Hi, full steam ahead for 2015, I am currently gathering ideas, thoughts and course content for a one and a half day project management course I am about to start to write for our organisation. Simplicity is key for this course so Gantt or Pert charts are definatley out !. It will be aimed at "middle to senior" managers who will be able to use some effective simple tools and formats to support them with project managing. If anyone has an " exercise" or scenario I could use or adapt that would be very much appreciated.
Any thoughts / ideas would be welcome.
Many thanks in advance.
Steve.
3 Responses
don’t dump the gantt charts!
Gantt charts are actually a marvellously simple way of planning a project…..
IMHO The single most important question is how big and complex are the projects the people run…….if they are two year long/team of 50/budget of £3m then send them on a more comprehensive programme.
If your intention is to inject planning rigour into more everyday operations then give them the basics of BDUF methodology.
The fundamental objective of 'planning' a project is to avoid OSINTOTs so weave this in throughout your course.
Ensure they understand the difference between a project and business-as-usual.
With regard to an exercise or scenario you need to pick something that suits the delegates' knowledge and day jobs, without dumbing down. Planning an office move is usually quite a good one.
I hope this helps
Feel free to get in touch
Rus
Burn Down Charts?
You could take a look at Burn Down charts which in some circumstances are a successful alternative to Gantt charts
http://www.scrum-institute.org/Burndown_Chart.php
http://www.clariostechnology.com/productivity/blog/whatisaburndownchart
http://joel.inpointform.net/software-development/burn-down-charts-tutorial-simple-agile-project-tracking/
Weekend Learning
I also learnt over the course of this weekend a way of producing gantt charts in excel. Not just using the cell boxes and colouring them but an actual gantt chart, the details are here:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=FLv4RKdMu61mxcVKlFHRc4fA