504 Basic courses in Belfast

What do engineers and project managers need to know of finance? 'Nothing - leave it to the accountants!' No, no, no! Engineers must be conversant with the terminology and statements that accountants use. Technical expertise in projects, service delivery, production or other areas can only really be harnessed if the managers understand the accounting and reporting that drives businesses. This course gives the necessary understanding to project, production and technical managers. It develops their skills in understanding financial and management accounting. Accountants may not always like it but a major part of their work is to be the 'servants of business' and to gather, compile and present your figures. So you must understand the figures - they belong to you, your processes or projects. There are many reasons for maintaining accurate accounts. This course focuses on the strategic issues (those over-used words) - what figures reveal about the drivers of business and what they reveal about the day-to-day issues that accountants bother you with. The course will enhance your understanding of finance and of the accounting issues which affect your projects, production and technical areas of business. This course will help you: Understand the business world in figures - make sense of what the accountants are telling you Appreciate what drives business - and how this affects your role in your part of the business Relate your activities to the success of the business - through figures Gain the skills to advance in management - financial awareness is a 'must have' if you are to progress in your career 1 What do accountants do? The finance function, types of accountant, financial v management accounting and the treasury function Understanding the role of the finance function and how the information you provide may be used 2 The basic financial statements Balance sheets and income statements (P&L accounts) What they are, what they contain and above all what they can reveal - how to read them The accounting process - from transactions to financial statements What underpins the statements - accounting systems and internal controls 3 Why be in business - from a financial perspective The driving forces behind financial information Performance measures - profitability, asset utilisation, sales and throughput, managing capital expenditure 4 Accounting rules - accounting standards Accounting concepts and the accounting rules: accruals, 'going concern' - substance over form and other 'desirable qualities' Accruals - why the timing of a transaction is so important to the finance function Depreciation and amortisation - the concepts and practice Accounting standards - the role of International Financial Reporting Standards 5 Cash The importance of cash flow - working capital management Cash flow statements - monitoring overall cash flows Raising cash - levels of borrowing, gearing Spending cash - an outline of capital expenditure appraisal 6 Budgeting Why budget? - good and bad practice Determining why budgets play a key role and should not be simply an annual ritual Justifying your budgets - the link between the strategic plan and day-to-day budgeting - alignment of company culture Budgets as motivators - the importance of the right culture Techniques to improve budgeting - whether day-to-day or capital budgeting 7 Costing The type and detail of costing very much depends on your business - eg, manufacturing piston rings is quite different from the construction of a power plant Issues with overhead allocation Accounting for R&D 8 Reading financial statements Annual financial statements - why they are produced, what's in them and what you should look for Learning what a set of accounts reveals about a company's current situation, profitability and future prospects 9 Performance measurement - analytical reviews and ratio analysis ROI/ROCE Profitability, margins and cost control Sales - asset turnover Efficiency (asset / stock turnover, debtor / creditor days) 'City' measures Investment (interest / dividend cover, earnings per share, dividend yield)

About this Training Course Asset maintenance and equipment reliability teams play a significant role to ensure that there is no room for downtime and losses in production. They are often recognised for their contribution and ability to keep assets running productively in today's organisations. This 4 full-day Certificate in Asset Management course will provide those involved in Asset Management with a full explanation of the key processes to manage assets across their lifecycle. This course has been designed to equip participants with practical skills to take back to work. This course enables participants to ensure their organisation's assets are realising their full value in support of the organisation's objectives. Accredited by the Institute of Asset Management (IAM), this course will prepare participants to sit for the IAM Asset Management Certificate qualification. The IAM exam is offered as an option for participants of this course. Training Objectives Upon completion of this course, the participants will be able to: Understand the key principles, tools and terminology of Asset Management, and demonstrate how it will benefit their organisation Gain familiarity in the application of ISO 55000 in practice Access a range of models that will support the implementation of asset management