The aim of this course is to provide an overview of the principles and practice for leading and managing a portfolio of smaller projects in a multi-project / multi-task environment. It presents a range of practical methods and techniques relevant to the smaller project scenario, using exercises and case studies to show how these can be applied. The scope of the programme includes: The course also emphasises the importance of the leadership and team-working skills needed by project managers and team members in carrying out their roles. The principal training objectives for this programme are to: Explain and demonstrate the key principles of successful project management Demonstrate a range of useful project management tools and techniques Define the role, and help participants understand the skills required by, the project leader Provide a structured framework to help participants manage multiple projects Identify opportunities to improve project management within the organisation DAY ONE 1 Introduction (Course sponsor) Why this programme has been developed Review of participants' needs and objectives 2 Managing smaller projects Projects and project management Lessons from past projects; the essential requirements for success Differences between projects; characteristic project life cycles Key issues and challenges of smaller projects The multi-project world; project portfolio management 3 Project exercise Syndicate teams plan and manage a small project Review of the project exercise: What are the keys to successful management of small projects? 4 Setting up the project Getting organised Managing the definition process Identifying and managing project stakeholders Working with the customer to define the scope and agree deliverables 5 Case study 1 Defining the project scope and deliverables Syndicate teams define the scope and deliverables for a typical project 6 Project planning The importance and cost benefit of effective planning Planning the plan; deciding how detailed a plan to create Packaging the work and estimating timescales and costs Developing project / resource schedules; setting milestones for control v Identifying and managing critical path activities 7 Case study 2 Creating the project plan Syndicate teams develop and analyse the project plan DAY TWO 8 Managing project risks Identifying risks to the project outcome, timescale and cost Evaluating risks and adopting an appropriate risk strategy Defining risk ownership; keeping a simple risk log Keeping risk management up to date; staying pro-active Integrating planning and risk management 9 Project control Managing change, minimising scope creep Selecting the data needed to provide early warning of problems Monitoring performance easily with 'S' curves and slip charts Using trend forecasting to assess true project status Running project review meetings 10 Managing a multi-project portfolio Understanding the world of multiple projects Establishing ownership of project / programme management Classifying projects and creating the 'master schedule' Defining and applying project lifecycle management Resource management: essential pre-requisites and mechanisms Project prioritisation criteria and techniques; pain / gain analysis 11 Managing the multi-project team Characteristics of small project teams / part-time team membership Clarifying line and project management responsibilities Implementing effective manpower planning Establishing professional working practices in the team Developing project management competences in the team Establishing team roles and integrating team members 12 Course review and transfer planning (Course sponsor present) Identify actions to be implemented individually Identify corporate opportunities for improving project management Sponsor-led review and discussion of proposals Conclusion
A question of trust. Leadership implies followership. And that means trust. Because who's going to follow a leader they don't trust? This programme takes a values-driven approach to leadership. It gets current and aspiring leaders to hold up the mirror to themselves and to see their reflections as leaders of people. It asks them whether what they see justifies their view of themselves as leaders. It helps them understand just what it takes to be an effective leader. And it does so in a highly practical, constructive manner. It helps the course participants to truly understand the core skills of effective leadership. It focuses on the difference between leadership and management, defining what high performing teams do and how they do it. It helps people to see their teams from different perspectives, allowing them to adapt their styles to maximise team outputs. And it explores concepts such as emotional intelligence, authentic leadership and the RAIV approach (relationships-achievement-independence-vocation) to help explore underlying values and use them to drive effective leadership. Because what worth do our values have unless we put them into practice? The course will help you:• Appreciate the key skills a leader needs to be effective• Understand what the organisation expects of you as a leader• Recognise your leadership style and the impact it has on others• Consider your role models - who inspires you?• See leadership from the 'followers' perspective - how do you like to be led?• Discover what holds you back - limiting beliefs• Examine your core values -do they support your ambition?• Explore the concept of Emotional Intelligence - how do we manage ourselves?