Project Management
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3-day ITIL Foundation

5-day PRINCE2™ Practitioner

4-day Business Analysis

3-day Project Management Fundamentals

Course Title:
Managing Successful Programmes for Practitioners (inc examinations)

Duration: 5 days

Next Public Course Date(s):
Manchester
28th April 2008
7th July 2008

Yorkshire
23rd June 2008
1st September 2008

London
12th May 2008
2nd June 2008
21st July 2008
8th September 2008

Tyne & Wear
19th May 2008
30th June 2008
18th August 2008

Price: £1,895 (+VAT) per delegate

Course Overview
Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) is the OGC’s (Office of Government Commerce) approach for managing change and delivering business benefits from a set of related projects and is an integral part of the OGC’s best practice portfolio.

MSP comprises a set of principles and processes that are used when managing a programme. Although founded on best practice it is not prescriptive. It is a flexible approach to managing the full programme lifecycle and can be adapted to suit the needs of individual programmes, and organisations.

MSP identifies and describes the programme lifecycle, identifying the responsibilities and activities that will need to be undertaken during the life of a programme and the type of information that will need to be produced in order to complete the programme definition. MSP also identifies the need to create and maintain strategies that will ensure that the portfolio of projects and any related activities are managed and delivered consistently whilst maintaining focus on the required benefits.

The aim of the course is to provide delegates with a comprehensive and applied understanding of MSP and to prepare delegates for the MSP Foundation, and Practitioner Certificate.

The course fee includes the latest copy of the MSP manual and examination fees for the Foundation and Practitioner exams.

The course is based on the 2007 edition of the MSP Manual.

Target Audience


• Senior managers wanting to gain a more detailed understanding of MSP and apply MSP principles to their programmes
• Candidates who wish to gain Foundation, Intermediate, and Practitioner accreditation
• Existing Programme Managers requiring an understanding of the MSP processes and principles to gain practitioner accreditation
• New, or potential Programme Managers
• Experienced Project Managers who are expanding into Programme Management and wanting to gain practitioner accreditation

Course Objectives


Delegates will learn how to:

- Recognise the ways that MSP addresses the factors which enable successful programmes
- Apply the main MSP principles
- Identify the key pieces of programme information
- Define and apply the governance strategies
- Tailor MSP to a specific business environment
- Scale MSP for use with different programmes
- Undertake programme risk analysis and management
- Prepare for and take the MSP Foundation, Intermediate, and Practitioner Examinations administered by the Association of Project Managers Group (APMG)

Prerequisites


The course is intensive and delegates are advised to undertake some revision work in the evenings to prepare for the MSP Foundation and Practitioner examinations that are taken during the coursePrerequisites

Delegates need at least a basic awareness of programmes and project work in the delegate’s own business environment.

The last two days of the practitioner course are designed to give delegates an understanding of the practitioner objective testing method and prepare them for the practitioner examination.

Course Content


Introduction and Overview
Drivers for change, the need to focus on benefits, critical success factors, programme management and the transformational flow.

Programme Management Themes
Defining and discussing the basic principles that underpin the definition, governance and delivery of a programme. Including

Organisation and leadership
Defining the programme management team
Cross organisational programmes
Integrating project organisations
Benefits Realisation Management

Identifying and defining benefits
Developing a benefit management strategy
Tracking and reviewing benefit realisation
Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement

Defining Leadership
Identifying and analysing stakeholders
Defining a stakeholder management strategy
Planning communications

Blueprint Design and Delivery
The importance of the Blueprint
The Blueprint and its relation to other programme information

Risk Management and Issue Resolution
The risk management strategy
Identifying and responding to risk
Embedding risk management
The issue resolution process
Defining an issue resolution strategy

Quality Management
Quality management strategy
Configuration Management
Assessing and reviewing quality

Business Case Management
Evolution of the business case
Business case management

Vision
The importance of a clear and consistent vision
Defining an ideal Vision Statement

Programme Planning and Control
Contributions to the programme plan
Delivering a portfolio of projects in tranches
Monitoring progress
The resource management strategy

The transformational Flow

Describing the programme lifecycle and the typical governance activities, responsibilities and information requirements for each flow lifecycle element from identifying and defining a programme through managing the tranches and the eventual closure of the programme.

MSP in practice

Tailoring MSP for different business environments. Developing strategies that can be applied appropriately at all levels to help ensure the achievement of business and strategic objectives.

Applying MSP

How MSP principles can be applied to a given programme and how MSP can help maintain the programme’s focus and the commitment of its stakeholders.

Case Studies

A realistic case study scenario is used throughout the course to allow delegates to consolidate their knowledge of MSP in a practical setting through syndicate work.

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