This professional training program “Project Planning and Management” aims to enhance participant’s knowledge and skills on overall project management. The program will expose participants to current and evolving approaches to project management. It will try to introduce appropriate methodology of project management by focusing on the project planning and execution skills with a particular focus on project cycle management and result based monitoring and evaluation. The program will also facilitate an exchange of views and experiences of project managers, policy makers and planners about project management skills in relevant government offices and nongovernment organizations in Thailand. The associated study visits will provide the opportunity to examine project management in practice and in a variety of organizational contexts. Finally, the program will help participants steer work process towards clearly defined goals, increase program impact, and improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of projects and teams both small and large.
Project Management is a science – but, more important, an art - of getting things done. From government services and economic development, to education and community development, to IT and engineering, and to marketing and manufacturing, a diverse range of sectors – and the clients we serve - rely on projects and project managers for results. A project is a temporary endeavor designed to produce a unique product, service or result with a defined beginning and end (usually time-constrained, and often constrained by funding or deliverables) undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value.
Projects are all around us, we are engaged in projects at home and at work. Almost every organization runs projects, either formally or informally. Project
Management is the discipline of initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of a team to achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria. While setting any project, planning principles and execution methodologies can offer ways in which a project can be run more effectively and efficiently. Project Planning, part of Project Management, is basically scheduling (e.g., use of Gantt Charts) a project and subsequently reporting its progress, where the project scope is defined and the appropriate methods for completing the project are determined. Project Planning and Management, therefore, provides organizations (and individuals) with the language and the frameworks for scoping projects, sequencing activities, utilizing resources, and minimizing risks. The challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals within the given constraints. The primary constraints are scope, time, quality and budget. While the secondary - and more ambitious -constraint is to optimize the allocation of necessary inputs and integrate them to meet pre-defined objectives.
Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.
Project Management Processes fall into 5 Groups:
1) Initiating
2) Planning
3) Executing
4) Monitoring and Controlling
5) Closing
Project Management Knowledge draws on 10 Areas:
1) Integration
2) Scope
3) Time
4) Cost
5) Quality
6) Procurement
7) Human resources
8) Communications
9) Risk management
10) Stakeholder management
Source: PMI, 2016
This Professional Training Program on “Project Planning and Management” is specially designed in response to a recent request from the Business Promotion Council (BPC) of Ministry of Commerce, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. The participants of this program are expected to be the ministry officials, and personnel from relevant government and non-government departments from Bangladesh. The Program will be coordinated by the AIT Extension of Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), which is located in Thailand.
Program Outline and Delivery
The main focus of this professional training program will be towards experiential learning combining sharing experiences, study and exposure visits on project management in Thailand. The overall content of this professional development training program will have 3 modules combining technical input sessions, study visits and field trips, and finally an integration and presentation session at the end.
Module A: Technical inputs sessions in the form of lectures/seminars, case studies, exercise and role play games will be delivered on following aspects:
• Project Cycle Management including Project Identification and Planning
• Use of ITs in Project Management (Time and Financial)
• Result Based Monitoring & Evaluation
• Integrating/Mainstreaming Gender Dimension into Development Projects
• Project Sustainability, EIA and Environmental Audit
• Risk Management in Projects
Module B: Study Visits and Field Trips will be conducted to relevant organizations, institutions and different sites in Thailand to learn and investigate different types of projects and their management. These will cover the following offices, areas and aspects:
- DITP, Ministry of Commerce (MoC)
- Institute of Small and Medium Enterprises Development (ISMED), Ministry of Industry
- Large Infrastructure Project (e.g., Metro or BTS)
Module C: An Integration and Presentation Session will be conducted at the end of the program. In this session the participants will prepare presentations on lessons learnt and key learning points (KLP) that would bring changes to their organization as they play the role as leaders. Groups will be formed and the participants will be assisted to prepare their presentations and their future course of action in the form of a Group Action Plan/Project (GAP). The content of the presentation will be discussed by the course director and the presentation will be mandatory for participants receiving certificates of successful completion of the course.
The delivery of this professional development training program will be participant centered and the program will use an experiential learning approach to create a highly interactive environment among participants. Field trips focused on particular topics and practical field exercises will be complemented by case studies from around the region and lectures/seminars from professionals who are actively involved in agriculture sectors and profession. Knowledge sharing and wrap-up sessions will be regularly used to support the participants in better understanding of the linkages of all issues and topics given in the program.
