Tools and Techniques for Project Managers: Facilitating Creative Problem Solving! with Teresa Lawrence
What You Will Learn
Upon completion of this training, learners will be able to:
- Practice creativity tools and techniques described in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) and other standards—but rarely explicitly taught.
- Apply techniques to shorten the amount of time it takes to solve problems and implement solutions.
- Demonstrate techniques to strengthen the capacity, performance, and productivity of their teams.
Description
Projects come with problems. Now more than ever, the problems that project managers encounter demand that they be creative. High-performing project managers convert problems into challenges then skillfully generate, develop, and implement novel solutions to solve those problems.
In this interactive training, you will learn the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) process and how to apply it to solve problems you encounter in your project, program, and portfolio management work.
Project managers who consistently deliver on time, within budget, and to the desired scope solve problems differently. These project managers excel in their ability to draw from the capacity of their teams, stakeholders, and themselves to be deliberately creative.
In this training, you will gain the skills to ignite creativity at will instead of waiting for ideas to happen. This training is based on the seminal work of Alex Osborn, the inventor of brainstorming, and Sidney Parnes, the developer of the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) process. As a result of the training, you will become savvy enough to assess any challenge or opportunity and apply the most dependable creativity tools to best resolve the project challenges they encounter.
AGENDA
Day One
- Creativity—What It Is and What It Isn't
- The Origins of Brainstorming and Other Creativity Tools
- Two Types of Thinking
- Guidelines for Generating Ideas and Evaluating Ideas
- Turning Problems into Challenges
- When Creativity Meets Project Management
- What the Research Says
- The Power of the Intersection
- PMBOK® Guide/Standards and the Multiple References to Creativity Tools and Techniques
- Knowledge Areas Versus Thinking Tools
- The Value in Explicitly Learning Creativity Tools Described in the PMBOK® Guide/Standards
- The CPS Process
- The Three Overarching Traits of the Creative Problem-Solver
- The Seven Cognitive and Affective Thinking Skills Associated With Problem-Solving
- The Seven Steps of the Problem-Solving Process and Their Objectives
- Facilitating Decision-Making Versus Leading a Meeting
- The Inhibitors of Successful Project/Program/Portfolio Management
- Identifying Where Projects Encounter Problems
- Creativity Tools in Practice for Identification of Inhibitors
- Classification of the Inhibitors
- Prioritizing Inhibitors
- Remedy Identification
- Remedy Realization Plan
Day Two
- The Application of the CPS Process to Project Management
- Assessing the Situation (Diagnostic Thinking)
- Defining the Purpose and Objective of Projects
- Determining Strategic Alignment and Business Need
- Assessing Variance in Schedule, Cost, and Scope
- Practical Application of Creativity Tools in Use
- Clarification: Exploring the Vision (Visionary Thinking)
- Articulating a Project Vision of Desired Outcomes
- Clarifying Project Challenges
- Identifying Future Opportunities
- Practical Application of Creativity Tools in Use
- Clarification: Formulating Challenges (Strategic Thinking)
- Identifying Gaps Between Current and Desired State in Project Objectives
- Assessing “What-If” Scenarios
- Performing Alternative and Root Cause Analysis
- Managing Change
- Practical Application of Creativity Tools in Use
- Transformation: Exploring Ideas (Ideational Thinking)
- Generating Novel Ideas to Address Project Challenges
- Performing Innovative Thinking
- Prioritizing Alternatives and Risks
- Building Team and Stakeholder Synergy
- Practical Application of Creativity Tools in Use
- Transformation: Formulating Solutions (Evaluative Thinking)
- Assessing Reasonableness of Alternatives to Achieving Outcomes
- Clearing Obstacles for Project Teams
- Negotiating Conflict
- Practical Application of Creativity Tools in Use
- Implementation: Exploring Acceptance (Contextual Thinking)
- Understanding the Interrelated Conditions and Circumstances That Will Support or Hinder Success
- Assessing Tolerance and Increasing Buy-in Among Project Team and Stakeholders
- Developing Acceptance Criteria
- Conducting Scenario Analysis
- Practical Application of Creativity Tools in Use
- Implementation: Formulating a Plan (Tactical Thinking)
- Devising Plans That Include Specific and Measurable Activities and Timelines
- Understanding How Activities Sequence and Interact
- Planning Project Processes
- Determining Sources of Assistance and Resistance When Implementing Plans
- Practical Application of Creativity Tools in Use
PDU Allocation Table
| Ways of Working | Power Skills | Business Acumen | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAPM® / PMP® / PgMP® | 1 | 10 | 3 | 14.00 |
| PMI-ACP® / Agile* | 0 | 10 | 3 | 13.00 |
| PMI-SP® | 0 | 10 | 3 | 13.00 |
| PMI-RMP® | 0 | 10 | 3 | 13.00 |
| PfMP® | 0 | 10 | 3 | 13.00 |
| PMI-PBA® | 0 | 10 | 3 | 13.00 |
 |  |  |  |
Instructor(s)
Teresa Lawrence PMP
Teresa Lawrence, PhD, PMP, CSM, provides training and facilitation in the application of creative problem solving to project management. Additionally, she consults as a project manager and provides professional services in project management and agile mindset development and PMP certification training. Since September of 2017, over 30K project managers have participated in Teresa’s trainings, workshops, presentations and webinars and earned PDUs as a result. Teresa is an alum of the International Center for Studies in Creativity (ICSC) at Buffalo State College. She is the past recipient of Buffalo Business First “Women of Influence” and the University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education “Distinguished Alumni” award. Teresa is a previous superintendent of schools and the current president of International Deliverables, LLC, a certified WBE.