Our Courses

ARM001 - Advanced Risk Management
RMP004 - Risk Management Professional
PMP005 - Advanced Project Management
OVR003 - Project Management Overview
CST001 - Project Earned Value Management
CST002 - Project Cost Management

Advanced Risk Management - 2569ARM001

Course Description

Project Management at its roots is in fact Risk Management. PMI® defines a successful project as receiving the function expected, on the original date and at the price originally committed. When surveyed, most executives regardless of the industry they represent, will state that what they receive in terms of a project delivery satisfies those requirements only about 24% of the time. In response to this input, PMI continues to make significant improvements to recent versions of their Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) in the area of Risk Management.

Advanced Risk Management is a survey course which addresses the current state of risk management and presents current industry best practices. This course uses a case-study based methodology which provides:

An environment to investigate multiple approaches, tools and techniques.
A hands-on risk assessment and evaluation experience.
A team approach fostering group interaction with an exchange of ideas and experience.
Direct, instructor led feedback with participation by all student teams.

An experienced instructor will present each sub-process in depth. Students will then be given the opportunity to directly apply those new skills in a team setting or by completing individual exercises. This provides a practical approach to explore proven strategies while reinforcing the importance of risk management in achieving enterprise goals and objectives in today’s volatile business environment.

This is a three day course with a maximum of thirty students assigned to five “company” teams. There is an eight student, (two team), minimum to ensure effective student/team interaction. At course conclusion, students will feel comfortable leading a risk management evaluation when they return to your work environment.

Who should attend?

Experienced Project and Program Managers currently in or expecting to enter a complex project environment.
Project team members who will be participating in project risk evaluations.
Stakeholders and Sponsors who may participate in the review and evaluation of team analyses.

Case Study Description

Ranier Drugs is a retail drug chain located in the US with 120 stores located in the northeastern region. They have just purchased Eurodrug, Ltd., a British based company with 30 stores located throughout the British Isles and another 30 in France and Germany. Eurodrug has been looking to purchase yet another company, SloMed Pharmacies, a drug store outlet with 20 stores located throughout Eastern Europe: Three each in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, eight in the former East Germany and the remaining six in Hungary. You and your team are consultants hired to assist their organizations to plan and execute the consolidation of these disparate corporations. At each milestone in the process your team will present and defend your analysis to the instructor and the other teams. You will also be given an opportunity to question your client stakeholders. (All company and client names are fictitious. Similarity to any current or former company or client is coincidental.)

Course Fees

$1200 per student at your facility. Large class size and off-campus rates are negotiable. Students earn 24 Professional Development Units, (PDUs) by completing this course.

Risk Management Professional - 2569RMP004

Course Description

Risk Management Professional (RMP004) provides a concise four day course for project managers which fulfills the 30 hour Risk Management educational requirement to sit for the RMP exam.

Risk Management Professional is a survey course which addresses the current state of risk management and presents current industry best practices. It uses and expands upon our other 3-day skills course, 2569ARM001, and addresses the four risk domains covered in the RMP exam: Risk Communications, Risk Analysis, Risk Response Planning and Risk Governance drawing on work detailed in the Program Management and Maturity Model, (OPM3), areas. This course uses a case-study based methodology which provides:

An environment to investigate multiple approaches, tools and techniques.
A hands-on risk assessment and evaluation experience.
A team approach fostering group interaction and an exchange of ideas and experience.
Direct, instructor led feedback with participation by all student teams.
A self-evaluation test on the principles learned.

Each risk domain will be presented by an experienced instructor with students then given the opportunity to directly apply the knowledge gained in a team setting as well as through individual exercises. This method provides immediate feedback and a means to reinforce the concepts being taught.

This is a four day course with a maximum of thirty students assigned to five “company” teams. There is an eight student, (two team), minimum to ensure effective student/team interaction. At course conclusion, students will be given the self evaluation exam which will be reviewed as a group to address any outstanding questions or skills weaknesses.

Who should attend?

Any candidate for the Risk Management Professional certification exam.
Experienced Project and Program Managers currently in or expecting to enter a complex project environment.
Stakeholders and Sponsors who may participate in the review and evaluation of team analyses.

Case Study Description

Course Fees

$1600 per student at your facility. Large class size and off-campus rates are negotiable. Students earn 30 Professional Development Units, (PDUs) by completing this course.

Advanced Project Management - 2569PMP005

Course Description

Advanced Project Management is a high intensity vocabulary and concept driven course designed to provide experienced project managers with a thorough understanding of the material they will need to know in order to pass the PMP® exam from the Project Management Institute.

This is a four and a half day course which reviews the five Process Groups and the nine Knowledge Areas contained in PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). Each of the forty four total processes is discussed in detail and positioned in the overall PMI methodology. Process tools and techniques are discussed within the context of the required inputs and resultant outputs to expose students to the PMI manner of thinking.

Who should attend?

Experienced Project and Program Managers preparing to take the Project Management Professional, (PMP®) certification exam.
Managers, executives and technical workers who will be working on projects and are seeking to learn the accepted project management terminology and lexicon used in the international project management community.
New project team members who are working in a PMI process environment and are seeking to learn PMI concepts and/or certify as a Certified Associate Project Manager, (CAPM).

Course Details

Copies of lecture slides are provided in book format.

A copy of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), Fourth Edition. Published by the Project Management Institute is also provided to all students.

Each chapter of the PMBOK® Guide is reviewed in detail. It is important that students intent on taking the certification exam understand the material and be able to apply that material to situational questions posed during the exam. We will discuss not only what the books say but also what subtleties must be understood in order to interpret the exam questions correctly. Each lecture module will be followed by a test to give students an exposure to the type of question they will see on the exam and give them the opportunity to question and explore the PMI mindset. This material will be further expanded upon through the use of targeted exercises to develop the skills required to pass the certification exam on the first attempt.

