Seminar Focus:

∙ Recognition of the demands placed on the Project Manager operating in a commercial (or contract) environment and dealing with the profit-center reality

∙ Need to establish an extended, practical framework that intersects business and project management, while acknowledging that PMBOK is a leading standard

∙ Emphasis placed on means of improving project integration between client and vendor

∙ Realistic assessment that the commercial environment requires PM practices that include a business orientation and not unproductive additional process specifications

∙ Complementary assessment that vendor firms must pay more attention to the power of the project management approach tailored to their business model and total portfolio management

Overview:

Delivering a project, subject to commercial terms, might be considered a form of extreme project management. Every mistake is amplified. The vendor project manager (PM) needs techniques beyond the standard PMBOK approach, which deals only with the buyer view. This workshop examines a next level of knowledge for PMs in complex environments and offers specific commercial advice. How do business conditions impact project practice? What is the next level of project management knowledge? Are there consistent techniques and practices that more experienced project managers can adopt to manage complex projects?

The topics explored in this seminar include integration of project management, organization and accountabilities, systemization of risk, estimation, an effective approach to quality, resourcing, and essentials of finance. Each session opens with a dramatic video scenario from a complex project, followed by brief lectures, carefully designed interactive sessions, and class discussion to explore the new material. Adequate Q&A time is allowed. This is a high-content session, with an emphasis on practicality. The workshop extracts from the presenter’s new book Commercial Project Management, which is offered as a course reference and for further study.

Care is taken to map the content to the Guide to the PMBOK 5th Edition, using compatible terminology and suggesting resolutions to potential inconsistencies and omissions.

Benefits of Attendance:
Commercial projects place new demands on the project manager. There is now a business relationship with the sponsor/customer organization, and a vendor sales executive to work with. Stakeholders are more numerous. The project team will come from the vendor, the customer, and third parties. Different practices, expectations, and objectives must be accommodated. Unfamiliar scenarios will have to be handled and new communication challenges confronted. This seminar will prepare you for these new challenges and provide:

∙ Insight into the added demands and stresses of the commercial environment
∙ Understanding of the transition from in-house PM to contract PM
∙ Avoiding the unsatisfactory results of uncritically following existing standards
∙ Avoiding win-lose contracts
∙ Learning new models and practices that extend PMBOK, contribute to improved customer communication and integration, customer satisfaction, and vendor profitability
∙ Practical tips, case histories, and lessons-learned that address the specific issues of complex, commercial projects.
∙ Organizations whose success depends upon projects that must adhere to disciplined cost control and deliver both profit and a satisfied customer will experience these benefits:
∙ Their PMs will relate to business essentials, will run their projects as profit centers, and will understand that their sponsor is also their customer.
∙ Business managers will recognize the potential for project management disciplines to enhance their business operations and will seize opportunities to gain much-needed business control.
∙ Firms who have primed their PMs with business acumen and balanced an enthusiastic and skillful sales team with delivery management disciplines are rewarded with both successful projects and repeat business, which is the secret of a firm’s profitability and longevity.

Who Should Attend this Seminar
This seminar bridges the world of business and project management. It provides the Project Manager with comprehension of the business issues, and the business manager with insight into project management methods, specifically the need for progressive commitment in the presence of risk.

The seminar is ideal for the following roles:

∙ Vendor Project Managers and Delivery Managers
∙ Project Managers transitioning to, or working in Professional Services
∙ Program Managers & Portfolio Managers
∙ PMO Directors
∙ Owners and Executives in a growing professional services firm
∙ Project/business managers in a large corporations using fixed project cost commitments and internal charge rates to create an internal economy
∙ Business Analysts

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