Courses Workshops and Training

Why Change Management?
According to Harvard Business Review, 70% of all change initiatives fail. Another study by Towers Watson found that only 25% of change management actions are successful over the long term. All around us, technologies, processes, people, ideas and methods are continuously evolving, affecting the way organizations run their operations.
Developing effective change management skills then becomes not only inevitable, but also critical in today’s dynamic professional world as organizational change becomes more of a norm than an exception.
The Effective Change Management program will give aspiring change agents and managers the tools required to implement changes successfully with positive acceptance throughout the organization.

Program overview:

The Effective Change Management program is designed to promote excellence in the management of change by introducing participants to the skills required at each step of the change process.
Built on latest research and practice in Canada, this program develops, challenges and inspires leaders to lead successful and rewarding organizational change initiatives.
The concepts and methods learned are immediately usable in the workplace, leading to faster implementation of change projects that achieve and sustain concrete results. 

Course Topics:

Program Outline 

●     The Nature of Change

●     Drivers of Change

●     Vision and Mission of Change

●     Eight Steps to Effective Change Management

●     Change Strategies

●     Change Resistance

●     Effective Communication Skills to Lead Change

●     Effective Leadership in the Change Process 

Course Features:

Learning Objectives:

● To introduce the step by step change management process and the range of tools and methods available to address change challenges and problems

● To provide insight on relevant, practical and applicable change management skills and equip participants to effectively engage with change processes in the workplace

● To improve awareness and confidence for using change management tools and models required to design appropriate change plans for the workplace 

Certification:

Course completion certificate. 

Course Overview

Every Canadian organization is responsible for ensuring robust Cyber Security. The ability to protect its information systems from impairment or even theft is essential to success. Implementing effective security measures will not only offer liability protection; it will also increase efficiency and productivity.

With our Cyber Security workshop your participants will understand the different types of malware and security breaches. Develop effective prevention methods which will increase overall security. They will also understand the basic concepts associated with Cyber Security and what your organization needs to stay secure.

Target Audience:

Staff, board members, volunteers and partners of Canadian businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Course Materials:

Students will receive a course manual with presentation slides and reference materials.

Examination:

No Exam

Technical Requirements:

Internet connected desktop or laptop computer (Windows, MacOS, Linux)

Agenda:

Module One: Getting Started

• Icebreaker
• Housekeeping Items
• Workshop Objectives
• Canadian laws and regulations

Module Two: Cyber security Fundamentals

• What is Cyberspace?
• What is Cyber security?
• Why is Cyber security Important?
• What is a Hacker?
• Case Study
• Module Two: Review Questions

 Module Three: Types of Malware

• Worms
• Viruses
• Spyware
• Trojans
• Case Study
• Module Three: Review Questions

Module Four: Cyber Security Breaches

• Phishing
• Identity Theft
• Harassment
• Cyberstalking
• Case Study
• Module Four: Review Questions

Module Five: Types of Cyber Attacks

• Password Attacks
• Denial of Service Attacks
• Passive Attack
• Penetration Testing
• Case Study
• Module Five: Review Questions

Module Six: Prevention Tips

• Craft a Strong Password
• Two-Step Verification
• Download Attachments with Care
• Question Legitimacy of Websites
• Case Study
• Module Six: Review Questions

Module Seven: Mobile Protection

• No Credit Card Numbers
• Place Lock on Phone
• Don’t Save Passwords
• No Personalized Contacts Listed
• Case Study
• Module Seven: Review Questions

Module Eight: Social Network Security

• Don’t Reveal Location
• Keep Birthdate Hidden
• Have Private Profile
• Don’t Link Accounts
• Case Study
• Module Eight: Review Questions

Module Nine: Prevention Software

• Firewalls
• Virtual Private Networks
• Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware
• Routine Updates
• Case Study
• Module Nine: Review Questions

Module Ten: Critical Cyber Threats

• Critical Cyber Threats
• Cyber terrorism
• Cyberwarfare
• Cyberespionage
• Case Study
• Module Ten: Review Questions

 Module Eleven: Defense Against Hackers

• Cryptography
• Digital Forensics
• Intrusion Detection
• Legal Recourse
• Case Study
• Module Eleven: Review Questions

Module Twelve: Wrapping Up

• Canadian Aspects
• Lessons Learned
• Completion of Action Plans and Evaluations

Course Description:

This Management of Risk course prepares learners to demonstrate knowledge and comprehension of the four elements of the Management of Risk framework: Principles, Approach, Processes, Embedding and Reviewing; and how these elements support corporate governance. 

 Course Topics:

Introduction

●      Introduction to the Management of Risk

●      What is a risk?

●      What is a risk management?

●      Why is risk management so important?

●      Basic risk definitions

●      The development of knowledge about risk management

●      Corporate governance & internal control

●      Where and when should risk management be applied?

