11030 Courses

Project Accounting and Finance Skills Do you manage both project schedules and budgets, but do not have insight into how actual results relate to the approved budget? Do you desire to have more clarity about the relationship between your project's performance with the accounting and financial systems in your organization? Do you need to understand financial and accounting terminology to bridge the gap between the 'world of finance' and the 'world of project management? Organizations have a need to manage-by-projects, because projects are the means to deliver on strategic goals and objectives. Therefore, the project manager must have an understanding of the financial world of investments to ensure the organization will realize expected business value. This requires a foundation in the principles of accounting and finance to comprehend how the project's contribution provides an organization with a competitive advantage. Learn what you must do to give your organization the assurance it needs that its investment in your project will realize business value. Learn what you must do to give your organization the assurance it needs to know that its investment in your project will realize business value. What You Will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Explain the aspects of classical corporate accounting and finance effects on managing projects Determine how your project fits into the corporate income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement Analyze the financial aspects of managing projects Use earned value management as the basis for decision making throughout the project life Recognize the importance of the project manager's financial responsibilities Focus on what PMs do and should be doing, in support of accounting and finance Use financial information within a project environment to meet financial results Track and analyze the project's financial status and forecast with the goal of realizing benefits Generate work performance data to ensure a project's outcome aligns with financial metrics Foundation Concepts Accounting and Finance Terms and Concepts Accounting and Finance Essentials Financial Terms and Concepts Projects as Financial Investments Overview of 'Two Worlds' Project as Investments Accounting and Finance World: Standards, Principles and Practices Accounting and Finance Standards and Principles Accounting and Finance Practices Capital Budgeting Corporate Budgeting Accounting and Finance World: Economic Project Selection Methods Economic Project Selection Methods Economic Project Selection and the Business Case Project Management World Project Management and Financial Controls Project Management and Work Performance Data Project Management and Earned Value Management Project Management and Work Performance Reporting

Developing the Business Case Business analysts must be able to create business case documents that highlight project benefits, costs, and risks. The business case is based on the real business need to be solved. These become parts of proposals, feasibility studies, and other decision support documents. This course teaches the purpose, structure, and content of a business case. It presents the basic techniques for determining financial ROI, non-tangible benefits, and the probability of meeting expectations. What you will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Perform feasibility studies Justify the business investment to solve the business problem Prepare an effective business case document Plan and implement a business case approval process Foundation Concepts The role of the BA An introduction to the BABOK® Guide The business analyst and the product / project life cycle (PLC) The business case deliverable Introducing the Business Case Process The BA and strategy analysis The BA and the business case process (BCP) The BA during the business case process (BCP) The BA after the business case process (BCP) Importance of defining solution performance metrics Defining the Business Need Overview of defining the business need Business needs: problem / opportunity statement Product vision Objectives and constraints Exploring Business Case Solutions Overview of exploring solutions Solution identification for feasibility Solution definition for analysis Assessing project risks Justifying the Business Case Overview of justifying the business case Qualitative justification Quantitative justification Approving the Business Case Overview of business case approval Developing recommendations Preparing the decision package - documents Preparing the decision package - presentations

Portfolio Management for Stakeholders This course equips and enables project, program, and functional managers (line managers) to support and contribute to starting, restarting or sustaining the implementation and effectiveness of portfolio management in an organization. Emphasis is on improving collaboration and planning between functional business areas and project/program organizations responsible for delivering investments in business change through successful delivery of projects and programs. Good functional, project, and program managers become 'great' when they understand, advocate, and effectively contribute to achieving 'real' business value through portfolio management. What you Will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Outline the benefits of portfolio management State the importance of linking the strategic objectives to the initiatives in the organization Chart the portfolio governance structure Assist in the inventory of ongoing and new initiatives Identify portfolio and sub-portfolio categories Support the PMO in the prioritization of initiatives using Multi-criteria Analysis and other selection tools Collaborate with the PMO in balancing the portfolio based on the optimal use of resources and priorities Participate in resource forecasting and planning Demonstrate thresholds and variance reporting criteria Describe the purpose of Stage Gate Funding Report status against a portfolio delivery plan Present your initiative in Stage Gate Reviews List the benefits that are being realized by the initiative Foundation Concepts Portfolio Life Cycles Portfolio Governance Prioritizing Initiatives Prioritize Foundation Multi-Criteria Analysis Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Strategic Alignment Balancing the Portfolio Resources, Budgets, and Equipment Communicating Decisions Planning the Portfolio Planning Review Cycles Using Stage Gate Funding Setting Thresholds and Variance Reporting Tool Examples Portfolio Delivery 'Cycle' Project and Program Life Cycles Stage Gate Reviews Interaction with the Portfolio Delivery Board Project, Program, and Functional Managers Roles and Responsibilities