• Discover how to lead through change• Explore the concept of 'Authentic Leadership' - consider how it can work for you• Practice some of the skills essential to motivating and influencing for success• Use the RAIV approach to generating enthusiasm and commitment• Plan how best to 'walk the leadership talk' - in your role, in your organisation Above all, this course will help you put theory into practice, values into actions, in a mature, considered, effective way. Day 1 1 Welcome and introduction Participants are welcomed to the programme and invited to share their personal objectives and people challenges Participants given an action plan template to complete throughout the workshop Participants required to bring an inspirational quote to share with the group 2 What is leadership? The concept of 'leadership' The role of a leader Skills assessment for all participants# Leadership v Management Assess your team effectiveness 3 Your leadership style Leadership questionnaire You and your role models Push v Pull styles of leadership Empowerment v Control Team goals and role profiling Day 2 1 You, the leader Your core values Your communication style Situational leadership The Emotional Bank Account Buy Me Today 2 Are you Emotionally Intelligent? (EI) What is emotional intelligence? Self-assessment exercise Manage your emotions Nine strategies for promoting EI 3 Leading through change Identify the major changes affecting you / your team Types of change The roles of resistance How safe are you to talk to? Forcefield Analysis Day 3 1 Authentic Leadership (AL) What is AL? Managing perceptions is managing their truth A leadership challenge 2 Motivating and influencing for success What motivates you? Motivational theory Leading by example Influencing skills required Influencing styles The influence challenge! 3 Creating enthusiasm and commitment The RAIV approach (relationships-achievement-independence-vocation) Building self-worth What drives your team? Your leadership legacy Your commitment to leadership
Do you use video as a tool to promote your charity, business, organisation or campaigns? And if you don’t, do you feel as if you ought to? Videos account for more than 80% of all consumer internet traffic. So the pressure to use video as a marketing and PR tool has increased enormously. But the cost can be prohibitive. Using a video production company, such as ours, might be ideal, but for many it is out of reach – particularly if, like many of our clients, you’re a charity. However, there is an alternative, which more and more organisations are choosing, especially those which need to produce regular digital content. That is to produce the video yourself. Nowadays, you do not even need to invest in a video camera. All you need is your smart phone, some simple equipment you can buy on Amazon for as little as £80, plus your laptop or PC. This is why we have developed a new smartphone video training course, Smart Video. Our smartphone video training course covers: Equipment – including setting up your phone, microphones, tripods and editing programmes Planning your video Techniques to give your films broadcast-quality polish Getting the perfect shot – including shot sizes, positioning the camera, framing, lighting, sound, sequences and backgrounds Filming interviews An introduction to editing Producing videos for social media Bespoke training The course can be tailored to the type of videos you need to make. If most of your videos will be interviews, we’ll focus on presenting your interviewee in the best possible light – literally. If, on the other hand, you need to film buildings, events or products, we’ll tailor the course accordingly. If your video needs a script, we’ll give you tips and techniques on how to “write to pictures”, so your messages comes across well. And on all our courses, we’ll give you a guide to the best equipment and apps to use to enhance your filming and editing. The smartphone video course will be led by Paul Curran who has many years experience producing, filming and editing films and videos, for the BBC and corporate clients.
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Many organisations find that project teams struggle to create and maintain effective plans. Estimates are often overly optimistic and risks go unmanaged until the inevitable happens. Resource managers also find it hard to forecast the likely loading on their departments and requests for support are not provided in a consistent format. This programme has been developed to address these needs in a very practical, hands-on format. Case study work can be based on simulations or on the organisation's current projects for maximum benefit to participants. The aim of this training is to develop and enhance participants' planning and risk management skills in order to maximise the success of project work undertaken by the organisation. The principal training objectives for this programme are to: Provide a structured, integrated approach to planning and risk management Demonstrate practical tools and techniques for each stage of planning Show how to organise and involve relevant people in the planning process Explain how to use the plan for forecasting and pro-active project control Identify ways to improve planning, both individually and corporately The course will emphasise the importance of participative planning techniques that improve the quality of plans whilst reducing overall time and cost of planning. The course will encourage discussion of internal procedures and practices and may be customised to include them if required. DAY ONE 1 Introduction (Course sponsor) Why this programme has been developed Review of participants' needs and objectives 2 Projects and planning Why plan? The benefits of good planning / penalties of poor planning Planning in the project lifecycle; the need for a 'living' plan The interaction between target setting and the planning process Team exercise: planning the project 3 Planning the plan Defining the application and structure of the plan Impact of planning decisions during the project lifecycle Using available time to create an effective plan 4 Defining deliverables Assessing the context; reviewing the goals and stakeholders Developing the scope and defining deliverables; scope mapping Understanding customer priorities; delivering value for money Case study: defining the project deliverables 5 Creating