ADVANCED PROJECT MANAGEMENT TRAINING

FOR A/E FIRMS

 Advanced Project Management Training
For A/E Firms
Your Instructors:
John Geddie, Principal
John Geddie is the lead trainer and facilitator for Martin-Simonds
Associates’ Leadership Development Program and Advanced
Project Management Program. He also provides market research
services to the A/E industry, focusing on analysis of new markets
and services, competitive intelligence and trend identification as
part of the strategic planning process.

. His clients have included firms such as Jones & Carter,

Wilson & Company, Walker Parking Consultants, HVJ Associates,
EMC2 Architects, Raba-Kistner Consultants, Carter & Burgess,
Gerald Martin Construction, Montgomery Watson, and
Applied Research Associates. He also regularly leads training
programs for the Texas Council of Engineering Companies.

Gary Jay Andrews, Associate

Gary Andrews is a key trainer for Martin-Simonds Associates
Advanced Project Management Program. He has more than 35
years of experience in project and program management in both
industry and government, and has served as an adjunct faculty
member at both the University of Phoenix and Webster University.

Gary’s clients have included Berkeley National Laboratory,

Stress Engineering Services, Associated General Contractors,
and the Texas Council of Engineering Companies.

Suzanne O’Leary Lopez, Senior Associate

Suzanne Lopez brings more than 14 years of professional services
experience to her work for Martin-Simonds Associates. She works
with A/E clients in the area of coaching and training on connecting
with clients, positioning and branding. Her focus in the Advanced
Project Management Program is in improving Project Manager’s abilit
to connect with clients. Suzanne’s background includes global
experience in marketing and public relations.

Suzanne is also a trainer for the marketing-related modules of the

Leadership Development Program.
ADVANCED PROJECT MANAGEMENT TRAINING
For A/E FIRMS
The primary objective of the Advanced Project Management
Training Course for A/E Firms is to increase the value of the
current project manager workforce—and a valuable workforce
translates to bottom-line organizational performance.
Repeatable success as a project manager is all about performing
at a higher rate of client satisfaction, producing above average
profits, and developing higher levels of employee satisfaction
and confidence.
We concentrate the learning in this course around advanced tools
and techniques and developing a keen practical awareness into
the distinction between project success and failure.
The Advanced Project Management Training Course for A/E Firms
is designed around what experienced Project Managers need to
be able to accept increased levels of responsibility and
accountability within an organization.
The elements covered in this advanced training program address
the most significant aspects of project success.

Advanced Project Management Training for A/E Firms

(Course Flow)
1stst Session 2nd Session 3rd Session

Discovering the Determining

Advanced Learning the
Personal How to
Project Science of
Characteristics Actively Control
Managing
Management Your Projects
of a Successful Difficult Clients
Training for (Earned Value
Project and Difficult
Management
A/E Firms Manager Employees
Systems)

4th
thSession 5th Session 6th Session
Managing to
Right Choices Building
Reduce
at the High
Project Risk
Right Time -- Performance
and
Quantitative Project Teams--
Continuously
Decision-Making The Human
Improve Project
For PMs Element
Performance

= Reading and Exercises

Advanced Project Management Training
For A/E Firms
Session 1
Discovering the Personal Characteristics of a
Successful Project Manager
 Session 1 – Discovering the Personal Characteristics
of a Successful Project Manager

The failure to differentiate between the successful and unsuccessful [project manager] is
costing you a lot of money.
John M. Simonds

Each attendee will each benchmark their personal characteristics against

the “19 Skills of Successful Project Managers” as a diagnostic tool. This
assessment tool provides insight into individual management style and
effectiveness and allows project managers to test their performance against
key aspects of successful project managers.

We’ll look at project planning in more dynamic terms—as a function of

integrating client criteria for success with project resources and timelines.
This is an advanced planning concept that allows for the integration of work
activities and company constraints with client requirements and the
accommodation of changes.

