Project Management for Non-Project Managers

Project Management for Non-Project Managers that Works

“The project management for non-project managers workshop was excellent. LSA’s facilitator is one of the best I have ever worked with.

His efforts and work in teaching the right level of Project Management principles across all levels and backgrounds within our organization have been of the highest value.”
Leslie Guzman | Learning and Development | Roche LLC

“The demand for project management skills for non-project managers continues to increase at Crowley. Things are changing at a more rapid pace, so projects need to be structured and have flexibility.

I definitely foresee project management being more prominent for line managers. The competency will be pushed down to lower parts in the organization where they’ll manage smaller chunks of larger projects.”
Jennifer Church | Director of Organizational Development | Crowley Maritime

As projects become a bigger proportion of everybody’s work, basic project management skills are becoming as essential as interpersonal communications, conflict management, team dynamics, and other foundational skills that apply to every professional. More of our clients are adding basic project management skills to their leadership competency models.

From an execution perspective, the trick of project management for non-project managers is customizing traditional project management methods down to a size, scope and approach that is practical for leading the constant stream of internal initiatives.

As one client said, “We are not building rockets, but we have important projects that we need to get done that seem to keep missing expectations and causing team dynamic issues.”

Our clients tell us that the majority of work in their organizations is accomplished by internal and external project teams. They also tell us that over 50% of those projects are managed by non-project managers and delivered by teams with little or no project knowledge or skills.

These accidental project managers and team members are struggling. They want to lead and deliver successful projects in a way that makes sense but lack the practical and proven project management skills, tools and language to fit their needs.

Project Management Training for Non-Project Managers
This battle-tested Project Management for Non-Project Managers Training Workshop helps non-project managers learn and practice the critical few project techniques required to move part-time and internal projects forward successfully.

The course provides the building blocks of project leadership. Participants learn how the project management tool set enables them to satisfy all their stakeholders — sponsors, management, customers, and the project team.

Our action learning approach accelerates skill building by creating an opportunity for participants to plan one of their own projects with guided feedback. Hands-on application also means individuals will learn the concepts better and catch their mistakes in class, not on the job. For example, when learning about project scheduling tools, techniques and best practices, participants will create their own project schedule.

Program Objectives
Upon completion of this customized two-day Project Management for Non-Project Managers Training Workshop, participants will be able to perform every technique and explain how each contributes to more effective project leadership and successful project outcomes in the areas of:

Pinpointing the top five project success factors that apply to every project.
Articulating the business benefits of their current project
Partnering effectively with a project sponsor.
Understanding the relationship between the art of project leadership and the science of project management.
Listing the cost, quality, and time constraints and describing the trade-offs for their projects.
Defining, planning and controlling a project.
Building a realistic project schedule.
Planning effective stakeholder communications.

Workshop Outline

I. Why Project Management?

Project Success Factors
What is Project Management?
A Successful Project Delivers Value
Project and Product Life Cycle
Action Learning: Selecting Projects for the Workshop

II. Project Definition for Non-Project Managers

Assign the Project Sponsor and Project Manager
Top Five Definition Questions
Project Charter
Action Learning: Develop a Statement of Work

III. Project Planning for Non-Project Managers

The Purpose of Planning
Break the Project Into Manageable Units of Work
Action Learning: Developing the Task List
Network Diagrams Help Visualize the Sequence of Events
Task Estimating Guidelines
Action Learning: Build the Network & Visualize the Schedule
Establish a Realistic Schedule with a Part-Time Team
Action Learning: Completion of the Project Plan

IV. Project Control for Non-Project Managers

Stakeholder Engagement
Plan Communication
Workshop: Identify Stakeholders
Change Management
Project Team Kickoff
Monitor Schedule, Risks, and Issues
Project Close Out

V. Workshop Summary: Project Leadership for Non-Project Managers

Project Manager Skills
Art Based on Science

Target Audience
Any non-project manager responsible for sponsoring or leading part-time or internal business projects.

To speak with an LSA Expert and learn about Project Management for Non-Project Managers customization and delivery options onsite at your company, please contact us.

Related Information

The project management training program was fantastic. It could not have gone any better. It was extremely helpful to me as a manager to be strategic during a time of explosive growth and change. It was fully customized to our industry and our needs, everyone came out of it with a solid direction of next steps. We are excited to take the next steps with LSA Global and to implement the project management best practices in a way that works for our unique culture.

Karen M. Inzilla
Director, Sales Operations

LSA did a great job. The project management solution was really well done from both a content and approach perspective. Overall a very positive experience that provided a lot of value. They really understood the art and science of project management and the specifics of our industry.

Laxmi Peri
VP Technology & Product Development

Thanks for a great and valuable session. The Project Management expertise and methodology that you brought to the table was perfectly targeted to our needs and our company. You definitely helped us launch an important step in driving best practice company standards around project management. I highly recommend this workshop to anyone looking to improve project management skills and methodologies.

Bill Thayer
VP Field Operations

We turned to LSA Global to help us take our project risk management practices to the next level. As we continue to grow and our projects are increasing significantly in complexity, it is imperative that we incorporate risk management best practices deeper into our Delivery and Project Management methodologies to continue to increase productivity, efficiency, and client satisfaction. I am really happy with the results and would recommend LSA to anyone looking to take project risk management to the next level.

Scott Wassmer
US Director of Production

We recently designed and implemented two high value Project Management Workshops with LSA. The goal was to improve the fundamental project management skills for less experienced project managers and team members and to prepare our experienced project managers to become PMP certified. The programs were very well received and additional sessions have been requested. Both facilitators were excellent, building strong rapport with our scientists and taking time to encourage & answer questions. Based upon the results and the feedback around the company, the next workshops are already full. I highly recommend LSA to any company looking to take their project management skills to the next level.

Stacey Porter
Senior Manager Learning & Development

LSA’s ability to do an effective project postmortem and then help us to use those insights to define and plan our next strategic project were invaluable. Their practical approach and built-for-purpose project kickoff and definition methodology have definitely taken our project definition, project planning, and project management skills to the next level.

I bet they helped us to move 4 times faster than we would have without their help.

Elizabeth Smith, PMP
Senior Project & Portfolio Manager

LSA’s Project Management facilitator is one of the best I have ever worked with. His efforts and work in teaching complex and intensive Project Management principles across all levels and backgrounds within our organization have been of the highest value.

Leslie Guzman
Learning and Development

We have found LSA to be highly responsive to meeting our unique project management training program needs. Their passion for high levels of customer satisfaction and quality align very closely with our core values.

Kudos to LSA Global for the program that they provided my team. It was exactly what I wanted, and your team did a great job of engaging our group and providing the solid Project Management skills that we need.

Laura McHugh
Director

We hired LSA to design and deliver a Project Post Mortem for sixty five key people on a mission critical project with a very tight turnaround. LSA’s ability to identify the key trends, leverage points, and next steps was remarkable.

They really got to the heart of the issues in a constructive and unbiased manner that exceeded our expectations.

It was not an easy task with so many skeptical people with different agendas, styles, experience, and perspectives. But they nailed it. Thank you!

Darrell Gallagher
Head of Studio

LSA recently designed and delivered a project post mortem for a highly strategic project with a group of 25 team members from engineering, design, marketing, product management, sales, manufacturing, purchasing, business development, research, and finance. The pre-workshop diagnostic, interviews, and experiential session greatly exceeded our expectations.

We were able to honestly and effectively get everything out on the table, agree upon key lessons, and create a targeted action plan that made sense for our unique situation, team, and culture. The whole process made a very complex and potentially political situation a big success. We could not have done the retrospective without LSA.

Eric Vernon
Director of Operations