the work breakdown Building the work breakdown structure Detailing the tasks and sub-tasks; structured brainstorming Defining task ownership; the task responsibility matrix 6 Creating and using a logical network Developing the logical network; task boarding Determining the critical path and calculating float Accelerating the plan; concurrent programming and risk Individual and group exercises DAY TWO 7 Developing resource schedules Deriving the Gantt chart from the network Developing the detailed resource schedules Calculating the expenditure profile ('S' curve) 8 Estimating task durations and costs Understanding estimates: effort, availability and duration Estimating tools and techniques Application of estimating techniques during the project lifecycle 9 Case study Developing the project plan Refining the project plan Team presentations and discussion 10 Managing risks and refining the plan Awareness of contractual issues associated with risk Identifying and evaluating risks; deciding ownership Managing risks: determining levels of provision and contingency Controlling risks: maintaining an up-to date risk register 11 Planning for pro-active control The earned value analysis (EVA) concept and its predictive value Deriving the measures needed for cost and delivery performance Practical issues associated with implementing EVA 12 Using and maintaining the plan Tracking progress and updating the plan Publishing and controlling the plan 13 Course review and transfer planning (Course sponsor present) Identify ways of implementing the techniques learnt Sponsor-led review and discussion of proposals Conclusion
3Com switches training course description A hands on course covering the product specifics of 3Com switches. Installation, configuration, maintenance and troubleshooting are all covered in a practical oriented way. What will you learn Install 3Com switches. Use the command line interface and the web based interface to manage 3Com switches. Configure and troubleshoot 3Com switches. Configure and troubleshoot 3Com switches. Perform software upgrades. 3Com switches training course details Who will benefit: Anyone working with 3Com switches. Particularly aimed at engineers and technicians supporting 3Com switches. Prerequisites: None. Duration 2 days 3Com switches training course content Introduction How Ethernet works with hubs, How Ethernet works with switches. Installing 3Com switches. Hands on Building a network with a hub, building a network with a 3Com switch. Basic troubleshooting The 3Com switch range, LEDs, cabling issues, system resets, default settings. Hands on Building a network with multiple 3Com switches. Configuration methods Managed vs. unmanaged switches, Console port access, telnet, web based access, SNMP, saving configurations, NVRAM, switch stacks. Hands on Accessing the switch using the console, IP address configuration, telnet. Console interface Default users, passwords, the menus, menu options, online help, CLI commands. Hands on Setting passwords, displaying the switch configuration. Web based interface Getting started, basic format. Hands on Configuring the switch using the web interface. Port configuration Common port configuration tasks, port aggregation, resilient links. Hands on Configuring ports. STP configuration What is STP? Configuring STP. Hands on Enabling and disabling STP, configuring STP. VLAN configuration What are VLANS? 802.1Q, tagged/untagged, creating VLANS, applying VLANS. Hands on Setting up VLANS, setting up 802.1Q, Inter VLAN traffic. Housekeeping TFTP, software upgrades Hands on Software upgrade. SNMP SNMP configuration, Transcend, other NMS's. Hands on Using SNMP to manage a 3Com switch, putting it all together: troubleshooting.
D-Link switches training course description A hands on course covering the product specifics of D-Link switches. Installation, configuration, maintenance and troubleshooting are all covered in a practical oriented way. What will you learn Install D-Link switches. Use the command line interface and the web based interface to manage D-Link switches. Configure and troubleshoot D-Link switches. Perform software upgrades and maintain configurations using TFTP. D-Link switches training course details Who will benefit: Anyone working with D-Link switches. Particularly aimed at engineers and technicians supporting D-Link switches. Prerequisites: None. Duration 2 days D-Link switches training course content Introduction How Ethernet works with hubs, How Ethernet works with switches. Installing D-link switches. Hands on Building a network with a hub, building a network with a D-Link switch. Basic troubleshooting The D-Link switch range, LEDs, cabling issues, factory resets, default settings. Hands on Building a network with multiple D-link switches. Configuration methods Managed vs. unmanaged switches, Console port access, telnet, web based access, SNMP, saving configurations, NVRAM, switch stacks. Hands on Accessing the switch using the CLI, IP address configuration, telnet. Command line interface Users, privileges, the CLI, online help. Hands on Basic commands, user accounts, displaying the switch configuration. Web based interface Getting started, basic format. Hands on Configuring the switch using the web interface. Port configuration Common port configuration tasks, link aggregation. Hands on Configuring ports. STP configuration What is STP? 802.1D vs. 802.1W (RSTP), configuring STP. Hands on Enabling and disabling STP, changing STP versions, configuring STP. VLAN configuration What are VLANS? 802.1Q, tagged/untagged, creating VLANS, applying VLANS. Hands on Setting up VLANS, setting up 802.1Q, Inter VLAN traffic. Housekeeping TFTP, upload download, updating firmware, updating configuration files, BOOTP/DHCP for IP addresses. Hands on Using TFTP to configure a D-Link switch. SNMP Switch configuration, D-View, other NMS's. Hands on Using SNMP to manage a D-link switch putting it all together: troubleshooting.
