MODULE 1:

Learning Objectives:
• Business definition
• Types of businesses
• Project Management definition
• Project Definition
• Project Process Groups
• Relationship between project management and business value creation

What is a busines?
• A business is an organization comprised of people who produce goods and/or services, to sell, to earn a
profit that is then distributed among shareholders.
What is a project?
• A temporary endeavor that produces a unique product, service, or result.
• Projects drive change and create business value.
• Business value is the benefit that the results of a specific project provide to its stakeholders. It may be
tangible, intangible, or both.
• Projects can create:
o New products or enhancement to old ones.
o Services or a capability to do a service.
o Results, such as an output or documents.
o Improvements to existing services or processes.
• Projects have attributes such as:
o Clear objectives (what is to be accomplished)
o Series of interdependent activities
o Various resources
o Specific time frame
o Unique, one-time endeavor
o Sponsor or customer (provides the necessary funds necessary to accomplish the project. In a
business setting, the customer can be internal or external)
o Degree of uncertainty (based on certain assumptions and estimates for the project budget,
schedule, and work scope.)
What is Project Management?
• The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project
requirements.
• There are 10 project management knowledge areas covered by the PMBOK® guide. (Scope, Cost,
Schedule, Quality, Risks, Communication, Stakeholders, Procurement, Resources, and Integration)
• These 10 knowledge areas are divided into 49 processes.
• These 49 processes are divided into 5 Process Groups (Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitor and
Controlling, and Closing).
o Process Group Overview
• Initiation: Those processes performed to define a new project or new phase of an
existing project by obtaining authorization to start the project or phase.
• Planning: Those processes required to establish the scope of the project, refine the
objectives, and define the course of action required to attain the objectives that the
project was undertaken to achieve.
• Executing: Those processes performed to complete the work defined in the project
management plan to satisfy project requirements.
• Monitoring and Controlling: Those processes required to track, review, and regulate the
progress and performance of the project; identify any areas in which changes to the plan
are required; and initiate the corresponding changes.
 • Closing: Those processes performed to formally complete or close the project, phase, or
contract.
• What project management entails?
o Identify requirements
o Managing the stakeholders
o Effective communication among stakeholders
o Balance project constraints
Project Constraints:
• Constraint: a limiting factor that affects the execution of a project, program, portfolio, or process.
• Project constraints compete due to demands and priorities constantly changing:
• Six major constraints:
1. Scope
2. Quality
3. Schedule
4. Budget
5. Resources
6. Risks
• If any of these factors change, at least one or the other factor will be affected, therefore there must be a
balance.
• Were mostly known as the 'Triple Threat', focusing on scope, schedule, and cost.
• The successful accomplishment of the project objectives is usually constrained by many factors including
the six mentioned before to accomplish customer satisfaction.
• Customer satisfaction goes beyond just completing the project scope within budget and on schedule, or
asking if the customer is satisfied at the end of the project. It means not only meeting customer's
expectations them, but also developing and maintaining excellent working relationship throughout the
project.
Why we initiate projects?
• Projects are a mean to achieve objectives within an organization's strategic plan.
• Many projects originate as a part of:
o Market demand
o Strategic opportunity or business need
o Social need
o Environmental consideration
o Customer request
o Technological advance
o Legal requirement
Business Value
• Defined as the whole value of the business, the total sum of tangibles (assets, equity, ect) and intangibles
(brand recognition, goodwill, ect)
• If an organization does not realize increased business value as a result of sponsoring a project, then the
project will not (or should not) be pursued. Thus, the most important aspect of project management is
"delivering business value to the customer".
• Business value creation is NOT the same as deliverables.
o Steps to Delivering Business Value:
o Understand the vision.
o Be clear about the business value of the project.
o Evangelize the Vision and Business Value to the project team
o Foster a team environment to effectively deliver value.
o Measure the realization of the business value.

