Overview

Certified project managers are in high demand across many endeavors and disciplines including health care, information technology, manufacturing, and the professional services sector. Organizations value effective project managers for their ability to integrate the best practices of project management with enterprise-wide initiatives in areas such as innovation initiatives, operations improvement, new product and service introduction, and transformational change. If you are serious about improving your project management knowledge and skills, then this program is for you!

What’s special about this program?

The Certificate Program in Project Management is designed and taught by world-class project management professors and practitioners. Richard Deane has over 30 years experience teaching project management and is one of the most highly-rated professors teaching in Georgia State University’s executive education programs. Mark Keil is a recognized expert in managing and overcoming IT project risks. Both professors offer real-world project management wisdom based on their extensive practical experience leading both small and large-scale projects as consultants in world-class organizations.

Simply stated, you will benefit from the fact that the instructors assist clients on a daily basis to plan and execute significant projects. This certificate program has a clear focus on the practical, “hands-on” application of important principles, tools and techniques that are used to manage successful projects. Participants will also develop a working knowledge of Microsoft Project®.

Program Benefits

Attend this program and you will return to work with the knowledge and skills to:

• Effectively define project requirements and write a project charter
• Employ a structured process for identifying and managing project stakeholders
• Organize the project via a project work breakdown structure and network diagram
• Estimate activity durations and generate a project schedule
• Strategically balance project duration, cost and scope objectives
• Apply project management software as an important tool in project planning
• Master the unique leadership skills required to lead a project team
• Identify and rescue runaway projects

Program Participants (Who Should Attend)

• Individuals interested in developing a better understanding of how project management methodologies can improve project success—whether the projects are large and small
• Managers of project managers who have general responsibility for a wide range of projects and programs
• Individuals who are responsible for managing multiple small projects that are undertaken simultaneously and changing on a regular basis
• Project managers who want to become leaders of enterprise-wide transformational projects
• Individuals seeking the knowledge needed to become a project management professional
• Managers and directors who want to effectively implement innovation initiatives

Program Content

This fast-paced and highly-interactive program provides project managers and project team members with a practical and proven methodology for effectively defining, planning, and implementing a project. The instructors use numerous practical exercises that allow participants to instantly apply what they learn in class to their real-world project management situations.

The instructors use multi-media presentations, role plays, experiential exercises, case studies, simulated projects, applied action learning experiences, and “best-practice” examples to present the program content. Participants will participate in numerous simulated project planning and control meetings. Attendees will also obtain a practical, working knowledge of MS Project®.

The program’s key topic areas include:

Effective Project Management: Part One

(Day One)

Effective project management begins by having a clear identification of the project and a plan for meeting time, cost and quality objectives. The project plan must be established based on clearly identified customer/stakeholder needs.

• What is a Project? Developing a shared understanding of what is, and what is not, a project. Overview of the typical project characteristics.
• The Project Planning Process: Overview of the key elements of the project planning process and the reasons why too many project managers resist planning.
• Developing a Project Charter: A living agreement that serves as a blueprint for the project. Discussion of the primary purposes and components of the project charter, and most important, “how” to write a project charter. Identify project stakeholders and develop a stakeholder management plan.
• Defining and Organizing the Project Work Content:  Explicitly defining the work in the project. Alternative strategies for organizing the project work into a work breakdown structure. A focus on project quality concepts.
• Activity Relationships - Network Development:  Practical approaches to leading a team in describing how the project work should be accomplished and building a graphic network representation of activity relationships for a project.
• Establishing the Project Schedule:    Schedule calculation principles.  Identifying and interpreting, from a managerial perspective, the critical path of activities that drives project duration.  Identifying float values for project activities and taking advantage of activity float. 

Effective Project Management: Part Two 

(Day Two)

Successful project management requires a systematic approach to balancing the interests of different stakeholders and oftentimes, balancing conflicting time, cost, and quality objectives.  Day two will focus on how to best develop a project plan that incorporates different stakeholder interests and then effectively validate the plan. Through multi-media presentations and action-learning exercises, participants will discover practical tools and techniques to:

• Perform the Time/Cost Tradeoff Analysis: Developing project reports and performance statistics to validate the key elements of the project plan.
• Cost and Risk Issues that Impact Project Performance: A key responsibility of a project manager is to continuously identify, monitor and report the cost and schedule risks that can adversely affect project success.
• Ensuring that Time, Cost and Quality Objectives for the Project are Compatible: Proven methods for reviewing the project scope and the project’s critical path.
• Generate Reports and Data to Communicate to Stakeholders: A major responsibility of a project leader is to effectively communicate the project status to team members and the project’s key stakeholders
• The Cost Plan: Defining project resource requirements and generation of the project budget.

Project Execution, Monitoring and Control

(Day Three)

Project execution and control represents one of the least understood aspects of successful project management. It is much easier to plan a project than it is to execute a project. This session is focused on the use of appropriate and very specific structured project management methods to execute, monitor and control projects. Specific topics include development of the project control plan, conduct of the project control meeting, measuring progress against a project plan, generating alternatives for corrective action during project execution, reporting project progress, managing scope change and project closing the project. Participants will create a project control plan and participate in a project control meeting as part of this session. 

