Practical Course in Project Management: Over 40 Exercises & 1 Real Project developed with all its Templates, to learn and act like a great Project Manager

By Gennaro D'Ermes and Sara Monni

Usually, those who enter the world of Project Management gets immediately passionate about the subject and starts to make assessments on how to carry out the profession of Project Manager, which skills are needed, what studies could help and in which sectors a Project Management methodology is used, which potential could have the P.M. profession and which are the difficulties.

This introduction to Project Management intends to increase students’ personal skills and to enhance their employability in the world of work. The project management methodology provides skills in planning, managing risks, resources, time and costs, as well as transversal skills useful to identify priorities, distinguish a project or process into phases, activate a process of planning and control of activities in order to achieve the objectives on time and, last but not least, it helps to develop the ability to work in a team. Furthermore, Project Management can develop or expand better problem solving and business skills and also a strong managerial mindset. 

This Project Management course enables students, or participants in general, to organize their work with a view to achieving an objective, whatever the type and complexity, in a way that ensures the achievement of the expected benefits.

The book is divided into 3 modules:

1. The first module is a good introduction to Project Management dealing with the fields of application, the relative professional figures and the areas of knowledge touched by Project Management.
2. The second module is  about  the project, touching on the organization, causes of failure and risks associated with a project and their management.
3. The third and last module is an illustration of what comprises an entire project management and thus its life cycle until closure.
The explication of the topics in this book takes place directly and with practical examples in order to allow the reader to better fix the contents. I always say:
 “It’s the book I wanted to read before starting in project management”.

• Language: English
• Publisher: D'Ermes Gennaro
• Release date: Sep 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9791220842860

Book preview

Foreword and brief overview of the course

The introduction to Project Management, in vocational education and professional training context, intends to increase students’ personal skills and to enhance their employability in the world of work. The project management methodology provides skills in planning, managing risks, resources, time and costs, as well as transversal skills useful to identify priorities, distinguish a project or process into phases, activate a process of planning and control of activities in order to achieve the objectives on time and, last but not least, it helps to develop the ability to work in a team. Furthermore, Project Management can develop or expand better problem solving and business skills and also a strong managerial mindset.

This Project Management course enables students, or participants in general, to organize their work with a view to achieving an objective, whatever the type and complexity, in a way that ensures the achievement of the expected benefits.

The book is divided into 3 modules:

1. The first module is a good introduction to Project Management dealing with the fields of application, the relative professional figures and the areas of knowledge touched by Project Management.

2. The second module is about the project, touching on the organization, causes of failure and risks associated with a project and their management.

3. The third and last module is an illustration of what comprises an entire project management and thus its life cycle until closure.

The explication of the topics in this book takes place directly and with practical examples in order to allow the reader to better fix the contents. I always say:

It’s the book I wanted to read before starting in project management

Training in this matter, especially for students in professional schools, becomes a fundamental collector between the student and the companies, which are increasingly looking for new tools to maintain competitiveness on the market nowadays and one of the keys seems to be working for projects, but there is a need for these projects to be managed in the best possible way and by people with the appropriate skills.

In this new version of the book, more than 40 exercises have been included in order to apply and test what has been learned. These are concrete and practical exercises covering the most important topics in Project Management, i.e. all of them.

First Module

1. Introduction to Project Management

Usually, those who enter the world of Project Management gets immediately passionate about the subject and starts to make assessments on how - to carry out the profession of Project Manager, which skills are needed, what studies can help and in which sectors a Project Management methodology is used which potential can have the - profession -of the Project Manager and what could be the difficulties -.

Well, there are good news! Nowadays, companies are increasingly working by projects and they are relying more and more on project managements that are able to achieve their objectives while respecting time, costs and quality. Furthermore, the figure of the Project Manager is required for many, if not all, European Community projects: this refers to all those projects which, within the framework of European programs, must be developed within a set timeframe, with a set budget and established criteria, and to all projects where there is a need to operate with a project management methodology and hence the need for a Project Manager.

1.1. History and origin of Project Management

Although the terminology used is relatively recent, it is easy to imagine that large-scale projects already existed in ancient times. Think of the construction of the Pyramids or the Sphinx in Egypt, which can be traced back to 2500 B.C. but which already give an idea of how great projects were coordinated and managed in such a way as to be able to have great works as a result, employing and coordinating a certain number of people and achieving the goal set within an established time frame. The Project Manager of the Sphinx was the Pharaoh Chephren.

The man who still left his mark on the world of current Project Management is Henry Laurence Gantt (1861-1919), a mechanical engineer who, in 1900, studied how to optimize the sequence of works necessary to build the naval fleet, during World War I. The Gantt charts and milestones are the basis of the current Project Management.

Later, around the 40s, and again for wartime reasons, there was a need to manage more and more complex projects and then the PERT graphs and the critical path method were born, now commonly called CPM (the Critical Path Method, PERT and Gantt charts will be discussed in detail in the Third Module).