in their organisation Have their understanding of Asset Management tools and concepts assessed Learn new Asset Management skills and models that will enhance their current performance Be better prepared for the Institute of Asset Management (IAM) Certificate Examination Target Audience This course will benefit maintenance managers, operations managers, asset managers and reliability professionals, planners and functional specialists. It will also be useful for facilities engineers, supervisors/managers and structural engineers/supervisors/ and managers. Course Level Basic or Foundation Training Methods Other than world-class visuals and slides, this course will include a high level of interaction between the facilitator and participants and group discussion among the participants themselves. There will be a number of exercises & quizzes to demonstrate key points and to give participants the chance to apply learning and appreciate key aspects of best practice. Participants will also have the chance to share examples from their own experience, discuss real problems they are facing and develop actions for improvement when they return to work. Trainer Your expert course leader is a is a highly experienced in maintenance and turnaround specialist. He is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, having spent 19 years working for BP in engineering, maintenance and turnaround management roles. During this time, he worked on plants at all ages in the lifecycle, from construction, commissioning and operating new assets to maintaining aging assets and decommissioning. He has taken roles in Projects, Human Resources and Integrity Management which give real breadth to his approach. He also specialized in Continuous Improvement, gaining the award of International Petrochemical Coach of the year. He stays up to date with the latest industrial developments through his consulting support for major clients. He is also the Asset Management lead and a VILT specialist, having delivered over 70 days of VILT training in the last year. He has an engaging style and will bring his current industrial experience, proficiency of VILT techniques and diverse content, gathered from a comprehensive training portfolio, to deliver a distinctive training experience. POST TRAINING COACHING SUPPORT (OPTIONAL) To further optimise your learning experience from our courses, we also offer individualized 'One to One' coaching support for 2 hours post training. We can help improve your competence in your chosen area of interest, based on your learning needs and available hours. This is a great opportunity to improve your capability and confidence in a particular area of expertise. It will be delivered over a secure video conference call by one of our senior trainers. They will work with you to create a tailor-made coaching program that will help you achieve your goals faster. Request for further information post training support and fees applicable Accreditions And Affliations

This is not a single course but a set of menu options from which you can 'pick and mix' to create a draft programme yourself, as a discussion document which we can then fine-tune with you. For a day's training course, simply consider your objectives, select six hours' worth of modules and let us do the fine-tuning so that you get the best possible training result. Consider your objectives carefully for maximum benefit from the course. Is the training for new or experienced credit control staff? Are there specific issues to be addressed within your particular sector (eg, housing, education, utilities, etc)? Do your staff need to know more about the legal issues? Or would a practical demonstration of effective telephone tactics be more useful to them? Menu Rather than a generic course outline, the expert trainer has prepared a training 'menu' from which you can select those topics of most relevance to your organisation. We can then work with you to tailor a programme that will meet your specific objectives. Advanced credit control skills for supervisors - 1⁄2 day Basic legal overview: do's and don'ts of debt recovery - 2 hours Body language in the credit and debt sphere - 1⁄2 day County Court suing and enforcement - 1⁄2 day Credit checking and assessment - 1 hour Customer visits and 'face to face' debt recovery skills - 1⁄2 day Data Protection Act explained - 1⁄2 day Dealing with 'Caring Agencies' and third parties - 1 hour Debt counselling skills - 2 hours Elementary credit control skills for new staff - 1⁄2 day Granting credit and collecting debt in Europe - 1⁄2 day Identifying debtors by 'type' to handle them accurately - 1 hour Insolvency: Understanding bankruptcy / receivership / administration / winding-up / liquidation / CVAs and IVAs - 2 hours Late Payment of Commercial Debts Interest Act explained - 2 hours Liaison with sales and other departments for maximum credit effectiveness - 1 hour Suing in Scottish Courts (Small Claims and Summary Cause) - 1⁄2 day Telephone techniques for successful debt collection - 11⁄2 hours Terms and conditions of business with regard to credit and debt - 2 hours Tracing 'gone away' debtors (both corporate and individual) - 11⁄2 hours What to do if you/your organisation are sued - 1⁄2 day Other topics you might wish to consider could include: Assessment of new customers as debtor risks Attachment of Earnings Orders Bailiffs and how to make them work for you