SAMPLE PROJECT PLANNNING SESSION OUTLINE


SESSION OBJECTIVES:

   Overview of the corporation's project management life cycle
   Overview of the planning , work breakdown structure and estimating processes
   Agreement on the project scope statement, objectives, assumptions, constraints and deliverables
   Agreement on the current status of the project
   Identify activities that must be performed to produce the various project deliverables
   Capture activity sequencing and interdependencies
   Estimate duration needed to complete the individual activities
   Document resource requirements, availability and commitment to the project
   Produce of the project's critical path in the early phases
   Set date for project status reviews with team
   Completion of a detailed project plan for the current and next phase of the project life cycle

COURSE CONTENT:

DAY ONE

Morning:
   Opening Remarks - Sponsor
   Review of the activities planned for the session
   Brief overview of the project management phase methodology
   Orientation to the planning, WBS and estimating tools and concepts
   Review and revise the project scope statement, objectives, assumptions,
    constraints and deliverables
   Identify project milestones

Afternoon:
   Design the high level Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for the project
   Review the information requirements at the task, sub task level:
   Name - action verb that describes the output of the activity
   Resource(s) required - who, what
   Duration / Work - elapsed time of no more than 2 weeks
   Other costs - materials?
   Predecessor - what comes before this task?
   Successor - what comes after this task?
 
   Begin to decompose the deliverables with the team members based on the high level WBS
       Decomposition involves subdividing the major project deliverables into smaller,
       more manageable components until the deliverables are defined in sufficient detail
       to support future project planning, executing and controlling processes

Evening:
   Capture the data in Microsoft Project©

DAY TWO

   Continue identifying activities that must be performed to produce the various project deliverables

Evening:
   Capture the data in Microsoft Project©

DAY THREE

   Complete identifying activities that must be performed to produce
     the various project deliverables
   Gather team member availability details
   Design project team action plan for the next thirty days
   Set dates for project status reviews
   Closing comments and adjournment

Evening:
   Capture the data in Microsoft Project©

POST SESSION

Next Steps:
   Review activity details captured in Microsoft Project©
   Add team member availability data to the schedule
   Optimize the project schedule while considering project objectives of Time, Cost and Quality
   Resolve team member schedule conflicts
   Print:   Critical path report
                 Team member task list
   Get sign-off from team members for their commitment to the activity list and schedule
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Email: davidpape@papeconsulting.com
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