• Project Execution and Control Process:  The fundamentals required during project execution and control.
• Performance Monitoring, Status Reporting, Project Control:  Measurement of project progress.  Facilitation of a project control meeting.  Determining the status of the project against the plan.  Participants will participant in a project control meeting and will update a project schedule. Developing approaches to correct deviations and reporting project progress to senior management.
• The Issue Management and Change Management Processes:  Identifying, recognizing, analyzing, resolving and documenting project issues and changes.
• Project Leadership Skills: Stakeholder recognition and planning. Project management leadership skills during planning and execution of a project. Influencing skills to align individual interests and goals, motivate team members, and communicate with stakeholders.
• Overview of Microsoft Project® (MSP): Understanding the features, capabilities, and limitations of project management software. Attendees will develop a project schedule and generate management reports using Microsoft Project.

Project Risk Management  

(Day Four)

This highly-experiential session offers a practical working knowledge of the project risk management process. You will discover the importance of having a “hands-on” understanding of how project risk management fits within the “systems” effort of an entire project. The risk management process is related to the framework of the typical project life cycle (e.g., initiation, planning, execution/control and closure). 

•  The Nature of Project Risks: Overview of the project risk management process.
• Risk Identification: Alternative methods for identifying project risks.  Brainstorming, Affinity Diagrams, Checklists, Cause and effect diagrams. 
• Risk Assessment and Risk Response Alternatives:  Assessing the probability of occurrence and the likely impact of project risks.  Developing alternative strategies for handling risks. 
• Monitoring and Controlling Risks: Techniques for monitoring and controlling risks during project execution.
• Schedule Risk: Project managers at all levels need to understand and effectively manage activity duration uncertainty. Project scheduling is a key factor in delivering a successful project.

Identifying and Rescuing Runaway Projects 

(Day Five)

This session of the program provides a practical approach to identify, prevent, and rescue runaway projects. There is a lot we can learn by examining the factors and processes associated with runaway projects—including a close look at their causes and the warning signs of impending failure. This session relies heavily on experiential methods and project examples. Both individual and team exercises will be used to help you develop a project reporting process that reduces the potential for runaway projects.

At the end of this session you will be able to: (1) Identify the factors that promote runaway projects; (2) Apply the escalation process model against a specific project; (3) Apply the de-escalation model against a real-world project; (4) Develop a plan for de-escalating a runaway project that exists in your company; and (5) Explain the impact of various factors on bad news reporting. Key topic areas include:

• Learning From Failure: The causes of most runaway projects and their warning signs. Overview of the challenges associated with rescuing troubled projects.
• Project Escalation: Defining project escalation and its major elements. Participants, in small teams, tackle the CONFIG case study. Dissecting an example of project escalation to better understand the factors that promote escalation. Overview of the Escalation Process Model.
• Project Status Reporting: Overview of the two-stage model of project status reporting including the use of “traffic-light” reporting.
• How to Deliver Bad News: Understanding the power and perils of the “mum” effect and the “deaf” effect.
• Project De-Escalation: Understanding de-escalation drivers and the four phases of the de-escalation process.

Program Format

Duration:   Five Days delivered in a one-week, Monday-Friday format
Time:  8 a.m. - Continental Breakfast | 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Class
Location:  GSU Buckhead Executive Education Center
                  Tower Place 200, 5th Floor
                  3348 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30326

Special Note:  Individuals can also register for days one and two only. See details above on the right.

Program Faculty

Richard H. Deane, PMP, PE, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Managerial Sciences at Robinson College of Business. His main interest is in the practical application of project management principles. Richard consults for organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Scientific-Atlanta, Lithonia Lighting, General Electric, ING, and various public and private health organizations. He has won teaching awards at Georgia State, Georgia Tech and Purdue University. Richard is also a registered professional engineer and a certified Project Management Professional.

Mark Keil, D.B.A. is Board of Advisors Professor of Computer Information Systems (CIS) at Robinson College of Business. He is a recognized expert in IT project management and has published work on preventing IT project escalation, identifying and managing IT project risks, and improving IT project status reporting. In 2005, he received the Georgia State University Alumni Distinguished Professor Award. He also has received the Robinson Faculty Recognition Award for Outstanding Teaching. He has conducted executive training for Southwire Corporation and the law offices of Palmer & Dodge.

Program Testimonials

“The instructor is a real pro—extremely well organized and interesting. Great pace!”

“The program content was incredible and the professors were the best instructors I’ve ever had! I like the handouts and examples.”

“I enjoyed learning all of the tips for using Microsoft Project and the pitfalls of project management.”

“Great program! I especially liked the detailed exercises and the excellent pace.”

“Program offered a fast pace, great instructors, lots of breaks, and even chairs with lumbar pillows.”

“What I liked best was the fast pace and the hands-on exercises using computers.”

Custom Program Opportunity

The Certificate Program in Project Management can also be customized to fit the unique needs of your organization. For details contact Dan Stotz, Senior Director of Executive Education, by phone at 404-413-7407 or by email at dstotz@gsu.edu.

Workshop Details

Regular price: $2,950 Early bird/team price: $2,450 Early bird deadline: Friday, August 31, 2012 Custom client, non-profit and GSU alum/faculty/staff price: $2,250 Length: 5 days When: Monday-Friday Option 1: May 21-25, 2012 register » Option 2: October 1-5, 2012 register » Time: Continental breakfast - 8 a.m. Class: 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Location: Buckhead Center directions » Brochure: download »

Download the program brochure »

Below is an example of the certificate program participants will receive: