Course Overview

ISEB Foundation in IS Project Management

ISEB Foundation in IS Project Management focuses on project management issues in the context of IS/IT applications. The course considers the nature of projects and project work and the need for effective project planning. It then focuses on monitoring and control, change control, configuration management and quality issues, before considering project estimation and risk. It concludes with essentials of project organisation and communication. The course acts as an important first stepping stone in acquiring a more formal knowledge of IS/IT project management principles and is ideal for those about to take up a management role for the first time. Each participant is provided with a copy of the BCS/ISEB textbook Project Management for IT-Related Projects which defines the basis of the course.

The Project Management Foundation Course is taught by experienced project management lecturers including James Cadle, the co-author of Project Management for Information Systems.

BCS Professional Certifications

This course prepares participants to sit the one-hour, multiple-choice examination leading to the Foundation Certificate in Project Management which is part of the BCS Professional Certification portfolio (ISEB). The examination is a one-hour closed-book test with 40 multiple-choice questions. This certificate is a specialist module for the Diploma in Business Analysis.

SFIA Mapping

This course supports skill PRMG, level 4.

Course Content

1. Project environment
   • Characteristics of a project
   • The ‘triple constraint’ of time/cost/quality and the importance of safety
   • Project and operational responsibilities
   • Special features of computer projects
   • Role of the Project Manager
   • Project success and failure
   • Development lifecycles
2. Project initiation
   • Stakeholder analysis and management
   • Defining the objectives and scope of the project
   • The role of the Client and their responsibilities
   • Project constraints and resources
   • Project Initiation Document
3. Project planning
   • The importance of breaking work down
   • Product breakdown structures
   • Project and User deliverables
   • Standard deliverable sets and templates
   • Product flows and work packages
   • The concept of dependencies
4. Estimating deliverables
   • Key concepts in estimating
   • Estimating difficulties
   • Estimating by analogy
   • Parametric estimating
   • Effort and elapsed time estimates
   • Schedule compression
5. Planning networks and charts
   • Precedence diagrams and project networks
   • The critical path and its implications
   • Gantt charts and resource histograms
   • Planning at an appropriate level
   • The use and abuse of planning software
6. Working in teams
   • The elements of a good team
   • Team composition
   • Team roles
7. Motivation and management style
   • The roots of motivation at work
   • Approaches to motivation (Maslow, Herzberg)
   • The effect of management style
8. Project risk management
   • Purpose of risk management
   • Risk management process
   • Identifying and assessing risks
   • Introduction to quantitative risk assessment
9. Project quality plans
   • Principles of quality management
   • The contents of a quality plan
   • Quality Management
   • Configuration management
10. The project plan
    • Elements of a project plan (schedule, quality, risk)
    • Contents and structure of a project plan
11. Project monitoring, reporting and control
    • The importance of monitoring and control
    • Allocating personal deliverables
    • Progress measurement
    • Time recording
    • Introduction to earned value analysis
    • Dealing with non-delivery
    • Slippage and re-planning – corrective actions
    • Change control, scope creep and over-engineering
    • Reporting structures
12. Project completion
    • Project sign-off and the need for a controlled close
    • Post-project reviews
13. The project manager
    • The project manager’s role revisited
    • Qualities and characteristics of effective project managers
14. Examination
    • Examination for the ISEB Foundation Certificate in IS Project Management