Management of Risk principles:

●      The purpose of Management of Risk principles

●      Aligns with objectives

●      Fits the context

●      Engages stakeholders

●      Provides clear guidance

●      Informs decision-making

●      Facilitates continual improvement

●      Creates a supportive culture

●      Achieves measurable value

●      Risk management maturity models

Management of Risk approach:

●      Relationship between the documents

●      Risk management policy

●      Risk management process guide

●      Risk management strategy

●      Risk register

●      Issue register

●      Risk response plan

●      Risk improvement plan

●      Risk communications plan

Management of Risk process

●      Common process barriers

●      Identify – contexts

●      Identify – the risks

●      Assess – estimate

●      Assess – evaluate

●      Plan

●      Implement

●      Communication throughout the process

Management of Risk perspectives

●      Strategic perspective

●      Program perspective

●      Project perspective

●      Operational perspective

Risk specialisms

●      Business continuity management

●      Incident and crisis management

●      Health and Safety management

●      Financial risk management

●      Environmental risk management

●      Reputational risk management

●      Contract risk management

Management of Risk  Exam

●      Open book

Learning Goals:

●      Describe the key characteristics of risk and the benefits of risk management

●      List the eight Management of Risk Principles

●      List and describe the use of the key Management of Risk Approach documents

●      Create Probability and Impact scales

●      Define and distinguish between risks and issues

●      Create a Risk Register

●      Create a Stakeholder map

●      Identify the key roles in risk management

●      Use the key techniques and describe specialisms in risk management

●      Undertake the Management of Risk examination

 Course Agenda:

●      Introduction

●      Management of Risk principles

●      Management of Risk approach

●      Management of Risk process

●      Management of Risk perspectives

●      Risk specialisms

 Who can Attend?

 This Management of Risk course is ideal for professionals who need to learn and apply the concepts of risk management, and specifically, understand the principles and language of the Management of Risk method. For example, Directors, all levels of Managers, Program and Project Managers, Program Office Staff, Business Change Managers, and Business Consultants.

Course Description:

We are living in a fast, changing world. Managing projects by the book is not enough anymore. Especially when the external effects on projects, from the business, the environment, media, public opinion and even natural disasters, can be enormous. This workshop helps you gain the additional knowledge and tools to manage projects in the future with an increased chance of success. The workshop covers information on the underlying theory, principles, techniques, methods, etc.

Course Outline:

• Module 1: Workshop Introduction
• Module 2: Overview
• Module 3: Business Case
• Module 4: Managing the Business Case
• Module 5: Tooling
• Module 6: Examples & Case
• Exercise

Target Audience :

Executives, decision makers, managers, project managers, program managers who want to improve their effectiveness.

Learning Objectives :

At the end of this workshop, you will be aware of the necessity of business case management, be able to apply the tools and techniques and be prepared for a future with more successful projects.

Course  Description:

Business analysis is a topic of growing importance for projects, programs and organizations. The marketplace reflects this importance, with practitioners increasingly embracing business analysis as a technique for uncovering business needs, managing requirements, and creating effective solutions for business problems.

Target Audience:

Individuals who work with project teams and manage requirements and business analysis activities.

Learning Objectives:

Individuals certified at this level will have demonstrated their understanding of:

• Problem solving and opportunity identification tools and techniques
• Contingency planning
• Business rule analysis
• Decision making
• Quality management
• Systems thinking

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Course Materials:

Students will receive a course manual with presentation slides and reference materials.

Examination:

• Exam Format: Closed-Book. Web-Based
• Questions: 200 multiple choice questions

Technical Requirements:

For eBooks:

Internet connected Desktop or Laptop computer (Windows, MacOS, Linux)

Agenda:

Module 1: Introduction

Module 2: Needs Assessment – Domain 1

Module 3: Business Analysis Planning – Domain 2

Module 4: Requirements Elicitation and Analysis – Domain 3

Module 5: Traceability and Monitoring – Domain 4

Module 6: Solution Evaluation – Domain 5

Module 7: Project Management and Business Analysis

Module 8: Exam Strategies

Module 9: Recap and Next Steps

Course Description:

Scrum, Extreme Programming, Lean, Feature Driven Development and other methods each have their strengths. While there are significant similarities under the Agile umbrella, each method brings specific tools for team success. Rarely do organizations adopt one methodology in its pure form. Rather, success is achieved by combining best practices.

In this Agile PM course you will put the skills, tools and techniques you are taught to work. The classroom will be broken up into Agile teams and an expert instructor will drive each team through the Agile process: from vision down to daily planning and execution. Your instructor will answer questions with real-world experience, as all of our instructors have Agile experience “in the trenches.” You will leave the class with practical knowledge and a clear roadmap for success.

 Course Topics:

DAY 1

 1. Agile Introduction & Overview

2. Forming the Agile Team

3. Product Vision

4. Focus on the Customer

5. Creating a Product Backlog

6. Product Roadmap

 DAY 2

 1. Prioritizing the Product Backlog

2. Estimating

3. Release Planning

4. Story Review

DAY 3

 1. Iteration Execution

2. Measuring & Communicating Progress

3. Iteration Review & Demo

4. Retrospectives

Course Outline:

 Agile Introduction and Overview

●     Why Agile

●     Agile Methods

●     Agile Benefits

●     Agile Basics – understanding the lingo

Forming the Agile Team

●     Team Roles

●     Process Expectations

●     Self organizing teams – where flexibility exists

●     Communication – inside and out

Product Vision

●     Five Levels of Planning in Agile

     – Vision

     – Roadmap

     – Release

     – Iteration

     – Daily

●     Importance of Product Vision

●     Creating and communicating vision

Focus on the Customer

●     User Roles

●     Customer Personas

●     Customer Participation

Creating a Product Backlog

●     User Stories

●     Acceptance Tests

●     What makes a good story (sizing and substance)

●     Story Writing Workshop

Product Roadmap

●     Product Themes

●     Importance of Focus

●     Creating the Roadmap

●     Communication

●     Maintaining the Roadmap

Prioritizing the Product Backlog

●     Methods for prioritizing

●     Building Trust

●     Expectations for prioritizing stories

Estimating

●     Actual vs Relative estimating

●     Story Points

●     Planning Poker

●     Estimating Team velocity

Release Planning

●     Utilizing velocity

●     Continuous Integration

●     Regular cadence

Story Review

●     Getting to the details

●     Methods

●     Keeping cadence

Iteration Planning

●     Task breakdown

●     Time estimates

●     Definition of “done”

●     Active participation

Iteration Execution

●     Collaboration – value individuals and interactions

     – Communication

     – Daily Standup (Scrum)

     – Taskboards

●     Cadence

Measuring and Communicating Progress

●     Actual effort and remaining effort

●     Burndown charts

●     Tools and Reporting

●     Your company specific measures

Iteration Review and Demo

●     Iteration Review

●     Demos – a change from the past

Retrospectives

●     What we did well

●     What did not go so well

●     What will we improve

Bringing it All Together

●     Process Overview

●     Transparency

●     Cadence

●     Team Roadmap

Course Features:

Learning Objectives:

 ● Structure a team with generalizing specialists so the team can develop working software incrementally.

● Practice and maintain a regular cadence when delivering working software each iteration.

● Follow the team approach; start as a team, finish as a team — and focus on delivering value to the organization.

● Gain knowledge and understanding of Agile principles and why they are so important for each team.

● Embrace the five levels of planning and recognize the value of continuous planning.

● Build a backlog of prioritized and estimated user stories that provides emergent requirements for analysis and foster customer engagement and understanding.

● Engage in more effective estimating (story points) and become more accurate by being less precise.

● Create accurate Agile release plans that connect you back to business expectations – including hard date commitments and fixed price models.

Certification:

Course completion certificate

Who can Attend?

Because this is an immersion course and the intent is to engage in the practices every Agile team will employ, this course is recommended for all team members. That includes, but is not limited to:

 ●     Business Analyst

●     Technical Analyst

●     Project Manager

●     Software Engineer/Programmer

●     Development Manager

●     Product Manager

●     Product Analyst

●     Tester

●     QA Engineer

●     Documentation Specialist

Course Description:

Knowledge Management is the organization of human intellectual resources and technology information systems within a business environment.
The Knowledge Management workshop will give participants the tools that they will need to begin implementing knowledge management in your organization, no matter what the size of the company or the budget. Wherever there are people working together for one goal, there is knowledge to be harvested, stored, and dispensed as needed.

Course Outline:

Module One: Understanding Knowledge Management

●     What is Knowledge

●     What is Knowledge Management

●     A Brief History

●     Applications in the Workplace

Module Two: Dos and Dont’s

●     Data, Information, and Knowledge

●     The Tacit Mode

Module Three: The Knowledge Management Life Cycle

●     Understanding Episodes

●     Acquisition

●     Knowledge

●     Integration

Module Four: The New Knowledge Management Paradigm

●     Paradigms of the Past

●     The New Paradigm

●     Implications and Applications

●     The Knowledge Management Endgame

Module Five: Knowledge Management Models

●     The Nonaka and Takeuchi Model (SECI)

●     Wiig Model

●     Kakabadse Model

●     Boisot Model

Module Six: Building a Knowledge Management Rationale

●     Why Rationale is Necessary

●     Building a Business Case

●     Finding Success Stories

●     The Commodization/Customisation Model

Module Seven: Customizing Knowledge Management Definitions

●     Components of a Knowledge Management Definition

●     Customizing the Components

●     Creating a KMBOK

Module Eight: Implementing Knowledge Management in Your Organization

●     Gathering Support

●     Identifying Opportunities for Revenue Streams

●     Key Knowledge Management Techniques

●     A Map for Success

●     The No-Budget Scenario

Module Nine: Tips for Success

●     About the Chief Knowledge Officer

●     Knowledge Management Skill Checklist

●     The Knowledge Management Imperative

●     The Hype Curve

●     Barriers and Helpers to Success

Module Ten: Advance Topics

●     The Knowledge Management Maturity Model

●     Absorptive Capacity

●     Rustiness

●     Process Model Types

Module Eleven: Wrapping Up

●     Words from the Wise

●     Lessons Learned

●     Completion of Action Plans and Evaluations

Learning Objectives:

After completing this course, individuals will be able to demonstrate understanding of:

● Knowledge Management
● The Knowledge Management Life Cycle
● The New Knowledge Management Paradigm Implications and Applications
● Knowledge Management Models
● Building a Knowledge Management Rationale
● Customizing Knowledge Management Definitions
● Implementing Knowledge Management in Your Organization

Certification:

Course completion certificate 

Who can Attend?