Benefit overpayments and how to recover them Cash flow problems (business) Charging Orders over property/assets Credit policy: how to write one Council and Local Authority debt recovery Consumer Credit Act debt issues Using debt collection agencies Director's or personal guarantees Domestic debt collection by telephone Exports (world-wide) and payment for Emergency debt recovery measures Education Sector debt recovery Forms used in credit control Factoring of sales invoices Finance Sector debt recovery needs Third Party Debt Orders (Enforcement) Government departments (collection from) Harassment (what it is - and what it is not) Health sector debt recovery skills Hardship (members of the public) Insolvency and the Insolvency Act In-house collection agency (how to set up) Instalments: getting offers which are kept Judgment (explanation of types) Keeping customers while collecting the debt Late payment penalties and sanctions Letter writing for debt recovery Major companies as debtors Members of the public as debtors Monitoring of major debtors and risks Negotiation skills for debt recovery Old debts and how to collect them Out of hours telephone calls and visits Office of Fair Trading and collections Oral Examination (Enforcement) Pro-active telephone collection Parents of young debtors Partnerships as debtors Positive language in debt recovery Pre-litigation checking skills Power listening skills Questions to solicit information Retention of title and 'Romalpa' clauses Sale of Goods Act explained Salesmen and debt recovery Sheriffs to enforce your judgment Students as debtors Statutory demands for payment Small companies (collection from) Sundry debts (collection of) Terms and Conditions of Contract Tracing 'gone away' debtors The telephone bureau and credit control Taking away reasons not to pay Train the trainer skills Utility collection needs Visits for collection and recovery Warrant of execution (enforcement)

The Sales Accelerator programme is a fresh approach to improving business development productivity. It focuses on identifying and using a series of business productivity metrics in order to build a clear action plan for improving sales results - typically within 90 days. The metrics are grouped under three headings: The basic principle is that a small improvement in each area can lead to a significant increase in sales results and productivity. And the object of the programme is to show how best to achieve that. The programme therefore looks at each of these three areas in turn, spending a day on each. Suitable for any and all businesses and all levels of experience and expertise, this is a remarkably practical and hands-on programme. During the workshop, participants discuss, review and apply many proven sales and marketing techniques and personal selling ideas. The goal is to generate and commit to changes and actions that can lead to a 10-30% increase in the next three to six months. There's also a consultancy option, rather than the workshop-based programme. See below for details. Day one - Activity Key objective This first module introduces the Sales Accelerator model. The goal here is to show participants how to increase their pro-active activity levels by around 10%. It covers all aspects of creating new business opportunities, from existing customers and non-customers alike, and is linked to personal activity improvement goals. Main elements Improve the productivity, accuracy and effectiveness of your business approach by using new and unique models and techniques. Different methods of creating and generating new business opportunities in the short, medium and long term. This includes sourcing new business, up-selling, cross-selling, warm calling and gaining referrals. Using organised persistence to track and build new customer revenue. Managing your sales time effectively. Key learning points Sales productivity - understand the dynamics of increasing the combination of activity levels, deal value and conversion rate of proposals/quotations to orders and implement an improvement plan. Sales goal setting: setting business development objectives for quantity and quality - plus tips and tricks of top performers. Maintain a peak activity level, on a consistent basis using 'organised persistence' and structured business development tracking methodology. How to prioritise opportunities and manage your time when sourcing new business. Identify potential new customers - and particularly the decision-makers and influencers - with greater accuracy. Make outbound business or appointment calls with improved confidence, control and results. Day two - Value Key objective To be able to better anticipate, identify, create, and develop business opportunities using a customer / client-focused communication-based business model and consultative skills. Main elements How to develop sales more effectively from new and existing customers; and managing the first appointment with a new customer. Use structured and assertive drawing-out skills to identify, develop and formalise business opportunities and to gain commitment. How to better position your company and your products and services against your main competitors. Create and deliver persuasive business messages based on specific need areas, criteria and value. Key learning points Advanced consultative selling - use a variety of structured and advanced questioning techniques to confidently and