As today’s projects become increasingly complex, innovative and technologically demanding, the project managers and team members face daunting challenges. Project decision and strategy making allows the determination of the basic long-term goals and objectives of an enterprise. It is increasingly important that the correct project selection is made, that the benefits be clearly set out and understood at the outset and that the project is planned appropriately to support good execution and delivery.
Decision-making in any project is important, yet typical approaches can often seem distant or unapproachable for many. In this Decision-Making in Projects course, delegates are introduced to the concept of making ethical and applicable decisions. Considering a basic project framework and case-study, we will reflect on likely choices for each scenario.
Specific attention will be paid to highlighting how small decisions can lead to significant compromises in the future. Delegates will reflect on their likely responses and the framework/s that they use for decision making.
Making good, solid project decisions is extremely important task for organisations, but not an easy thing to do. This course offers an insight into decision-making procedures in a step-by-step manner. It intends to build, develop, and hone essential skills required to improve decision-making in a dynamic project workforce with the key areas of constraint being time, cost and scope having the ability to affect a project outcome. Any engineering project must consider what needs to be done to maintain those three constraints and associated risks.
This online training course will cover the following key areas:
- Gain an insight into key decision-making tools for Strategic and Corporate decisions
- Learn the importance of project classification
- Understand the importance of integrating scope, time, resources and cost management
- Learn problem-solving models to address decision-making situations in a systematic fashion
- Understand the management process overview required for the project
- Identify with and manage stakeholders and communication needs in projects
- Understand the importance of accurately estimating and allocating project costs and resources
- Identify risk sources and use qualitative and quantitative techniques to deal with uncertainty
By the end of this training course, participants will be able to:
- Identify with relevant stakeholders and communication needs in projects
- Understand key contextual requirements within the project environment
- Learn how to use appropriate decision-making tools & techniques that have been tried and tested by industry experts
- Accurately estimate and allocate project costs and associated benefits through a variety of tools
- Manage interpersonal and organisational dynamics to facilitate agreement and clarity of action
Day 1
Concepts of Project Management & Intricacies of Project Approval
- Projects and Programmes – Strategic Objective setting
- Establishing a Balanced Scorecard and Scoring Mechanism for your organisation
- Project Sanctioning and approval Process (PSAP)
- Development of the Strategic Project Business Case
- Find out your problem-solving style (Self-assessment)
- Systematic Problem Definition - Activity
- Project Identification – Awareness of accountability of Project Ideas
- Variety of Tools learnt through Activities:
- Pro’s and Con’s
- Force field analysis
- Decision Matrix
Day 2
Project Context for Engineering-Based Projects
- Management process overview - Project Feasibility Decision makers
- Appreciation of macro-environment in relation to project choice
- Understand who stakeholders are and how they may impact upon the project
- Dealing with decision-makers
- Exploratory decision-analysis tools & techniques – activities
- SCAMPER
- Brainstorming / Reverse Brainstorming
- Mind Mapping
- De Bono’s - 6 Thinking Hats
- Evaluate and Select solution
- Regulatory framework, institutional factors and infrastructure
- Project Preparation & Planning responsibilities
Day 3
Project Planning Modelling and Project Leadership Skills
- Structuring project contract deals
- Cost / Benefit Analysis.
- Feasibility / Capability Analysis
- Build an executive leadership style that guides the project toward greater performance and profit
- Understand the Project Organisation in a typical engineering-based project
- Project Manager & key team members –Unique Leadership Requirements
- Use Engaging Language - Activity
- Leading from the front - Activity
- Find out your leadership style - Activity
- Hersey Blanchard, Situational Leadership model
- Balance team, task and individual functions
Day 4
- Identify Project Risks Management process and Avoid Reasons for Project Failures - Prepare for Successful Delivery and Integration
- Develop a positive pro-active risk management approach that delivers better decisions
- Risk Awareness questionnaire (Self-Assessment)
- Make use of examples of qualitative and quantitative approaches including
- Bowtie Model - Activity
- Systematic Problem Definition (Grid) - Activity
- Ishikawa / Cause and Effect diagram - Activity
- Understand why some projects fail and analyse reasons for successes
- Define success criteria and KPI’s of an example project
- Capture Project Requirements
- Understand the need for a project team approach
- Find out your team role – Self-assessment
- The perfect team member - Activity
- Working Collaboratively
- Crossing the line together – Cooperative relationships activity
Day 5
Development Project Stakeholder Relationships & Project Communication
- Identify and plan to engage with the project’s key stakeholders
- Importance of communication in a project environment
- Importance of questions - Activity
- Evaluate your listening skills - self assessment
- Create an action plan - Activities
- Break solution into action steps
- Prioritise actions and assign roles
- Master Negotiation Skills
- Learn how and when to delegate
- Creating project dashboards - Activity
- Presenting decisions to the project board
- Control Decision-making
- Follow-up at milestones - Activity
This training course is suitable to a wide range of professionals but will greatly benefit:
- Senior management decision makers
- Commercial management
- Financial management
- Project professionals who hold responsibility for engineering projects and costs in client and contracting companies
The audience should be positioned to pursue and maintain competitive operational and business efficiency, revenue, maximization, and profitability for the organisation.