Infero Training – Business and Technical Courses

The long renowned Prince is back! No not the controversial, rock-and-roll hall of famer or Will Smith’s ‘Fresh’, upbeat character. Rather the project management tool assembled by the Central Computer and Telecommunication Agency in 1989 to plan an organised and controlled event.

Prince2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environment) not only allows companies to create a perfectly productive and efficient method in which to execute their plan, but also offers you an acquired sense of control over your project management and plans long term acquisitions of the business. But not any John can crack the method, as it takes a combination of 4 hours worth of examinations and weeks of revision to function. However once accredited you can comfortably implement your project planning system into your business and tie up all those loose ends.

The Prince2 training provides employees and organisations with the skills to successfully manage a project through the efficient use of their resources. Prince2 will benefit project managers by allowing them to economically manage all of their employees and resources towards their project goals through a structured method. In other words; a perfect tool for project managers.

Key Benefits of Prince2:

• The flexibility suits all projects needs
• Easy mornings for middle management, as all those tedious meetings can finally be reduced to only necessary meetings
• It’s Free! Well to use only, of course there are training costs.

Prince2 and project management are always good entities to be associated with as it gives you that extra edge with potential clients. Yes, you may have to put yourself through Prince2 training and exams, but reaping benefits from it are far more worthwhile than the short-term implications.

Projects – wouldn’t it be great to know how to turn them from a bit of a nightmare into a dream for your business? A project has the potential to boost a company in all kinds of ways. But with the extra demands on your staff and your workload, even a relatively small project can snowball into something slightly scary that falls behind schedule and goes over budget. Successful project management depends on a strong mix of tools, skills and attitude. Here we list the key ingredients to getting it right.

Get in Touch

Do you know what they know? Could you be missing out on valuable project management experience within your own business? For each new project ask around your company to find out who has relevant experience. You might be surprised. Find out who they are, then get ahead of the game by building on their experience with up-to-date training and support. You’ll then have your very own in-house project management experts!

Get Connected

Every project has the potential to affect your business – for better or for worse. So don’t keep it to yourself.  Make sure the rest of the company is invested in the process. That way you’ll be more likely to have people’s cooperation when you need it. It’s easy to stay caught up in the day-to-day running of a business without sharing the strategic leaps forward. Keep everyone informed and do it appropriately. Senior management may like to have regular updates or one-to-one meetings whilst front line staff may appreciate a brief weekly email.

Get the Right Tools for the Job

You wouldn’t paint a wall with a hairbrush. So why are you trying to achieve first class results for your project with tools unfit for the job? Every project is different, but each and every one can benefit from the smart, structured software that makes up Microsoft Project. This resource will actually do a lot of the ‘thinking’ for you. Let’s face it, managing a project is multi-tasking multiplied by 100! But MS project is designed to turn the process into a clear-cut sequence of tasks. Whether you want to track budgets, workflow or people, MS Project takes the pain out of project management. It can even help you spot a specific problem long before it starts becoming a barrier to project success! Taking a little time to get skilled in using the right software is very likely to save you time, money – and headaches – further down the line. So, sign up for an MS Project training.

Would you like to get prepared for better project management with a short, affordable Project Management training course? As well as IT and business training for individuals and companies, we also offer helpful, no-obligation advice on your training options (and information about training grants of up to £1000)! Contact us now.

Timing, teams and resources – a project is a complex mix of these aspects in any setting. That’s why it takes the right tools to manage projects effectively. Microsoft Office Project Standard 2007 is a powerful resource for more successful projects. It puts you in control of the workload, the finances and the people. And it’s designed to work seamlessly with other Microsoft programmes. Now it’s been updated, Microsoft Office Project is even more equipped for getting projects done – from the first task to the final outcome.

Advantages for your projects include:

See the impact of change

Now you can see every potential consequence of change – before you make it. Change Highlights automatically points out all the items that move as a result of the most recent change you make.

Add eyecatching highlights 

Make your information stand out even more by changing the background colour of a cell or row with Background Cell Highlighting.

Get right to the source of the issue

Now it takes less time to work out what’s affecting your task dates. Whether it’s schedule date or holiday time, Task Drivers help you understand what’s behind the start date of a task. Any delays and you can track back and work out exactly what’s holding things up!

Look ahead for your project

Ever wished you could see into the future? Well, you almost can with Multiple Level Undo. It allows you to view the implication of every possible change to your project. Just by undoing and redoing changes to views, data, and options.

Stay in control of your money

We all want more control over our finances right now. With the budget field, you can easily assign budgets to projects and programmes. The new “Cost” resource type gives you a strong grip on your cost estimation and tracking. Other advantages include more predefined fields that map to financial fields in project accounting systems!

Create customised charts and diagrams

Get your point across with impact. With the Visual Reports feature you can create customised PivotTable views, charts, graphs, and diagrams based on Project information. This smart feature uses Microsoft Office Excel and Microsoft Office Visio Professional to produce powerful visual information. You can also create your own customised report templates and share these with other Project users.

