a range of similar projects, so that the correct measures may be applied to achieve the most efficient and effective use of available resources. The development of a unique qualitative decision matrix is discussed which utilises an unlimited number of parameters to which an unlimited range can be ascribed to prioritise an unlimited number of similar projects.

Use is made of qualitative approaches depicting the value of parameters ascribed to a project, which guides the decision makers to the overall importance of a particular project. The application of this matrix to actual situations has resulted in millions of Rands being saved as a result of applying recourses correctly to those projects that actually need them.

Tenders and contracts today are plagued by loss of expertise, an inability to write technical specifications, no reciprocal agreements exist with respect to solutions provided, lack of trust between the customer and suppliers, speed of technology obsolescence, problem of the best solutions versus the cheapest, diverse user requirements, dissatisfaction with existing procurement procedures and contracts, users require solutions, no professional services available, no control over prime contractors, subcontractors and suppliers and a lack of transparency when awarding contracts.

The solution to the problem is to make use of an open tender procedure without technical specifications involving a procurement process or method that must comply with Government policy, the Treasury Act and Tender Board Regulations. This course will teach participants the functions and management of: Tender board procedure, Analysing capital expenditure, Using trend analysis, Risk and contract method, Tender without specification, Basic use, Results achieved to date, Step by step guide and Limitations

Three key elements of raising finance for projects are introduced namely; the feasibility study, viability and sponsorship. Feasibility deals with two methods to completing the study; SWOT analysis and options approach.

Project viability deals with progressively improving cost estimations as the project life cycle goes from stage to stage quantifying: Time, people, equipment, contingency, supply account expenditure and capital account expenditure.

Sponsorship exposes the relationship between the project manager and champion when dealing with clients by discussing: What is a sponsor, when will the money actually be required and how is the money to be paid back? Funding deals with: equity, debt and grant aid. Letter of credit, export credit, supplier credit, buyer credit, aid, leasing, forfeiting, counter trade, switching trade, offset, build operate transfer, franchising, debt equity swapping and Islamic banks.

Project Management Skills Training based on global standards and best practices to cover most types of projects. This training includes an understanding of project management and its relationship to other management disciplines and the use of project management skills training methods to better manage people to reach specific objectives in an effective and efficient way. This practical workshop is for companies who wish to implement an easy way to ensure the organization achieves the desired improvements by transferring practical project management skills training into the company. A detailed insight into Project Management Scope, Time, Cost, Quality; Communication, Risk, Procurement and Administration Management is provided in a life cycle approach to Proposal, Planning, Implantation and Close-Out Stages.

This very popular course from Eastern Europe shows how projects in line with Isaiah 61 can make use of secular funding to bring projects to fruition. Time management particularly when working with voluntary labour can cause difficulty in these projects as can dealing with stakeholders. This course explains in easy to understand terms for lay people how to manage these aspects achieving miraculous success in project completion. Same as PPM but first day deals more with funding – communication management and time management leave out second half of third day.

International development economics, fundraising, communication management, stakeholder management and voluntary labour in non-aligned countries all contribute to these project not being able to follow the industrial model for project success. These projects need a special insight in managing the peculiarities of dealing in rural conditions. This course will bring a new found understanding of how the NGO environment operates with particular emphasis on fundraising and command and control structures required to bring these projects to a successful completion.

A unique perspective on managing business projects i.e. implementing strategy, process re-engineering, re-structuring and aligning human resource management with management by projects. This training is essential for those organisations intending to enhance efficiency and instil a project maturity model based on incremental improvement of project procedure.

This five day workshop utilises Europe’s top selling strategy text "Exploring corporate strategy" by Johnson and Scholes as used by the worlds foremost MBA programmes and works the group through an actual strategic implementation programme. International best practises are supported by a four stage project life cycle which results in a functioning strategy by the end of this programme. The five days training is not the end of this workshop as the students are released to actually implement the strategy with regular follow-up to transfer skill and support learning for a pre determined period.