MODULE 2:

Learning Objectives:
 • Strategy definition
• Strategy throughout history
• Strategy process
• Strategy SWOT Analysis
• Types of strategy

What is a strategy?
• A plan that aims to give the enterprise a competitive advantage over rivals through differentiation.
• Is about understanding what you do, what you want to become, and focusing on how you plan to achieve
it.
• Identifies the goals and direction that managers and employees at every level need to define their work
and make their organization successful.
• Strategy creation is about doing the right things.
• Is the primary concern of senior executives and business owners.
'Strategy' throughout history:
• IXX Century [Carl von Clausewitz]
o Art of war
o Strategy is concerned with drafting the plan of war and shaping the individual campaigns, and
within these, deciding on the individual engagements.
• Edward Mead Earle
o The art of controlling and utilizing resources of a nation – or a coalition of nations – including its
armed forces, to the end that its vital interests shall be effectively promoted and secured.
• 1971 [Kenneth Andrews]
o Wrote "The Concept of Corporate Strategy"
o A framework defining strategy in terms of what a business can do –strengths and weaknesses –
and what possibilities are open to it – opportunities and threats.
• 1980's [Michael Porter]
o Defined strategy as a broad formula for how a business is going to compete.
Strategy Process:
• Mission -> Goals -> Strategy Creation -> Implementation Tactics -> Performance Measurement
• Mission defines the company's purpose and what it aims to do for customers and other stakeholders.
• Goals should be informed by a pragmatic understanding of both the external/market environment and
the internal capabilities of the organization.
• Strategy Creation begins with extensive research and analysis. Must include senior management and the
company business units.
Strategy SWOT Analysis:
• Internal
o Strengths:
• Capabilities that enable the company or unit to perform well.
• Need to be leveraged.
o Weaknesses:
• Characteristics that prohibit the company or unit from performing well.
• Need to be addressed.
• External
o Opportunities:
• Trends, forces, events, and ideas that the company can capitalize on.
o Threats:
• Possible events or forces outside of the company's control.
• The company needs to plan or decide how to mitigate them.
Strategy Formulation through SWOT:
• External:
o Customers
o Pricing constraints
 o Competitors
o Distribution issues
o Technology
o Macro-economy
o Regulation
o Workstyle Trends
o Major uncertainties
o Suppliers
o Potential Partners
• Internal:
o Current Performance
o Brand Power
o Cost structure
o Product Portfolio
o R&D Pipeline
o Technical Mastery
o Employee Skills
o Company Culture
Strategy Types:
• There are four (4) types of strategy types
o Low-Cost Leadership
• Description:
▪ Deliver goods at lower prices
▪ The products or services are the same as those offered by rivals
▪ The key success is to deliver the customer's expected level of value at a cost
that assures an adequate level of probability.
• Relationship with Project Management
▪ Continuous improvement in operating efficiency
▪ An unbeatable supply chain
▪ Product redesign
o Differentiation Strategy
• Description:
▪ Is expressed in some qualitative way that customers value.
• Toyota plays on its reputation for quality and high resale value.
• Relationship with Project Management:
▪ Differentiating a commodity product through product or service
improvements.
o Customer Relationship Strategy:
• Description:
▪ Providing a personalized service that customer value above pricing.
• Hairstylists
• Relationship with Project Management:
▪ Simplifying customers' lives or work
▪ Ongoing benefits
▪ Personalized service
▪ Customized solutions
o Network Effect Strategy:
• Description:
▪ A phenomenon in which the value of a product increases as more products are
sold and the network of users increases.
• Ebay
▪ Success with this strategy depends on a company's ability to get out in front
and become the dominant provider.
 • Relationship with Project Management:
▪ Investments in different projects to maintain the ball rolling.
▪ Strategic acquisitions
MODULE 3:

Learning Objectives:
• Differences between strategy creation and strategy implementation
• Alignment for implementation
• The elements for a successful implementation
• Establishing unit action plans
• Types of organizational structures
• What is a Project Management Office
Strategy Creation vs. Strategy Implementation
• Implementation: Describes the complete measures that translate strategic intent into actions that
produce results. It is operation oriented.
o Creation involves:
• Analysis and Planning
• Thinking
• Initiate
• At the top level
• Entrepreneurial
• Goal-setting
o Implementation involves:
• Execution
• Doing
• Follow through
• Top-to-bottom
• Operational
• Goal-achieving
Strategy Alignment
• Alignment: is a situation in which a organizational structures, support systems, processes, human skills,
resources, and incentives support strategic goals.
Alignment Element Checklist
People • Our people have the necessary skills to make the strategy work?
• They support the strategy?
• Their attitudes are aligned with the strategy?
• They have the resources to be successful?
Incentives • Our reward system is aligned with the strategy?
• Everyone has performance goals aligned with the strategy?
Structure • Units are optimally organized to support the strategy?
Supportive • The many things we do around here – pricing, the way we handle
Activities customers, fulfill orders, ect. – support the strategy?
Culture • Our culture and strategy are well matched?

