Project Auditing

Effective measures for auditing project performance and controlling projects is the key to any project’s success. However, how do you validate that your project is on track, on time, within budget, and more importantly get back on track once you discover failure is a real possibility after conducting a project audit? In this course, you’ll learn how to audit your baseline performance using the triple constraints of project management. Auditing the limits on time, human resources, materials, budget, and specifications is the only way to keep a project guided toward success. Additionally, in this class, you will discover proven ways to work within your identified constraints, without letting predefined limits curtail creativity or innovation.

From the very start of this class, you will receive hands-on training and experience, practicing the art of auditing your project against the project requirements documents, risk management plans, and budget estimates.  You’ll learn the best in industry practices used to measure the triple constraints of project management and risk that ensure success and you’ll master techniques for estimating and forecasting the future performance of your project. These are the skills that the select few truly understand and you will have the benefit of learning them from a real international project audit and management professional.

 

Course Topics

Project Management Governance

  • Project Management Life-Cycle and Governance
  • Reviews vs. Audits
  • Planning Tools
  • The Triple Constraints and Stakeholder Management
  • Discussion: Project Requirements Document
  • Discussion: Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Estimating for Scheduling and Cost Control

  • Using Estimates for Scheduling and Cost Control
  • The Estimating Guideline
  • Levels of Estimating and Estimate Types:
    • Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up
    • Order of Magnitude
    • Budget
    • Definitive
  • Four Estimating Methodologies:
    • Bottom-up
    • Parametric
    • Supplier Bids
    • Analogous

Resource Allocation and Estimating

  • Cost Types and Categories
  • Identify Controllable Costs
    • Resource
    • Material
    • Direct
    • Indirect
  • Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) – Planning and Controlling Risk with Contingency
  • Building the Project Resource Pool
    • Using Resources to Build Estimates
    • The Responsibility Matrix
  • Time-Controlled Estimates
  • Resource-Limited Estimates

Scheduling – Part 1

  • Scheduling Network
  • Validating Schedules
  • Basic Project Activities Relationships – Arrow diagrams
  • Exercises: Precedence Diagrams Process

Scheduling – Part 2

  • Basic Scheduling and Network Calculations
  • Exercises: Build a Complex Scheduling Network
  • Advanced Precedence Relationships and the Critical Path
  • Alternative Constraints
  • Gantt and Milestone Charts

The Baseline and Cost Curves

  • Establishing Baselines
  • Understanding Types of Baselines
  • Time-Phased Distribution of Costs
  • Cumulative Cost Curves – Presenting Project Health

Managing Change Within the Project

  • The Process of Control
  • Earned Value Management (EVM) – Objective Assessment of Variance and Performance
  • Identifying Sources of Change
  • Screening Change
  • Updating the Project Plan
  • Communicating Change

Project Evaluation and Forecasting

  • Causes of Variances
  • Establishing the “Data Date” for Evaluation
  • Controlling Costs Late in the Project
  • Controlling Schedule Late in the Project

Project Audit and Earned-Value Forecasting

  • Critical Components of the Project Audit
  • Sample Project Audit Process
  • Considerations in Establishing a Monitoring System
  • Exercises: Earned-Value Forecasting
  • Advanced Earned-Value Forecasting Tools

Analysis Fundamentals

  • Risk Probability and Impact
  • Presenting risk
  • Risk Analysis Approaches
    • Qualitative
    • Quantitative
    • Descriptive
  • Estimating Methods and Idea-Generation Tools
    • Analogy Techniques
    • Checklists, Questionnaires, and Templates
    • Expert Interview
    • Delphi Technique
    • Brainstorming
    • Nominal Group Technique
    • Crawford Slip Method
    • SWOT Analysis
    • Prototyping
    • Affinity Diagramming

Impact Analysis and Risk Assessment

  • Determining Risk Tolerances
  • Analyzing Risks
  • Impact Analysis
    • Project Cost Impacts
    • Project Schedule Impacts
    • Project Scope Impacts
  • Risk Assessment Matrix

Analyzing and Prioritizing Risk

  • Risk-based financial tools and techniques
  • Expected-Value Analysis
  • Decision Trees
  • Prioritizing Risks

Course Cost $497