Project Communication Skills Communication is the single most critical project success factor. When effective, projects get executed on time, within budget, and with objectives being met. But that isn't all. Strong communication also nurtures healthy team relationships. And in today's highly diverse world, where projects are often fast-paced, complex, and virtual, that is more important than ever. Strong communication skills foster cultural awareness, trust, and empathy. Together, they contribute greatly to project success-and ultimately, to future project success. In this course, participants will actively explore best communication practices from a variety of perspectives: in-person, virtual, electronic, and via formal project documentation. In order to be transformative, however, those perspectives will be filtered further through the lens of their formal, personalized assessment. It is a powerful tool which identifies individuals' internal needs and priorities. It translates those into descriptive profiles and reports, gifting users with valuable information about themselves and others. Paired with the course's real-world activities, it will provide uniquely strategic opportunities for communicating effectively and meaningfully-and with less conflict, both personally and professionally. What You Will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Identify basic elements of communication and explain how they affect teams Explore how your assessment style impacts you and how you communicate with people of other styles Infer how your style impacts the way(s) you send and interpret emails and instant messages Analyze real world email and instant messaging practices to determine how they affect communication and relationships Explore best practices for formal project communications and presentations Analyze how your assessment style and global diversity can contribute to both strong team communication and conflict Identify solutions for virtual team work communication challenges Getting Started Foundation Concepts Communication as a foundation skill Elements of communication Communicating across media Targeting your audience How communication impacts team performance The Assessment Framework Overview of the assessment's approach Exploring assessment report Increasing your effectiveness with other assessment styles Email and Instant Messages Preferred communications and assessment styles The email brands we create Assessment styles and email Emotion and email Email guidelines and best practices Anatomy of an email The seven deadly email sins Instant messages and other interfaces Project Communications and Presentations Communicating across the project lifecycle Project templates Structuring a presentation Delivering a presentation Interpersonal and Team Communication Skills Communication styles and techniques Managing conflict in a project environment Styles and conflict Communication and global team leadership Virtual Communication Leading global virtual teams Virtual processes and technology Virtual team leadership

Project Leadership Skills To be effective within an organization, project managers need to have a wide variety of skills and abilities. Included among these are: creating and executing on a vision; motivating others; influencing without authority; networking; communicating up, down and laterally; negotiating; managing stakeholders; and managing conflict. This highly interactive workshop focuses on building the soft skills that are critical to leading a team and creating sustainable business change. Participants will gain insight into the social science as well as the brain science behind motivating and empowering others. They will learn and experiment with a variety of influencing strategies and tactics. Working in pairs as well as small groups, they will collaborate with others to brainstorm, share experiences, and apply concepts to everyday challenges. Participants will also discover their personal communication preferences, strengths, and blind spots and will gain insight into how best to communicate with others they find 'difficult.' They will gain insight into managing the people side of change, learning strategies for dealing with each step in the process. Hands-on negotiation and conflict management activities enhance the theoretical learning, grounding it in real life and making it actionable. Interweaving role play with experiential learning and group activities, this course will help participants refine a skill set that is invaluable to their organization, and one that transfers easily across their professional and personal lives. What You Will Learn At the end of this course, you will be able to: Explain the importance of vision in driving motivation and engagement Apply science-based research to better motivate those around you Strategically leverage both personal and positional power to achieve positive project results Determine influencing and networking strategies needed for personal growth Identify ways to problem solve communication challenges when others have different personality styles Connect stakeholder expectations to project success criteria Assess key stakeholders across various dimensions of complexity Apply the four rules of principled negotiation to a real-life conflict situation Recognize key aspects of a physiological response to conflict Utilize selected tools and techniques to 'defuse' an emotional situation Leverage various strategies and tactics to successfully deal with ambiguity at work Getting Started / Foundation Concepts Introductions Course structure, goals, and objectives Beginning a personal action plan Managing Vision and Purpose / Motivating Others Communicating and aligning around vision Tying the present to the future The importance of purpose The art and science of motivation Networking and Influencing Positive politics and project success Types of power within organizations Power and influence Networking best practices Communication The medium and the message Personality and communication styles Communication challenges Stakeholder Management and Negotiation Identifying stakeholders Analyzing stakeholders Negotiation basics Principled negotiation Conflict Management Dynamics of conflict The anatomy of conflict Conflict management approaches and tools Dealing with ambiguity Summary and Next Steps Key concepts review Creating your personal action plan