Action Plans
• Action plan: Is a document that begins with the strategic goals and identifies all the steps required to
achieve them.
o Corporate Strategic Goals
o Unit Goals
• Top management must:
 ▪ Ensure alignment with the corporate strategy.
▪ Have a complete action plan to achieve the strategic goals.
• Performance Measures
o Team/Individual Goals
SMART Goals
• Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound
o Specific: Answer specifics about the goal
• Who? What? Where? When? Which?
o Measurable: How will you measure your goals?
• Concrete evidence, numbers, facts, feelings
o Attainable: Can you accomplish this goal?
• Using current resources, time, money, talent,
o Relevant: Is this goal realistic?
• Consider the objective. Why do you want to achieve this goal?
o Time-bound: What is the timeline?
• Create achievable deadlines, review, provide feedback.
Create the Action Plan
• Keep it simple
o Formulate action steps
o WBS
• Involve the people who will execute the plan
o These people can let you know the resources that are needed.
• Structure your action plan in achievable chunks
o Identify interlocks and create cross-functional teams.
• Specify roles and responsibilities
o Every step should have an owner that publicly agrees to take responsibility for it.
• Make it flexible
o Strategies change so your plans must be flexible.
• Estimate the financial impact
o How much does it cost?
o Do we have the budget?
o Do we need funding?
Types of Organizational Structures

Structure Characteristic Advantages Disadvantages

Organic or Simple - Small businesses running their own - Economical - Resources with shared
projects - Flexible responsibilities
- Sponsor can act as PM & has direct - Clear line of authority - Lack of focus
control of the budget - Sponsor needs to have
different roles
Functional - Typical hierarchy structure - Expertise in the project - Departments are siloed.
- Grouped by functions with specific roles is run within the - Outside expertise can be
- Each department runs its own projects department that it has required
- The functional manager has PM duties. expertise. - Resources may not be
- High degree of flexibility dedicated full time to the
since resources belong to project.
the department - Progress may be slow
- Clear line of authority to - Don't have a proper PM
functional manager and if any is assigned, it
 has little power over
decisions.
Multi-divisional - A hierarchy structure like the function - Can be arranged by - Replication of functions
structure. business type or by or sources since division
- Grouped per division product type. runs independently.
- PM is part time or not a designated role - Close communication - They are siloed.
- Each division has its own resources & with each division.
run its own projects. - Has clear line of
- Has minimal centralization authority, where the
division head is the final
point of escalation.

Project-oriented - Organization focus on projects - PM have clear authority - Projects are isolated
- Full time PM with complete authority over resources and - PM can lose objectivity
- Resources aligned and managed budget - Inefficiencies with
according to each project. - Easy communication decentralization causing
- Team members report directly to the - Better cohesion within duplications of roles.
PM. the project team - When the projects finish,
- Better focus the team dissolves.
- Faster execution
Matrix Organization - Blend both functional and project- - Efficient resource - Reporting confusion
oriented characteristics sharing because of the dotted
- Focus on assigning the best resources - Individuals can be line.
across all projects. chosen based on the - Power struggles as
- Cross-functional teams needs of the project. manager competes for
- Has 3 different matrix types. * - Dynamic team with power.
major problem-solving
capabilities
- Easier to reassign team
members.
Virtual - Organization where teams are not - Are dynamic and new - Communication due
collocated, except the top management teams can be formed cultural and time zone
teams. quickly differences.
- Use virtual communications - Is project focus - Lost of body language
- Teams form and then disband - Minimal overhead (since since everything is virtual
less offices are needed) & - Achieving team cohesion
minimal admin costs is more difficult since each
- Easier to transfer risks team is in different areas.
to 3rd parties’ contracts.
- Increases the availability
of specialized resources.

