Scope Planning, Scheduling
and Cost Management
(2 Days)

Course Description:
Time and cost are two of the triple constraints of project management, and they are interrelated. Once the project scope has been defined and elaborated through the planning phase of a project, the project manager’s concerns center around controlling the project schedule, resources and overall costs.

This course will first address the critical process of “scoping the project”. Scope, once defined, can be used as a starting point for development of a Work Breakdown Structure for the project, followed by duration estimates, construction of a network diagram, and development of schedule and cost estimates. Techniques for schedule compression and resource leveling will be discussed. Alternative planning approaches for time and cost such as the “Critical Chain” technique will also be presented, as will forecasting tools.

Finally, the course material will compare and contrast “Traditional Project Management” to some leading edge approaches: “Adaptive Project Management” and “Extreme Project Management”. The course covers processes & knowledge areas that are consistent with A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide®).

Intended Audience:
Key stakeholders, functional managers, operations managers, project managers, project leaders, and project team members can benefit from a discussion of scope, time and cost techniques. Anyone who wishes to learn proven techniques for achieving specific, measurable project results will find this course to be valuable.

Prerequisites:
Project Management Overview or Introduction to PMI’s “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)” is strongly recommended but not required.

Course Content:
Introduction

• The scope triangle
• Classifying projects by characteristics
• Project management life cycle

Scoping the Project

• Managing client expectations
• Conditions of satisfaction
• Developing a Project Overview Statement

Planning the Project

• Joint project planning session
• Building the Work Breakdown Structure
• Methods for estimating activity durations
• Estimating resource requirements
• Cost estimating and cost budgeting
• Creating the preliminary network schedule
• Schedule compression techniques

Finalizing Project Schedule and Cost

• Leveling resources
• Finalizing the project schedule
• Writing work packages
• Conducting the Joint Project Planning Session

Monitoring and Controlling the Project

• Types of project status reports
• Cost schedule control techniques

Closing the Project

• Gaining client acceptance
• Documenting the project
• Post-implementation audit

Alternative Approaches to Projects

• Traditional Project Management
• Critical Chain Project Management
• Adaptive Project Management
• Extreme Project Management

PMBOK Guide:
Knowledge Areas

• Integration, Scope, Time, Cost

Process Groups

• Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, Closing