Managing Projects With THE Guide (3 or 4 days)

	Why This Course?
	Learning Objectives
	Audience
	Course Outline and Duration

Why This Course?
This workshop supports supports customers who have licensed THE Guide, our innovative Project Management and Systems Engineering methodology. It applies the project management strategies, tools and techniques of THE Guide to improve project initiation, phase planning, tracking, and project closure. Participants use the powertools of THE Guide while learning more effective project management methods, resulting in better, faster, less expensive projects, with a higher level of success and customer satisfaction.

The last day of this workshop provides hands on application using Plan By Example (PBE), an automated, accelerated planning process.

Learning Objectives

	Introduction: Describe project management vital signs, and the project management methods, tools and techniques of THE Guide.
	Minimum Initial Planning: Apply minimum use of THE Guide for project initiation, including The 20 Questions, SWAG and Consensus estimating, documented Assumptions and Problem Analysis.
	Phase Structuring and Estimating: Structure the project, using THE Guide's Work Breakdown Structure Templates. Improve delegation through better communication and better documentation. Coach team members to better activity estimates.
	Phase Scheduling: Perform precedence and resource analysis to get a phase done faster, using staff effectively. Identify the staffing-duration trade-offs. Produce a Phase schedule.
	Status Tracking and Change Control: Implement a Tracking process that maximizes useful information. Establish a Change Control procedure that is responsive to needed change, but manages the change impact on the project schedule and cost.
	Closure: End of Phase, End of Project: Describe the end-of-phase and end-of-project activities that celebrate your success with THE Guide.
	Plan By Example Hands-On: Minimum Initial Planning: Use PBE to document and model your project, and produce a project plan. Use PBE to structure, staff, estimate a phase's activities, then export the result to project management software. Perform precedence and resource analysis, then print the results.

Audience
This workshop targets Project Managers and team leaders who initiate, plan and track medium to large projects. It is invaluable for internal Project Management Consultants. An ideal option for this workshop is the Intact Team, combining customers, managers and key team members for a current project, and using that project as their case study.

Our 2-day Project Management Fundamentals workshop is designed for team members who do not participate in this workshop. For leaders of larger projects, we also recommend Software Cost Estimating, from our curriculum.

Course Outline(3 or 4 days)

1. Introduction To Guide Projects

	Balancing the Vital Signs of Success; Introduction to The Project Guide; THE Guide Components
	The System Development Life Cycle; The Basic Nine Deliverables; Project Skills Ladder

2. Minimum Initial Planning

	The Initial Planning Activities; The Results of Initial Planning: the Document of Understanding
	Step A: Size Project and Plan First Phase: Starting A Successful Project
	Gathering Information: The 20 Most Important Questions in Any Project
	Step B: Forecasting With Consensus Estimating and Model-1; Select a First Phase Plan
	Introducing Plan By Example; Case Application: The 20 Questions, Model-1
	Step C: Develop Project Strategy; Three Successful Project Types; Step D: Managing Risk
	Step E: Develop and Approve Initial Plan; PBE/Model: Modeling the Project
	Case Application: Plan By Example/Model

3. Phase Structuring and Estimating

	Overview of Phase Planning; Prepare Phase Plan
	Structure The Phase (Work Breakdown Structures); Assigning Work Responsibility; Delegation
	Estimate Work Packages; Factors That Make Estimates Wrong; Assumptions Based Estimating
	Effort - Duration Conversion; Estimating Project Manager Time
	Case Application: Structuring and Estimating With PBE/Phase

4. Phase Scheduling

	Network Diagrams and Precedence Analysis; Precedence Analysis and the Vital Signs
	Gantt Charts and Resource Analysis; Resource Analysis and the Vital Signs
	Automated Scheduling Support; Completing the Phase Plan; Perform Quality Assurance Reviews
	Case Application: Using Project Management Software
	Phase Planning Closure

5. Status Tracking and Change Control

	Status Tracking Overview; Components of a Project Tracking System
	Components of a Tracking System; Lead and Manage Project
	Levels of Project Tracking; Duration, Effort and Assumptions; Project Reporting
	Controlling Change; Why Change Happens; Change Implementation
	Phase Closure: Refine and Approve Project Plan; Project-End Checklist
	End Project; Perform Post-Project Evaluatio
	Project Evaluation: Qualitative or Quantitative? Your Final Exam