Netgear switches training course description A hands on course covering the product specifics of Netgear switches. Installation, configuration, maintenance and troubleshooting are all covered in a practical oriented way. What will you learn Install Netgear switches. Use the command line interface and the web based interface to manage Netgear switches. Configure and troubleshoot Netgear switches. Perform software upgrades. Netgear switches training course details Who will benefit: Anyone working with Netgear switches. Particularly aimed at engineers and technicians supporting Netgear switches. Prerequisites: None. Duration 2 days Netgear switches training course content Introduction How Ethernet works with hubs, How Ethernet works with switches. Installing Netgear switches. Hands on Building a network with a hub, building a network with a Netgear switch. Basic troubleshooting The Netgear switch range, LEDs, cabling issues, factory resets, default settings. Hands on Building a network with multiple Netgear switches. Configuration methods Managed vs. unmanaged switches, Console port access, telnet, web based access, SNMP, saving configurations, NVRAM, switch stacks, stacking ports. Hands on Accessing the switch using the console, IP address configuration, telnet. Console interface Password protection, the menus, menu options. Hands on Setting a password, displaying the switch configuration. Web based interface Getting started, basic format. Hands on Configuring the switch using the web interface. Port configuration Common port configuration tasks, port trunking. Hands on Configuring ports. STP configuration What is STP? Configuring STP. Hands on Enabling and disabling STP, configuring STP VLAN configuration What are VLANS? 802.1Q, tagged/untagged, creating VLANS, applying VLANS. Hands on Setting up VLANS, setting up 802.1Q, Inter VLAN traffic. Housekeeping TFTP, upgrades Hands on Boot from net. SNMP SNMP configuration, NMS's. Hands on Using SNMP to manage a Netgear switch, putting it all together: troubleshooting.
Concise Cisco switches course description A hands on course covering the product specifics of Cisco switches. Installation, configuration, maintenance and troubleshooting are all covered in a practical oriented way. VLANs often take up a large part of the course. The course covers all interfaces but concentrates on using the command line interface. Delegates are, however, free to use the web based interface in all exercises. What will you learn Install Cisco switches. Use the command line interface and the web based interface to manage Cisco switches. Configure and troubleshoot Cisco switches. Perform software upgrades and maintain configurations using TFTP. Concise Cisco switches course details Who will benefit: Anyone working with Cisco switches. Particularly aimed at engineers and technicians supporting Cisco switches. Prerequisites: None. Duration 2 days Concise Cisco switches course content Ethernet review Single segment Ethernet, CSMA/CD, Broadcast domains, collision domains. Hubs, Extending the LAN. Hands on Hub based Ethernet. Cisco switches What are switches, frame forwarding and filtering, the forwarding database. Hands on Switched based Ethernet. Configuring Cisco switches Accessing the switch, installing the switch, The CLI, connecting PCs using the switch. Hands on Configuring Cisco switches. The command line interface User and privilege modes, online help, show, basic troubleshooting. The configuration editor, Global, major and sub commands, enable, secret and other passwords. Hands on Simple troubleshooting using the CLI. Port configuration Speed, duplex, security, trunking. Hands on Port trunking. Spanning Tree Protocol Spanning Tree, Loops, effect, root bridges, bridge port states, STP reconfiguration. RSTP and variants. Hands on STP. VLANS What are VLANs, configuring VLANs, access ports and trunks, 802.1Q, inter VLAN routing. Hands on Access ports, trunks, layer 3 switching. Housekeeping Configuration management, software management, password recovery. Hands on TFTP. Managing interconnection devices SNMP, RMON, RMON II. Troubleshooting LEDs, CDP, logging, Layer 1, layer 2, layer 3. Hands on Fixing things.
An instructor-led leadership learning programme based on emotional intelligence and social neuroscience, designed to boost leadership 'PowerSkills.' A practical programme that provides leaders with a learning journey that equips them with the tools and techniques to connect, empathise, communicate effectively, build employee engagement and influence.