Developing the Business Case - Defining the Business Problem and Solution Scope: On-Demand 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 You will learn how to: Prepare a business case Justify the business investment to solve the business need Perform feasibility studies and ROI analyses Foundation Concepts The role of the business analyst An introduction to the BABOK® Guide The business analyst and the product/project life cycle The business case deliverable Introducing the Business Case Process The business analyst and Strategy Analysis The business analyst and the business case process The business analyst during the business case process The business analyst after the business case process 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
This course pulls together the most current and popular theories and writings on this complex topic and presents this amalgamated view in a highly interactive workshop and activity-based approach. Students will understand and have the skills required to build and participate in high-performance project teams and will possess the insight to proactively affect change within their respective organizations by guiding the existing culture to one that promotes high performance.
Virtual Agile Teams: On-Demand Agile teams are a must in this world of intense competition, marketing demands, and changing expectations. Global virtual teaming has become a necessity as organizations become increasingly distributed, with suppliers and clients actively engaged in joint projects. Agile Teams now work across geographical, organizational, and cultural boundaries to deliver solutions and services to global users. Distance and differences may amplify the effect of issues and factors that are relatively straightforward for co-located Agile teams. This workshop delivers practical concepts and techniques that participants will start using immediately with their virtual Agile teams. The goal of the course is to enable you to successfully execute your preferred Agile or Scrum methods in a virtual project team environment. What you will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Explain the characteristics of a virtual team and how they differ from a co-located team Build an effective virtual Agile team using a Team Charter approach Develop Release Plans, including prioritizing user stories, with a virtual Agile Team Construct a Sprint plan, including effective user story estimates, virtually Execute a Sprint, including essential Agile or Scrum ceremonies, virtually Conduct effective virtual meetings in an environment supportive of Agile and Scrum methods Foundation Concepts Agile Mindset and Values Agile Benefits and Methods Scrum Overview Co-located vs. Virtual Teams Forming Virtual Agile Teams Exploring Virtual Leadership Focusing on Virtual Agile Leaders Developing a Virtual Agile Team Charter Meeting Team Challenges in a Virtual Environment Planning Releases with a Virtual Agile Team Planning releases overview Estimating user stories Prioritizing user stories Setting release parameters Getting consensus on the release plan Planning a Sprint for a Virtual Project Sprint Planning Overview Confirming Sprint Scope with Virtual Agile Teams Developing a Sprint Delivery Plan for Virtual Agile Teams Running a Sprint in a Virtual Environment Self-organizing a Sprint for a Virtual Agile Team Using Scrum tools in a Virtual Environment Conducting End of Sprint Meetings in a Virtual Environment Iterating as a Virtual Agile Team Creating an Environment for Success Piloting a virtual Agile team Creating an Agile-friendly virtual environment
Leading People Through Change (Free L&I Conference Course): On-Demand The goal of this course is for you to effectively lead and manage people through times of change. Research shows that 70% of change initiatives fail in large organizations. The largest factor contributing to this failure rate is leadership - the inability to plan and lead people through change. In many change situations, tremendous focus is put on strategy, processes, and systems, while the issue of changing people's behavior is assumed it will 'just happen'. In this interactive course, you will learn why the people's side of change is crucial. We will begin by understanding why and how people resist change, and how important it is to become strong and effective change champions. Next, we will focus on critical change management practices - creating our vision of the future state, planning for acceptance in our change audience and stakeholders, mitigating threats, and capitalizing on opportunities. We will use metrics to plan, show progress, and confirm success. Lastly, we will focus on the need to reinforce and sustain change, and to prevent relapse to old ways and methods. What You Will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Realize the nature of change and describe how resistance manifests in people Compare prevalent change models and categorize their similarities Identify and rate the skills, traits, and behaviors of effective change champions Envision the future state and assess stakeholders Plan for change communication, training, and risks Evaluate change effectiveness using feedback and metrics Develop reinforcement practices for benefits and communication Foundation Concepts What is Change? Resistance to Change Common Change Management Theories Becoming a Change Champion Plan Envisioning the future state Planning for people Change management plan Do Change communication Training Piloting Risks Study Feedback Metrics Variance analysis Act Benefits realization Change sustainment Reinforcement messaging and communications
Politics and Project Management - Turn Project Politics into a Positive Force for Project Objectives: On-Demand The goal of this course is to provide project managers with a strong working ability to recognize and successfully navigate organizational politics for the good of projects. What You Will Learn You'll learn how to: Explain how positive politics are a valuable method for getting things done in projects Apply positive political principles and techniques in an ethical manner Use politically sound strategies, tools, and techniques for positive achievement of project objectives Getting Started Introductions Course structure Course goals and objectives Introduction to Project Politics Framing project politics Characterizing project politics Distinguishing self-interest from project politics Political Skills in Projects Embracing positive politics Identifying political competencies in projects Exploring personal political competencies Politics and Power in Projects Positioning power in projects Exploring sources of power Comparing power and influence Developing strategies for power and influence Project Politics and Conflict Facing conflict - a fact of life Turning conflict into a positive force Channeling conflict into good decisions Resolving conflict in and around project politics Tackling deeper conflicts Managing conflict that escalates Summary What did we learn and how can we implement this in our work environments? Creating your own personal action plan
The goal of this course is for you to effectively lead and manage people through times of change. Research shows that 70% of change initiatives fail in large organizations. The largest factor contributing to this failure rate is leadership - the inability to plan and lead people through change. In many change situations, tremendous focus is put on strategy, processes, and systems, while the issue of changing people's behavior is assumed it will 'just happen'. In this interactive course, you will learn why the people's side of change is crucial. We will begin by understanding why and how people resist change, and how important it is to become strong and effective change champions. Next, we will focus on critical change management practices - creating our vision of the future state, planning for acceptance in our change audience and stakeholders, mitigating threats, and capitalizing on opportunities. We will use metrics to plan, show progress, and confirm success. Lastly, we will focus on the need to reinforce and sustain change, and to prevent relapse to old ways and methods.
