Top 10 Project Management Lessons Learned - Earn 2 PDU's
What you'll learn
- "Outstanding course with priceless pragmatic wisdom – these are the lessons that guarantee project success." – Ken Semerkant, PMP
- How the Project Manager can use accountability to become the most powerful and relaxed person on the project.
- The magic sentence the PM can use that will maximize the chances of the organization giving you what you need.
- Why defining the Work Breakdown Structure of deliverables makes everything else in PM easy.
- How I talked a senior, reluctant, aggressive, and arrogant team into being WBS believers.
- A real example of a WBS my team developed for a $140M aerospace project.
- Mathematical proof of how powerful best practice process is.
- A real example of a Precedence Diagram my team developed for a $140M aerospace project.
- Why risk management makes the entire PM process work, with essential risk planning tips.
- Eight common risks it is always worth considering including in your project’s risk register.
- Essential tips for monitoring and controling the risk budget as you proceed through your project.
- How to defend keeping as much of your risk budget as possible when you are under pressure to give some up.
- The two big advantages of deriving the requirements from a higher level description of user workflow.
- A story about how backfitting a set of user scenarios at relatively little cost helped reduce millions of dollars of acceptance risk.
- Why closing is a separate, organized set of project activities.
- An embarrassing story about not formally closing a project procurement, and the process that would have prevented it.
- A very useful story about a PM that made all three of the most common mistakes in project management.
- The huge benefits of keeping your eye on the top three drivers of project success.
- How the PM broadcasting an optimistic and success oriented attitude to the entire team helps maximize project success.
- An example of how believing a solution existed, even though we didn’t know what it was, enabled us to shorten a schedule by six months.
- A story of how I told the truth when my boss asked me to do something impossible, even though he obviously did not want to hear it.
- The three big advantages I gained from repeatedly telling the truth, for my project, my boss, and my own reputation and career.
Requirements
- This course will provide anyone with a deep understanding of how to ensure they are successful as a Project Manager.
Description
"Wow, this is great stuff. If anyone ever asks you 'What does a Project Manager do?' direct them to this course." – Leah Henig.
This course distills the best advice I have from more than 25 years working in project management. The largest project I worked on was a $3B helicopter integration effort. I was also on the PM team for a $140M aircraft retrofit project, and was project manager for a $55M software project, a $20M system integration project, a company process improvement effort, and a range of other projects. Then I became a consultant and helped dozens of other organizations with their project management, including government and non-profits.
These are the ten most important lessons I learned that contribute to project management success. The course also includes real life stories of difficult situations that show what it really takes for a Project Manager to succeed in challenging environments. In two hours, this course will make these lessons learned yours, and give you a 25 year career shortcut.
The Magic Of Accountability. Leverage the power of accountability so it gives you the *authority* you need to ensure success. Properly understood, having accountability means you are the most relaxed person on the project (really). Includes the magic sentence that will maximize the probability of the organization giving you what you need for success.
The Importance Of The WBS. Why the work breakdown structure (WBS) makes everything else in PM easy. A story of how I once got a senior, reluctant, and aggressive team to become WBS believers. A real WBS my team prepared for a 140M aerospace project, and a download of the example WBS for the 45M Magical Devices Version 3 project.
The Power Of Process. The reason that best practice process is so powerful, with statistical proof. Why the precedence diagram is your most important PM tool, *more* important than the Gantt chart. A real precedence diagram for that same 140M aerospace project. And a download of the precedence diagram for the Magical Devices Version 3 project.
Planning The Risk Budget. Why risk management makes the entire PM life-cycle work. Essential risk planning tips. Eight common risks you should always consider. Why you should actively manage only ten risks. Why you should include budget for risks that only impact time. And a download of a professional Excel risk register template.
Managing The Risk Budget. Essential tips for managing risks once underway. Real life advice for updating risk status as your project proceeds. A rule of thumb for how much risk budget you should have as you proceed. And the show-stopping sentence that enables you to keep as much risk budget as possible when under pressure to give some up.
Backfitting Scenarios When Needed. Why requirements should be derived from higher-level scenarios. How backfitting scenarios helped ensure the success of my 20M project. How scenario based acceptance testing convinces the customer the project will do what they need, and signs off the requirements at the same time.
Make Friends With Procurement. Why closing is a separate set of activities. An expensive story about why it is so important to formally close your procurements. How formal procurement closing prevents additional spending even by mistake. And why the PM should make friends with all the supporting departments to make your job easier.