The reality of project management deals with managing change, and the
effective incorporation of changes to project work require advanced
scheduling skills and techniques. The ability to manage multiple projects will
focus on what is most important when it is most important.

8:00 AM INTRODUCTIONS

This is an opportunity to check in and meet other attendees. We will make

introductions through an ice-breaker exercise.

8:45 AM LEARNING/OVERVIEW/COURSE EXPECTATIONS

You will learn about the coursework and subject matter—session by session.
We will gather learning outcomes and expectations from each of you and
discuss the takeaways from each of the six sessions you will be able to apply
to your own projects.

9:45 AM MORNING BREAK

10:00 AM THE 19 SKILLS OF SUCCESSFUL PROJECT MANAGERS

This session takes an introspective look at those skills prevalent in

successful project managers. Each of you will baseline your management
characteristics against a proven set of traits that contribute to effective
project leadership, decision-making, awareness and control. We’ll discuss
these characteristics in open session and apply them to your project
environment.

NOON ADJOURN FOR LUNCH

1:00 PM STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDERS

It’s all about relationships. Providing superior service to clients and

stakeholders can solidify your relationships and result in a sustainable
competitive advantage. We’ll introduce communication planning to enable you to
enhance the service you provide and the connections you build.

2:30 PM AFTERNOON BREAK

2:45 PM THE SCIENCE OF MANAGING MULTIPLE PROJECTS

Juggling deadlines, projects and multiple demands on your time is a challenge.

We’ll introduce tools and techniques to help you manage multiple projects more
effectively—we call it “managing to the anomaly.”

3:45 PM ACTIVE LISTENING/EXERCISE

When a project goes “south”, the cause can be attributed to a breakdown in

communications 75% of the time. Learning the skills of active listening and
interpersonal communications will help you master the art of successful
client relationships. You will have the opportunity to test your skill level and
practice to improve it.

4:45 PM SUMMARY AND FEEDBACK (Transition to Session 2—Learning

the Science of Managing Difficult Clients and Difficult
Employees to Achieve Results)

5:00PM ADJOURN
19 Skills for Project Managers
HUMAN SKILLS
COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
LISTENING-SPEAKING/PRESENTATION-WRITING

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT SKILLS:

INTERNAL-EXTERNAL

LEADERSHIP SKILLS
TECHNICAL SKILLS
TEAM PLAYER/TEAM MANAGEMENT SKILLS
PROJECT PLANNING SKILLS
PROJECT MONITORING AND CONTROL SKILLS
COLLECTION OF ACCOUNTS
BIG PICTURE AWARENESS
MARKETING SAVVY
POLITICAL SENSITIVITY
ORGANIZATION/TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS
BIAS FOR ACTION
NEGOTIATION SKILL
BUSINESS SKILLS
 Advanced Project Management Training
For A/E Firms
Session 2
Learning the Science of Managing Difficult Clients
and Difficult Employees to Achieve Results
 Session 2 – Learning the Science of Managing Difficult Clients and
Difficult Employees to Achieve Results
Not training managers to manage people is like giving a novice a new thirty-foot sailboat
and telling that person, “Good luck, and make sure to avoid the hazards of the sea.”
John M. Simonds

In today’s business environment, the competitive edge lies in the ability of

project managers to nurture relationships with clients to build loyalty and
trust. Mastering the technical skills of project management is only part of
the challenge. Equally important is the ability to manage difficult
relationships with clients and employees to ensure project success.

This requires getting inside the heads of the client—to understand their
hopes and fears. Only then can a project manager positively control the
“bumps in the road” which arise on every project. Practicing the art of
service recovery can turn a dissatisfied client into an advocate for your firm.

Managing a high-performing team also requires the project manager to deal

effectively with difficult employees – to minimize conflict and build
commitment to the group. We’ll share the secrets of managing performance
to ensure project success.

8:00 AM REVIEW

Review of concepts from Session 1.

