PM Crash Course

Real-World Tools for Real-World Projects

Every year, thousands of people are thrust into projects or project management roles at their companies. In fact, many project managers are assigned to or even placed in charge of high-profile projects, potentially worth millions of dollars to their organizations—with no tools, no direction, and little structured training. If you've recently been propelled into a project management role at your company, RMC can help!

This 1-day course in real-world project management is perfect for people who are looking to get projects back on track, find easy-to-use tools that can make an immediate impact, or too busy to learn the fundamentals of project management. If you feel like you're winging it, running out of time or losing control, you need this one day of training to start managing your projects the RIGHT way!

This course is offered in both public and onsite versions. If interested in hosting an onsite course, please click here to read more about our onsite courses and complete a request form.

NOTE: This course is designed for people with little or no formal project management training. If you are familiar with the International Standards for project management or are considering becoming certified in the next six months, please review the details of our 3-day Project Management Tricks of the Trade® course.

Course Features

Let RMC give you the tools you need to bring your projects in on-time and on-budget—tools that you can begin using TODAY.

This 1-day course in real-world project management is perfect for people who are looking to get projects back on track, find easy-to-use tools that can make an immediate impact, or too busy to learn the fundamentals of project management. This course is NOT designed for people who are intimately familiar with the International Standards for project management or people who are looking for training to become PM certified. This course entails 8 hours of training over the course of one day with a one-hour lunch break, and offers you the opportunity to:

• Acquire a quick start on the fundamentals of project management
• Learn over 20 PM techniques that can be implemented immediately on all projects
• Avoid the 12 most common pitfalls in managing projects
• Use safety nets to make sure control of projects is retained
• Determine how to gain support for projects each step of the way
• Learn techniques developed by actual project managers—not academics or motivational seminar companies
• Complete projects in less time so you can do other things
• Learn standard PM terminology to increase your credibility
• Ensure you get proper credit when projects are successfully completed
• Have fun while managing your projects

Learning Objectives

At the completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Define and Describe the Project Initiating Process
2. Define and Describe the Project Planning Process
3. Define and Describe the Project Executing and Controlling Processes
4. Define and Describe the Project Closing Process
5. Identify and Use Techniques for the Following:
   • Figuring Out What To Do While the Project Work Is Being Done
   • Finding Out How Your Project Is Going
   • Controlling the Project Once It Is in Motion
   • Managing the Execution of the Project

Course Outline

• Introduction
  • The Key Concepts Necessary to Prevent Project Failure
• Starting Your Project on the Right Foot
  • Preventing Problems BEFORE You Start
  • Finalizing What Is Asked of You
  • Ensuring You Have Agreement on Project Scope
• Organizing Your Project to Prevent Problems
  • Learning the Steps in the Planning Process
  • Finalizing Project Objectives
  • Getting and Keeping Resources
  • Breaking Projects Down into Manageable Pieces
  • Preventing Scope Creep
  • Acquiring Reliable Estimates
  • Proving How Long the Project Will Take
  • Preventing the #1 Problem on Projects
  • Focusing on Problem Prevention Instead of Reaction
  • Coming Up with a Realistic Plan
  • Finalizing How You Will Manage the Project
  • Developing the Final Management Plan and Getting It Approved
  • Making Sure Everyone is on the Same Page
• Getting the Work Done
  • Staying Focused and Not Wasting Time
  • The Top Actions People Miss
  • Tips for Hosting Great Meetings
  • Forms That Can Save You Tons of Time
  • Reports… Do You REALLY Need Them More Than Once per Month?
  • The Secret Art of Asking Questions to Learn What is REALLY Going On
  • Measuring Performance-Know How Your Project is Really Doing
  • Using Rewards and Team Building to Retain Cooperation (Advanced Techniques)
  • Updating Plans to Ensure the Project Stays on Track
  • Why Percent Complete Doesn't Tell You Anything
• Proving Your Success
  • Confirming the Work is Done to Requirements
  • Gaining Formal Sign-off from the Sponsor
  • Issuing Your Final Report
  • Releasing Your Resources
  • Proving-and Celebrating-Your Success!
• Conclusion-Other Important Issues
  • Handling Unrealistic Schedules
  • Gaining Support from Your Boss
  • Boosting Your Knowledge of Risk Management
  • Defining Roles and Responsibilities
  • Eliminating Status Meetings
  • Proving Your Worth as a Project Manager