Anybody at your organization who is tasked with gathering, storing, or dispensing information and insights.

Course Description:

Do you want to improve the performance of IT Management at your organization? Are your internal or external clients dissatisfied with current IT services and process? Does your IT team in need of energy boost? 

Improvement initiatives often fail because people bite off more than they can chew. During this workshop we identify various IT improvement initiatives and how to tackle them. Learning how to  ‘choose your battles’ approach avoids major pitfalls by only selecting initiatives that are really worthwhile, and match your organization’s practical capabilities to execute and avoid the limitations of the organizational ecosystem. 

Course Topics:

Presentation of frame of reference for the clients’ specific IT services

●     Presentation of the ‘big IT picture’ model as a frame of reference

●     Interactive creation of a high-level assessment of the IT function, based on the big IT picture model

●     Presentation of a ‘framework of frameworks’, to position many common industry practices

●     High-level presentation of some relevant frameworks or standards that may be useful when discussing the quick scan results

●     Presentation about how to ‘implement’ frameworks effectively

●     Presentation of the IT value circle on which the quick scan is based

Discussion of similarities and differences in quick scan findings

●     Presentation of compiled quick scan results

●     Discussion of high-level similarities and differences

●     Presentation of a way to assess the value of potential improvement items

Identification and qualification of potential improvement items

●     Discussion about each quick scan item and identification of potential improvement items, including provisional ranking of value, resulting in a list of potential improvement items

Ranking of potential improvement items

●     Discussion about the relative value of each potential improvement item, resulting in an updated list with value scores

Assessment of feasibility of improvement items and division of items into quick wins and longer term improvement areas

●     Presentation of Covey’s Circles as a way of identifying which improvements are feasible and which are a ‘mission impossible’

●     Discussion about the feasibility of each potential improvement item, resulting in an updated list with feasibility scores

Identification of ‘improvement ambassadors’

●     Enlistment of volunteers to undertake improvements

Provisional planning of improvement activities

●     Provisional planning of the quick wins and high priority potential improvement items

●     Discussion about how to keep the improvement wheel turning 

Learning Goals:

●     Individuals certified at this level will have demonstrated their understanding of:

●     How to assess the ‘health’ of their current way of working

●     How to identify specific improvement items that are worth improving

●     How to assess the feasibility of successfully executing these improvement items 

Course Agenda:

Pre-Course

●     Each participant fills in the quick scan assessment and returns this to the facilitator 1 week before the first session

First day

●     Kick-off and introduction

●     Presentation of frame of reference for the client’s specific IT services

●     Discussion of similarities and differences in quick scan findings

●     Identification and qualification of potential improvement items

Intermediate days

●     Identification and qualification of more potential improvement items

Last day

●     Ranking of potential improvement items

●     Assessment of feasibility of improvement items and division of items into quick wins and longer term improvement areas

●     Identification of ‘improvement ambassadors’

●     Provisional planning of improvement activities 

Who can Attend?

This workshop is for heads of IT Management departments who are struggling with their Application Management and/or IT Service Management services. Their concerns might be caused by problems with relationships with their business and IT partners, processes, staff knowledge/skills/motivation, tools etc. The issues could be strategic, managerial or operational.

Course  Overview

Power BI is the newest Microsoft Business Intelligence and Data Analysis tool. In this introductory course we will go through basics of this product, and introduce all five components of Power BI (Power Query, Power Pivot, Power View, Power Map, and Power Q&A).

You will see some demos and introduction about Power BI desktop, Office 365 Power BI subscription, and Power BI website, and mobile apps.

Target Audience:

The Power BI training is for all the professionals who are passionate about business intelligence, data visualization, and data analytics.

• Business Analysts

• Business Intelligence Manager

• Statisticians and Analysts

• Data Scientists

• Project Managers

Learning Objectives:

• Understand primary features of a self-service Power BI solution

• Utilize Power BI and its data sources

• Combine, analyze, model, shape, and visualize data

• Report data using rich dashboards

Course Materials:

Students will receive a course manual with presentation slides and reference materials.

Examination:

No Exam

Technical Requirements:

Internet connected desktop or laptop computer.

Agenda:

Module 1: Introduction to Power BI

You will see some demos and introduction about Power BI desktop, Office 365 Power BI subscription, and Power BI website, and mobile apps. You will see demos of how easy to use is Power BI in various scenarios.

