ExecuTrain Austin

Estimating and Risk Management

Target Audience

Personnel who have been, or will be assigned, project management responsibilities and who want professional certification. Project managers, project leaders and team leaders are encouraged to attend.

Class Description

You will learn estimating principles, a generic estimating process, and a variety of estimating techniques for both short-range estimating (tactical) and long-range estimating (strategic). You will practice solid, down-to-earth techniques to better estimate project time, resources, and budget in several challenging exercises.

Risk management, which overlaps the planning and control phases of project management, is one of the most difficult kinds of planning. Following the PMBOK^® Guide model, the course covers four distinct efforts: risk identification, risk quantification, risk response development, and risk response control. Using practical worksheets and mathematical models, the instructor will guide you through a complete process of analysis and management of potential risk events.

Objectives

• Understand the role of uncertainty in project conception, planning, and implementation and how this improves overall management of the project.
• Adhere to a commonly accepted vocabulary when speaking about uncertainty in either the context of estimating or risk.
• Use analytical tools for creating more reliable estimates and risk management plans.
• Demonstrate competency in the fundamental communication skills of the estimating and risk disciplines.
• Understand the key organizational and political challenges of uncertainty in projects and know strategies for dealing with them.

Key Topics

• Apply a generic estimating process
• Employ different strategic and tactical estimating techniques
• Identify the need to employ a “timebox” estimating process when dealing with time constraints
• Understand what constitutes risk to a project
• Explain the benefits of the risk management process and how it fits into project management
• Lead the project team through a systematic process of identifying risks, deliverables, business factors and external areas
• Express risk probability and impact both qualitatively and numerically
• Prepare preventative, mitigating, and contingency plans

Processes

• Initiating
• Planning
• Executing
• Controlling
• Closing

Knowledge Areas

• Project Integration Management
• Project Scope Management
• Project Time Management
• Project Cost Management
• Project Risk Management