Project Management Courses in Nigeria

Course Overview

In this course, students will apply the generally recognized practices of project management acknowledged by the Project Management Institute (PMI) to successfully manage projects.

Purpose

Government, commercial and other organizations employ PMP certified project managers in an attempt to improve the success rate of projects in all areas of knowledge, by applying a standardized and evolving set of project management principles as contained in PMI's PMBOK Guide.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for persons who have on the job experience performing project management tasks, whether or not project manager is their formal job role, who are not certified project management professionals, and who might or might not have received formal project management training. The course is appropriate for these persons if they wish to develop professionally, increase their project management skills, apply a formalized and standards-based approach to project management, seek career advancement by moving into a formal Project Manager job role, as well as to apply for Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI®) Project Management Professional (PMP®) Certification. “Project Management Professional” and “PMP” are registered trademarks of Project Management Institute, Inc.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Describe professional project management
• Initiate a project.
• Plan project work.
• Develop project schedules
• Develop cost estimates, and budgets.
• Plan project quality, staffing, and communications.
• Analyze project risks.
• Plan project procurement.
• Manage project procurement
• Execute project work.
• Monitor and control project work.
• Monitor and control project schedule and costs.
• Monitor and control project quality, staffing, and communications.
• Monitor and control project risks and contracts.
• Close the project.

Course Outline

1 - Examining Professional Project Management

• Identify Project Management Processes
• Identify Professional and Social Responsibilities
• Identify the Interpersonal Skills Required for a Project Manager

2 - Initiating a Project

• Examine the Project Management Context
• Examine Project Selection
• Prepare a Project Statement of Work
• Create a Project Charter
• Identify Project Stakeholders

3 - Planning Project Work

• Identify Elements of the Project Management Plan
• Document Stakeholder Requirements
• Create a Scope Statement
• Develop a Work Breakdown Structure

4 - Developing Project Schedules

• Create an Activity List
• Create a Project Schedule Network Diagram
• Estimate Activity Resources
• Estimate Duration for Project Activities
• Develop a Project Schedule
• Identify the Critical Path
• Optimize the Project Schedule
• Establish a Schedule Baseline

5 - Developing Cost Estimates and Budgets

• Estimate Project Costs
• Estimate the Preliminary
• Cost Baseline
• Reconcile Funding and Costs

6 - Planning Project Quality, Staffing, and Communications

• Create a Quality Management Plan
• Document the Project Roles, Responsibilities, and Reporting Relationships
• Create a Communications Management Plan

7 - Analyzing Risks and Planning Risk Responses

• Examine a Risk Management Plan
• Identify Project Risks and Triggers
• Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
• Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
• Develop a Risk Response Plan

8 - Planning Project Procurement

• Plan Project Procurements
• Prepare a Procurement Statement of Work
• Prepare a Procurement Document

9 - Executing Project Work

• Identifying the Direct and Manage Project Execution Process
• Execute a Quality Assurance Plan
• Acquire the Project Team
• Develop the Project Team
• Manage the Project Team
• Distribute Project Information
• Manage Stakeholder Relationships and Expectations

10 - Managing Project Procurement

• Identify the Conduct Project Procurements Process
• Obtain Responses from Sellers
• Determine Project Sellers

11 - Monitoring and Controlling Project Work

• Identify the Monitor and Control Project Work Process
• Develop an Integrated Change Control System
• Utilize the Integrated Change Control System
• Review Deliverables and Work Results
• Control the Project Scope

12 - Monitoring and Controlling Project Schedule and Costs

• Control the Project Schedule
• Control Project Costs

13 - Monitoring and Controlling Project Performance and Quality

• Perform Quality Control
• Report on Project Performance

14 - Monitoring and Controlling Project Risk and Procurements

• Monitor and Control Project Risk
• Administer Project Procurements

15 - Closing the Project

• Close Project Procurements
• Close the Project or Phase Administratively

Examination 

The PMP exam is based on the PMP Examination Specification, which describes tasks out of five performance domains:

