Course Overview

Project management plays a very critical role in determining the success of a project and the growth of an organisation. Considering this importance, the entire life cycle of a project is closely looked upon and managed, with each step being calculated and decided in advance.

Risks are also predicted and addressed in time to minimise or completely eliminate negative impact on the project outcome and timeline. What is project planning and control, then? How different are these from project management? So to say, project planning and control are two critical steps of project management, but not the only.

Project planning includes a set of pre-decided methods, processes and measures undertaken by a project team to help meet the objectives of the project while offering adequate attention to all aspects through the project life cycle. It brings together the scope, time, cost and other associated aspects of the project cycle.

On the other hand, the control phase involves overseeing all tasks, metrics, and measures to ensure that the project is on track to meet project objectives, within time and budget. It also controls the occurrence and treatment of risks that could hamper project progress.

The control phase is a continuous, repetitive process through a project life cycle. Project controls include the right tools, processes, and people skills to collect the right information at the right time to make the right decisions.

This Zoe training course will empower you with all necessary project planning and control skills to seamlessly complete a project, achieving all objectives and overcoming all constraints.

By undertaking this course, you will be able to successfully manage projects of any nature, difficulty level or scale because of the structured and planned process to decide the project path and achieve the desired objectives.

This course will provide you with the necessary skills and knowledge to undertake higher roles and responsibilities related to project management, ensuring successful project completion and, in turn, encouraging career growth and progression within the organisation or beyond.

Course Objectives

The main objective of this Project Planning and Control course is to empower professionals with—

• in-depth knowledge and information related to project planning and control
• the required skills to devise a project plan/strategy to determine the path/trajectory of the project
• adequate analytical and strategic skills to align project outcome and objectives to organisational strategy, thereby contributing to organisational growth
• confidence and knowledge to train other professionals in the organisation for effective project planning and control
• the required awareness and foresight to predict risks and challenges and put in place corrective actions to eliminate or minimise the negative impact on the project outcome
• the capability and skill to undertake complex projects and complete them successfully, facilitating opportunities for higher roles and responsibilities within the organisation
• the ability and experience to handle projects of any kind in any organisation or industry
• the ability and skill to apply modern methods and techniques to gather information about the progress of a project to ensure seamless completion

Training Methodology

Courses at Zoe Talent Solutions are extremely customisable. Before each course, the content is reviewed and changed, if required, to suit the training audience. A highly experienced trainer from the relevant domain delivers the training using audio-visual presentations. Trainee participation is ensured through group activities, assignments, role-plays, etc.

Trainees are also assigned a sample project to manage during the course of the training. Relevant case studies and experience sharing help increase relevance to the course content.

All courses at Zoe Talent Solutions follow a very innovative and unique training approach through the Do–Review–Learn–Apply Model.

Organisational Benefits

By professionals undertaking this Project Planning and Control course, their organisations will derive the following benefits:

• Better planning and control of projects, resulting in more successful projects within the organisation
• Trained and experienced employees to handle projects throughout the organisation, leading to a more professional and planned approach to projects and project completion
• Better risk assessment and management because of risks predicted and addressed in advance
• Application of modern methods and techniques to plan, execute, control and complete a project successfully
• Alignment of project outcome and objectives to organisational strategy, leading to organisational growth and development
• Greater investments and hence organisational growth and success
• Higher client satisfaction because of high-quality project outcome delivered within timelines

Personal Benefits

Professionals undertaking this Project Planning and Control course will derive the following benefits:

• Enhanced project planning and control skills to successfully manage projects of any nature and scale, thus demonstrating skill and talent and fostering career growth and progression
• Increased confidence and knowledge to train other professionals for project planning and control skills
• Better analytical and strategic skills to align project outcome and objectives to organisational strategy, thus supporting organisational growth and development
• Increased knowledge and understanding of advanced planning and control tools for successful project completion
• A sense of pride from contributing to organisational growth and success as well as client satisfaction
• Enhanced skillset, capability and experience to manage any kind of project, irrespective of nature and scale, in any organisation or industry, thus increasing avenues for growth and progression
• Better foresight and perspective to predict all possible challenges and risks to the project and devising corrective action plans to address these so as to minimise negative impact to project outcome, timeline or budget

Who Should Attend?

• Project team leads and managers responsible for driving key and complex projects within organisations
• Project coordinators and administrators who aspire to progress in their roles to managing more complex projects in a planned manner
• Project management officers responsible for defining guidelines around project management protocols and practices
• Top management of an organisation who need to understand the importance and requirement of training in project planning and control for project managers and other project management professionals
• Any professional in an organisation who would be handling smaller projects within their teams or departments
• Any other professional who would like to build a career in project management and enhance their skills of planning and control

Course Outline

The Project Planning and Control course covers the following topics regarding project planning and control:

Module 1 – Project Planning Phases

• Conception and initiation
• Planning
• Execution
• Performance and monitoring
• Project closure

Module 2 – Key Tasks Under Project Control

• Scope verification and change control
• Cost control
• Quality control
• Performance reporting
• Risk control
• Contract administration

Module 3 – Key Elements of a Project Plan

• Products
• Activities
• Resources
• Schedule
• Budget
• Risks
• Assumptions

Module 4 – Project Planning Benefits

• Clear objective
• Risk assessment
• Milestones
• Resource allocation
• Task dependencies
• Communication
• Scope creep
• Bottom line
• Client appreciation
• Team transparency and understanding

Module 5 – Key Qualities for Project Control

• Leadership qualities
• Communication
• Exercise of caution
• Consideration of instincts and emotions
• Teamwork

Module 6 – Project Control Situations

• Realisation problems
• Allocation problems
• Design problems
• Exploration problems

Module 7 – Project Planning and Control Techniques

• Work breakdown structure
• PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique) chart
• Gantt chart
• Cause and effect diagrams
• Critical path analysis

Module 8 – Project Planning and Control Challenges

• Change management
• Schedules
• Costs
• Requirements
• Communication
• Staffing
• Checklists

General Notes