Course Description
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This course is intended for delegates who are new to the project management discipline, and working within an IT project environment. This qualification provides credible evidence that the individual concerned understands the basics of IT project management to a recognized standard.
Candidates who successfully pass the Foundation Certificate (taken at the end of the course) are able to demonstrate an understanding of project management principles relating to the following areas:
- Project Planning
- Monitoring and Control
- Change Control
- Configuration Management
- Estimating
- Quality within a project environment
- Management
- Communication between Stakeholders
Prerequisites
There are no specific prerequisites for this course but it is aimed at Project Support Personnel and IS staff who are relatively new to the management of projects and who wish to demonstrate their professional interest in project management by obtaining a recognized qualification in Project Management.
Performance-Based Objectives
Delegates will learn how to:
- understand the tools, techniques, and terminology used to ensure successful management of IS projects.
- prepare to undertake the BCS Foundation Certificate in Project Management examination.
Course Content
Projects and Project Work
- Projects and Project Management
- System and Project life cycles.
- Implementation strategies.
- Purpose and content of Key Project Documentation.
- The use and significance of Discounted Cash Flows as a method of Investment Appraisal.
- Post Implementation Review.
Project Planning
- Project deliverables and intermediate products.
- Work and product breakdowns.
- Product definitions.
- Check-points and Milestones.
- Activity-on-Node Networks.
- Resource Allocation, smoothing and leveling
- Resource Histograms.
- Work Schedules and Gantt charts.
Monitoring and Control
- The Project Control Life-Cycle.
- Collecting progress information.
- Presenting progress information.
- Content of progress reports.
- Use of Earned Value Analysis.
- The Reporting Cycle.
- Reporting structures in projects.
- Tolerance and contingency.
- Exception Reports and Plans.
Change Control and Configuration management
- Reasons for Change and Configuration Management.
- Change Control Procedures.
- Role of Change Control Boards.
- Configuration Management.
- Configuration Items and Product Baselines.
Quality
- Quality Control Vs. Quality Assurance.
- Detection of defects during the project life cycle.
- Quality Procedures.
- Types of testing.
- The inspection process, peer reviews.
- Principles of IS0 9001:2000 QMS.
Estimating
- Effects of over and under-estimating.
- Effort versus duration; relationship between effort and cost.
- Use of expert judgement.
- The Delphi approach.
- Top-down and bottom-up approaches to estimating.
- Use of analogy in estimating.
Risk
- Definitions.
- The risk management process.
- Risk responses and actions.
- Typical risks associated with information systems development.
- Assessment of the costs/benefits of risk reduction activities.
- Maintenance of risk registers and risk logs.
Project Communications and Project Organisation
- Identifying stakeholders and their concerns.
- The project sponsor.
- Establishment of the project authority.
- Reporting structures and responsibilities.
- Desirable characteristics of project manager.
- Role of the project support office.
- The project team and matrix management.
- Management styles and communication.
- Team building and team dynamics.
Sample Examination & Exam Technique
Questions are given, from an approved BCS list, following each Learning Session in order to consolidate learning
