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The Curriculum

The Project Professional Series® is firmly based on core principles as described in current standards documents, such as: PMBOK® Guide Seventh Edition BABOK® Guide Version 3.0 Standard for Project Portfolio Management® Fourth Edition But we do not stop there. Our courseware adds value by emphasizing the need to realize long-term value (Business Value) from our projects. We therefore emphasize the following foundational concepts from these disciplines. Project Portfolio Management Strategic planning lays the foundation for effective Project Portfolio Management Every project should support current Business Strategy Every project is an investment and should be managed as such A project is a component of a more encompassing product life cycle (i.e. project deliverables life cycle). Projects are carried out so that a defined Business Value can be obtained. Business Value: - Is the ultimate reason for doing the project - Should include both tactical and strategic impacts - Is realized after the project is completed, i.e. during product life Projects should be planned and managed so that: - Business Value is optimized, and - Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is kept to a minimum Business Value can be optimized when: - Deliverables have sufficient quality that they can be used effectively - Stakeholders are ready, willing and able to use the deliverables - Structures exist to maintain quality throughout product life Project Success can be measured at four levels. Project success criteria should be defined for each level. - Delivery Success - Tactical Success - Investment Success - Strategic Success Business Value planning promotes Tactical and Strategic success Project Management The purpose of every project is to establish a foundation for the Business Value realization that will follow. - Business Value is the reason for doing the project - The Sponsor should define Business Value at the start of the project - Every project decision should include consideration of its impact on Business Value Use of project Best Practices drives Delivery Success1 - Best Practices can be applied to every aspect of the product life cycle - Best Practices are available for and should be used by all primary roles: Project Manager, Team and Stakeholders, including Sponsor and Executives Every project is a human endeavor. Most often it is the human element that ultimately determines project success or failure. - An effective Project Manager knows how to lead stakeholders and team in a collaborative effort to reach a successful project delivery - Stakeholder participation is critical for many project processes, e.g. requirements development, risk management, and change control - Some of the most important threats to a project can originate from human factors (e.g. unrealistic expectations) and broken process (e.g. inadequate support or Change Control). Formal Project Management techniques are designed to manage these threats. - Technical skills are not enough. Soft skills (e.g. leadership, communication, people skills) are also necessary. Proactive Risk Management and formal Change Control promote all levels of Project Success by: - Promoting successful project delivery - Controlling Total Cost of Ownership - Providing effective management of opportunity - Optimizing Business Value The Project Manager must keep cost/resources, time, scope and risk in balance so that deliverables quality is not compromised. - Business Value realization is directly dependent on deliverables quality Project tools, used appropriately, make a big difference. Examples: project templates2, WBS, mind mapping, resource management, Earned Value, and more. Business Analysis Enterprise Analysis tools and techniques help management to: - Select projects that fully support current Business Strategy - Fund the right projects at the right time - Choose projects that will be a good investment Correct and complete requirements are the foundation for deliverables quality - Inadequate requirements almost guarantee diminished and/or delayed Business Value - There should be strong interfaces among requirements, design and test A rigorous requirements process is an essential component of every project - High level Business Requirements define the project and guide all other requirements activities - Formal verification and validation activities support high quality requirements - Tracing is an effective means of controlling scope creep and an important tool for Change Control The quality of requirements must be maintained throughout the product lifecycle The Business Analyst can be a powerful stakeholder advocate There are many opportunities for synergy between Business Analyst and Project Manager

1 We have incorporated dozens of Best Practices from our OPAP3® Practice Assessment tool into our courses. 2 We use high quality templates from our Project Template Library in class exercises.

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