Course Introduction

This online training course will give you practical approaches to improving the success rate of larger projects and quickly identifying those needing intervention or early cancellation. It will show you what foundations need to be in place in your project methodology and explain the role of key stakeholders in oversight and approval processes.

The course will help your organisation review and improve high-level processes for managing project selection, prioritisation, resourcing, reporting, and evaluating projects. It will demonstrate the critical importance of the control of the management of risk and uncertainty.

The Course is not about the detail of project management. Instead, it is about ensuring that project management is being done well and provides timely, accurate, and relevant information that will allow steering committees, sponsors, and PMOs to perform their roles efficiently and effectively.

The content of this OXFORD Management Centre traninig course will highlight:

• How to organise and mandate effective governance processes suitable to the type and scale of projects?
• How to ensure that project management methodologies and governance processes are aligned?
• How to avoid inefficient, misleading or ineffective reporting and decision making?
• How to maximise the value of stage-gate processes and clarify key stakeholders’ roles in them?
• How to ensure that continuous learning is used to improve the performance of both current and future projects?

Please note that the Course is focused on larger, strategically significant projects and is not designed for fast-moving software development project environments using Agile or similar approaches.

Objectives

By the end of this online course, you will be able to: 

• Define the key PM methodology components that support effective governance
• Develop or improve governance processes to align with project scale and type
• Define the roles and processes required for stakeholder involvement
• Identify and mitigate barriers to efficient and effective governance
• Plan a process for effective stage-gate management

Training Methodology

This online training course will utilize a variety of proven online learning techniques to ensure maximum understanding, comprehension, retention of the information presented. The training course is conducted online via an Advanced Virtual Learning Platform in the comfort of your choice location.

Organisational Impact

This virtual training course provides an excellent opportunity to review, improve, or redesign organisational processes critical to achieving the expected return on investment from key projects.

It will provide valuable insights and a holistic overview of how people and processes must be aligned in activities, goals, and behaviours. For participants who do not yet have the authority to make important improvements, it will provide the basis for presenting a business case to do so.

Personal Impact

Whatever your current role, this Course will improve your overall understanding of how successful organisations align and integrate a wide range of processes and oversight activities to maximise the benefits generated from key projects.

This online Course will help you to:

• Better understand and perform your role(s) in supporting project governance
• Improve communication and alignment of goals with other key players
• Identify and take action to mitigate barriers to maximum project value
• Better contribute to discussions and decisions around risk and uncertainty

Who Should Attend?

This online training seminar is suitable for a wide range of Senior, Functional, and Project Management Staff. Because of the integrated nature of effective project governance, representatives of a range of key functions will be able to contribute to and benefit from, the learning process.

It is particularly suitable for:

• Project Managers of larger projects
• Project Controls Managers
• PMO Managers
• Program or Strategic Planning Managers
• Project Sponsors or Gatekeepers
• Steering Committee Chairmen or Members

Course Outline

DAY 1

Building the Foundations

• Reviewing Participants’ Requirements
• Project Selection Overview
• Understanding Risk and Uncertainty in Projects
• Defining the Oversight Dashboard
• Governance Layers & Escalation
• Stage-Gate Process and Roles

DAY 2

Making the Process Work

• Validating the Reported Status
• Best Practices in Steering Committees and Gate Reviews
• Making and Communicating the Decisions
• Ensuring that Lessons are Learned
• The All-Important Post Project Assessment
• Sharing Participants’ Action Plans