Module 2: Getting Data

Getting Data is the first experience of working with Power BI. You can connect to many data sources on-premises or on cloud. For some data sources you can have a live or direct connection, for some connection works offline. For some connections you need a gateway or connector to be installed. In this module you will learn everything about get data experience of Power BI.

Module 3: Power Query for Data Transformation

Data analysis and BI world starts from data extraction and transformation. Power Query is the data transformation engine of Power BI. Power Query comes as part of Excel 2016, or as an add-in for Excel 2013 and 2010. Power Query is also part of Power BI Desktop. In this module you will learn about all different version of Power Query, their similarities, and differences, as well as configuration and requirements of using them.

Power Query uses a graphical user interface to apply transformations on the dataset. However Power Query works with a functional scripting language behind the scenes. The key to learn Power Query is learning the functional language called M. There are many features in M that are not available in the Power Query GUI. In this module you will learn how to understand M, and how to write M scripts even from scratch. You will learn writing custom functions in M as well as many other useful features.

Module 4: Power Pivot for Data Modelling

Power Pivot is xVelocity in-memory data modelling engine of the Power BI. Modelling effectively is the key of high performance BI solution. In this module you will learn basics of Power Pivot such as creating relationships, and calculated members, as well as advanced best practices and DAX expressions. DAX is Data Analytical eXpression language. DAX has similar structure to excel functions, but it is different. In this module you will learn DAX from beginner to advance. You will learn basic functions as well as complex functions and scenarios of using them in real world challenges.

Module 5: Data Visualization with Power BI Desktop, Power View and Power Map

Data Visualization is the front end of any BI application, this is the user view point of your system. It is critical to visualize measures, and dimensions effectively so the BI system could tell the story of the data clearly. In this module you will learn conceptual best practices of data visualizations which is valid through all data visualization tools. You will learn Power View and Power Map skills. Power View is the interactive data visualization tool and Power Map is 3D geo-spatial data visualization tool. You will learn how to create effective charts, and dashboards using these tools as well as best practices for working with these tools. There are two version of Power View; Power View for Excel, and Power View for SharePoint which will be covered in this module as well.

Module 6: Designing the best solution with Power Q&A

Power BI introduced a new engine for users which focus on users who wants to play with the data more, and understand the story behind the data better. Power Q&A is question and answering engine which works based on human natural language. Power Q&A automatically will be enabled on Power BI files deployed into Power BI website, or Office 365 subscription. However there are some tips and tricks about how to design your model to get the best type of answers through Power Q&A. In this module you will learn best practices for modelling that effect on the response of Power Q&A.

Module 7: Power BI Desktop; combination of three tools

Power BI Desktop (Previously was known as Power BI Designer) is the new designer tool that enhance combination of three main Power BI components; Power Query, Power Pivot, and Power View. Power BI Desktop has great features that will be fully explored in this module. There is slightly difference from components of Power BI desktop with their original versions; in this module you will learn these differences. You will learn how to use Power BI desktop to mash up data, model it, and visualize it. Best practices of design will be all discussed with demos.

Module 8: Administration

Power BI components can be deployed into different environments such as Power BI website, Office 365 subscription, or even SharePoint on-premises. In this module we will go through deployment options, Configurations and requirements required for each environment. You will learn how to deploy your Power BI files into Power BI website. you will also learn how to build dashboards in the website, and how to work with Mobile Apps for Apple, Android and Windows Phone.

Course Description:

This course provides participants with a thorough understanding of the Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) programme management methodology, providing the knowledge needed to confidently understand and explain the use of MSP to manage programmes in line with strategic aims of an organization and its day-to-day operations. Participants will present their exercise results and discuss them with the rest of the class, thus gaining further knowledge from many different points of view, in many different industries.

Course Topics:

●      MSP Introduction and Overview – What is a programme? What is programme management? MSP Structure

●      MSP Framework and Concepts – Principles, governance themes, transformational flow, management strategies and plans.

●      VISION – What is a vision’? What makes a good Vision Statement?

●      Identifying a Programme – Programme Mandate. Linking to Policy and Strategy. Preparing a Programme Brief. Planning to Define the Program.

●      Blueprint Design and Delivery – What is a Blueprint, and what does it contain? Developing a Blueprint from the Vision Statement.

●      Defining a Programme – Creating a Programme Definition Document (including the Project Dossier, the Programme Plan and the Programme Business Case).

●      Planning and Control – What is a Programme Plan and how is it developed? The Project Dossier. Resourcing and scheduling.

●      Benefits Realisation Management – The key driver for the program. How benefits realisation links to achieving strategic objectives. Outcome relationship models and Benefit Maps. Planning for benefits realisation.

●      Organisation and the Programme Office – Organisation and leadership. Organisational structure, the key roles and their responsibilities. What is a Programme Office and what service does it provide.

●      The Business Case – Developing, managing and reviewing the program’s Business Case.

●      Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement – Leadership as opposed to management. How leaders’ actively engage stakeholders. Analysing and engaging with stakeholders. Stakeholder maps and matrices.