Each day will incorporate a review of all previous material to stress the critical points, reinforce the learning experience and give students the opportunity to raise questions after having a period to reflect on the material. The final day will recommend a path which each student should follow in order to ensure success on the exam. A study methodology will be described which has proven successful for students over multiple iterations of the exam and reference materials. At class completion, students will have the knowledge at their disposal to guide them in establishing a successful individual study plan which will enable them to take and pass the exam within one month, on average.

Course Fees

$2100 per student at your facility. Large class size and off-campus rates are negotiable. Students earn 36 Professional Development Units, (PDUs) by completing this course.

Project Management Overview - 2569OVR003

Course Description

Project Management Overview is a concept and vocabulary course designed to familiarize new project managers with the common approved lexicon of project management. Experienced project managers and managers of project managers also find this to be a valuable course since it allows time for teams to discuss their current roles and procedures and to evaluate where improvements can be made. This course gives exposure to the material contained in the Project Management Institute’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), the manner of organization of that material and the levels of professional certification which can be earned from PMI.

This is a three day course which will cover the five PMI Process Groups and the nine Knowledge Areas. We will discuss their place in the overall PMI methodology in an interactive manner giving students the opportunity to question and discuss the material as presented. Many process tools and techniques are discussed at a high level with some participatory exercises to demonstrate a number of the methodologies. By eliminating some material and most exercises, we can also conduct this as a 2 day class. We also provide a one day executive awareness class tailored to your needs.

Who should attend?

Managers and senior technical people currently working in a PMI environment and managing current or future PMI certified project managers.
Experienced Project and Program Managers investigating the adoption of the Project Management Institute (PMI) methodology due to competitive or customer pressures.
New project team members seeking an exposure to the PMI process environment.

Course Details

Each student will receive a course manual with lecture notes, handouts and exercises.

This course will introduce the concept of managing within the “triple constraints” of project scope, the committed schedule and the allowable budget. We will address how each can be managed and how a project manager must accept and perform trade-offs among the three in order to lead a successful project. The importance of organizational influences, interpersonal dynamics, quality and contracting will be discussed as will risk management and the importance of inter- and intra-team communications. Our course schedule allows adequate time for teams to discuss their current environment, question that environment and discuss areas for improvement as well as introducing the general concepts and vocabulary of the Project Management Institute.

Some organizations find it valuable to use this course as a springboard for general process improvement and or organizational process change discussions. We frequently pair this course with a facilitated session to address those issues dynamically. In those sessions we discuss the dynamics of organizational change supplemented with a brief, (one hour), interactive case study before we begin the process of deconstructing and documenting the current processes and procedures and identifying the opportunity areas for implementing improvement programs.

Course Fees

$1200 per student at your facility. Large class size and off-campus rates are negotiable. Please contact us to discuss shorter duration classes. All students will be presented a course completion certificate.

Project Earned Value Management - 2569CST001

Course Description

In today's competitive market, it is critical that projects be completed on time and within budget. In order to effectively manage projects you need timely project information to identify potential problems early in the project life cycle to facilitate effective project management decision making. In this one day course you will learn the details of a project control tool called Earned Value Management (EVM) and its value as an early indicator of project schedule and cost variances. EVM measures work accomplished versus planned budget and schedule (behind/ahead of schedule, over/under budget). Students will work through a project case study with EVM data and discuss the basic problem solving decision process to enable project recovery. You will also discuss basic project plan components (work breakdown structures, estimates, baselines, project schedules) necessary to produce accurate EVM data. We will also review the concept of project constraints, (time, cost, quality, scope and resources), that impact the success of failure of projects.

Who should attend?

This workshop is geared to managers and team members of virtually any type of project, including project teams in IT, manufacturing, construction, or other business and industry environments that are looking for proven, effective methodologies to measure and forecast project status and performance.
Project managers preparing for the PMP exam who want to hone their skills in the Earned Value Management area.

Exercises Description

This course is taught using a practical application approach which, after introducing a concept, students are then given an immediate exercise to apply and reinforce that new concept. Any comprehension problems can then be addressed in real-time before progressing on the more advanced topics. The exercises follow a progressive case study using a fictitious company, Wooden Novelties.

Course Fees

$425 per student at your facility. Large class size and off-campus rates are negotiable. Students earn 7 Professional Development Units, (PDUs) by completing this course.

Project Cost Management - 2569CST002

Course Description

Project Cost Management, expands upon our Earned Value Management course, 2569CST001. This two day course: Project Cost Management, in addition to covering basic Earned Value Techniques also addresses:

Project selection methods used to determine the relative worth of project options.
Depreciation methodologies and their purpose.
Cost Estimating techniques.
The use of decision trees in financial planning decision making.

Who should attend?

Managers, Project and Program Managers and team members on any type of project who need to understand financial concepts at a level beyond simple Earned Value.
Project Managers preparing for the PMP® exam who want to hone their skills in Earned Value and to also understand at a deeper level other Cost concepts which will be covered on the PMP® exam.

Exercises Description

As in 2569CST001, this course is taught using a practical application approach which, after introducing a concept, students are then given an immediate exercise to apply and reinforce that new concept. Any comprehension problems can then be addressed in real-time before progressing on the more advanced topics. The exercises follow a progressive case study using a fictitious company, Wooden Novelties. Additional exercises are utilized to address the advanced Cost concepts presented in this two day course. We also will take a self-test which is reviewed as a group to aid students to discover any areas where additional questions need to be addressed.

Course Fees

$800 per student at your facility. Large class size and off-campus rates are negotiable. Students earn 14 Professional Development Units, (PDUs) by completing this course.