Assuring Quality Through Acceptance Testing: On-Demand It is also the business analyst's responsibility to confirm that the resulting solution developed by IT does, in fact, solve the defined problem. This is done first through testing, especially acceptance testing, and then through monitoring of the installed solution in the user community. It is the business analyst's job to define the business problem to be solved by IT. It is also the business analyst's responsibility to confirm that the resulting solution developed by IT does, in fact, solve the defined problem. This is done first through testing, especially acceptance testing, and then through monitoring of the installed solution in the user community. The business analyst is not only concerned with the testing itself, but also with the management and monitoring of the users doing the acceptance testing, and recording, analyzing, and evaluating the results. What you will Learn Upon completion, participants will be able to: Create a set of acceptance test cases Manage and monitor an acceptance test stage where users perform the testing Work with the development team in the systems testing stage Assess the solution once it is in the business environment Foundation Concepts The role of the business analyst An introduction to the BABOK® Guide BA roles and relationships through the project life cycle Introduction to assuring software quality through acceptance testing The Scope of IT Testing Overview of testing stages The testing process Testing documentation Pre-Acceptance Testing The BA's role in testing Early development testing stages (unit and integration) Late development testing stage (system) The Acceptance Test Stage - Part I (Planning, Design, and Development) Overview of user acceptance testing Acceptance test planning Designing user acceptance tests Developing individual user acceptance test cases Building effective user acceptance test scenarios The Acceptance Test Stage - Part II (Execution and Reporting) Operating guidelines Execution Reporting Post-Acceptance Testing Overview Project implementation Project transition (project closure) Production through retirement Testing Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Software Overview Selecting the software Implementing the software Summary What did we learn and how can we implement this in our work environments?
ITIL® 4 Specialist: High-Velocity IT: On-Demand This course is based on the ITIL® 4 Specialist: High-Velocity IT exam specifications from AXELOS. With the help of ITIL® 4 concepts and terminology, exercises, and examples included in the course, candidates acquire the relevant knowledge required to pass the certification exam. What You Will Learn At the end of this course, participants will be able to: Understand concepts regarding the high-velocity nature of the digital enterprise, including the demand it places on IT. Understand the digital product lifecycle in terms of the ITIL operating model. Understand the importance of the ITIL guiding principles and other fundamental concepts for delivering high-velocity IT. Know how to contribute to achieving value with digital products. Course Introduction Introduction to High-Velocity IT High-Velocity IT Approaches High-Velocity IT Operating Models Introduction ITIL Building Blocks for High-Velocity IT Supporting Models and Concepts for Purpose Supporting Models and Concepts for People Supporting Models and Concepts for Progress High-Velocity IT Objectives and Techniques Techniques for Valuable Investments Techniques for Fast Developments Techniques for Resilient Operations Techniques for Co-created Value Techniques for Assured Conformance
Building High Performance Project Teams: On-Demand This course pulls together the most current and popular theories and writings on this complex topic and presents this amalgamated view in a highly interactive workshop and activity-based approach. Students will understand and have the skills required to build and participate in high-performance project teams and will possess the insight to proactively affect change within their respective organizations by guiding the existing culture to one that promotes high performance. What You Will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Define a team and describe the optimum team size for effective performance Describe characteristics and guiding behaviors of high-performance teams Describe the major elements of each development stage in two distinct models Recognize cultural barriers in achieving high performance List the attributes of a high-performing corporate culture Assess your own corporate culture Discuss corporate leadership as a factor in building high-performance project teams Describe the three A's of selecting team members State three leadership responsibilities Describe leadership responsibilities, styles, and roles List and describe the eight components of the team charter model for building high-performance teams Foundation Concepts The Nature of Teams Characteristics of High-Performance Teams Understanding Team Development Stages of Team Development - Model 1 Stages of Team Development - Model 2 Designing a High-Performance Culture Corporate Cultures Corporate Leadership Establishing the Attributes of High Performance Choosing the Right People Team Effectiveness Team Leadership The Team Charter Model
Leading People through Change: On-Demand: On-Demand Research shows that 70% of change initiatives fail in large organizations. The largest factor contributing to this failure rate is leadership - the inability to plan and lead people through change. In many change situations, tremendous focus is put on strategy, processes, and systems, while the issue of changing people's behavior is assumed it will 'just happen'. In this interactive course, you will learn why the people side of change is crucial. We will begin by understanding why and how people resist change, and how important it is to become strong and effective change champions. Next, we will focus on critical change management practices - creating our vision of the future state, planning for acceptance in our change audience and stakeholders, mitigating threats, and capitalizing on opportunities. We will use metrics to plan, show progress, and confirm success. Lastly, we will focus on the need to reinforce and sustain change, and to prevent relapse to old ways and methods. What you will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Realize the nature of change and describe how resistance manifests in people Compare prevalent change models and categorize their similarities Identify and rate the skills, traits, and behaviors of effective change champions Envision the future state and assess stakeholders Plan for change communication, training, and risks Evaluate change effectiveness using feedback and metrics Develop reinforcement practices for benefits and communication Foundation Concepts What is Change? Resistance to Change Common Change Management Theories Becoming a Change Champion Plan Envisioning the future state Planning for people Change management plan Do Change communication Training Piloting Risks Study Feedback Metrics Variance analysis Act Benefits realization Change sustainment Reinforcement messaging and communications