That’s a lot of advantages for better business or personal project management! And now you know the difference Microsoft Office Project Standard 2007 can make, why not boost the power of your projects with a short Microsoft Project 2007 training course?

The working world is changing fast. More and more companies are creating “virtual teams” – groups of people working together from locations across the country, or the world.

Cutting edge technology allows us to work in increasingly flexible ways, bringing skills and experience together from diverse locations. Thanks to the internet, faster and more reliable communication, and emerging collaborative tools, people can work together wherever they’re based.

Virtual teams may be good for business, but this globalised way of working comes with its own particular challenges. Yours may still be a traditional team in the sense of working together to achieve a common set of objectives.  But when set of colleagues is based in London and another in Singapore, for example, how do you ensure they achieve their goals? Just put the following techniques into practice:

Establish your aims

It’s not about location – it’s about a sense of belonging. Each and every member of your team needs to understand their role and the overall project goal. Make sure each person sees the bigger picture rather than just looking at their own role.

Take on the right technology

It’s amazing what’s out there. You’ll find there are all kinds of powerful tools to help you manage your project and your virtual team. Get the right technology and you’ll soon have your team moving in the right direction, whether you use audio conferencing, video cameras, collaborative software, or shared directories.

Be sensitive to cultural differences

From first introductions to closing the deal, culture affects the way people behave in business. Across the globe, colleagues work together in different ways. That’s why it’s essential to take cultural differences into account. What is standard business practice in one culture may not be acceptable in another. Your employees might not all work from the same location, but it’s vital for the success of your project that they get on and understand eachother’s perspective. Working across multiple countries and cultures requires sensitivity.

Communicate, communicate, communicate

Communication is the secret behind the success of your project. So how do you make this happen when your virtual employees are thousands of miles away from eachother (or even just down the road)? Working at a distance demands a strong focus on communication so that everyone understands what’s expected. Your employees need to feel connected to stay fully motivated. Make sure communication is steady and consistent – and keep everyone in the loop.

Keep assignments short and sweet

Stay in control of your virtual project with bite-size chunks of work. A long assignment and distant deadline is not likely to work well for a virtual team. Instead of assigning a six-week activity, for example, assign the work in three two-week activities. This means you’ll be able to check progress much more quickly and take the action you need to along the way. You’ll also have more scope to check exactly how well your virtual team is working.

It’s an increasingly small world. With the right teamwork, technology and training, you could reap big rewards! And do not forget – we are here to help you.

Projects are a big part of working life for many of us. But all too often, they end up failing to meet their deadline, their budget and their goals. As with many things in life, a successful project comes down to good planning. Here are five smart tips to put you in better control of your projects:

1.  Know and understand it

Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many teams aren’t clear on the aim behind a new project. Yet this is vital to a project’s success – and the motivation and morale of a team. If your colleagues see the bigger picture, they’ll be much more likely to get fully involved and support that new project from start to finish. With a solid business case and the support of senior managers and your team, your project will be off to a great start.

2.  Keep it real

You know the feeling. Your team has taken on a brand new project. You’re excited and enthusiastic…then reality and challenges hit and you fail to meet your targets.

Research shows that this happens a lot. The prospect of a new project gets in the way of reality. That’s why it’s vital to have clear, realistic expectations for budget, schedule or scope. Start by estimating how long each activity will take – keeping in mind that most of us aren’t great at estimating!

Here’s a more precise approach to working out what your team is capable of. For example, you estimate your project task will take three days. Then you work out how confident you are that you can deliver in three days by using %, e.g. “I’m only 40% certain I can deliver in three days.” You should aim for 80%. And if you don’t think you can achieve 80%, then simply recalculate.

3.  Make roles and responsibilities clear

Ever been part of a team where people weren’t sure what their responsibilities were? It certainly makes it harder to get things done. Successful project management comes from having a clear role for each and every member of the team. Define who does what in the overall management of the project, document this on the PID, and outline each person’s role in a brief paragraph.

4.  Make the most of your Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Get to grips with your project right from the beginning by creating a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Listing all the activities you’ll need to complete your task, is a vital tool for staying in control. Your WBS gives you a complete overview of your project, showing the major deliverables in a chronological and easy to view format. Creating your WBS with post it notes on a flip chart or whiteboard allows you to move your project targets around easily, too.

Your WBS is also a great asset when it comes to project cost estimating and budgeting. By allowing you to view the project in smaller parts, you can budget more accurately by each deliverable – and add your estimates up for a more accurate project budget proposal.

5.  Communicate clearly

It’s important to stay in regular contact with all the people involved in a project. Create a communication plan and you’ll know who you need to speak to at exactly the right time. You can review your plan regularly and include it on your Gantt chart. Stay organised and stay in control of your project from start to finish!