Description
Learn Complex Project Management in this intensive real-world, three-day project scenario training course. Learn how to assess, communicate and manage complex projects. Gain a deep understanding of essential influencers of project success or failure and a tool set to address the specific issues for your complex project.
Managing complex projects is much more than applying a set of standard practises. This course will help you recognise the level of complexity early, establish the proper initial conditions, and communicate the drivers of success and failure to management, stakeholders and the project team.
Learning Objectives
- Incorporate the science of complexity into project management strategies
- Manage complex projects involving strategic risks
- Apply a complexity assessment model and adaptive process
- Minimise uncertainty by leveraging best practices from Critical Chain, Agile, and Lean approaches
Prerequisites
Solid understanding of conventional project management at the level of:
- Project Management: Skills for Success, or
- Project Management for Software Development
Course Outline
Considering the Limits of Conventional Project Management
- Stretching the limits of conventional project management
- Rethinking the future of project management
Defining Complexity Science, Chaos Theory and Project Complexity Factors
Introducing complexity science and chaos theory
- Comparing and contrasting simple and complex systems
- Applying various complexity modelling techniques
Adopting the four-dimensional project complexity diagnostic tool
- Analysing project boundary conditions to understand the complexity of your project
- Determining the edge of chaos
- Assessing the significance of complex project risks
- Communicating project complexity factors to others
Employing an Adaptive Project Management Process
Beginning with adaptive principles
- Building with Agile software development
- Borrowing from the combat operations loop and the scientific method
The four-step adaptive project management process
- Implementing rolling wave planning and progressive elaboration
- Managing adaptive requirements, change and quality
- Scheduling, budgeting and metrics on complex projects
Minimising Scale on Strategic Projects
Aligning with corporate strategy and value engineering
- Executing portfolio management strategies
- Making the business case and delivering value
- Utilising business capability and purpose alignment models
Developing small, strategic batches of work
- Applying Van Creveld’s Iron Rule and Occam’s Razor
- Delivering minimal marketable features
Managing Pace on Complex Projects
Maintaining control through speed and agility
- Dealing with daily disruptions
- Employing fast-tracking and crashing
- Compressing the critical path
Incorporating Critical Chain and Lean techniques
- Evaluating Critical Chain project management
- Employing the theory of constraints and five focusing steps to eliminate waste and optimise flow
Exercising Strong Leadership
Leading adaptive teams
- Developing your core competencies
- Growing your sphere of influence and managing politics
Building CRACK teams
- Facilitating emergent organisation and self-management
- Agreeing on vision, goals, objectives and values
- Empowering and motivating the team
- Implementing effective feedback loops
Recognising and Managing Risks
Identifying and managing risks with scenario modelling
- Quantifying and mitigating risk threats
- Exploiting risk opportunities for disruptive innovation
Implementing probabilistic estimating tools and techniques
- Managing precision and accuracy
- Correcting estimating bias and reducing variability
- Revisiting the cone of uncertainty and order of magnitude estimating
- Leveraging PERT, Monte Carlo and Agile techniques
Building Your Personal Action Plan
- Putting it all together
- Analysing a real-world case study
- Assessing your own real-world projects
- Identifying specific actions you will take
- Gaining support and managing risks
