Event Overview “Only approximately 30% of IT projects achieve their time, cost and specification goals” - Industry Research by Robbins-Gioia, KPMG, Standish Group Learn from the Project Management Thought-Leader Dennis Comninos

Download PDF Brochure Feb 15-19, 2009, Dubai Event Overview Who Should Attend Benefits of Attending Seminar Outline About the Seminar Leader Venue and Pricing Register

Who Should Attend

• Programme Managers
• Project Managers
• Project Leaders
• Project Administrators
• Project Team Leaders
• IT Managers / Engineers / ERP Specialists
• Telecom Managers / Engineers
• Software Developers / Analysts
  

Those involved in Business, IT and Communication Projects will greatly benefit from this course. In particular, the course is designed for managers who are tasked with delivery on Business focused IT and Communication projects. Some knowledge of and experience in project management practices, the IT environment and general business environment is recommended but not essential. This course in different variants has been successfully presented internationally to a wide range of audiences from IT, engineering, and business environments. It is applicable to all levels of management including existing Project Managers, and technical and engineering personnel.

Even those who have had specific methodology training (e.g. Agile, Prince2, etc.) or who are already certified will find this course highly beneficial as it shows how theory is applied in a practical way to IT projects by formalising and structuring existing skills. The course is also ideal for people who may have managed projects before, but not IT projects, as the course describes the specific challenges posed by IT projects and how they might be dealt with in a “non-technical” manner.

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At the end of this course, the participant will:

• Be able to demonstrate an understanding of Project Management principles and philosophies and their application and context on IT and business projects.
• Understand how IT projects are conceptualised and initiated in support of the strategy and business plans of the organisation.
• Be introduced to the concepts of “early stage” planning to obtain commitment and buy-in through the application of a Project Definition Workshop.
• Consider various development approaches and methodologies such as Agile Project management and the Prince2 methodology.
• Be able to define the roles of the IT project team members and to develop a results-driven project management team
• Understand the issues surrounding the selection and prioritisation of projects in a multi-project environment and the concepts of project portfolio management.
• Be introduced to the concepts of Benefits Realisation or Value Focused Project Management and their application on IT projects
• Be introduced to and learn how to apply traditional and alternative project management techniques, processes, and strategies
• EARN 35 PDU's from Project Management Institute (PMI), USA
• Practice and learn how to apply the PM Bodies of Knowledge (PMBOK™) to:

• Define the scope of a project.

• Organise the project team.

• Use the fundamental principles and tools of Project Management.

• Plan, schedule and control a project.

• Manage a project by results rather than activities.

• Apply various applicable Project Management tools and techniques.

• Apply the applicable processes and methodologies of Project Management

“Good dose of dealing with People in projects”

Dr. Mansour Al Dajani, King Fahad University, KSA

“I enjoyed the training course and found it very useful”

Dr. Najeeb Al Shorbaji, World Health Organization, Egypt

“It has truly been an enriching and an enjoyable experience”

Munavvar Saqqaf, Dubai Duty Free, UAE

“Great job and preparation for such a great event, really appreciate your effort”

Mohammed Alam, PMP, Qatar Datamation Systems, Qatar

“Thank you for the effort”

Eman M. Al Tamimi, Qatar Electricity and Water Corp, Qatar

“Great Instructor”

Hussain Al Jishi, Arab Petroleum Investments Corp, KSA

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DAY ONE

Setting the Scene

• Definition and characteristics of IT projects
• IT Project Success/Failure Rates
• IT Project Failure reasons and challenges

Concepts and Philosophies of Project Management

Definition of a Project and Project Management

• Defining a Project
• Projects create change
• The Project Management Bodies of Knowledge (Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Human Resource, Communication, Risk, Procurement)
• What is Project Management?
• Projects vs. Operations
• Project Dimensions and Constraints (The “Trade-off” Triangle)

DAY TWO

The Management Concept in Project Management

• The definition of management
• Responsibility, Accountability and Authority

Project Participants

• The Project Environment
• Project Participants

Project Stakeholders

• Definition
• Stakeholder Management Strategies
• Stakeholder mapping

Project Roles

• The three organisational levels of Project Management
• Negotiations between levels
• The role of the Project Sponsor/Champion
• The role of the Project Manager
• Project Manager Attributes
• The role of the Project Team

The Project Life Cycle

• The generic Project Life Cycle
• Planning is a matter of Progressive Elaboration
• The Phase-based Project Life Cycle
• Mapping the Project Life Cycle to Systems Development Life Cycles (SDLCs)
• Classification of Projects – Obeng’s project types
• Process groups and phased links

