4-Hour Virtual Seminar on Project Management for Non-Project Managers

It is not possible to present a complete treatment of project management in the span of 3-hours. It is however, possible to focus in on those most important aspects of project management that are critical to the success of any project. Without basic tools, it is not possible to effectively manage a project to the pre-determined end-date without turmoil and chaos.

We have distilled the key aspects of project management into three one-hour virtual seminar segments that will logically move participants from the beginning of the project management process to the end – from initiating the project to closing the project.

This seminar will address those project management critical tasks within each project phase that must be performed flawlessly for effective project execution to occur and will provide the foundation and direction for future study of the subject.

The seminar is designed to build a working understanding of the subject and for a quick start-up for those unanticipated project management assignments. 

Seminar Agenda:

Session 1:

Project Management – An Overview

• What is a project?
• What is project management?
• The project manager’s role
• What is effective project management?
• The five stages of a project
• The triple constraint, collaboration and flexibility
• Project management pitfalls
• Determine and specify the business need
• Identify the project expectations, resources, and budgets – project scope statement/project charter
• Determine your project audience, i.e. project stakeholders, initiator, and champion(s)
• How to work and interact with your audience
• Determine/craft project objectives
• What are the project’s constraints?

Session 2:

Specifying the project work to be done and establish the project’s timing and resource requirements

• Develop the work breakdown structure
• Naming key tasks
• Making assumptions
• Special project situations
• Long-term project planning
• Displaying the work breakdown structure
• Categorizing project work
• What to document
• Purpose and function of the network diagram
• Reading and interpreting a network diagram
• Creating the network diagram
• Develop the initial schedule
• Determine activity durations 
• Gaming the schedule
• Determine team member skills that are needed
• Estimate the human resource requirement
• Meeting resource commitments
• Resolve resource overloads and conflicts
• Handling multiple projects
• Developing the budget

Session 3:      

Risk, the project team, project management and control

• Risk factors and risks
• Identifying the risk factors
• Risk types
• Assessing and weighing risk
• Determine consequences
• Develop a risk mitigation strategy
• Develop your risk management plan
• Organizational structures for managing projects
• Define the key players and their roles
• Team member roles and responsibilities
• Assigning project tasks
• Authority versus responsibility
• The RACI Chart
• Developing team operational strategies and procedures
• Managing team activities
• Developing your team
• Managing team and individual team member performance
• Working cross-culturally
• Collaboration and flexibility – how are they executed and managed successfully
• Scope creep and how it is managed
• Tracking and reporting progress 
• Work-effort tracking
• Managing the budget
• Communicating effectively – how to make it work
• When things go wrong – scheduling alternatives

Who Should Attend:             

• Engineering Departments
• Product Managers
• Program Managers
• Contract Managers
• Project Managers
• Research & Development Departments
• Design Engineers
• Manufacturing Departments
• Marketing Associates
• Medical Device Manufacturers
• Professionals in Pharmaceutical and Biotech Organizations
• Cosmetic and foods Manufacturers
• Members of American Society for Quality
• Members of American Pharmaceutical Manufacturers of America
• Members of Generic Drug Manufacturers Association
• Members of National Pharmaceutical Association
• Members of International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering
• Members of Medical Device Manufacturers Association
• Members of European Medical Device Technology
• Members of Gulf Coast Medical Device Manufacturers
• Anyone that participates in or has the potential to manage team-based cross-functional projects

Course Director: CHARLES H. PAUL

Charles Paul is an instructional designer and management consultant with over 30 years’ experience providing training and consulting services to regulated industries. He has installed quality systems and designed and developed GMP and operational documentation and training programs for foods and beverage, pharmaceuticals, biotech, cosmetics, and consumer product – OTC industries.