Managing Projects Well (mpw) Detail

Detailed Chronological Learning Goals  

1. Definition of projects and roles of team members and project managers:

• what is a project?
• what is not a project? (with examples) 
• delegation 
• true teams 
• removing fear in the team 
• who estimates 
• walking in the other's shoes
  

2. Doing the thing right -  Project Quality: 

• technical TQM overview, its relationship to projects
• moments of magic and misery
• why projects fail
• why quality is squeezed
• quality technical definitions
• cost of (poor) quality
• includes exercises, detailed case study
  

3. Technical and behavioral project pressures: 

• limited role of tools
• technical overview
• steps we often skip
• working a schedule backwards
• what makes the difference 
  

4. Technical project management review: 

• planning, estimating, and control
• work breakdown structures
• scheduling
• terms
• critical path diagramming, purpose in a human system
• manual computation exercise
• group team planning exercise
  

5. Getting your own house in order: Managing your time well: 

• personal strengths and needs
• a new way to log and plan time
• time wasters
• changing bad habits right away
• urgent vs. important
• how to restructure your day
• doubling your productivity
• general planning model for small projects
• multiple drill and practice, and exercises
• a specific daily technique
  

6. Handling change, dealing with the unexpected, and making the best first impression: 

• key allies
• critical mass of support
• when to measure change
• dealing with reaction
• whether message sent equals message received
• making improvements
  

7. Stress Management: 

• two ways of preventing it 
• two ways of correcting it 
• getting the monkey off your back
• changing micromanagement
• improving initiative in others
• thorough progressive relaxation response
• alternative quick anti-stress method
• drill and practice
  

8. Getting other's houses in order: 

• working with others - one on one
• building rapport
• the secret message
• walking in other's shoes comprehensively
• how to manage your boss
• relationship strategies
• matching communication styles
• substantial exercises and practice
  

9. Written communication quality: Biggest offenders and antidotes.
   
10. Working with others - groups - meetings and presentation effectiveness: 

• effective general meetings
• the power of metaphors
• team dynamics and dysfunctions and remedies
• problem solving meetings and steps
  

11. Handling conflict, dealing with criticism:

• criticism deflection method
• alternatives
• the power of language
• conflict management method
• self-assessment
  

12. Doing the right thing: creativity techniques and requirements gathering. 

• brainstorming
• brain writing
• wiggle charts
• role of creativity even in technical areas
• what makes requirements ambiguous; detecting, testing, and removing ambiguity
• hazards of closed-ended questions and interviews
• improved elicitation strategies
  

13. Effective staffing and work, and motivation:

• who motivates who
• content of the work
• how to staff
• how to motivate