Organisational Structures

• The influence of organisational structures on projects
• Organisational issues in respect of projects with reference to Functional, Matrix, and the Projectised Structure

DAY THREE

Focusing IT Projects on the Business

• Business IT Projects Issues and Context
• How do IT projects originate?
• Business Outcomes vs. IT Project Results
• Different view of Objectives
• Business view of an IT project
• Project “fatigue”

Focusing Projects on the Business

• The Wrappers™ Model (linking strategy, business, and project objectives)
• Business Focused Project Management (BFPM™)
• Funnels and Gates (Filters)
• Project Selection and Prioritisation
• The Project Portfolio
• The Project Support Office (PSO)
• Overview of Benefits Realisation Management

IT Project Management Processes

• The PMI® PMBOK™ generic processes
• Classical activity-based PM vs. Result-focused PM
• The Objective Directed Project Management (ODPM™) process
• IT Project Management approaches and methodologies (Agile, Prince2™, Promenta™)
• The use of COCOMO and Function Point Analysis (FPA). What is the current thinking?

DAY FOUR

The Project Initiation Phase

Describes the project initiation phase and addresses project manager selection, feasibility verification, stakeholder identification, and project charter development. Business case/proposals are the input to project initiation.

The Project Definition Phase

Focuses on the definition phase of a project, including the project definition workshop, project purpose, objectives, performance measures, critical success factors, and project scoping. The definition plan comes from results-focused planning and organising, including milestones, responsibilities, the stakeholder analysis and communications plan, risk analysis, and initial cost estimates.

DAY FIVE

The Project Planning Phase

Covers manageability and viability of the plan, and expands on the definition phase. Time (CPM), cost, quality, communications, human resources, procurement, cash flow, and project baseline are developed further developed from the definition phase.

The Project Execution Phase

Addresses the establishment of monitoring and control mechanisms, evaluation of project performance and progress, and production of performance reports. Focuses is on plan updating, problem solving, issues management and change control, while reviewing business objectives and benefits validity.

Project Close-out Phase

Considers close-out issues, process and planning. Addresses the necessary protocols and steps needed to bring a project to successful completion, including the final report and the post-implementation review, lessons learnt and benefits realisation.

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Dennis Comninos

Dennis Comninos is an International Project Management Consultant and a director of a number of companies specializing in project, strategic, and human capital management consulting.

He has over 36 years of experience in strategic, general, and IT management relating to almost all industries as a business and systems analyst/developer and project manager. In total he has over 28 years of Project Management experience covering strategic, IT, development, engineering, construction, and business projects. He has spent some 21 years lecturing and consulting in the subject.

He has lectured and consulted extensively in the USA, Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Middle East, India and Europe on IT, Strategic, General, and Project Management. His experience covers consulting, process development, and lecturing on project, IT, and construction management in major organizations and at various universities and other tertiary education facilities at post-graduate level. Dennis is a sought after presenter of project management related topics at various seminars and conferences and is frequently interviewed on radio, television and in technical journals, and newspapers. He is a member of the Academic Advisory Board for Project Management at the Tshwane University of Technology and a part-time lecturer in Construction and Project Management at UCT’s GSB, and the UPE. He is also a project management consultant to the World Bank and the United Nations (UNDP).

He is the co-author, together with Enzo Frigenti of a best selling, internationally published book entitled "The Practice of Project Management - A Business Approach". The book is used as a prescribed textbook at various universities internationally. Their second book “The Practice of Project Management – a Guide to the Business Focused Approach” has recently been published internationally and has been awarded the Association of MBAs seal of approval for use as a textbook on MBA programmes. They are currently working on their third book.

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Venue: Al Bustan Rotana Hotel, Dubai, UAE

Fees: USD 2,900/- per delegate

Early Bird Discounts:

Register for USD 2,700/- on or before January 15, 2009 and get USD 200 OFF!

Register for USD 2,500/- on or before December 15, 2009 and get USD 400 OFF!

Get a FREE autographed copy of the famous book “The Practice of Project Management – A Strategic Guide to the Business Focused Approach” By Dennis Comninos & Enzo Frigenti for those registering and paying on or before 15th January 2009.

Group Discounts:

Register 3 delegates from your organization and the Fourth goes FREE!

In-house Option:

This course can also be delivered as In-house / On-site option. Please contact us if you have a group of employees to be trained at a location of your choice.

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