Creativity Tools and Techniques for Project Managers 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. 
  • Demonstrate techniques to solve problems and implement solutions in a shorter period. 
  • Apply 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 in their responses. 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 how to apply the Creative Problem-Solving (CPS) process to 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 skills to ignite creativity at will instead of waiting for ideas and solutions 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 this 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 you encounter.

AGENDA

|

    • Introductions/Icebreaker
    • Overview of the Day
    • Creativity and Innovation: What Iit Is and What It Isn't
    • When Creativity Meets Project Management 
      • What the research says
      • The value in explicitly learning creativity tools described in the PMBOK® Guide
    • Overarching Traits of the Creative Problem-Solver
    • Three Types of Thinking: Divergent, Convergent, and Combinent 
    • The Creative Problem-Solving (CPS) Process
      • Clarify
        • Storyboard
        • Creative questions
      • Ideate
        • Brainstorming
        • Forced connections
      • Develop
        • PPCO
      • Implement
        • Assistors/resistors
        • Sequencing
    • Application to Project Management Challenges
    • Debrief the Training

Facilitator was fantastic. Tried to keep us engaged even though it was a long day to sit at a computer! Great takeaways, and the Chex Mix activity was creative, useful, and a smart way to engage us. This was my first interaction with PMI and I'm impressed.

The class was engaging and interactive. Most of the tools given can be used right away within my organization.

The course covered many angles and a lot of ground. There were many tools that could provide value in professional and sometimes personal settings. Teresa was engaging, energetic, flexible, and a clear communicator.

PDU Allocation Table

The table below displays the number of professional development units (PDUs) awarded for each PMI® credential, as they align to the PMI Talent Triangle®. Power Skills and Business Acumen PDUs apply evenly across all credentials and Ways of Working PDUs apply only to specific credentials. PDUs will be added in full to all eligible credentials. *Please note that the asterisked row below applies to the PMI® Agile Certification Journey and includes Disciplined Agile® Scrum Master (DASM), Disciplined Agile® Senior Scrum Master (DASSM), Disciplined Agile® Coach (DAC), and Disciplined Agile® Value Stream Consultant (DAVSC) certifications.
Ways of Working Power Skills Business Acumen Total
CAPM® / PMI-CP™ / PMP® / PgMP® 0.5 5 1.5 7.00
PMI-ACP® / Agile* 0 5 1.5 6.50
PMI-SP® 0 5 1.5 6.50
PMI-RMP® 0 5 1.5 6.50
PfMP® 0 5 1.5 6.50
PMI-PBA® 0 5 1.5 6.50
Ways of Working Power Skills Business Acument Talent Triangle

Instructor(s)

Teresa

Teresa Lawrence PMP

Teresa Lawrence, PhD, PMP, CSM, provides keynoting, 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, Agile mindset development, and PMP certification training. Since September 2017, over 85K project managers have participated in Teresa’s trainings, workshops, presentations, and webinars and earned PDUs. 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.

Training Information

PDUs
7
Level
Intermediate
Date
15 September 2025
Start Time
9:00 AM
Length
1 Day

Price

Member Price
US$881.00
(US$837.00 before 21 July)
Nonmember Price
US$1326.00
(US$1260.00 before 21 July)
Government Price
US$797.00
Student Price
US$383.00

The cost of this assessment is US$50.00 and is added to the training fee. The assessment cost is nonrefundable.  


 

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