Synopsis

All companies run projects these days – whether they are large or small, short- or long-term in scope, service-oriented or manufacturing based.   Without projects there would not be any new product development, research and development, feasibility studies, market surveys, market launches, quality and productivity improvement studies, installation and commissioning of new equipment, etc.

Projects represent the future of any organisation. Project complexity is on the rise as the number of interacting factors that a project manager and the team members need to take into account increases. Issues relating to managing people are typically more complex than technical ones. Project teams need to learn very quickly that the ability to plan and manage a project successfully requires very much more than technical competence and experience.  Of paramount importance is the ability to view the project from its overall business aspects (i.e., a holistic approach) and how all the relevant factors are integrated.

The ability to manage projects well will result in improvements in work cultures, team work, and relationships with stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, government agencies, non-governmental organisations, pressure groups, and the general public. Frequently, it is not a matter of whether organizations run their projects formally or informally but whether they run them professionally and effectively.

This training programme is designed to impart the essential competencies to manage projects effectively. Both experienced and the less experienced personnel will benefit from this programme as it emphasises on the APPLICATION of the competencies on the participants’ REAL-LIFE SITUATIONS.

Learning Objectives

• To impart participants with the essential principles, techniques and practice of project management
• To appreciate the role of projects in the overall management of an organisation
• To enable participants to apply the critical aspects of project management (scope, cost, and time [Triple Constraints], performance, and risk management) in their own real-life situations
• To appreciate the role of complex human relationships in project management, including leadership, teamwork and conflict management and use this understanding to manage the “people” aspect of projects effectively
• To understand and manage the different risks associated with project management
• To raise their awareness of the common pitfalls in the management of projects and how these may be avoided
• To be more effective in managing projects irrespective of the magnitude or significance of the project

Key Topics

Essentials of Project Management

• The business case for running projects and project management
• The triple constraint and the need to keep the balance between the three competing goals
• The project integration management knowledge area which affect and  is affected by other knowledge areas
• Essential “hard” and “soft” skills required for managing projects
• Sharing of real-life examples

Role of Project Management in an Organisation’s Strategy and Operations

• Link between project management and strategic management
• Relationship between project life cycle and product life cycle
• Role that effective project management has on an organisation’s utilisation of resources, market competitiveness, and contribution to its strategies

Major Parameters Governing Project Management (Performance, Scope, Cost, Schedule, Risk)

• Key parameters of project management (management of performance, costs, time, and risks) and their requirements
• Relationship between these parameters and the role of the project manager and team members in achieving a suitable balance
• Group Exercise: Applying the learning into own real-life situations

Role of the Project Manager/Leader & Team Members in Project Team Development

• The relevance of group dynamics and complexities of human interactions in the project environment
• Importance of establishing the right project work culture and leadership/management styles
• Managing conflicts in project management
• Dealing effectively with the common matrix organization structure
• Pitfalls to avoid in teamwork

Techniques for Planning, Management, and Control of Projects

• The five-step model of project planning, management, and control
• Developing project outlines (Work Breakdown Structures)
• Techniques for planning, presenting, and justifying project proposals and plans (includes project life cycles, project stakeholder analysis, assumption surfacing and testing)
• Techniques for coordinating and controlling multiple tasks and multiple stakeholders–includes the application of graphs, tables, and charts (See Critical Path Method below).

Managing Project Risks

• Why manage project risks?
• Common types of risks in project management
• Role of the team members in managing risk
• Project appraisal and evaluation methods (Feasibility studies & Risk analysis) – application of FMEA
• Payback, Discounted Payback, Internal Rate of Return, Net Present Values
• Project Management Institute’s USA [PMI] Project Risk Management process—Risk management planning, Risk Identification planning, Qualitative analysis, Quantitative analysis, Risk response planning, Risk monitoring and control
• Four risk management response strategies and when to use them
• Creating a risk adjusted Project Management Plan

Network Diagrams (Critical Path Method) & Gantt Charts

• The Critical Path Method and Gantt Charts
• The uses and abuses of the Critical Path Method and Gantt Charts
• How to use Critical Path Method and Gantt Charts in project planning and control
• Group Exercise: Applying the learning into own real-life situations

What Business Schools Do Not Teach

• It is more to do with people skills rather than the technical aspects
• The realities of managing multiple projects simultaneously
• It is okay to say NO but more importantly when and how to say it
• LOVE’s right of project managers—what every person involved in projects must know

Programme Leader

This programme will be conducted by:

Mah Kong Howe specialises in training and consulting in project management, business process improvement, kaizen, internal quality auditing, FMEA, and safety management in the ASEAN region. He has worked on research and development projects in Australia as well as projects and quality assurance (ISO 9000 and QS 9000) in the Malaysian automotive parts manufacturing industry.  These experiences allow him to impart the practical competencies to his clients who come from a variety of service and manufacturing organisations.

Kong Howe, as he is fondly known has a Bachelor in Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) and a Graduate Diploma in Biomedical Engineering from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, and a Master in Business Administration (General Business Management) from the University of Hull, U.K.  He is a qualified Lead Assessor in Management Systems and has completed a Certificate in Quality Assurance from the Sheffield City Polytechnic (now Sheffield Hallam University), U.K.   

In 2005, after having taken his professional examinations, he received the prestigious Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the USA.

He has presented papers at national and international management conferences and seminars.  He is currently pursuing his doctoral studies with research interests in TQM, systems science, project management, and business ethics.  He is a regular course leader in Diploma, Bachelor, and MBA programmes in several other leading institutions and a supervisor of dissertations at the Masters’ level thus allowing him to have both practice and theory.

His clients which comprise SMEs, public listed companies and multinationals say that the unique value that they receive from Mah’s training and consulting is that the inputs are practical and can be applied in the work place.  

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Venue	The Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur
Duration	Two Days
Time	0900 to 1730
Fee	RM2, 279 per person for local delegates and US$730 per person for foreign delegates [price is inclusive of 6% GST, programme documentation, tea breaks and lunch]
Enquiries	+603-27131165
Email	info@pkmh.com or pkmh.training@yahoo.com