●      Managing the Tranches – Implementing governance arrangements. Establishing tranches. Managing risks and issues.

●      Delivering the Capability and Realising the benefits Co-ordinating and managing projects on the Project Dossier. Starting and closing projects. Maintaining alignment with the program. Ensuring that project outputs are fit for purpose and can be integrated into operations, so that benefits can be realised. Pre-transition, transition and post-transition activities.

●      Quality and Assurance Management – Critical Success Factors. The scope of programme quality and assurance management. Quality processes. Configuration Management. Quality Management Strategy and Plan. Information Management Strategy and Plan.

●      Risk Management and Issue Resolution- Principles, approach and strategy for managing risks and resolving issues. Managing and controlling changes in programmes.

●      Closing a Programme- Formal confirmation of completion. Finalizing programme information.

 Learning Goals:

 ●      Understand the principles and structure of MSP.

●      Understand the benefits of a structured method in a changing environment.

●      Explain the MSP process model.

●      Understand the MSP themes.

●      Draft a Programme brief and Vision Statement.

●      Propose a Programme organisation structure.

●      Engage with stakeholders at all levels.

●      Understand the vision and the blueprint and how they can be applied to the best advantage.

●      Apply progress control mechanisms.

●      Appreciate the principles of programme level quality and risk management.

●      Realize the importance of configuration management

 Course Agenda:

●      MSP® Introduction and Overview

●      MSP® Framework and Concepts

●      Identifying a Programme

●      Blueprint Design and Delivery

●      Defining a Programme

●      Planning and Control

●      Benefits Realisation Management

●      Organisation and the Programme Office

●      The Business Case

●      Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement

●      Managing the Tranches

●      Delivering the Capability and Realising the benefits

●      Quality and Assurance Management

●      Risk Management and Issue Resolution

●      Closing a Programme

Who can Attend?

●      Program managers who may have a background in managing projects, but have not previously operated in a transformational change environment.

●      Senior managers who will sponsor the change, or perhaps be held accountable for its success.

●      Operational managers charged with embedding the change in their area.

●      Operational staff undertaking a role in the programme or related projects.

●      Project managers.

Course Description:

This program provides participants with concepts and approaches for developing a partnership between the Project Manager and Business Analyst roles. Referencing specific challenges within their own context, the course provides methods to build a synergetic, functionally harmonious relationship that maximizes the business value these roles produce for the organization.

Course Outline :

Course Introduction

• Module 1: Challenges related to project management and business analysis

• Module 2: Enterprise analysis, portfolio management and the PMO

• Module 3: Communication, stakeholder expectations management

• Module 4: Requirements definition

• Module 5: Assumptions, constraints, dependencies and Risks

• Module 6: Resource Management

• Module 7: Building a Partnership: Integration and shared responsibility throughout the project

Target Audience:

• Business Analysts

• Project Managers

• Program Managers

• Project Sponsors

• PM/BA Managers

Learning Objectives :

• Divide and identify the roles of the Project Manager and Business Analyst, addressing multiple touchpoint areas, such as risks, assumptions, constraints, dependencies, communication, stakeholder relationship and expectations management, managing organizational priorities, requirements and scope, strategic alignment, resource management and estimating, processes and documentation.

• Develop a practical approach to address the intersections between the PM and BA roles and the ability to maximize each role’s contribution by articulating the handover points between the roles of the Project Manager and Business Analyst.

• Integrate activities, set up the boundaries, and lists activities that must be performed harmoniously between the Project Manager and Business Analyst roles, in logical order, to ensure project and organizational benefits are realized and maximized.

• Illustrate the flow of work and responsibilities between the Project Manager and Business Analyst through both the project lifecycle and product lifecycles.

• Determine and apply the levels of respective involvement the Project Manager and the Business Analyst should have in project activities and the timing of their focus and touchpoints.

• Incorporate a series of early project activities – with focus on initiation and early planning activities – to gain more control over the project outcome and success.

• Understand and perform collaboration techniques to improve resource allocation in the project and throughout the organization and to streamline the transition between the product requirements and the project scope.

Course Agenda :

• Course Introduction

• Challenges related to project management and business analysis

• Enterprise analysis, portfolio management and the PMO

• Communication, stakeholder expectations management

• Requirements definition

• Assumptions, constraints, dependencies and Risks

• Resource Management

• Building a Partnership: Integration and shared responsibility throughout the project

Course Description:

Effective professionals have the ability to directly influence the performance and success of their respective organizations. But in order to do so, they must first master an array of skills that may be unlike any they have ever used before. The Professional Skills workshop is designed to provide participants with just such expertise through an introduction to the competencies that they must master in order to transform themselves into high-performing leaders.

