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
Despite the countless volumes written on how to manage a project successfully, project management is still part art, part science, but it's not rocket science.
This hands-on workshop cuts through all the clutter to distill the essential elements of project management into a practical, common-sense process, which can be immediately transferred to the workplace.
Rather than drowning in theory, participants work through an immersive project scenario designed to reflect real-world challenges and opportunities. This scenario creates a common learning environment where participants practice new skills, gain unique insights, and make the right connections among the different stages of the project life. The workshop also addresses the finer arts of project management, by highlighting the importance of soft skills, and demonstrating how traditional project management tools can be used to facilitate project communications and negotiations, turning potential challenges into opportunities for alignment.
AGENDA
-
General Concepts
- General characteristics of 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.