8:45 AM UNDERSTANDING PERSONALITY TYPES

The first key to managing difficult clients OR difficult employees is to

understand why people behave the way they do. In this session, you will
complete the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the DiSC Personal Profile
assessments and discuss implications for dealing effectively with other
people.

10:30 AM MORNING BREAK

10:45 AM EFFECTIVE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

The ability to manage conflict successfully is a hallmark of effective project

managers. In this session, you will complete a Conflict Style Inventory to
learn about your personal conflict style and its implications for interactions
with clients and employees. We’ll discuss the appropriate responses to the
styles used by other people and learn how to turn conflict into a constructive
project management tool.

NOON ADJOURN FOR LUNCH

1:00 PM THE ART OF SERVICE RECOVERY

A discussion of dealing with conflict would not be complete without talking

about how to recover effectively from mistakes. Service recovery begins by
identifying the problem then acting quickly to correct it. Successful service
recovery can turn an unhappy client into a cheerleader for your firm.

2:30 PM AFTERNOON BREAK

2:45 PM MANAGING THE DIFFICULT EMPLOYEE

Difficult employees can quickly erode project profitability and schedule.

Managing the performance of technical professionals can be one of the
hardest jobs a project manager faces. You will learn how to set clear
expectations for employees, how to provide constructive feedback, and how to
conduct meaningful performance appraisals to keep employees on the right
track. We’ll also discussion motivation and accountability for technical
professionals: what works and what doesn’t.

4:45 PM SUMMARY AND FEEDBACK (Transition to Session 3 –

Determining How to Actively Control Your Projects:
Earned Value Management Systems)

5:00PM ADJOURN
 0[a qxs

Conflict Management Styles Matrix

High

Forcing Collaborating
Focus on the Goal

Compromising

Avoiding Accommodating
Low Focus on the Relationship High

Determining the Best Interpersonal Methods

For Handling Conflict
 Advanced Project Management Training
For A/E Firms
Session 3
Determining How To Actively Control Your Projects
(Earned Value Management Systems)
 Session 3 – Determining How To Actively Control Your Projects
(Earned Value Management Systems)

Our long years of experience in this industry have convinced us that those responsible for
managing project managers are in a state of denial over a simple fact. Some project
managers consistently fail to meet budget and profit objectives…
John M. Simonds

Information is only valuable if it is used—used to provide insight and

awareness, support better and faster budget decisions and to maintain
effective control of project processes. Project accountability is enhanced
and the potential for errors in judgment is reduced—this reduces risk.

Most organizations have processes in place to track project performance,

but tracking these data alone is no longer enough in today’s competitive
marketplace. Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS) and Project
Controls gives Project Managers an advanced ability to gain factual insight
into project status and use those facts to support decisions—whether for
day-to-day decision making, or for providing clients and company decision
makers information on project success and issues.

8:00 AM CHECK-IN

Review of concepts from Session 2.

8:30 AM THE PROJECT MANAGER AS THE CONTROLLING AGENT

You will identify those management functions you employ to plan and control
project activities. Through an exercise, we will examine internal and external
pressures related to the project management role. Earned Value Management
“Strategies for Success” will be discussed and a “climate map” for change will
be developed in this session.

10:00 AM MORNING BREAK

10:15 AM UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS OF VARIANCE

The impacts to project cost, schedule and performance brought about by

changes (variances) to the project plan will be examined. These “variances” can
affect baseline performance. Managing the dynamics of variance is the
primary job of any project manager once work begins. You will learn the
definition, use, and method of computation associated with several variance
performance indices using sample problem solutions and case study data.
Terminology associated with Earned Value Management (EVM) will be explained.

NOON ADJOURN FOR LUNCH

1:00 PM TRACKING TO A BASELINE—CRITICAL SUCCESS INDICATORS

Earned Value Management goes beyond the standard “S-Curve” in providing

the Project Manager relevant data on which to make informed decisions
regarding Cost, Schedule and Performance attributes. You will engage in
determining how EVM data and other critical success indicators are
identified, used to determine current project status, employed to predict
project success, and leveraged for effective and timely change management
to reduce impacts to the project baseline.