Course Topics:

1. Leadership Assessment

2. Leadership            

3. Emotional Intelligence

4. Communications        

5. Coaching/Mentoring

6. Conflict Management and Dealing with Difficult People

7. Time Management

8. Facilitation and Negotiation

9. Change Management

Course Outline:

Leadership Assessment

●      Clarifying the differences between leading and managing

●      Pinpointing the skills needed to be effective in each role

●      Understanding how to balance and improve the two skills sets

Leadership

●      Building trust with others

●      Using power efficiently

●      Reviewing best practices of successful leaders

Emotional Intelligence

●      Self-Awareness

●      Self-Management

●      Social Management

●      Relationship Management

Communications

●      Communication channels

●      Communication models

●      Communication methods

●      The Power of Listening

Coaching/Mentoring

●      Coaching models

●      Mentoring models

●      Providing feedback

Conflict Management & Dealing with Difficult People

●      Preferred conflict management styles

●      A step-by-step conflict resolution process

●      Strategies for handling conflict

Time Management
Facilitation & Negotiation

●      The concept of facilitation and how it differs from traditional methods

●      Facilitation tools and techniques; handling difficult facilitating situations

●      Preparing for a negotiation session

●      The win-win negotiated outcome

●      Negotiation strategies and tactics

Change Management

●      Readying the team/organization for change

●      Leading others through any type of change

Assessments and Exercises

●      Communicating Organization Direction

●      Developing Key Relationships

●      Inspiring Others and Directing Operations

●      Developing the Organization

●      Reinforcing Performance

Course Feature:

Learning Objectives:

Individuals certified at this level:

● Analyze and understand personal business strengths and weaknesses
● Learn specific interpersonal challenges associated with software teams and how to deal with them
● Examine and assess current leadership abilities
● Review strategies for building trust, using power and authority effectively, and how to develop others on a project team
● Improve self-awareness of emotional intelligence
● Learn how to overcome miscommunication between individuals and departments
● Determine strategies for how to prevent a negative employee’s attitude from spreading to other employees
● Learn how to self-manage and lead software teams by example
● Use creativity, quick thinking and voting techniques to solve business problems
● Demonstrate competent communication and collaboration skills
● Manage project priorities and personal organization in complex projects
● Perform a gap analysis to begin development mapping
● Create an Individual Development Plan (IDP)
● Tips and tricks to become self-motivated when no one is cheering you on
● Deal with difficult employees, co-workers, suppliers or bosses
● Cope with mistakes and failures by turning them into learning opportunities
● Minimize your weaknesses and maximizing your strengths
● Choose appropriate communication and collaboration methods in a socially networked world
● Appreciate different perspectives and examining different sides of situations
● Cope with office politics, hidden agendas and changes
● Learn how to persuade others without manipulating or controlling
● Investigate specific challenges of business analysts and software developers

Certification:

Workshop completion certificate

Who can Attend?

Audience:

This course is designed for any current or aspiring professional, who owns the responsibility for a function, leads teams, manages people or simply wants to become more effective in a professional environment. The immediately useful skills taught in the course are a great benefit to:

● Project Managers – both traditional and Agile
● Agile ScrumMasters and Product Owners
● New Managers
● PMO Managers/Directors
● Experienced Professionals who wish to enhance their skills
● Team Leaders
● Business Analysts
● Supervisors
● Lead Testers and Developers
● High Potential Employees
● Anyone who wants to improve their management and leadership competencies

Course Description:

In this Management of Portfolios (MoP) course participants will learn the key aspects of the Management of Portfolios (MoP) methodology. MoP helps organizations ensure if the investments are done in the right change initiatives and implementing them correctly. This is achieved by:

 ●     Prioritizing the programs and projects in terms of their contribution to the organization’s strategic objectives and overall level of risk.

●     Managing the programs and projects consistently to ensure efficient and effective delivery.

●     Maximizing the benefit by providing the greatest return from the investment made.

 Course Topics:

●     Introduction

●     Background of the methodology

●     The MoP Principles:

●     Senior Management Commitment

●     Governance Alignment

●     Strategy Alignment

●     Portfolio Office

●     Energized Change Culture

●     The MoP Definition Cycle

●     Roles and responsibilities

●     The MoP Delivery cycle:

●     Management control

●     Benefits management

●     Financial management

●     Risk management

●     Stakeholder engagement

●     Organizational governance

●     Resource management

●     The MoP framework

●     Designing and setting up the Portfolio office

●     Overview of P3O and P3M3, including smaller case studies

●     Implementing and customizing the MoP model

Learning Goals:

 ●     Define the scope and objectives of portfolio management and how it differs from program and project management.

●     List the benefits of applying portfolio management.

●     Explain the context it operates in.

●     List the principles of successful portfolio management is based on.

●     List the different approaches to implement MoP.

●     List the factors to maintain progress and how to assess the success of portfolio management.

●     State the purpose and key content of the major portfolio documents.

●     Define the scope of key portfolio management roles.

Participants will have to demonstrated their understanding of:

 ●     Defining the business case to get senior management approval for portfolio management.

●     Planning the implementation of portfolio management.

●     Selecting and adapting MoP principles, practices, and techniques to suit different organizational environments.

●     Evaluating examples of MoP information including documents and role descriptions.

●     Analyzing the solutions adopted in relation to a given scenario.