Project Requirements Management Poor requirements definition and lack of adequate change control procedures to requirements and scope are the primary contributors to project difficulty and failure. This workshop will provide you with the knowledge, tools, and techniques required to minimize or avoid these pitfalls. What You Will Learn You'll learn how to: Explain the Requirement Management process within the project lifecycle Understand requirements terminology and structure for definition and development Apply and evaluate techniques to identify and draw out requirements from people, places, and things Create models to conceptualize the requirements landscape and communicate effectively with stakeholders Indicate the importance of requirements prioritization Write SMART requirements using structured language skills Understand how to apply checklists, questionnaires, and document templates in the requirements development process Verify and validate requirements to support project success Effectively manage changing requirements across the project lifecycle Requirements Framework Requirements definitions The importance of requirements Type of requirements Developing Requirements: The Process High-level requirements development and management process Stakeholder involvement in requirements management Progressive elaboration in requirements management Elicit Requirements Requirements-Gathering Approach Sources of Information Requirements-Gathering Techniques Analyze Requirements Models and Requirements Using Use Cases Prioritizing Requirements Specify Requirements Specifying Requirements Essential Technical Writing Skills SMART Requirements Quality Attributes Monitor and Control Requirements Why and When Requirements Change Change Management and Control Requirements Traceability Validating and Verifying Requirements Validating Requirements Verifying Requirements Using Checklists

The Agile Project Manager Change isn't coming, it's already here. The project environment is becoming more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Project management and project managers must transform and evolve in order to keep up with these changes. Agile has been a disruptor in the field of project management, having over 20 years of successes and benefits to organizations that have adopted their frameworks. The Agile frameworks have proven themselves to be more adept in dealing with this uncertainty. But Agile isn't just about following a different way of working. What do you need to learn, do, and become in order to continue in the current and future environment? It is a powerful combination of knowledge, competencies, and mindset. In an increasingly complicated project environment, this course provides participants with the knowledge needed to not only survive but thrive. What you will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Evaluate the changing project environment and the needed knowledge, skills, and behaviors Demonstrate innovative project manager competencies of leading change, servant leadership, and focus on value Utilize Lean and Agile principles to maximize value and improve project performance Construct a hybrid Agile model that is unique to your project Assess your role in Business Agility as an Agile Project Manager Getting Started Introductions Workshop orientation Expectations Foundations Recap: What is Agile? A changed project environment The future project manager Agile Project Management Competencies Focusing on value Championing change Servant leadership Coaching / mentorship Facilitation Lean and Agile Principles Optimizing flow Making things small Continuous planning Just-In-Time requirements Visualizing work Hybrid Agile Considerations Considering a Hybrid Approach Examining Strengths and Weaknesses of Each Approach Selecting Waterfall / Agile Roles, Practices, and Techniques Reviewing Three Hybrid Scenarios Constructing the Hybrid Project Implementing Agile Pitfalls and Concerns Agile in the Organization Business Agility

Preparing for Digital Transformation Organizations today must keep pace with changing technology to stay abreast of the market demand. Keeping pace means a transformation of the entire organization into the digital age. This workshop presents the challenges, benefits, and pitfalls of digital transformation and how it will affect you, and how you can be better prepared and positioned for the upcoming digital transformation. The goal of this course is to enable you to become knowledgeable about the technologies behind a digital transformation in your organization and the driving forces compelling such a transformation. You will learn how to become engaged in the processes of transforming your organization digitally to meet with the growing demands of customers and clients What you will Learn Describe the impact that digital is making on the economy and on customer expectations Examine the nature and drivers of the digital transformation Evaluate new technologies such as Blockchain, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and other technologies and see how they work to bring about digital transformation Assess the impact of digital technologies on the current roles and positions in the organization Discuss both the demand that customers have for digital technologies and the impact the digital technologies have on the customer and its relationship with the organization Recognize the new technology trends in the digital transformation and what they mean to the future of the organization Identify how digital transformation will affect all roles and how to be prepared for the upcoming and continuing digital transformation Foundation Concepts Digital transformation versus automation Driving forces behind the digital transformation Learning from digital transformation successes Digital Transformation and Customer Orientation The Digital Customer Customer touch points and the customer journey Omnichannel concept Transform to the customer Digital Technologies and the Organization Relationship Management Big Data: The Basis for it All The Human Factor in Digital Transformations Risks of Digital Transformation Technology Trends Data and Business Analytics Other Major Trends Preview of Coming Attractions Pathway to Digital Transformation