The Top 3 Drivers Of Project Success. Why we already know most of the problems and most of the solutions in project management. A true story about a PM that made all three of the most common mistakes on a single project! And how the three most important drivers of project success could have saved him and 400K.
Focus On The Success Path. The importance of the success mindset the PM should broadcast to the whole team. A famous story that illustrates why. Similar examples from three other fields. And a real example of how my team was able to shorten a 3.5 year schedule to 3 years because I believed there was a solution when no-one else did, and how we did it.
The Benefits Of Telling The Truth. A time my boss asked me to save an unsaveable project. How repeatedly telling him the truth, when he obviously did not want to hear it, ended up being the best thing I could do for the project, my team, and my boss. And how it caused him to trust me, and then promote me to functional manager of a 55 person organization very early in my career.
Includes handy downloadable PDF's of all the key points. Learning these lessons without having to go through the trouble I did will not only help greatly increase the chances of success for your projects, it will give you a 25 year career shortcut. The course also earns you two Professional Development Units (PDU’s) in the Business Acumen (Leadership) category.
Instructor
William Stewart is a PMI certified Project Management Professional (PMP) who has managed projects for more than 25 years from just a few thousand dollars to 55M, and worked in senior roles on PM teams on projects up to 3B, in the domains of system integration, software, organizational improvement, business process, construction, real estate, research, and others. He has worked for aerospace, government, academia, and founded a software startup. He has delivered more than 330 live onsite PM courses to more than 3,300 people, and is author of the Deeply Practical Project Management online course and book. He has deep experience with project management, risk management, negotiation, systems integration, and software engineering. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science for development of an algorithm that builds multi-dimensional geodesic domes in optimum space and time.
Student Feedback
"Decades of valuable project management experience." - Thibaut Lefebvre
"Project management comes to life!" - April Bly-Monnen
"Great information for all PMs both new and old, certified or not. Great use of time." - Gerald Gentle
"Full of sound advice from years of experience. Recommend to any new or experienced PM." - Peter Hungiapuko
"A great course that shares valuable experience and addresses soft skills. Loved it." - Carlos Camargo
"In every lesson there is a golden nugget." - Isaac Leal
"Actionable, real-world advice for both PMs and people interested in project management." - Alex Hadar
"Clear, rational, calm and friendly, empowering!" - Peter Courtley
"Good advice about communicating with executives." - Natalie Tangen
"Very helpful, recommend to all PMs at any level." - Matthew Webber
Who this course is for:
- Anyone that would like to understand the mindset, responsibilities, and real life experience of the successful Project Manager in challenging environments.
Instructor
- 4.5 Instructor Rating
- 34,442 Reviews
- 106,283 Students
- 3 Courses
William Stewart is a Project Management Institute (PMI) certified Project Management Professional (PMP) who has managed projects for more than a quarter century, from just a few thousand dollars to $55M, in the domains of system integration, software, business process, construction, real estate, research, and others. He has delivered more than 330 live onsite PM courses to more than 3,300 people. He has worked for aerospace, government, academia, and founded a software startup. He has deep experience with project management, risk management, negotiating, systems integration, and software engineering. He is author of the book Deeply Practical Project Management.
Bill is currently an Ottawa based management consultant helping clients work better and get more done. Previously, he founded and ran the cloud company Cirrus Computing for ten years. Before that, he spent 14 years in aerospace where he served as company System Engineering Manager and Software Manager for a functional organization of more than 50 people, Project Manager for system integration projects up to $55M, and in a range of senior roles on other projects up to $3B.
His first real job was with the Canadian Public Service, to establish and manage a computing center supporting 4,500 personnel, where he developed and deployed software to manage enterprise-wide scheduling, resource management, personnel management, and payroll, and developed and taught two programming courses accredited by Seneca College.
Bill received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of New Brunswick in 1992 for discovery of an algorithm that build geodesic domes in multiple dimensions in optimum space and time, which to his knowledge has never been used for anything practical ;-) While at UNB, he also taught eleven undergraduate courses. His professional training includes Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Project Management, Risk Management, Negotiating, and System Engineering. He has taught courses in Program Management, Project Management, Risk Management, Cost and Schedule Control, and Negotiating.
Bill is author of the first web published book "The Living Internet" with contributions from many creators of the Internet. He wrote the original "The Fun Standard", a collection of best practices for having organizational fun. He maintains the FreeOpenSourceSoftware wiki. His paper on public financing of political parties was credited in the Canadian House of Commons when the federal party financing bill passed in 2003. He lives in Ottawa, Canada, with his wife and two children.