Collaborative Project Planning and Review

Brief Overview:

This course provides techniques for facilitating a team to build a project timeline and associated plan based on deliverables and associated tasks.  This collaborative approach also incorporates a the use of Work-In-Progress Work Sessions which enable Project Managers to evaluate deliverable progress at critical project checkpoints.  They are a valuable point of collaboration to identify interdependencies and unearth issues which may affect the project’s success.

Course Objectives:

Participants will obtain:

• An understanding of the concepts of deliverable-based project planning
• Facilitation techniques for collaborative project planning
• Practice facilitating a group to build a project plan and timeline
• An understanding of Work-in-Progress Reviews, their purpose, benefits and structure
• Sample agendas for these collaborative work sessions

Length:

2 Days

Audience:

• Project Managers
• Facilitators
• Project Leads

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Successful Project Scoping

Brief Overview:

An introduction to and hands-on experience with various techniques for scoping a project and controlling change.

Course Objectives:

Participants will obtain:

• An understanding of scoping techniques
• Facilitation techniques for collaborative project scoping
• Practice facilitating a group through project scoping
• An approach for change control

Length:

2 days

Audience:

• Project Sponsors
  • Project Managers
  • Facilitators
  • Project Leads
  • Business Analysts
  • IT Professionals
  • Quality Professionals

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Facilitating Collaborative Process Improvement

Brief Overview:

This course provides process modeling and facilitation techniques that will accelerate the progress of your process improvement effort while building ownership of the results.   These techniques are set within the context of a repeatable, collaborative improvement approach so you’ll know when best to use them.

Course Objectives:

Participants will obtain:

• Introduction to a process improvement framework and practices
• Process modeling techniques (process decomposition, process mapping, process detail table, opportunities selection, measurement framework)
• Facilitation techniques for process modeling and collaborative process improvement
• Practice facilitating a process modeling session

Length:

2-5 days

Audience:

• Process Improvement sponsors
  • Project Managers
  • Facilitators
  • Project Leads
  • Process Analysts
  • Business Analysts
  • IT Professionals
  • Quality Professionals

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Meeting Facilitation Skills for Project Managers

Brief Overview:

Basic techniques around meeting planning, keeping a group focused, managing momentum, handling difficult people, clarifying communication and decision-making.  These techniques are invaluable whether you’re facilitating a 30-minute meeting or a 2-day work session.

Course Objectives:

Participants will obtain:

• Introduction to a meeting process framework
• An understanding of the meeting facilitator role
• Techniques for meeting preparation, delivery and follow-up
• Facilitation techniques to provide focus, keep participants engaged, and enable decision-making
• Meeting trouble-shooting and improvement tips

Length:

2 days

Audience:

• Project Managers
  • Facilitators
  • Project Leads
  • Business Analysts
  • IT Professionals
  • Quality Professionals

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Facilitating Requirements Definition

Brief Overview:

Good business requirements provide the bridge from “business need” to implementation of supporting technology (whether you intend to “make” or “buy” the technology).  This course provides a step-by-step walkthrough demonstrating how to prepare for and gather good business requirements from a cross-organizational team.  Participants will also have hands-on practice with facilitating a group and building requirements models. 

Course Objectives:

Participants will obtain:

• An approach and structure for collaborative business requirements definition
• An understanding of the components of a good business requirements document.
• An outline to customize for creating an appropriate Business Requirements Document to fit your needs.
• Facilitation techniques for gathering requirements
• Practice facilitating the creation of business requirements with a group
• Sample agendas for collaborative business requirements work sessions

Length:

3 days

Audience:

• Project Managers
• Facilitators
• Business Analysts
• IT Professionals
• Quality Professionals

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Business Data Analysis and Data Modeling

Brief Overview:

This course introduces practical data analysis and entity/relationship modeling skills, including normalization rules, attribution, as well as data-flow diagramming.  (It is suggested that participants bring current project materials with them to use in hands-on modeling exercises.)

Course Objectives:

Participants will obtain:

• An understanding of data modeling and data analysis techniques
• Facilitation techniques for modeling business data
• Practice facilitating data modeling with a group

Length:

3 days

Audience:

• Project Managers
• Facilitators
• Business Analysts
• IT Professionals
• Quality Professionals

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Human Dynamics of Facilitation

Brief Overview:

This interactive course introduces facilitators to an awareness of their own communication style and preferences, and builds awareness of the styles and preferences of others.  The class provides insight on how to use various styles to connect with and manage group dynamics to effectively accomplish work in collaborative settings.

Course Objectives:

Participants will obtain:

• An understanding of foundational communication techniques
• An understanding of and practice with facilitation techniques for managing group dynamics, maintain focus, staying on track and promoting decision-making
• Discovery of your own communication style and personality preferences (including strengths and challenges)
• Techniques to apply to capitalize on your strengths and shore up weaknesses when facilitating groups
• Tips for dealing with difficult participants in group settings

Length:

3-5 days

Audience:

• Project Managers
• Facilitators
• Project Leads
• Business Analysts
• IT Professionals
• Quality Professionals
• (Anyone who needs to lead groups to accomplish collaborative work products)

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Bridging the Gap: Effective Communications in the Workplace

Brief Overview:

This course provides practical techniques to help bridge communication gaps between cross-organizational roles and teams.  Practical lessons in workplace communication styles, preferences, behavior patterns, influencing techniques and motivational techniques are explored and practiced.

Course Objectives:

Participants will obtain:

• An understanding of foundational communication techniques
• An understanding of how language patterns reveal and influence behaviors
• Discovery of your own communication style and personality preferences (including strengths and challenges)
• Techniques for interviewing to obtain a deeper understanding of the person and their motivating forces
• Tips for developing better communications in the workplace

Length:

3 days

Audience:

• Project Managers
• Facilitators
• Project Leads
• Business Analysts
• IT Professionals
• Quality Professionals
• (Anyone who needs to work within groups to accomplish collaborative work products)

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Building Productive Project Teams

Brief Overview:

This course provides practical techniques to help project teams settle into productive operation.  Practical lessons in workplace communications, preferences, influencing techniques, motivational techniques are explored and applied to the team.  Teams will have the opportunity to develop their own mission statements, values, roles and responsibilities and operating guidelines during the class exercises

Course Objectives:

This interactive course includes participants from a single team only as it focuses on learnings and exercises to develop a team, its mission, values, purpose, operating guidelines and roles.  Please contact us to discuss how we might best customize this to fit your organization’s team needs. 

Length:

3 days

Audience:

• For a single team:

  • Project Manager
  • Facilitator
  • Project Leads
  • Project Team members

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Facilitation Mentoring:  Facilitating the Project Lifecycle

Brief Overview:

This program accelerates the adoption of facilitation skills and best practices related to establishing collaborative work sessions in your project efforts.  The interactive program is geared for personal training and mentoring, and is limited to three-to-six facilitation candidates.  The program is led by experienced facilitators and provides classroom learning in facilitation and modeling techniques followed by field experience to enhance the learning process.  A customized apprenticing and coaching program leading facilitated work sessions on real-world projects is follow-up to classroom activities.

Course Objectives:

This interactive program is a mix of classroom learning and real-world facilitated work session practice to accelerate the adoption of  skills and best practices as they apply to collaborative facilitated work sessions.  Please contact us to discuss how we might best customize this program to fit the needs of your organization.

Length:

Custom

Audience:

• For a single company:

  • Facilitator candidates

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