BCS Foundation Certificate in Project Management — A 3-Day Course

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Synopsis

This course is intended for delegates who are new to the project management discipline, and working within an IT project environment. This qualification provides credible evidence that the individual concerned understands the basics of IT project management to a recognised standard.

Candidates who successfully pass the Foundation Certificate (taken at the end of the course) are able to demonstrate an understanding of project management principles relating to the following areas:

• Project Planning
• Monitoring and Control
• Change Control
• Configuration Management
• Estimating
• Quality within a project environment
• Management
• Communication between Stakeholders

Please be aware, this course also provides 21 Hours of Contact Education/Professional Development Units towards PMI PMP certification/re-certification.

Course Objectives

After completing this course the student will be able to:

• Understand the tools, techniques, and terminology used to ensure successful management of IS projects
• Prepare to undertake the BCS Foundation Certificate in Project Management examination

Intended Audience

This training event is aimed at Project Support Personnel and IS staff who are relatively new to the management of projects and who wish to demonstrate their professional interest in project management by obtaining a recognised qualification in Project Management.

Prerequisites

There are no specific prerequisites for this course.

Examinations

This course is recommended as preparation for BCS Foundation Certificate in IS Project Management. The one-hour examination is held on the afternoon of the 3rd day of the course and consists of 40 multiple choice questions. The examination is 'closed book' and the pass mark is 65% - 26/40.

Publicly scheduled dates, locations, and prices

Outline Course Contents

Projects and Project Work

• Projects and Project Management
• System and Project life cycles
• Implementation strategies
• Purpose and content of Key Project Documentation
• The use and significance of Discounted Cash Flows as a method of Investment Appraisal
• Post Implementation Review

Project Planning

• Project deliverables and intermediate products
• Work and product breakdowns
• Product definitions
• Check-points and Milestones
• Activity-on-Node Networks
• Resource Allocation, smoothing and leveling
• Resource Histograms
• Work Schedules and Gantt charts

Monitoring and Control

• The Project Control Life-Cycle
• Collecting progress information
• Presenting progress information
• Content of progress reports
• Use of Earned Value Analysis
• The Reporting Cycle
• Reporting structures in projects
• Tolerance and contingency
• Exception Reports and Plans

Change Control and Configuration management

• Reasons for Change and Configuration Management
• Change Control Procedures
• Role of Change Control Boards
• Configuration Management
• Configuration Items and Product Baselines

Quality

• Quality Control Vs. Quality Assurance
• Detection of defects during the project life cycle
• Quality Procedures
• Types of testing
• The inspection process, peer reviews
• Principles of IS0 9001:2000 QMS

Estimating

• Effects of over and under-estimating
• Effort versus duration; relationship between effort and cost
• Use of expert judgement
• The Delphi approach
• Top-down and bottom-up approaches to estimating
• Use of analogy in estimating

Risk

• Definitions
• The risk management process
• Risk responses and actions
• Typical risks associated with information systems development
• Assessment of the costs/benefits of risk reduction activities
• Maintenance of risk registers and risk logs

Project Communications and Project Organisation

• Identifying stakeholders and their concerns
• The project sponsor
• Establishment of the project authority
• Reporting structures and responsibilities
• Desirable characteristics of project manager
• Role of the project support office
• The project team and matrix management
• Management styles and communication
• Team building and team dynamics

Sample Examination & Exam Technique

• Questions are given, from an approved BCS list, following each Learning Session in order to consolidate learning