The Art of Project Management

December 14, 2016

RefineM Training

The Art of Project Management

Please contact us if you would like to set up a customized training course in your city or at your corporate site.

Duration: 1 day

Description: Are you a project manager or project team member looking for a course to help you understand the people-centered aspects of project management? If so, you will likely benefit from RefineM’s The Art of Project Management course.

The Art of Project Management is designed to help you manage some of the most critical parts of the project: communication with team members and stakeholders, managing stakeholder expectations, dealing with conflict, and serving as a leader on your projects. This course is aligned to the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) Fifth Edition to help attendees become familiar with the framework and terminology. You will have the opportunity to work on project examples and/or case studies and gain valuable hands-on experience to apply to your real projects. You will leave this course prepared to manage critical functions on your projects.

Course Objectives: After completing the course, you will be able to
  • Understand and describe the benefits of project management.
  • Perform key people-centered project management processes.
  • Differentiate among processes in the five project management process groups.
  • Lead your real projects.

Who Should Attend: This course is ideal for anyone who is responsible for project delivery but never went through formal training on project management. Anyone working on a project, such as a project manager, project coordinator, project lead, team lead, senior project manager, or PMO director, will also benefit from this course.

In addition, organizations that want to adopt consistent project management practices should also benefit from sending their project managers to this formal training.

PDUs: 7 PDUs (Strategic: 0, Leadership: 0, Technical: 7)

Course Delivery: Variable

Course Material: RefineM will prepare and provide the necessary training course material for all attendees.

About RefineM's Instructors: RefineM's instructors are experienced and certified in project management and Agile and bring real-world experience to their instruction. Our instructors not only teach concepts, we also provide insights and hands-on experience. And we don’t waste time. Our training is focused and hard-hitting. We offer practical targeted training in just the key topics that will make the most impact.

Contact us about future dates or to arrange for this training to be delivered in your organization or city.

A Model to Develop and Use Risk Contingency Reserve

December 14, 2016

RefineM Training

A Model to Develop and Use Risk Contingency Reserve

Please contact us if you would like to set up a customized training course in your city or at your corporate site.

Duration: 1 day

Description: Are you aware of the benefits of risk contingency reserve but unsure how to start? Do you know what an adequate level of contingency reserve is for your project? If you want answers to such questions about contingency reserve and more, this course is for you. As an attendee, you will take away knowledge of a model to develop risk contingency reserve using Expected Monetary Value that you can use to benefit your projects.

The contingency reserve is a critical part of project risk management. With a contingency reserve, project managers can address risks, communicate the level of risk exposure to stakeholders, and increase the predictability of project outcomes. Using the risk register and Expected Monetary Value (EMV) technique, project managers can easily develop a contingency reserve for their project and begin realizing the benefits of this powerful tool.

This course is an overview of project risk management with emphasis on developing and using the contingency reserve. You will learn more about how contingency reserve fits into the overall risk management process, how to calculate and use the contingency reserve, and how to communicate the contingency reserve to stakeholders to increase organizational participation in risk management. You will leave with a better idea about contingency reserve and the role it plays in keeping the projects on track. You will also walk away with tools and templates to effectively implement contingency reserve for your projects.

Course Objectives: After completing the course, you will be able to
  • Understand how to create a risk contingency reserve using Expected Monetary Value.
  • Communicate risks to stakeholders and team members using the risk contingency reserve.
  • Use risk contingency reserve to improve predictability of your project outcomes.

Who Should Attend: This course is ideal for project managers, PMO leads/directors, and anyone performing risk management on projects in their organizations.

PDUs: 7 PDUs (Strategic: 0, Leadership: 0, Technical: 7)

Course Delivery: Variable

Course Material: RefineM will prepare and provide the necessary training course material for all attendees.

About RefineM's Instructors: RefineM's instructors are experienced and certified in project management and Agile and bring real-world experience to their instruction. Our instructors not only teach concepts, we also provide insights and hands-on experience. And we don’t waste time. Our training is focused and hard-hitting. We offer practical targeted training in just the key topics that will make the most impact.

Contact us about future dates or to arrange for this training to be delivered in your organization or city.

Advanced Project Management and Leadership Skills for Experienced Project Managers

December 14, 2016

RefineM Training

Advanced Project Management and Leadership Skills for Experienced Project Managers

Please contact us if you would like to set up a customized training course in your city or at your corporate site.

Duration: 2 days

Description: Are you an experienced project manager, or new certification holder, looking for ways to take your project management to the next level? RefineM’s 2-day Advanced Project Management and Leadership Skills for Experienced Project Managers course is designed to help you elevate your project management skills. The advanced techniques included in the course are divided into two parts to build (a) Technical skills and (b) Leadership skills. The technical topics include stakeholder management, scope management, risk management, and Earned Value Management. The leadership topics include developing clarity/focus, communication, conflict resolution, negotiations, and stress management techniques. Attendees will leave this course with the knowledge and skills they need to enhance their project delivery capability.

