Foundation in IS Project Management

The perfect course for those who want to develop their IS and IT project management skills. Contributes towards the BCS (ISEB) International Diploma in Business Analysis.

Who will the Course Benefit?

Business analysts, project leaders, business change managers and anyone who needs a thorough grounding in project management principles. Foundation in IS Project Management is also a Knowledge-Based module on the BCS (ISEB) International Diploma in Business Analysis.

Course Overview

The Foundation in IS Project Management course is an ideal introduction to the core IS and IT project management principles.

Over three days of investigation and learning, using a realistic case study, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of common IS project management issues. Learn about the nature of projects and project work, monitoring and control, quality issues, project organisation and communication and more.

Presented by one of our expert training consultants, who bring substantial practical knowledge of project planning and management to this programme.

Exams

Yes. During this three day course you’ll receive all the training you need to prepare for the BCS Foundation in IS Project Management certificate multiple choice examination. A pass means a Foundation certificate in IS Project Management which is part of the BCS Professional Certification portfolio, but it contributes to your BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis too.

For delegates attending a classroom, virtual classroom or online course, the exam may be taken remotely using the BCS online proctoring service. This exam consists of 40 multiple-choice questions with a pass mark of 26/40.

Further Learning

If this course is part of your BCS Diploma in Business Analysis programme you have a choice of further modules which include the core BA Diploma modules, Business Analysis Practice and Requirements Engineering. Candidates who have already completed the Foundation in IS Project Management also need to pass one of the Specialist Practitioner modules, from Benefits Management and Business Acceptance, Systems Modelling Techniques, Modelling Business Processes, Systems Development Essentials and Data Management Essentials.

Syllabus

Foundation in IS Project Management (a three-day course)

Course Content

Project environment

• Characteristics of a project; the ‘triple constraint’ of time/cost/quality
• Project and operational responsibilities
• Special features of computer projects
• Role of the Project Manager
• Project success and failure
• Development lifecycles

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

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

Estimating deliverables

• Key concepts in estimating
• Estimating difficulties
• Estimating by analogy
• Parametric estimating
• Effort and elapsed time estimates
• Schedule compression

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

Working in teams

• The elements of a good team
• Team composition
• Team roles

Motivation and management style

• The roots of motivation at work
• Approaches to motivation (Maslow, Herzberg)
• The effect of management style

Project risk management

• Purpose of risk management
• Risk management process
• Identifying and assessing risks
• Introduction to quantitative risk assessment

Project quality plans

• Principles of quality management
• The contents of a quality plan
• Quality Management
• Configuration management

The project plan

• Elements of a project plan (schedule, quality, risk)
• Contents and structure of a project plan

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

Project completion

• Project sign-off and the need for a controlled close
• Post-project reviews

The project manager

• The project manager’s role revisited
• Qualities and characteristics of effective project managers

Reviewed: September 2023