Project Management started to become a real discipline in the early 60's, when companies began to appreciate and benefit the advantages that careful project management could provide. A well-organized, coordinated work that achieve its objectives by integrating the skills of a team, brought considerable advantages to companies.

Project Management is currently spreading widely and with it, new management methodologies and new standards - are always being developed. Moreover, there is a sort of specialization in the various topics of Project Management, dealing with and defining specific standards, for example, for risk management, quality, etc. The role of Project Manager is also gaining more and more importance and it’s becoming an essential figure in project management, and a real profession and there are numerous certifications attesting the competence in this area.

1.2. Importance of Project Management

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the subject of Project Management is gaining ground and more and more importance is given to projects management within companies. But why is it important to manage projects? First of all, besides to the importance of managing projects with a good Project Management methodology, there is the importance of managing by projects. Managing by projects means working towards objectives and achieving them by coordinating human resources and controlling times, costs, quality and risks.

In order to achieve the objectives, Project Management requires efficient communication and efficient risk management.

The importance of Project Management, in fact, lies in the ability and opportunity to achieve an objective, following and managing the entire life cycle of the project, from the definition (the start of the project) through planning, execution, monitoring and control, up to project closure, communicating with the entire project team and all stakeholders, identifing the risks that may occur and developing adequate responses to them.

1.3. The Project Management orientation of Enterprises

Project Management is the answer to the challenges of the today’s market. In fact, nowadays the increasingly dynamic, complex and aggressive nature of the markets and the business world leads companies to focus themselves on working on projects and, in fact, it has become the normality for many companies.

This is also due to globalization, the evolution and internationalization of the markets, which require us to work in order and to satisfy the explicit customer requirement as quickly as possible.

Companies with traditional organizations are now over- bureaucratized, inefficient and likely to disappear altogether in the next few years. However, project management involves a series of reports and documents that may seem excessive and, sometimes repetitive, but the evolution of Project Management is leading companies to use, especially for small projects, management methodologies that light the entire project management while remaining focused on the objective to be achieved.

1.4. The Project Manager in real life and Soft Skills

In the second module, the characteristics, specific skills and tasks that a Project Manager must have will be discussed in detail. But, when observing and analyzing a Project Manager in his or her daily work, it becomes clear that this is not one of the easiest professions. The Project Manager, like all professions and all jobs in general, has to fight with reality.

In order to be able to extricate himself from the problems that reality, within a project and beyond, offers, the Project Manager must have personal skills that are difficult to learn. The skills I refer to the Soft Skills (or Interpersonal Skills). Soft Skills differ from Hard Skills in that the latter are the technical and sectoral skills and competences that allow you to carry out the assigned work correctly.

The Project Manager is positioned at the center of the organization of a project and it acts as a guide, problem solver, information sorter, decision maker, psychological trainer and motivator for the entire project team. Moreover, for each of the above functions it is necessary to consider the contexts, the difficulty of the project, the stakeholders and much more.

The main Soft Skills that a Project Manager must have are:

Communication;

Leadership;

Team Building;

Conflict management and problem solving.

More and more, especially in the Anglo-Saxon culture, a figure with adequate relational and social skills such as Soft is preferred as Project Manager. In Italy,-to be honest, the situation is still a bit different as it is easier to find companies that require as their main requirement proven experience in project management, rather than excellent Soft Skills.

1.4.1. Communication

Communication, or rather the ability to communicate efficiently, is the most important Soft Skill a Project Manager must have. In fact, during the execution of a project, he spends 90% of his time communicating. Therefore, knowing how to communicate efficiently and effectively with stakeholders is among the basic and most impacting skills in the success of a project.

Communication is not successful, and therefore does not work, when there is simply a passage of information from the sender to the receiver: often the meaning intended by the sender does not reach the recipient or it is misunderstood.

To efficiently communicate , the Project Manager has -to consider the cultural issues, personality, context and particular situations in which each member of the team operates, identifing the right communication channels and understanding which information people can offer and which they wish to receive. In fact, this relationship very often involves a comparison between mentality and thoughts, and even cultural diversity and ideas to be addressed, always keeping in mind the background and the system of values on which each individual moves.

Nowadays, and it’s very important in social life knowing how to communicate and it’s the basis of any business activity. It should be pointed out that communication does not only mean informing stakeholders about everything that happens in a project.

Communicating and knowing how to communicate is something more personal and subjective: imagine a Project Manager who gesticulates too much during a meeting with a supplier, or who talks continuously without letting anyone talk or who, when listening, does not look into the eyes or seem disinterested or raises his voice to a team member. Do you think he is a good Project Manager? He will probably have all the Hard Skills the project needs, but he won't look like a good Leader. In fact, in order to implement an efficient and effective communication it is essential that the Project Manager has Leadership skills.

1.4.2. Leadership

Communication and leadership skills, as seen in the previous paragraph, are integrated with each other. We often hear about Leadership or Leader, but what does it mean