efficiently uncover opportunities, need areas and business criteria - confidently and efficiently. Involve the customer/client at all times, and to a far greater degree, and keep better control of business development process. Value message - differentiate your solutions clearly and accurately with customer/client-matched value statements. Presenting the right USPs, features and benefits and making them relevant and real to the customer. Qualification and reading buying signals. Day three (held around four weeks after the first module) - Conversion Key objective This module looks at how to improve the final qualification, progression and conversion of opportunities in your sales pipeline. Also includes price negotiation, overcoming objections and obstacles to gaining agreement. The module begins with a learning review, sharing participants' experiences over the last four weeks in applying the new techniques and skills acquired during the first two modules. This is an opportunity to revisit particularly challenging areas as well as to share and celebrate successes. Main elements Structuring and preparing for negotiating a deal and knowing when and how to move into the 'end-game' mode. Anticipate and answer customer objections and questions more confidently. Build more credibility and proof into your business process to reduce 'buyer's remorse' and speed-up decision-making. Being more assertive and developing better instincts and strategic thinking in progressing quotations and proposals. Key learning points Smart ways to position price, emphasise value and be a strong player without being the cheapest. Becoming more assertive in closing deals, and the importance of organised follow-up on the telephone. Qualify pipeline opportunities with more accuracy, using a proven check-list. Use an 'option generator' to simplify complex proposals, increase business value and close business faster. Writing more effective sales proposal documents and quotations. How best to draw-out, understand, isolate and answer customer objections, negotiate points and concerns. Practical methods of asking for agreement and closing a sale

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About this Virtual Instructor Led Certificate Training Course (VILT) Asset maintenance and equipment reliability teams play a significant role to ensure that there is no room for downtime and losses in production. They are often recognised for their contribution and ability to keep assets running productively in today's organisations. The Certificate in Asset Management Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT) course will provide those involved in Asset Management with a full explanation of the key processes to manage assets across their lifecycle. This recognised VILT course has been designed to equip participants with practical skills to take back to work. This VILT course enables participants to ensure their organisation's assets are realising their full value in support of the organisation's objectives. Accredited by the Institute of Asset Management (IAM), this VILT course will prepare participants to sit for the IAM Asset Management Certificate qualification. The IAM exam is offered as an option for participants of this VILT course. Training Objectives By the end of this VILT course, participants will be able to: Understand the key principles, tools and terminology of Asset Management, and demonstrate how it will benefit your organisation Gain familiarity in the application of ISO 55000 in practice Access a range of models that will support the implementation of asset management in your organisation Assess your understanding of the current tools and concepts applied in Asset Management Capture new ideas and skills that will enhance performance and be better prepared for the Institute of Asset Management (IAM) Certificate Examination Target Audience This VILT course will benefit maintenance managers, operations managers, asset managers and reliability professionals, planners and functional specialists. It will also be useful for facilities engineers, supervisors/managers and structural engineers/supervisors/ and managers. IAM Qualifications Syllabi This document details the scope of the individual topics which comprise the examination modules, and how the exams are assessed. It is important that prospective candidates understand the scope of the modules to determine the preparation required. Download here IAM Qualifications Candidate Handbook This handbook provides more detailed information on registering as a candidate, learning resources, training courses, booking an exam, exam regulations and what happens after an exam - whether you are successful or unsuccessful. Download here Course Level Basic or Foundation Training Methods The VILT course will be delivered online in 5 half-day sessions comprising 4 hours per day, with 2 breaks of 15 minutes per day. Course Duration: 5 half-day sessions, 4 hours per session (20 hours in total) Other than world-class visuals and slides, this VILT course will include a high level of interaction between the facilitator and participants and group discussion among the participants themselves. There will be a number of exercises & quizzes to demonstrate key points and to give participants the chance to apply learning and appreciate key aspects of best practice. Participants will also have the chance to share examples from their own experience, discuss real problems they are facing and develop actions for improvement when they return to work. Examples of the exercises that are used in this VILT course are as follows: Exercises: Aligning Assets to Business Objectives, Planning for Contingencies, Understanding Function and Failure. Group exercises: Asset Management Decision Making, Incident Review & Operations Optimisation. The workshop content will be adjusted based on the discussions, interests and needs of the participants on the course. Trainer Your expert course leader is a is a highly experienced in maintenance and turnaround specialist. He is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, having spent 19 years working for BP in engineering, maintenance and turnaround management roles. During this time, he worked on plants at all ages in the lifecycle, from construction, commissioning and operating new assets to maintaining aging assets and decommissioning. He has taken roles in Projects, Human Resources and Integrity Management which give real breadth to his approach. He also specialized in Continuous Improvement, gaining the award of International Petrochemical Coach of the year. He stays up to date with the latest industrial developments through his consulting support for major clients. He is also the Asset Management lead and a VILT specialist, having delivered over 70 days of VILT training in the last year. He has an engaging style and will bring his current industrial experience, proficiency of VILT techniques and diverse content, gathered from a comprehensive training portfolio, to deliver a distinctive training experience. POST TRAINING COACHING SUPPORT (OPTIONAL) To further optimise your learning experience from our courses, we also offer individualized 'One to One' coaching support for 2 hours post training. We can help improve your competence in your chosen area of interest, based on your learning needs and available hours. This is a great opportunity to improve your capability and confidence in a particular area of expertise. It will be delivered over a secure video conference call by one of our senior trainers. They will work with you to create a tailor-made coaching program that will help you achieve your goals faster. Request for further information about post training coaching support and fees applicable for this. Accreditions And Affliations

The 'golden rule' of negotiation is simple - don't! But life's rarely that simple and very often we do have to negotiate, particularly if we want to win the business and especially if we want to win it on our terms. Such negotiations are crucial. We need to prepare for them. We need a strategy, and the skills to execute it. Does your team have a structured approach? Is it flawlessly executed, every time? Or is there room for improvement? This programme will help them master the six fundamentals of closing better business: Manage all these elements well and you will win more business, more profitably. This course will help participants: Negotiate from a position of partnership, not competition Deal more effectively and profitably with price objections Identify and practise successful sales negotiating skills Identify strengths and weaknesses as a sales negotiator Understand different types of buyer behaviour Learn to recognise negotiating tactics and stances Apply a new and proven structure to their business negotiations Identify and adapt for different behavioural styles Be alert to unconscious (non-verbal) communication Prepare and present a proposal at a final business negotiation stage Project confidence and exercise assertiveness in all sales negotiations 1 Planning for successful business negotiations This session introduces the concept of business negotiation and looks at its importance in the context of the participants' roles and activities. It briefly examines why we negotiate and the dynamics involved. Session highlights: What kind of a negotiator are you? Negotiation skills self-assessment and best practice How to establish roles and responsibilities for both parties How to identify and set objectives for both buyer and seller How to research and establish the other person's position (business negotiation stance) 2 How to structure your negotiations This module presents an eight-step framework or structure for use in negotiations and considers how best to prepare and plan your negotiations within the context of a supplier/customer relationship or business cycle. It also includes a brief review of legal responsibilities and what constitutes a 'deal'. Session highlights: Learn and apply a formal structure to use when negotiating How to establish short- and longer-term objectives and opportunities How best to plan, prepare and co-ordinate a major business negotiation meeting, or on-going negotiations Understanding of basic legal and organisational requirements 3 Verbal negotiation skills This session examines the human and communication dynamics inherent in any negotiation situation. It emphasises the importance of professional skills in preparing for a negotiation by identifying needs, wants and requirements accurately and by qualifying the competitive and organisational influences present. Session highlights: How to fully 'qualify' the other party's needs, requirements and constraints during the negotiation process by using advanced questioning and listening skills How to pre-empt negotiation