Hybrid - Mix of the different organizational

structure
- Allows for effective use of resources
based on the organization's needs.
- The PM power, budget management will
be based on the type of structure the
organization is mixing.
 •

What is a PMO?
• Project Management Office is an area responsible for standardizing all the PM processes, facilitates
sharing of resources, methodologies, tools, and techniques.
• Have authority to act as a primary stakeholder an
• d key decision maker.
• Liaison between the organizational strategies, portfolio, programs, and projects in the organization.
• Has the authority to end projects
• May be involved in the selection, management and assignment of project resources.
o Types of PMO's
• Supportive: Provide a consultative role to projects by supplying templates, best
practices, training, access to information, and lessons learned from other projects. The
degree of control provided by the PMO is low.
• Controlling: Provides support and require compliance through various means.
Compliance may involve adopting project management frameworks or methodologies,
using specific templates, forms and tools, or conformance to governance. The degree of
control provided by the PMO is moderate.
• Directive: Take control of the project directly by managing them. The degree of control
provided by the PMO is high.
• PMO functions:
o Support project managers by:
• Managing shared resources
• Identifying and developing methodologies, best practices, and standards.
• Coaching, mentoring, training, and oversight
• Monitoring compliance with PM standards, policies, procedures, and templates by
project audits.
• Developing and managing project procedures, policies, templates, and other
documentation.
• Controlling communication among projects.