3:15 PM AFTERNOON BREAK

3:30 PM TELLING THE PROJECT STORY

How do you tell the project story to diverse stakeholders? Clients, team
members and principals of the firm have different needs for project information.
You will learn techniques such as “Hit/Miss” reports, capturing Lessons Learned
and Best Practices, internal and external reporting strategies, and methods for
sharing project information will be explored. You will be asked to share tools and
techniques for project reporting from within your own company culture.

4:45 PM SUMMARY AND FEEDBACK (Transition to Session 4—Right

Choices at the Right Time: Quantitative Decision-Making
for PMs)

5:00 PM ADJOURN
 Session 3 – Project Controls (Optional Workshop)

8:00 AM REVIEW OF DAY ONE

We will review what you learned on day one and resolve lingering questions.

8:30 AM CASE STUDY

You will analyze a project management case study designed to utilize EVM data
to guide project decisions and determine baseline change impacts. Data
tracking, threshold analysis, and change management decision-making will be
explored through the use of a project summary data set. You will determine
current project status and substantiate decisions that may be necessary to
ensure project success. This will be a team-based exercise culminating in a
simulated project management report to company and client decision makers.

10:00 AM BREAK

10:15 AM PROJECT MANAGEMENT REPORT OUT

Teams will report their project status data and management decisions.

11:30 AM SUMMARY AND FEEDBACK

NOON ADJOURN
Advanced Project Management Training
for A/E Firms
(Project Control Context)

¾Cost
¾Schedule
¾Performance

¾ Variance
¾ Changes
¾ Customer
Requirements
¾ Decision
Making
Advanced Project Management Training
For A/E Firms
Session 4
Right Choices at the Right Time:
Quantitative Decision-Making for PMs
 Session 4 – Right Choices at the Right Time:
Quantitative Decision-Making for PMs

The inability to make a decision can render A/E leaders ineffective. The benefits of
learning to make decisions - the right ones - can revitalize a firm.
John M. Simonds (Leadership Development Course)

The path to the right decision is not always obvious. Sometimes we think we
are making the right decision only to find a negative outcome at the end.
This creates doubt and a lack of confidence. Making the right decision more
often leads to a significant payoff in project success.

Project Managers will learn to apply the quantitative and qualitative skill of
critical thinking—the ability to challenge assumptions that can lead to flawed
decisions. Reducing flawed decisions leads to an enhanced ability to make
the right call more often. Even a solid decision-making process does not
always mean perfect outcomes, so we will build confidence in your project
managers that they are capable of making the best possible decisions for
their projects.

8:00 AM REVIEW

Review of concepts from Session 3.

8:45 AM INTRODUCTION TO IMPROVED DECISION-MAKING

A variety of tools and techniques can be used to enhance the decision-making

capabilities of professionals. You will have a chance to discuss an in-depth
decision you are grappling with and for which you want to employ decision-
making techniques.

9:45 AM DECISION TREES

Decision trees are excellent tools for helping you choose between several
courses of action. They provide a structure for laying out options and
investigating the possible outcomes of choosing those options. You will
develop a decision tree based on a case study and learn how to apply this tool
to your own projects.

10:30 AM MORNING BREAK

10:45 AM EVEN SWAPS

Making wise trade-offs is one of the most important and difficult challenges
in decision-making. The sheer volume of trade-offs, however, is not what
makes decision-making so hard. It’s the fact that each objective has its own
basis of comparison, from precise numbers (34% versus 38%) to
relationships (high versus low) to descriptive terms (red versus blue). You’re
not just trading off apples and oranges; you’re trading off apples and
oranges and elephants. How do you make trade-offs when comparing widely
disparate things? We’ll introduce you to a system developed at Harvard
Business School called even swaps – that provides a practical way of making
trade-offs among a range of objectives across a range of alternatives—to
arrive at the best decision for your project.