1. Initiating the project (13%)
2. Planning the project (24%)
3. Executing the project (31%)
4. Monitoring and controlling the project (25%)
5. Closing the project (7%)

The exam consists of 200 multiple choice questions written against the PMBOK specification and the PMP Code of Ethics. The exam is closed book; no reference materials are allowed. Twenty-five of the 200 questions on the exam are "sample" questions used to fine-tune the degree of difficulty and precision of the exam and as such are not counted for or against a test taker. These questions are placed randomly throughout the exam. The test taker is only graded on their proficiency on 175 questions. The numbers in parentheses describe the percentage of questions for each domain.

Item references

Each exam item (a question with its possible answers) has at least two references to standard books or other sources of project management. Most of the questions reference the PMI  A guide to the project management body of knowledge (aka the PMBOK Guide). The PMBOK Guide is currently in it's sixth edition, and the PMP exam changed in March 2018 to align with the updated guide]. The Project Management Framework embodies a project life cycle and five major project management Process Groups: 

1. Initiating.
2. Planning.
3. Executing.
4. Monitoring and Controlling.
5. Closing.

Encompassing a total of 49 processes. 

Mapped to these five process groups are ten project management Knowledge Areas:

1. Project Integration Management
2. Project Scope Management
3. Project Schedule Management
4. Project Cost Management
5. Project Quality Management
6. Project Resource Management
7. Project Communications Management
8. Project Risk Management
9. Project Procurement Management
10. Project Stakeholders Management

The processes of these knowledge areas are described by their inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs. The PMBOK also emphasizes the interaction and interdependence between different process groups. For example, the outputs from one process may be used by one or more other processes as inputs.

Examination process

The global network of Promeric testing centres provides the PMP exam as a computer-based test. They also offer a paper-based option for locations with no nearby Prometric testing centres. The exam consists of 200 questions ("items"). 25 are pre-release items, which are not included in exam scoring. Prometric calculates the score based on the other 175 items. Each multiple-choice item has one correct answer and three incorrect answers. Candidates who take the computer-based test receive their results (passed or not passed) immediately upon completion. PMI also evaluates proficiency levels in each project management process group in 4 levels. Above Target, Target, Below Target, and Needs Improvement. Examiners provide these results to the candidate on a score report after the examination. Candidates who take paper-based tests receive their test results and score reports typically within 4 weeks. Research shows that the most difficult Knowledge areas of the PMP® exam are Quality Management, Integration Management, and Time Management. 

Item writing

Item writing is an ongoing process at PMI, and they periodically add new four-choice questions (items) and remove others. Item writers use the PMP Examination Specification to identify item contents and references (project management texts or standards) to verify correctness. Individuals who are active in the field of PMP exam preparation (trainers, courseware developers, book authors, etc..) may not participate in item writing.

Pre-requisites to become eligible

Candidates must have completed a high school diploma or an associate degree with 60 months and 7,500 hours of project management experience, or a bachelor's degree with 36 months and 4,500 hours of project management experience. In both cases candidates must also have 35 contact hours of project management education. The application for the exam and verification of education and experience are done online at the PMI website. 

Difference from PRINCE2

PRINCE2 could be seen as a competitor of Project Management Professional (PMP). PRINCE2 and PMP acknowledge each other's existence in their advertising material and attempt to position themselves as complementary products – PRINCE2 as a "methodology"] and PMP as a "standard" – which can be used alongside each other. In practice, companies and practitioners choose one system or both due to the project environment, their geographical location and costs involved.

Course Fees, Training Date And Exam Date

Cash payment is not allowed. Payment in any convenient instalment is allowed starting with a minimum of 50% of the training fees, however candidate must complete payment 21 days before any selected exam date. All payment shall be made by bank payment or bank transfer into the listed bank. Payment can also be by cheque made in favour of Safeguard Resources and Technologies Limited. See bank details below: