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Project Planning

Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes + debrief
Participants: 3-24 (up to four teams of 3-6 per team)
Who: Staff at any level
PC required: Only one pc (or laptop) and printer required
Price: £495.00
Factsheet: Project Planning  (click to download)
Project Planning

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We all work on projects. Here teams practise project planning by scheduling different components of a task to ensure the project comes in on time and within budget. Plans are easily computer-processed for a full report and score.

You have 90 minutes to plan and timetable the construction of a log cabin and quote an overall price and completion date.

You will analyse the task, identifying constraints, manage cash-flow, allow for contingencies, use Gantt charts to schedule the work into a sequence, or critical path. You will minimise downtime for both skilled and unskilled workers, control the supply of resources and set a profit margin for the overall project.

Completed plans are entered in the single computer. A detailed report and score is produced for each team making it very straightforward for the facilitator decide who is awarded the contract. Only teams with 80% will be considered! A logical, calm approach to project planning is the key.
  • about planning, scheduling, costing and use of resources
  • about critical path analysis (Gantt charts)
  • to manage cash flow
  • to assess labour requirements
  • to plan for contingencies
  • to budget
  1. Introduce the activity using the PowerPoint presentation provided.
  2. Issue the Team Folders and allow teams up to 90 minutes planning.
  3. At the end of the planning phase, collect Decision Forms and input the data into a computer or laptop (very straightforward).
  4. Conduct a debrief, getting teams to give feedback on how they worked together and how they approached the task.
  5. Issue the final reports and award the contract to the highest scoring team. Lead a discussion on the key points and summarise the lessons (on the PowerPoint presentation).

A. Myers, Ashorne Hill Management College
Used as an integral part of a two-day project management course with junior – middle managers new to projects. The best learning point was juggling a range of variables (schedule, budget, resources) simultaneously – key to project management.
Interactive – always gets a good review - and an excellent tool as an integral component of a project management course.

L. Taylor, Cundall, Johnston & PartnersLLP

Used with design engineers of all levels from graduate to middle management as a stand-alone activity to identify any specific gaps and as reinforcement of existing skills. The best learning points were: start from the end and work back; read all the brief properly; consider all elements rather than concentrate on one; and the importance of team working and utilising all skills.

High impact both in the activity itself (the doing) and the review following as knowledge was willingly shared. The feedback from delegates was exceptional – they enjoyed both the actual doing it themselves and felt they got far more out of the review session because of it. The session ended with a standing ovation and request for more!

K. White, Blyth Valley
Delegates found PROJECT PLANNING challenging and interesting. The exercise proved very useful and I'm sure we'll be using it again.
  • Ashorne Hill Management College
  • Coventry Building Society
  • Pacific Century Hong Kong
  • KPMG
  • Astrazeneca
  • Sandwell Healthcare
  • Fire Service College
  • Eversheds
  • Direct Line Insurance
  • Bedford Falls Learning
  • Trainer’s Notes
  • CD-ROM
  • PowerPoint
  • Team Folders
  • Planning charts
  • Timetable Forms
  • Order Forms
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