NEW! Project Planning and Control: The Foundations of Project Management with Bob Maiale
What You Will Learn
Upon completion of this training, learners will be able to:
- Discuss foundational concepts of project management, such as project, project life cycle, stakeholders, etc.
- Demonstrate how to create a realistic and defensible project schedule, which incorporates the work and work estimates, adjusted for any applicable “loading factors.”
- Illustrate how to communicate effectively with all stakeholders.
Description
Managing projects can be very different from managing day-to-day operations. Why is that true? And what knowledge, skills and abilities must a great project manager possess? Are they the same ones that make a great functional manager? What makes great project managers great?
There are volumes upon volumes written on how to successfully manage a project. Project management is part science, part art, but it is not rocket science. In this foundational course, we introduce a simple, common-sense process for planning, organizing, and executing a project to deliver a quality product the first time! We also explore the “finer arts” of project management by addressing the competencies of communication, negotiation, and coordination, as well as the soft skills that frequently separate the good project managers from the great ones.
This program is for anyone who is or will be managing a portion of a project or an entire project in an organization, with little or no prior project management training or experience, with shared or part-time resources, all with shifting priorities.
AGENDA
-
General Concepts
- General characteristics of projects
- Special challenges of healthcare projects
- The right process for the right project (iterative versus predictive)
- Project stakeholders (Whom do we care about? Why? How much?)
Defining Project Goals and Scope
- Knowing what you are building before you start building!
- Project charter (If you do not know where you are going, you might end up somewhere else!)
Planning Project Work
- Project strategies (and how to make the right decisions)
- Scope baseline (what is “in” and what is “out”)
- Work breakdown structure (all the work that needs to be done)
- Defining project work (in the right amount of detail)
- Estimating (how long, how much)
- Critical path (When is the earliest this project can be done?)
-
Managing Risk
- Defining risk (not always a bad thing)
- Identifying risks
- Prioritizing risks (Not all risks are created equal.)
- Responding to risks (When, how, who?)
Managing Project Resources
- Determining resource requirements for a project (not just people)
- Project teams (People who work on your project do not always work for you.)
- Assigning work (and what goes into those decisions)
-
Project Communication
- The importance of communication (Hint: It is big.)
- Project stakeholders (usual and unusual suspects)
- The project communication plan (Yes, you need one.)
Status Reporting
- Useful and useless metrics (and when to blame the messenger)
- Is the project on track? (Or is it just 90% complete?)
- How do we re-plan when it is not on track?
Change Management
- Good change is good but must be controlled.
- Uncontrolled change turns the project into a moving target (before terminating it).
- The change management plan (Yes, you need one of those too.)
Tracking and Control
- Control is easier, the more you follow the process!
- How do we replan when things slip?
Project Closing
- Project closing processes
- Project documentation (a necessary not-so-evil)
Post-Project Review
- Because “Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.”
- The how-to for a good post-project review
PDU Allocation Table
Ways of Working | Power Skills | Business Acumen | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|
CAPM® / PMI-CP™ / PMP® / PgMP® | 14 | 7 | 0 | 21.00 |
PMI-ACP® / Agile* | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7.00 |
PMI-SP® | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14.00 |
PMI-RMP® | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7.00 |
PfMP® | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7.00 |
PMI-PBA® | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7.00 |
| | | |
Instructor(s)

Bob Maiale PMP, PMI-CP
Bob Maiale, PMP, PMI-CP, is the former Product Owner for the construction curriculum at PMI. He spent 5 years with PMI before retiring in 2024. Prior to PMI, Bob spent decades in the private sector as a trainer and practitioner. As a trainer, he delivered project management seminars to global audiences while working for an Authorized Training Partner. His clients included Citibank, Chase, Avon, Prudential, MetLife, IPG, Kraft Foods, Staples, Tiffany & Co. and the Kennedy Space Center.
He was also a PM practitioner having managed projects and built and ran PMOs for Citrix, Verizon Wireless, AECOM, Canon USA and Platform Specialty Products. His roots are in IT where he began his career in NYNEX, one of the “baby Bells” that was created with the breakup and divestiture of the Bell System.
Bob has spoken and presented at many PMI chapters and conferences over the years and is the former Vice President of Education for the South Florida PMI Chapter and is a former member of the New Jersey and Long Island Chapters.