ANALYSIS$$Planning a Training Course

Objective

This exercise asks you to analyze the tasks in a project using the tools that we discussed in this chapter.

Directions

Read the following scenario:

Congratulations! You have your first project manager assignment. You were asked to be the project team leader for the team that is going to design a new management training course in your organization. Here is the background information:

Last week your boss found your copy of Becoming a Master Manager sitting on your shelf and decided to borrow it$.$ After reading through the book, your boss shared it with the head of the Training and Development $($T&D$)$ unit, and they both agreed that it would provide an ideal foundation for the new management training course that was being discussed. Even though you do not know much about training, they decided that you would be an ideal project manager for the team designing the training since you are familiar with the framework. After receiving the assignment, you met with the head of T&D and agreed on a few basic concepts regarding the training program: $(1)$ The program should run either one week or two; $(2)$ the curriculum should be accompanied by two types of evaluation, one based on participant reaction and one based on the actual changes in work behavior when the participants return to the job; $(3)$ the project team should conduct a needs assessment $($i$.$e$.,$ you should interview managers$)$ in the three divisions that will be the heaviest users of the training program to determine what they would like to see included in the curriculum; $(4)$ you should develop some new cases or exercises based on the outcomes of the needs assessment; and $(5)$ you should set up an advisory committee of upper$$level managers from across the organization to approve the curriculum and the evaluation instruments.

Fortunately, you have some good people in your team from the training unit, and after meeting with them a few times, they volunteered to put together an initial schedule. This morning you found a memo on your desk explaining that they had developed a schedule based on a proposed list of activities with estimated times and a PERT$/$CPM analysis. The memo indicated that the list of activities, the PERT$/$CPM network diagram, and a proposed schedule were all attached to the memo, but all you could find was the following list of activities with time estimates:

Activity Description

Estimated time $($in weeks$)$

$1,2$ Track literature on evaluation

$4$

$1,4$ Set up steering committee

$1$

$1,5$ Develop needs assessment questionnaire

$2$

$2,3$ Develop reaction evaluation instrument

$1$

$2,10$ Dummy activity

$0$

$3,11$ Dummy activity

$0$

$4,9$ Meet with advisory committee to discuss curriculum

$1$

$5,6$ Conduct needs assessment in first division

$4$

$5,7$ Conduct needs assessment in second division

$2$

$5,8$ Conduct needs assessment in third division

$2$

$6,9$ Analyze data and develop cases and exercise

$3$

$7,9$ Analyze data and develop cases and exercise

$2$

$8,9$ Analyze data and develop cases and exercise

$2$

$9,10$ Develop first draft of curriculum

$10$

$10,11$ Develop behavior evaluation instrument

$3$

$10,12$ Advisory committee reviews curriculum

$2$

$11,13$ Advisory committee reviews evaluation instruments

$2$

$12,14$ Curriculum revisions based on advisory committee input

$2$

$13,14$ Evaluation revisions based on advisory committee input

$1$

$14,15$ Conduct two pilot training courses

$4$

When you tried calling the team members who drafted the memo, you were told that they were away for the next two days at a training conference and no one else knew anything about what they were working on$.$ You have a breakfast meeting scheduled with your boss and the head of the training unit tomorrow morning to discuss the schedule.

Based on the list of activities, prepare a PERT$/$CPM network diagram. What is the critical path?

Create a chart of earliest and latest start and finish times. Determine the critical path. What is the shortest time from start to finish?

What are your current scheduling concerns? Assuming that you do not have unlimited resources, make a few suggestions for resource leveling and set up a Gantt chart.

What concerns do you have about internal and$/$or external integration? How do you think you should handle these concerns?

Reflection

Manually working through examples may seem unnecessary, given the availability of computer software for project management, but working through problems helps project managers develop a clear understanding of the fundamental planning and scheduling concepts on which the software is based. That conceptual understanding is critical for managers, particularly those who wish to obtain credentials in the area of project management from the Project Management Institute $($PMI$).$ Five different credentials can be earned from PMI. For each credential, applicants must meet the education and experience requirements and pass an examination.