Auckland Project Management Consultants New Zealand


Project Management Training and Consultancy
Auckland, NZ

Rob Verkerk
MBA, PMP

  






Project Management Training Courses
Auckland, New Zealand

The project management training courses listed on the right have been developed by Rob Verkerk and are available as in-house courses for businesses wanting to up-skill their project and programme management staff.

Project management seminars and courses can be customised to suit an individual organisation's requirements.

These courses are also taught regularly by Rob as public courses offered by the University of Auckland Business School Short Course programme.

Project Management Training Courses
Click on any heading to view the project management training course details
Portfolio and Programme Management
Course Outline
At the end of this two-day seminar, participants will have an understanding of the various aspects of project portfolio and programme management; be able to select projects based on prioritisation criteria and understand the process required to improve the quality and rate of project success within their organisation
Topics Covered
  • Framework
    An overview of the benefits of portfolio and programme management (PPM), the components of PPM and the various types of programme.
  • Portfolio Management
    The Strategic Perspective looks at the key elements of Portfolio Management, project valuation methods and documents, the stage gate and balanced portfolio project selection methods.
  • Organisational Structure and Capacity Planning
    discusses basic Portfolio and Programme Management roles, responsibilities and reporting structure. It also considers capacity planning and multi-project resource allocation in a constrained environment.
  • Programme Level Quality - Project Management Maturity
    Looks at the opportunities in a programme management environment to introduce quality initiatives into project management.
  • Knowledge Management – Repeatable Success.
    A key component of Quality Management is the trapping and disseminating of best practices.
  • Tool Time – Planning and Reporting.
    A look at the mechanics of planning and control at Programme Management level and the tools available to assist.
  • Getting Started
    A pragmatic how-to guide on getting a Portfolio and Programme management initiative off the ground.
Contact me to register for this course
Project Management
Course Outline
Project Management is the process by which a manager executes and delivers positive change in an organisation. It is the skilful use of techniques and methods to ORGANISE, PLAN, DIRECT and CONTROL a project, to achieve an agreed outcome within time and on budget. It involves "hard" skills, such as the ability to create gantt charts and undertake Earned Value Analysis and also "soft" skills, such as the ability to manage inter-group politics and conflict.

This two day seminar takes attendees through both these aspects of project management.
Topics Covered
  • Integration Management
    includes the processes required to ensure that the various elements of the project are properly co-ordinated, in particular the organisational structures necessary for the successful governance of the project.
  • Scope Management
    is the function of controlling a project in terms of its aims, goals and objectives through the process of conceptual development, full scope definition or statement, scope reporting and control, and project close out.
  • Time Management
    is the function of maintaining appropriate allocation of time to every element in the overall conduct of the project through the successive stages of its natural life-cycle.
  • Cost Management
    is the function of maintaining effective financial control of the project.
  • Quality Management
    is the composite of material attributes (including performance features and characteristics) of the product or service which are required to satisfy the needs for which the project is being undertaken.
  • Human Resource Management
    is the function of directing and coordinating human resources throughout the life of the project. It involves the application of the principles of behavioural science and administrative knowledge to achieve the predetermined project objectives of scope, time, cost, quality and participant satisfaction.
  • Communications Management
    includes the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage and ultimate disposition of project information.
  • Risk Management
    includes the processes concerned with identifying, analysing and responding to project risk. It includes maximising the results of positive events and minimising the consequences of adverse events.
  • Procurement Management
    is the function of acquiring resources for the project in order to produce the end product.
Contact me to register for this course
Microsoft Project for Business
Course Outline

Part of the skill set of an effective project manager is the use of project management software. The most popular and widely used project management software tool is Microsoft Project. With the introduction of Microsoft Project Server and Microsoft Project Professional, the level of sophistication and integration of project planning and tracking across an enterprise has been greatly enhanced.

However, the basic building block for the individual project manager remains Microsoft Project Standard. This product is full of features and capabilities. Inexperienced users can easily find themselves spending more time on struggling with mastering the software tool than actually managing the project.