objections by promoting and gaining commitment to options, benefits, value and solutions How best to propose and suggest ideas, using drawing-out skills 4 Non-verbal negotiation skills This module highlights how different personal styles, corporate cultures and organisation positions can influence events, and demonstrates practical methods for dealing with and controlling these factors. It also examines key principles of body language and non-verbal communication in a practical way. Session highlights: Gaining rapport and influencing unconsciously Understanding the importance of non-verbal communication; reading other people's meaning and communicating effectively as a result Ensure that non-verbal behaviour is fully utilised and observed to create maximum impact and monitor progress (eg, buying signals) Recognising that business negotiations are precisely structured and agreements gained incrementally 5 Proposing and 'packaging' This session highlights how best to present and package your proposal. It looks at how to pre-empt the need for negotiating by creating minor-options and 'bargaining' points, as well as how to manage the expectations and perceptions of the customer or buyer. Session highlights: How to identify the key variables that can be negotiated The power and use of 'authority' within your negotiations How to structure and present your proposal, ideas or quotation to best effect The importance of when and how to identify and influence buyer's objections 6 Dealing with price This module highlights how to best present and package price within your proposal or negotiation. In most cases, price has more to do with psychology than affordability and preparation and careful handling are essential. Session highlights: The three reasons that people will pay your asking price How to set price in a competitive market The key differences between selling and negotiating Ten ways to present price more effectively and persuasively 7 Getting to 'Yes': tactics and strategies There are many different tactics and strategies common to successful negotiators. This session looks at those that are most appropriate to the participants' own personal styles and situations. The importance of 'follow-through' is also explained and how to deal with protracted or 'stale-mate' business negotiations. Session highlights: How to negotiate price and reduce discounting early in the process How to recognise negotiating tactics and strategies in your customer or supplier Key strategies, techniques and tactics to use in negotiation The importance of follow-through and watching the details How to deal with stalled business negotiations or competitor 'lock-out' 8 Case studies and review This session examines a number of different situations and participants discuss ways to approach each. This will allow learning to be consolidated and applied in a very practical way. There will also be a chance to have individual points raised in a question and answer session. Session highlights: Case studies Question and answer Planning worksheet Negotiation 'toolkit' and check-list 9 Personal action plans Session highlights: Identify the most important personal learning points from the programme Highlight specific actions and goals Flag topics for future personal development and improvement

Masterclasses? Refreshers? Introductions? It depends what you're looking for and where you want to pitch them, but here are six tried-and-tested highly focused sessions that organisations can take individually or as a series, to help develop their teams' project management capabilities one topic at a time. Objectives for each individual session are set out below, as part of the session outlines. Taken together, as a series, however, these modules are an ideal opportunity to develop your team's levels of project management capability maturity, whether that's by introducing them to the basic principles, refreshing them on best practice, or giving them the opportunity to really drill down into a specific area of challenge in your particular operating environment. Session outlines 1 Stakeholder management Session objectives This session will help participants: Understand why stakeholders matter to projects Be able to identify and engage stakeholders Be able to categorise stakeholders by their significance 1 Key principles What does 'stakeholder' mean - in theory? What does this mean in practice? Why stakeholders matter Consequences of missing stakeholders The stakeholder management process:IdentifyAssessPlanEngage 2 Identifying stakeholders Rapid listing CPIG analysis PESTLE analysis Drawing on the knowledge and experience of others Other ways to identify stakeholders 3 Assessing stakeholders Which stakeholders are significant? Stakeholder radar Power-interest maps Power-attitude maps 4 Planning The adoption curve Dealing with obstacles Who should engage which stakeholder? How should the project's organisation be structured? How will communication happen? 