Scheduling and Cost Control Course information Duration: 4 days Course Fee: £1595 excl. VAT €2295 excl. VAT Related links     Ask a question about this course     Download description Take a Pre- and Post-course assessment   Register for a course 1-4 Apr 08 6-9 May 08 10-13 Jun 08 15-18 Jul 08 19-22 Aug 08 23-25 Sep 08 28-31 Oct 08 2-5 Dec 08

Select a Public Classroom Course Aligning Project Management with Organisational Strategy Business Process Analysis, Innovation and Design Coaching and Mentoring for Improved Performance Contract Management Principles and Practices Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Establishing the Project Management Office Financial Management for Project and Contract Managers How to Gather and Document User Requirements Introduction to Business Analysis Introduction to Testing for Business Analysts IT Risk Management Leading Complex Projects Leading Project Managers Logical Data Modelling Managing Global Projects Managing Information Technology Projects Managing Projects Negotiation Skills PMP® Exam Preparation PMP® Power Exam Preparation Process Modelling Management Programme Management Project Leadership, Management and Communications Project Management Applications Quality for Project Managers Rapid Assessment and Recovery of Troubled Projects Requirements Management: A Key to Project Success Risk Management Scheduling and Cost Control Systems Integration Project Management Taking Charge of Organisational Change Unlocking the Power of Earned Value Management Use Case Modelling for Business Analysis Writing Statements of Work: The Heart of Any Contract

Learn how to:

• Use the work breakdown structure to develop a network diagram
• Calculate schedules using PERT/CPM
• Identify, assign, and tabulate resource requirements
• Predict costs and work time using specific levels and estimate types
• Develop a time-phased project budget
• Plan for contingencies and anticipate variations
• Predict future project performance based on historical data
• Monitor changes and close projects on time

Course Synopsis

Develop effective measures for scheduling and controlling projects as you put the tools of project management to work. In this course you’ll focus on managing the constraints you face in any project: limits on time, human resources, materials, budget and specifications. Discover proven ways to work within your identified constraints, without letting redefined limits curtail creativity or innovation.

From the opening morning, you’ll get hands-on experience, practicing your skills in building project requirements and the work breakdown structure. You’ll learn a sound, logical framework for scheduling and controlling project activities. And you’ll master techniques for estimating, forecasting, budgeting, monitoring, controlling, analysing and reporting costs and interpreting the meaning of earned-value data.

Individual and small-group exercises feature scenarios that help hone these skills, and a comprehensive toolkit provides practical field guidance. The course materials also include comprehensive reference materials specific to each unit of the course.

Discover a number of sophisticated tools and techniques that you can use to manage time and costs effectively on every type of project. This is one of the program’s most popular courses; classes fill up quickly, so register early.

Course Topics

1. Essential Background
   1. Overview of the project management life-cycle
   2. The triple constraints
   3. Planning tools
   4. Project requirements - a review
   5. The work breakdown structure (WBS) - a review
2. Resource Allocation and Estimating
   1. Using estimates for scheduling and cost control
   2. The basic rules of estimating
   3. Levels of estimating and estimate types
      • Top-down vs. bottom-up
      • Order of magnitude
      • Budget
      • Definitive
   4. Top-down vs. bottom-up
   5. Order of magnitude
   6. Budget
   7. Definitive
   8. Four estimating methodologies
   9. Identifying controllable costs
      • Resource
      • Material
      • Direct
      • Indirect
   10. Resource
   11. Material
   12. Direct
   13. Indirect
   14. Planning for risk with contingency
   15. Building the project resource pool
       • Using resources to build estimates
       • The responsibility matrix
   16. Using resources to build estimates
   17. The responsibility matrix
   18. Time-controlled estimates
   19. Resource-limited estimates
3. Scheduling
   1. Network scheduling
   2. Validating schedules
   3. Arrow diagrams and precedence diagrams
   4. Basic scheduling and network calculations
   5. Advanced precedence relationships and the critical path
   6. Alternative constraints
   7. Gantt and milestone charts
4. The Baseline
   1. Establishing baselines
   2. Understanding types of baselines
   3. Time-phased distribution of costs
   4. Cumulative cost curves
5. Managing Change within the Project
   1. The process of control
   2. Identifying sources of change
   3. Screening change
   4. Updating the project plan
   5. Communicating change
6. Evaluation and Forecasting
   1. Causes of variances
   2. Establishing the "data date" for evaluation
   3. Controlling costs and schedule late in the project
   4. Components of the project audit
   5. Considerations in establishing a monitoring system
   6. Earned value
   7. Advanced earned-value forecasting tools
7. The Exit Strategy
   1. Steps in completing the project
   2. Scope verification
   3. Contract close-out
   4. Administrative closure

PLEASE BRING A CALCULATOR TO CLASS

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