This two day course is targeted at the business user, rather than a scheduling specialist, who wants to make effective and pragmatic use of Microsoft Project Standard to plan and run a project using a professional scheduling tool.
Topics Covered
  • Roles and responsibilities
    Getting these properly defined is a necessary precursor to planning the project
  • Scope planning
    is the process of identifying what we are trying to achieve and how we are going to achieve it.
  • Time and cost planning involves
    Estimating the duration of tasks and the whole project
    Identifying the project timeline and critical path
    Dealing with limited resources
    Optimising the schedule
    Planning project costs
    Distributing and reporting on the plan
  • Progress tracking
    is the function of calculating and reporting on project progress
Contact me to register for this course
Management Skills for Administration Professionals
Course Outline

Administrative and support staff are the backbone of the organisation – an essential ingredient for organisational success. Effective organisations understand that the value provided by you in a support role is maximised when you have the opportunity and motivation to develop further and increase the value that you add to the organisation.

Self management skills and the ability to manage others are a key ingredient in this. As you develop the confidence and assurance that comes from a command of these essential management skills, you will be able to tackle your current role more effectively and also expand it to contribute more to the overall success of the organisation.

This two day course is designed specifically to give you a comprehensive understanding of the management skills you can put to work in your role right now.
Topics Covered
  • Manage yourself
    Get organised and stay organised
    Gain control of your time and focus on activities that add the most value
    Become more effective by applying stress management techniques
    Become more proactive in your role
  • Manage others
    Work more effectively with your manager by understanding them and building trust
    Use project management techniques to get things completed on time
    Delegate effectively
    Prepare and present effective presentations that get results
    Achieve results by increased assertiveness
    Deal with difficult people
    Manage conflict and negotiate successfully
Contact me to register for this course
Event Planning and Management
Course Outline

“Designing and producing an event – whether it be a meeting, corporate event, fund-raising gala, conference, convention, incentive or other special event – has been compared to directing a movie but it is actually more like a live stage production. It is a high-wire act without the safety nets. Once your event starts there are no second chances” - Judy Allen, Event Planning

An event is a particular type of project. It usually involves an uncompromising deadline and a high performance component. Tight choreography and creative flair are generally key elements of success.
A successful event can provide tremendous marketing, organisational and personal benefits. An unsuccessful event is a nightmare.

This two day course is designed specifically to provide you with the skills to be able to successfully plan and carry out an effective event.
Topics Covered
  • Event Inception
    Why and for whom are you holding it?
    Feasibility
    Preliminary budget and timeframe
    Roles and responsibilities
  • Creative
    Why will it be interesting?
    Why will people want to come?
  • Marketing and Promotion
    Audience analysis
    Promotions and publicity
    Working with the media
  • Logistics
    Task definition, scheduling and costing
  • Funding and Sponsorship
    Sources of funding
    Corporate sponsorship
  • Managing Volunteers
    Recruitment, training and retention
  • Safety and Risk Planning and Management
    Structure, responsibilities and liaison
    Risk management
    Security and emergency response planning
    On the day – safety and risk execution
Contact me to register for this course
Project Sponsorship
Course Outline
“The lack of an effective sponsor virtually guarantees project failure”

The Project Manager carries a focal accountability for ensuring the project is completed on time, within cost and to scope. The Project Sponsor is accountable for the business outcomes of the project and plays an integral role in both setting the time, cost and scope goals, and also monitoring and guiding that they are met.

The Project Manager is the steward, organising and directing the work of the project; the Project Sponsor is the broker, facilitating the integration of the project outcomes into the business.

This one day course takes business and organisational managers through what is necessary for them to effectively sponsor a project.
Topics Covered
  • Context of Project Sponsorship
    Rationale for Project Management
    Where the Sponsor fits in
  • Basic Roles and Responsibilities
    Governance structures and roles
    Sponsor responsibilities in the planning process
    Sponsor responsibilities in the execution process
    Sponsor responsibilities at close out
  • Key Drivers of Success
    Managing the project environment
    Understanding the partnership between project sponsor and management
    Demanding performance
    Managing the real benefits
Contact me to register for this course

Home | Training | Consultancy | About Me | Contact Me

Mob: +64 27 290 1069
 Email: rverkerk@scopeservices.co.nz
  @ Copyright 2006 Scope Services Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand Website design hosting and maintenance by Sharp Thinking, Auckland NZ