5 Engaging Seven principles of stakeholder engagement 2 Requirements and prioritisation Session objectives This session will help participants: Understand how clarity of requirements contributes to project success Use different techniques for prioritising requirements Agree requirements with stakeholders Manage changes to requirements 1 Understanding and managing stakeholder needs and expectations What are 'requirements'? What is 'requirements management'? Sources of requirements - and the role of stakeholders Are stakeholders sufficiently expert to specify their needs? Do they understand the detail of what they want, or do they need help to tease that out? What do stakeholders want to achieve? Working within constraints Prioritising requirements - three techniques 2 MoSCoW prioritisation 'Must have', should have', 'could have, 'won't have this time' When to use MoSCoW 3 The Kano Model Customer satisfaction - 'attractive' and 'must-be' qualities When to use Kano 4 Value-based prioritisation Understanding risk v value Using risk v value to prioritise features and schedules 5 Agreeing requirements Perfect v 'good enough' Establishing acceptance criteria Requirements traceability Agreeing project scope 6 Changing requirements Why requirements change Why change control matters Impact on projects A formal change control process Paying for change - managing change for different types of project 3 Estimating Session objectives This session will help participants: Understand the different purposes estimates satisfy Be able to use different estimating techniques Understand how to achieve different levels of accuracy 1 Key principles What's an estimate? Informed guesswork What needs to be estimated? Costs, resources, effort, duration Tolerances Precision v accuracy 2 Estimating through the lifecycle Start Plan Do 3 Early estimates Comparative ('analogous') estimating Parametric estimating Using multiple estimating techniques 4 Bottom-up estimating Bottom-up ('analytical') estimating Pros Cons 5 Three-point estimating Three-point ('PERT': Programme Evaluation and Review Technique) estimating Uncertainty and the range of estimates Calculating a weighted average Three-point with bottom-up 4 Scheduling Session objectives This session will help participants: Understand how to create a viable schedule Be able to use different forms of schedule Understand the concept of the critical path 1 Key principles The planning horizon Rolling wave planning Release planning 2 Viable scheduling Creating a viable schedule Define the scope Sequence the work Identify the risks and build in mitigations Identify the resources Estimate the effort and durations Check resource availability Refine until a workable schedule is produced 3 Critical path analysis The critical path Network diagrams Sequence logic Practical application:Network diagram with estimated durationsThe 'forward pass'The 'backward pass'Calculating total floatIdentifying the critical pathCalculating free float Gantt charts 5 Risk and issue management Session objectives This session will help participants: Understand the difference between risks and issues Be able to identify and assess risks Understand ways of mitigating risks Manage issues 1 Key principles Understanding risk Threats and opportunities The risk management processPreparation - proactive risk managementThe process - identify, assess, plan, implementStakeholder communication Roles and responsibilities Risk management strategy The risk register Risk appetite 2 Risk identification Brainstorming Interviews Assumption analysis Checklists 3 Risk assessment and prioritisation Probability, impact and proximity Triggers Qualitative risk assessment Qualitative impact assessment Qualitative probability assessment Probability / impact grid Bubble charts Risk tolerance 4 Planning countermeasures To mitigate or not to mitigate? Categories of risk response Avoid and exploit Reduce and enhance Transfer Share Accept Contingency Secondary risks 5 Issue management What is an issue? Tolerances Issues and tolerances The PRINCE2 view of issues Ownership of issues An issue management process Issue register 6 Budgeting and cost control Session objectives This session will help participants: Understand what to include in a budget - and why Choose - and use - the appropriate estimating technique Align the budget with the schedule Understand how to monitor spend and control costs Trouble-shoot effectively to get projects back within budget Session format Flexible. The session can be tailored to the participants' average level of project management maturity - a 60-minute session (delivered virtually) is an effective introduction. A 90-minute session allows for more in-depth treatment. A half-day session (face-to-face or virtual) gives time for a more challenging workshop, particularly to discuss specific cost control issues with any of the participants' current projects. 1 Where is the money coming from? Can we pay from revenue? Do we need to borrow? How long will the project take to pay back? The lifecycle of the budget Through-life costs Stakeholder involvement 2 Estimating costs Reminder: the relationship between estimates Reminder: possible estimating techniques What do we need to estimate?PeopleEquipmentMaterialsFacilities and operating costsWork package estimateEstimated project costs Estimating agile projects 3 Aligning budget and schedule Scheduling and financial periods Spreading the budget 4 Reserves and agreeing the budget Contingency reserve Management reserve Agreeing the budget 5 Cost control Planned spend over time Actual spend over time Work completed over time Evaluating different scenarios: delivery v spend 6 Trouble-shooting Why are we where we are? What has caused the project to spend at the rate it is? Why is it delivering at the rate it is? What are the root causes? What can we do about it?