MODULE 4

Learning Objectives
• Different project types and their different strategic importance.
• Relationships between portfolio management, program management, and project management
• Portfolio, program, and project management contributions to the organizational goals.
Types of Business Projects
• External
o Relate to developing product for customers in the market
o External projects fall into one of 3 categories, also known as commercial development projects
• Internal
 o Relate to projects internal to the organization, where the customer is internal.
o Internal projects have a great variety such as systems planning and implementation, the
introduction of new manufacturing technology, and organizational change.
Type of External Projects
• Derivative
o Related to extending, improving, or upgrading existing products.
o Provide short-term benefits and are more operational than strategic in their nature.
• Platform
o Are the next generation of products for the company.
o These are major changes from existing products/services or the way the product/service is made
or delivered.
o They create a new platform for growth in the future.
o These projects offer significant improvements in cost, quality, and performance.
o Platforms are created to meet the needs of a core group of customers changing more than one
aspect of a product/service; while derivatives normally only change one aspect of the product o
service.
o i.e. New car models
• Breakthrough
o These projects are the highest risk and the highest reward category.
o These involve the newest technology greater than that of a platform project.
o This use of technology may be 'disruptive' to the rest of the industry and create n entirely new
product category to define the industry.
o This maybe a brand new technology or significant changes to existing projects.
o These types of projects often incorporate new and innovative manufacturing or servicing
processes.
o These types of projects should be given leeway to work outside of normal and existing operating
techniques.
o i.e. Hybrid cars
Types of Internal Projects
• Problem Solving
o Focus on the shorter term, typically aim at performance improvements, and can be seen as
operational projects.
• Maintenance
o Focus on shorter term, typically aim at performance improvements for different system
components.
• Utility
o Are projects related to any facility, or system for producing, transmitting, or distributing
communications, power, electricity, light, heat, gas, oil, crude products, water, steam, and waste.
o Comes from a long-term perspective and can be considered as strategic projects.
• Research
o The invention of knowledge of new materials and technologies that will be used in commercial
development.
o R&D projects are high-risk endeavors with the possibility of high returns.
o R&D is important since it will always occur before product and process development.
o R&D projects also use the same resources as commercial development and will always compete
for them.
o Comes from a long-term perspective and can be considered as strategic projects.
• Acquisitions and Mergers
o Involves all activities related to corporate mergers, the acquisition of companies or divisions and
the transfer of business activities of several parent companies to a new unit (joint venture) that is
owned jointly by the parent firms.
Relationships between portfolio management, program management, and project management
 • Organizational Project Management (OPM): Framework for integration of project, program, portfolio, and
operations management. Ensures right choice of projects; appropriate resources allocation and that
everyone understands vision, gals, initiatives, and deliverables.
• Portfolio, program, and project management must align with the business strategies.
Portfolio, Program and Project Management Contributions to the Organizational Goals
• Project Management: Develops and implements plans to achieve a specific scope that is driven by the
objectives it programs and, ultimately, organizational strategy. It is largely concerned with achieving
major deliverables that support specific organizational objectives.
• Program management: Harmonizes its project and program components and manages their
interdependence to realize specified benefits. It focuses on achieving the cost, schedule, and performance
objectives of the projects within the program or portfolio.
o Activities include:
• Resolving resource constraints of conflict that affect the program's goals and objectives.
• Alignment of the organizational strategies that affect the program's goals and
objectives.
• Resolve issues within a shard governance structure.
• Portfolio Management: Aligns with organizational strategies by selecting the right programs or projects,
prioritizing the work, and providing the needed resources. It balances conflicting demands between
programs and projects, allocates resources based on organizational priorities and capacity, and manages
to achieve the benefits identifies.
o A portfolio includes projects, programs, sub portfolio, and operations managed as a group to
achieve the strategic goals. Portfolio management is the centralized management of these
portfolios to achieve the business goals. A portfolio manager reviews the all programs and
projects to prioritize them.
Prerequisites for Successful Strategic Business Management in Multiple Projects Environment
1. Categorizing the projects by their type
• Form specific portfolios or buckets based on strategic guidelines.
• Consider strategic goals and responsibility areas.
• Establish specific and tailored management models both at the project level and at levels above projects
for each portfolio.
• Ensure that these models enable strategic management in an appropriate manner.
2. Supporting Structured and Flexible Decision Making
• Establish meetings, reviews or workshops for decision making
• Define specific levels where decision making is expected to occur.
o Distinguish the different roles of top, middle, and project management
• Differentiate operational single project decisions from the strategic ones.
o Authorize PM or middle managers to make most operational project decisions.
• Distinguish between 2 types of portfolio-level decision making
o Portfolio board meeting
o Portfolio reviews
• Establish clear and limited roles and responsibilities for decision making
• Avoid unnecessary rigidity while following the intended strategy
• Use appropriate visual display of structured information (well-structured meeting agenda)
• Establish criteria that enable comparison, selection, and prioritization of projects.
• Ensure performance level measurement is in line with established criteria and strategic guidelines.
• Leave room for interactive discussion.
3. Ensuring Effective Communication and Information Transparency
• Use systematic structures such as:
o Meeting agendas
o IT collaboration tools
• Enhance learning
• Use projects themselves as structured communication platforms
4. Linking Projects and Strategic Process
 • Conduct strategic portfolio review meetings timely
• Ensure a fluent interaction between different organizational levels
• Introduce top-management-oriented intended strategies to lower levels organizational bodies.
• Use visualization methods in portfolio review meetings among top management representatives to reflect
the project portfolio's roles in the adaptation of the new strategic decision.
5. Establishing an Organizational Design to Support Strategic Management in the Multiple Project
Environment
• Define the role of different bodies and individuals at different organizational levels.
• Pay attention to appropriate level of openness, trust, and encouragement of individuals
• Ensure top management support
• Create ownership for each functional activity
• Recognize overlapping responsibilities and manage the complexities by organizing for effective
communication and information sharing.
6. Setting and Measuring Goals for Different Time Spams in the Future
• Use roadmap-like presentations that put the projects and their mutual interrelations into timely
perspective
• Use supportive illustrations to emphasize life cycles
• Analyze stated assumptions carefully and make different scenarios of the business environment in the
uncertain future.
• Establish effective risk management procedure for coping with the imperfect knowledge
7. Evaluating Strategic Contents, Distinguishing between Effectiveness and Efficiency
• Make a clear distinction between projects that are driven by effectiveness and those that improve
efficiency.
• Evaluate strategic importance of each project.

MODULE 5:

