CREATE-MIA Project Management Workshop

Course Description

Project management is an essential skill for all those working in technical and research fields.  It provides the means for collaborative development towards a desired end result, whether in the laboratory, plant or office.

This workshop covers the fundamentals of project management, through a practical hands-on approach. Following a simple ‘four-step process’, students take a project from inception to completion, addressing key aspects including:

• defining  outcomes and expectations
• clarifying roles and responsibilities
• planning and scheduling through a collaborative team approach
• managing stakeholders
• tracking progress
• capturing lessons learned

Course Outline

1. Context of Project Management

• Objectives and learning outcomes
• Key basics:
• What (really) is a Project?
• What are the Key Roles of those involved?
• What is Project Management?
• Why Project Management?
• Key elements of project success (and failure)
• The 'Step by Step' project development roadmap

• Translating problem (statement) into defined project results
• Creating a 'common vision'
• Objectives vs. Deliverables
• Key document - Project Charter
• (Case exercise 1 -- Project Charter elements)

• Project 'Kickoff'
• Creating a 'Team Charter'
• Project Management Plan -- key elements:
• High Level Schedule
• work breakdown structure
• 'milestone' deliverables - key to research planning
• phases and 'kill gates'
• critical path and what it 'tells you'
• demo MS Project
• (Case exercise 2 -- Project Workflow)
• RACI Chart
• stakeholder management
• role 'doer' vs. 'approver' vs. 'contributor'
• (Case exercise 3 -- RACI Chart)
• Risk Plan
• preparing for eventualities
• (Case exercise 4 -- Risk Plan)

• Managing project scope change
• Recognizing scope changes
• Assessing scope change effect -- 'triangle review'
• Managing progress reviews
• Gathering the right data in the right way
• Effective (meeting) review process

• Project Close-out report
• Gathering lessons learned

Biography

Lloyd Bartlett is a senior project manager, consultant and trainer. He has over 30 years experience in successfully managing a wide variety of projects, on both a national and international scale. These projects have included both ‘hard delivery’ such as engineering works and ‘soft delivery’ initiatives such as studies and standards development.   The common thread underpinning the success of his approach is the focus on objectives and stakeholder commitment to those objectives.

Mr. Bartlett holds an MBA (specialization in Project Management) from Queen’s University. He is a member of the Order of Engineers of Quebec since 1976, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) since 1998.

In 2008, Mr. Bartlett was presented by the McGill Centre for Continuing Studies with a ‘Distinguished Teaching Award’ for his teaching of Project Management.  In 2012, he received from the Project Management Institute Montreal the ‘Prix Elixir’ for his contribution to project management.

Mr. Bartlett currently serves as coach and consultant to numerous organizations applying project management to improve their business results.  Areas of particular focus include:

• ‘scalable’ project tracking systems to maximize our time investment
• project initiation and ‘kick-off’
• planning tools and facilitation
• team development and communications