Project Risk Management Have you been surprised by unplanned events during your projects? Are you and your project team frequently fighting fires? Well, you are not alone. Uncertainty exists in any project environment. While it's impossible to predict project outcomes with 100% certainty, you can influence the outcome, avoid potential risks, and be ready to respond to challenges that arise. In this course, you'll gain the proper knowledge needed to identify, assess, plan for, and monitor risk in your projects. You'll learn how to set up and implement risk management processes, helping you to minimize uncertainty and achieve more consistent, predictable outcomes as a result. What You Will Learn You'll learn how to: Demonstrate to others how the risk management processes in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) apply to your project's environment, especially for high-risk projects Adapt these processes for a particular high-risk project team's operating principles Explain the importance of using risk management best practices at single and enterprise project levels Lead an initiative to implement risk management best practices in your project environment Foundation Concepts Risk-related definitions The risk management process High-risk projects and project failures Classical failures in implementing risk management Plan Risk Management Project risk management and governance Risk management planning for high-risk projects High-risk variations on a risk management plan Identify Risk Adapting the risk identification process for high-risk projects Recognizing risks spontaneously Confirming and structuring risk events for treatment Wrapping up risk identification for high-risk projects Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis Adapting qualitative risk analysis for high-risk projects Accelerating risk analysis Clearing risk action Wrapping up qualitative risk analysis for the next level Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis Adapting quantitative risk analysis for high-risk projects Ensuring effective risk analyses with data quality assessments Building a foundation for quantitative risk analysis Using discrete quantitative tools Using continuous quantitative tools Wrapping up quantitative risk analysis for high-risk projects Plan Risk Responses Adapting risk response planning for high-risk projects Optimizing active risk response strategies Leveraging contingencies for high project performance Wrapping up risk response planning for high-risk projects Implement Risk Responses Implementing Risk Responses Process Executing Risk Response Plans Tools and Techniques Best Practices Continuous Risk Management Monitor Risks Adapting risk monitoring for high-risk projects Optimizing risk plan maintenance Weaving risk reassessment into the project's progress Maintaining a continuous 'vigil' in high-risk project environments

Business Intelligence Business Intelligence (BI) refers to a set of technology-based techniques, applications, and practices used to aggregate, analyze, and present business data. BI practices provide historical and current views of vast amounts of data and generate predictions for business operations. The purpose of Business Intelligence is the support of better business decision making. This course provides an overview of the technology and application of BI and how it can be used to improve corporate performance. What you will Learn You will learn how to: Specify a data warehouse schema Identify the data and visualization to be used for data mining and Business Intelligence Design a Business Intelligence user interface Getting Started Introductions Agenda Expectations Foundation Concepts The challenge of decision making What is Business Intelligence? The Business Intelligence value proposition Business Intelligence taxonomy Business Intelligence management issues Sources of Business Intelligence Data warehousing Data and information Information architecture Defining the data warehouse and its relationships Facts and dimensions Modeling, meta-modeling, and schemas Alternate architectures Building the data warehouse Extracting Transforming Loading Setting up the data and relationships Dimensions and the Fact Table Implementing many-to-many relationships in data warehouse Data marts Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) What is OLAP? OLAP and OLTP OLAP functionality Multi-dimensions Thinking in more than two dimensions What are the possibilities? OLAP architecture Cubism Tools OLAP variations - MOLAP, ROLAP, HOLAP BI using SOA Applications of Business Intelligence Applying BI through OLAP Enterprise Resource Planning and CRM Business Intelligence and financial information Business Intelligence User Interfaces and Presentations Data access Push-pull data access Types of decision support systems Designing the front end Presentation formats Dashboards Types of dashboards Common dashboard features Briefing books and scorecards Querying and Reporting Reporting emphasis Retrofitting Talking back Key Performance Indicators Report Definition and Visualization Typical reporting environment Forms of visualization Unconstrained views Data mining What is in the mine? Applications for data mining Data mining architecture Cross Industry Standard Process for Data Mining (CISP-DM) Data mining techniques Validation The Business Intelligence User Experience The business analyst role Business analysis and data analysis Five-step approach Cultural impact Identifying questions Gathering information Understand the goals The strategic Business Intelligence cycle Focus of Business Intelligence Design for the user Iterate the access Iterative solution development process Review and validation questions Basic approaches Building ad-hoc queries Building on-demand self-service reports Closed loop Business Intelligence Coming attractions - future of Business Intelligence Best practices in Business Intelligence