A significant number of projects fail to achieve their initial goals and/or are not completed within budget and their original timetable. As a team member, a CMA has a unique skill set and experiences to assist in project management. In addition to their analytical training and knowledge of budgets and controls, they typically have ongoing contacts with other professionals from a variety of backgrounds. Familiar analytical tools/techniques can be applied to managing projects. This brief program is designed to aid both experienced and less experienced participants in increasing their knowledge of, and comfort with, the steps and skills needed for success.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the process of project management
- Provide management and organizational techniques to establish the necessary environment for success and provide examples of alternative approaches to the process
- Demonstrate the use of analytical tools to assist throughout the process. These tools/techniques can improve the outcome of each step from selecting a project through planning, implementing, controlling, and when necessary, modifying the project.
- Identify traps that frequently occur, and steps to manage through them
- Find references for further research
Major Topics
- Establishing a system: identifying forces that support the status quo; setting milestones and goals; the role of the CMA
- Necessary first steps: set a framework for the project’s activities; identify needed resources; obtain support; decide on a structure; establish a team for a specific project; identify necessary team skill sets
- Project evaluation: analytical tools, strategic evaluation; sources of risk
- Maintaining focus: monitoring and measuring results; keeping to the project’s scope
- Avoiding frequent traps: sunk costs; financing pitfalls; project creep; tunnel vision; failure to integrate the team’s work internally and/or the final project with the remaining organization
- Introduction and examples of analytical tools throughout the session: mapping; CPM; Gantt charts; benchmarking; Pareto analysis; PESTLE analysis; valuation techniques; post-completion evaluations