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This course is very much a discussion, so be prepared to present and critically analyse your own and class mates work. You will also need to bring a few examples of work you have done in the past. Learning and applying best practice visualisation principles will improve effective discussions amongst decision makers throughout your organisation. As a result more end-users of your dashboards will be able to make better decisions, more quickly. This 2 Day training course is aimed at analysts with good working knowledge of BI tools (we use Tableau to present, but attendees can use their own software such as Power BI or Qlik Sense). It is a great preparation for taking advanced certifications, such as Tableau Certified Professional. Contact us to discuss the Visual Analytics Best Practice course Email us if you are interested in an on-site course, or would be interested in different dates and locations This Tableau Desktop training intermediate course is designed for the professional who has a solid foundation with Tableau and is looking to take it to the next level. Attendees should have a good understanding of the fundamental concepts of building Tableau worksheets and dashboards typically achieved from having attended our Tableau Desktop Foundation Course. At the end of this course you will be able to communicate insights more effectively, enabling your organisation to make better decisions, quickly. The Tableau Desktop Analyst training course is aimed at people who are used to working with MS Excel or other Business Intelligence tools and who have preferably been using Tableau already for basic reporting. The course includes the following topics: WHAT IS VISUAL ANALYSIS? Visual Analytics Visual Analytics Process Advantages of Visual Analysis Exercise: Interpreting Visualisations HOW DO WE PROCESS VISUAL INFORMATION? Memory and Processing Types Exercise: Identifying Types of Processing Cognitive Load Exercise: Analysing Cognitive Load Focus and Guide the Viewer Remove Visual Distractions Organise Information into Chunks Design for Proximity Exercise: Reducing Cognitive Load SENSORY MEMORY Pre-attentive Attributes Quantitatively-Perceived Attributes Categorically-Perceived Attributes Exercise: Analysing Pre-attentive Attributes Form & Attributes Exercise: Using Form Effectively Colour & Attributes Exercise: Using Colour Effectively Position & Attributes Exercise: Using Position Effectively ENSURING VISUAL INTEGRITY Informing without Misleading Gestalt Principles Visual Area Axis & Scale Colour Detail Exercise: Informing without Misleading CHOOSING THE RIGHT VISUALISATION Comparing and Ranking Categories Comparing Measures Comparing Parts to Whole Viewing Data Over Time Charts Types for Mapping Viewing Correlation Viewing Distributions Viewing Specific Values DASHBOARDS AND STORIES Exercise: Picking the Chart Type Exercise: Brainstorming Visual Best Practice Development Process for Dashboards and Stories Plan the Visualisation Create the Visualisation Test the Visualisation Exercise: Designing Dashboards and Stories This training course includes over 20 hands-on exercises to help participants “learn by doing” and to assist group discussions around real-life use cases. Each attendee receives an extensive training manual which covers the theory, practical applications and use cases, exercises and solutions together with a USB with all the materials required for the training. The course starts at 09:30 on the first day and ends at 17:00. On the second day the course starts at 09:00 and ends at 17:00. Students must bring their own laptop with an active version of Tableau Desktop 10.5 (or later) pre-installed. What People Are Saying About This Course "Steve was willing to address questions arising from his content in a full and understandable way"Lisa L. "Really enjoyed the course and feel the subject and the way it was taught was very close to my needs"James G. "The course tutor Steve was incredibly helpful and taught the information very well while making the two days very enjoyable."Bradd P. "The host and his courses will give you the tools and confidence that you need to be comfortable with Tableau."Jack S. "Steve was fantastic with his knowledge and knowhow about the product. Where possible he made sure you could put demonstrations in to working practice, to give the audience a clear understanding."Tim H. "This was a very interesting and helpful course, which will definitely help me produce smarter, cleaner visualisations that will deliver more data-driven insights within our business."Richard A. "Steve is very open to questions and will go out of his way to answer any query. Thank you"Wasif N. "Steve was willing to address questions arising from his content in a full and understandable way"Lisa L. "Really enjoyed the course and feel the subject and the way it was taught was very close to my needs"James G.