NOON ADJOURN FOR LUNCH

1:00 PM DECISION-MAKING TOOLS

This afternoon, we will discuss a variety of tools to assist you in making

better decisions. These tools include a Go/No-Go matrix, Pareto analysis,
force-field analysis, gap analysis, and grid analysis. We’ll review each of
these tools and show you how to apply them to your project decisions.

2:30 PM AFTERNOON BREAK

2:45 PM FINANCIAL DECISION-MAKING

You will learn tools and techniques to help you make financial decisions including
Net Present Value, the Time Value of Money, Internal Rate of Return, and Cash
Flow analysis. We will discuss application of each of these concepts to your
project decision-making.

4:45 PM SUMMARY AND FEEDBACK (Transition to Session 5 –

Managing to Reduce Project Risk and Continuously Improve
Project Performance)

5:00PM ADJOURN
 A Project Management Model
(Cost-Schedule-Performance [CSP] Attributes)

Cost
Target = Client
Satisfaction
and
Acceptance

Performance

Schedule
 Advanced Project Management Training
For A/E Firms
Session 5
Managing to Reduce Project Risk and Continuously
Improve Project Performance
 Session 5 – Managing To Reduce Project Risk and
Continuously Improve Project Performance

A leader in the [project management] industry must be able to manage people and
projects with the goal of maximizing profitability.
John M. Simonds (Leadership Development Course)

Technical project management is primarily risk management—a purposeful,

ongoing effort to minimize the probability and consequences of adverse
events to project objectives. Survival in today’s competitive environment
requires both sound technical products and the ability to pro-actively
identify risks to project success, quickly and accurately analyze impacts, and
confidently respond with mitigating strategies.

The competitive edge in dealing with risk is to separate the “vital few” risk
issues from the “trivial many”. We’ll provide Project Mangers with an
advanced array of analysis methods to use to fully assess risk impacts to
their projects. The focus will shift to choosing a “best fit” response to a
risk issue. This approach ensures a flexible solution to risk consequences—
keeping the project competitive and moving forward.

Lessons learned along the way and best practices used by successful project
managers will be integrated into a model for continuous project improvement
designed to enhance a culture of quality throughout the project’s life cycle.
This model can be used to self-assess project performance during each phase
of activity—increasing accountability and decreasing errors in judgment.

8:00 AM CHECK-IN

Review of concepts from Session 4.

8:30 AM RISK PLANNING AND IDENTIFYING PROJECT RISKS

You will be introduced to the five-step risk management process—Planning,

Identifying, Analyzing, Handling, and Monitoring—and the first two steps will
be explored. We will discuss risk inherent in each phase of the project.

10:00 AM MORNING BREAK

10:15 AM ANALYZING PROJECT RISK

This segment will include the third step in the risk management process model
by looking at maximizing the probability and consequences of positive events
and minimizing the probability and consequences of adverse events to project
attributes. We will look at both qualitative and quantitative tools and
techniques.

NOON ADJOURN FOR LUNCH

1:00PM HANDLING PROJECT RISK AND MONITORING RESULTS

This segment will conclude our discussion of the risk management process by
examining four methods commonly used to handle risk—Avoidance, Control,
Acceptance, and Transfer—and when to use them. The “Jahari Risk Window”
will be introduced and we will discuss risk monitoring methods and data
collection.

2:45PM AFTERNOON BREAK

3:00 PM BUILDING A CULTURE OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

A continuous improvement model will be examined integrating the project

management elements of leadership, client requirements, planning, project
execution, data and information management, and change control. The focus
of the model is on results and project performance. This model also
accommodates the human resource elements of project management which
will be addressed in the next session.

4:45 PM SUMMARY AND FEEDBACK (Transition to Session 6—

Building High-Performance Project Teams: The Human
Element)

5:00 PM ADJOURN
 Session 5 – Managing Project Risk (Optional Workshop)

8:00 AM REVIEW OF DAY ONE

We will review what you learned on day one and resolve lingering questions.