"I thought [RefineM's] course was outstanding. The instructor was extremely knowledgeable and a master of his material. One of the best courses that I have taken."
—Linda Sampson, Project Manager

 

"Excellent offering for an experienced project manager."
—Jennifer Freeman, course attendee

 

Course Objectives: After completing the course, you will be able to
  • Increase stakeholder engagement using analysis and communication techniques.
  • Better perform scope and change management to control scope on your projects.
  • Control project cost and schedule using Earned Value Management (EVM).
  • Analyze and prioritize risks using qualitative and quantitative risk analysis methods.
  • Use more advanced risk management techniques, including risk contingency reserve.
  • Display leadership skills such as communication, negotiation and conflict resolution.
  • Manage stress levels on your projects to produce better outcomes.

Who Should Attend: This course is ideal for project/program managers, PMO leaders, and project team members who have been managing/leading projects and looking for advanced techniques to strengthen their career.

PDUs: 16 PDUs (Strategic: 0, Leadership: 8, Technical: 8)

Course Delivery: Variable

Course Material: RefineM will prepare and provide the necessary training course material for all attendees.

About RefineM's Instructors: RefineM's instructors are experienced and certified in project management and Agile and bring real-world experience to their instruction. Our instructors not only teach concepts, we also provide insights and hands-on experience. And we don’t waste time. Our training is focused and hard-hitting. We offer practical targeted training in just the key topics that will make the most impact.

Contact us about future dates or to arrange for this training to be delivered in your organization or city.

Top 5 Books for Beginning Project Managers

Person reading a book with a cup of coffee
November 29, 2016

Project managers just starting out may wonder how they can continue to build their knowledge and skillsets. Based on our project management reading, we have identified five books to help beginning project managers, as well as those with some degree of experience, establish continuous learning and dedicate themselves to further success.

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Understanding and Overcoming IT Project Risks [Infographic]

October 12, 2016

Many high-profile IT projects face their own risks and challenges from conception to the final stages. Perhaps the addition of technology into the mix makes these projects particularly challenging, but if project managers and teams are not careful, all of their hard work could result in a failed project and disappointment from all involved. When considering management of IT projects, two questions must be considered: How and why do IT projects fail, and what can you do to prevent this failure? In this blog post and infographic, we explore the top four types of IT project-related risk factors to look out for and provide strategies to put in place that will help your teams overcome threats to your IT projects.Continue reading

Five Ways to Foster Project Management Innovation

Team meeting to try innovative ideas
September 16, 2016

Project teams have a lot to deal with on projects. They will have to navigate multiple problems, such as risks becoming issues, costs exceeding budget, and schedules slipping, on any given project. The top notch project managers and teams are skilled and experienced at coming up with innovative solutions to these problems. How can any project manager or team acquire this skill? In this post, we describe five ways to improve creativity on project teams to foster project management innovation. These steps range from building the foundation through organizational structure and culture to trying out agile practices.

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4 Project Management Software Tools to Consider for Your Teams

Team members at a meeting with their computers
July 18, 2016

Project management processes can be implemented with only simple tools that project managers and team members are likely to have, such as templates for Microsoft Office programs or Google Docs. For some project managers and teams who have grown out of Microsoft Office, a software tool for the sake of automating part of the workflow, such as JetPack Workflow, may be useful. Many tools are available on the market for teams or companies of various sizes, and some are also cloud-based for ease of access by everyone on the team.

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5 W’s of the Project Management Professional (PMP)® Exam [Infographic]

5 W's of the PMP Exam Featured Image
July 7, 2016

Ever wondered what exactly the Project Management Professional (PMP)® is and why everyone is talking about it? In this blog post, we cover the 5 W’s of the PMP exam: who, what, when, where, and why.

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5 Habits of Highly Effective Project Managers

Photo of project managers discussing at a table.
June 20, 2016

Project managers need to develop strong habits to be highly effective. Based on Stephen Covey’s landmark book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, we recommend five habits for project managers to develop in order to become, and remain, highly effective.

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5 Key Initiatives to Make Your PMO Shine

Business people at a meeting.
June 10, 2016

One of the key measures of a project management office (PMO) should be whether project delivery capability improves as a result of its existence. The PMO contributes to successful project delivery by providing standards for project management, empowering the organization’s project managers, and increasing the visibility of project management. To accomplish these key goals and remain relevant, PMOs need to be dynamic and proactive rather than static and reactive.

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PMI, PMP, CAPM, PMI-ACP, PMI-RMP, and PMBOK are all registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.