Learning Objectives:
• How organizations select projects
• What are business documents
• Business case
• Benefits management plan
Project Evaluation Criteria
• Will there be a customer for the expected results of the project?
• Will the project results provide the enterprise a competitive edge?
• Will the project results make a distinctive contribution to exiting product, services or processes?
• Will the enterprise be able to handle the risk and uncertainty likely to come forth as the project is
undertaken?
• What is the probability of the project being completed on time, within budget, and satisfy its technical
performance objective?
• Will the project results provide value to the customer?
• Will the project provide satisfactory ROI to the organization?
• Will the project have a high probability of supporting the strategic initiatives?
Project Selection
• Evaluate needs, costs, benefits
• Determine which are projects
• Select project (involves 4 steps)
o Step 1: Develop criteria:
• Strategy alignment
• Increase market share or sales
• Technology requirement
• Improve customer satisfaction
• Regulatory change
 • Risks
o Step 2: List Assumptions
• Basis for each opportunity
o Step 3: Gather data
• Gather data and information for each opportunity to help ensure an intelligent decision
regarding the project selection
o Step 4: Evaluate Each Opportunity
• Use of an evaluation form containing the criteria used to evaluate each opportunity and
select which ones will turn into projects
• Combine "gut" feelings and quantitative information to make decisions
Business Documents
• Project Business Case
o The sponsor (or client) is generally accountable for developing and maintaining the business
case.
o No matter how complicated or detailed it may be, or how many appendices it has, every business
case addresses 5 key questions:
• Why?
▪ Look at the status quo and identifies the reasons why it isn't good enough
• What?
▪ Details the changes you think are necessary to address the issues you've
identified.
• How?
▪ Explains the mechanics of what needs to be done – as well as how much it's
going to cost and how it's likely to take.
• When?
▪ Is all about timescales. Will this change be overnight, or will it need to be
approached in stages? If there will be disruption or downtime, how long will
that last?
• Who?
▪ Details the person or people who are going to make it happen.
o Business Case Structure
• Executive Summary
▪ It's a short summary of the entire business case, and It should tell the person or
people reading it everything they need to know without going into detail.
▪ It is a sales pitch
▪ The first thing readers see, but the last thing you write.
• Project Definition
▪ Is where you provide the background to your proposal:
• The issue
• What I propose we do about it
• Benefits it will bring
• Risks
• Potential limitations and issue
▪ The goal is to demonstrate that you haven't just chosen the first solution
you've encountered. It provides the best benefit-cost ratio.
▪ BCR= total expected benefits of a project / the total expected cost of
implementing it.
• Finance
▪ Detailed breakdown of:
• Hardware cost
• Training costs
• Support Costs
• Software listing
 • Software licensing
• Any other quantifiable expense
▪ Should include a contingency fund
▪ OpEx (Operational expenditure): The money you spend on keeping things
running.
▪ CapEx (Capital expenditure): The money you spend on fixed assets.
▪ Reserve: a provision in the PMP to mitigate cost and/or schedule risk. Often
used with a modifier (e.g management reserve, contingency reserve) to provide
further detail on those types of risks are to be mitigated.
• Contingency Reserve: Time or money allocated in a schedule or cost
baseline for known risks with active response strategies. Changing
contingency reserve require approval.
• Management Reserve: An amount of the project budget or schedule
held outside of the performance measurement baseline (PMB) for
management control purposed, that is reserved for unforeseen work
that is within the scope of the project.
Contingency Reserve Management Reserve
Controlled by the PM Controlled by Management
Is included in the budget Is included in the budget
Is included in the baseline and PMB It is not added to any baseline
Used to manage known risks Used to manage unknown risks
Used in the activity and work packages

▪ Financial Measures:
• Return on investment (ROI) - evaluates the efficiency of an investment or compare the efficiency
of a number of different investments. [Current value of investment - Cost of investment / Cost of
investment]
• Net Present Value (NPV) - Is the difference between the present value of cash inflows and the
present value of cash outflows.
• Project Organization
▪ It includes:
• What needs to be done
• When it needs to be done
• Who needs to do it?
• Who's accountable for any issues
• How you propose to monitor progress to ensure that everything is going according to
plan
▪ In this section you list the SMART goals you identified.
What benefits mean in a business case
• A benefit is something that delivers an advantage:
o Financial benefit:
• Increasing income
• Reducing or avoiding outgoings
• Bringing forward income
• Postponing outgoings
o Less tangible benefits:
• Improve legal or regulatory compliance
• It may lay the foundations for a bigger project or help to avoid pain or expense in the
future.
• It may deliver other "soft" benefits, such as improve employee morale
Benefits Management Plan
• Describes when the benefits of the project will be delivered.
• Includes
o Target benefits: expected tangible or intangible value to be gained.
o Strategic alignment: how well the project aligns to the business strategy
o Timeframe for realizing the benefits: by phase, short-term or long-term
o Benefits owner: the person responsible to monitor, record, and report the benefits.
o Metrics: measures to be used to show benefits realized
o Assumptions: factors expected to be in place
o Risks: risks for realization of benefits