8:30 AM CASE STUDIES

You will analyze project management data and form a macro project risk
strategy, identify known and unknown risks and develop data needs for tracking
probability and consequence. Using several project case studies, you will assess
and analyze potential risks to cost, schedule, and performance, develop
mitigation strategies and design monitoring elements to assess results. You will
be expected to substantiate decisions necessary to ensure project success.
This will be a team-based exercise culminating in a simulated risk management
report to company and client decision makers.

10:00 AM BREAK

10:15 AM PROJECT MANAGEMENT REPORT OUT

Teams will report their project risk management decisions.

11:30 AM SUMMARY AND FEEDBACK

NOON ADJOURN
 A Model
for
Continuously Improving Project Performance

Project Leadership Feedback

and
Lessons
Learned

Client and Project Planning

Stakeholder Goals and Overall
Needs Requirements Project
Results

CSP Attributes Reporting Milestone

Project Team Results
Project/Process
Resource
Management
Needs

Project Information & Analysis

Adapted from the
Company Culture Baldrige Model

Competitive Marketplace
Advanced Project Management Training
For A/E Firms
Session 6
Building High-Performance Project Teams:
The Human Element
 Session 6 – Building High-Performance Project Teams:
The Human Element

Some Project Managers perform well for clients but often leave a wake of unhappy staff
members by trampling on the feelings of the people they will depend on in the future.
John M. Simonds

Is there a “Right Stuff” gene that successful Project Managers possess?

Maybe. But more often than not, successful Project Managers gather good
people around them, leverages their individual skills into a cohesive team,
listens to their input, empowers them with an ability to succeed, and then
holds them accountable for performance.

We’ll explore how Project Managers can build leadership credibility within a
matrixed project environment. The ability to manage the human resource
element—both internal and external to the organization—requires advanced
skills to integrate each member’s contribution. The successful Project
Manager must be able to communicate project goals and focus each member
on the task ahead. Having a common frame of reference throughout the
project team facilitates consistent reporting, adds to a sense of confidence
in the project team, re-assures clients and stakeholders, and provides for a
single-face-to-the-client approach regarding project performance.

8:00 AM CHECK-IN

Review of concepts from Session 5.

8:30 AM MANAGING PROJECT HUMAN RESOURCES

The practice of managing people is often one of the most difficult abilities
for project managers to master. Integrating dispersed and often disparate
workers into a cohesive, focused labor force helps to ensure project success
and effectively utilize personnel resources. We will explore the numerous
roles and responsibilities of project managers when managing labor
resources, including the unique challenges of matrix organizations.

10:00 AM MORNING BREAK

10:15 AM MUTUAL/TEAM ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PERFORMANCE

At every level of an organization, projects begin, tasks are assigned, efforts

are made, and deadlines are met – or missed. Directions are given but
employees may not understand them. Deliverables are promised but not
delivered. Agreements are misunderstood or never made. Through discussion,
a video, and case studies, we will provide you a systematic way to overcome
these tendencies, building your ability to plan and complete tasks effectively.

NOON ADJOURN FOR LUNCH

1:00 PM FORMING THE EFFECTIVE PROJECT TEAM

Rather than just supervising personnel resources, the project manager must
understand the human element of his or her team members and manage for
their needs much like managing the requirements of the project. We will
examine six common groups of people and how understanding their individual
characteristics can be leveraged in a team environment.

2:30 PM AFTERNOON BREAK

2:45 PM COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION SHARING

Communication can dramatically affect the outcome of a project. Because a

large number of stakeholders may have an interest in a project’s outcome,
project managers must create and effectively use a communications to collect
the right data and disseminate appropriate information in a timely manner. To
do this effectively, project managers must be able to manage the flow of
internal and external information.

4:15PM SESSION SUMMARY

4:30PM OVERALL COURSE ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK

5:00PM ADJOURN
 Project Management in a
Matrixed Environment

Computer
Aided
Design

Administrative
Support

PM
Project Office
Manager Manager

Discipline
Managers

Sub-Contractors