 Course Agenda:

●     Pre-Course Reading

●     MoP Scenario

●     Background of the methodology

●     The MoP Principles:

●     Senior Management Commitment

●     Governance Alignment

●     Strategy Alignment

●     Portfolio Office

●     Energized Change Culture

●     The MoP definition cycle

●     Roles and responsibilities

●     The MoP Delivery cycle:

●     Management control

●     Benefits management

●     Financial management

●     Risk management

●     Stakeholder engagement

●     Organizational governance

●     Resource management

●     Designing and setting up the Portfolio office

●     Overview of P3O and P3M3, including smaller case studies

●     Implementing and customizing the MoP model

Who can Attend?

 ●     Individuals involved in a range of formal and informal portfolio management roles encompassing investment decision making, project and program delivery, and benefits realization.

●     Those involved in the selection and delivery of business change initiatives.

●     Senior managers (e.g., financial managers, quality managers) involved in setting strategic goals and giving direction to the organization’s portfolio of changes.

●     Individuals responsible for maximizing the benefit to the organization by providing the greatest return from the investment made.

Course Description :

A combination of material from ITIL Foundation and ITIL Practitioner certifications is a complete package for learning and adopting the core disciplines of the ITIL Best Practice. The course is case-study driven and facilitates a strong comprehension of the concepts.

During the course, individuals, teams, and organizations learn about the five core disciplines of ITIL: Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operations, and Continual Service Improvement.
The five disciplines represent a service lifecycle framework that further enhances alignment to the business while demonstrating business value, improving ROI, and enabling IT to meet specific operational needs. Consequently, the disciplines help address the challenges that arise from IT Service Management improvement initiatives.

Course Outline :

Module1: Course Introduction

• Course Learning Objectives
• Course Agenda
• ITIL Qualification Scheme

Module2: Service Management as a Practice

• Best Practices in the Public Domain
• ITIL as a Good Practice
• Concept of Service
• Concept of Service Management
• Processes and Functions
• The RACI Model
• Roles and Responsibilities

Module3: Service Lifecycle

• The Service Lifecycle
• Basic Concepts of Service Strategy
• Basic Concepts of Service Design
• Basic Concepts of Service Transition
• Basic Concepts of Service Operation
• Basic Concepts of Continual Service Improvement

Module4: Service Strategy

• Basic Concepts of Service Strategy
• Principles and Models of Service Strategy
• Processes of Service Strategy
• Service Portfolio Management
• Financial Management for IT Services
• Business Relationship Management

Module5: Service Design

• Basic Concept of Service Design
• Principles and Models of Service Design
• Service Solutions for New or Changed Services
• Management of Information Systems and Tools
• Technology Architectures and Management Architectures
• Processes Required
• Measurement Methods and Metrics
• Processes of Service Design
• Design Coordination
• Service Level Management
• Service Catalogue Management
• Availability Management
• Information Security Management
• Supplier Management
• Capacity Management
• IT Service Continuity Management

Module6: Service Transition

• Change Management
• Service Asset and Configuration Management
• Release and Deployment Management
• Transition Planning and Support
• Knowledge Management

Module7: Service Operation

• Event Management
• Incident Management
• Request Fulfilment
• Problem Management
• Access Management
• Service Operations Functions
• The Service Desk Function
• The Technical Management Function
• The Application Management Function
• The IT Operation Management Function

Module8: Continual Service Improvement

• Basic Concepts of CSI
• Principles and Models of CSI
• CSI Process

Module9: Technology and Architecture

• Service Automation
• Competence and Skills for Service Management
• Competence and Skills Framework

Module 10: ITIL Practicioner

• Guiding Principles
• Course Structure
• Certification

Module 11: The Journey

• Current Challenges
• Where are we now?
• Sources and Inputs
• Decision Time!
• Template: Elevator Pitch
• Template: SWOT Analysis
• Template: Stakeholder Analysis Worksheet

Module 12: Organizational Change Management (OCM)

• Purpose and Approaches
• Essentials for Successful Improvement
• Implementing a Successful Change
• Continual Improvement of OCM

Module 13: The Desire

• The CSI Approach: Where do we want to be?
• Where do we want to be?
• Vision to Measurement Trail
• Our Goals and Value
• Never Lose the Big Picture!
• Company Requirements
• The Assignment
• Sources and Inputs
• Presenting the Power of the Story
• Debrief
• Template: Presentation Worksheet
• Template: Stakeholder Worksheet

Module 14: Communication

• Good Communication
• Communication Principles
• Communication Techniques
• Types of Communication

Module 15: The Roadmap

• The CSI Approach: How do we get there?
• Refresher: Five Major Aspects of Service Design
• Refresher: Balanced Scorecard
• Mixing Frameworks and Methods
• Meeting Time
• Template: Implementation Plan (including RACI and Workshop Checklist)
• Template: Meeting Notes
• Template: Balanced Scorecard

Module 16: Metrics and Measurements

• Metrics and Measurements in CSI
• Cascades and Hierarchies
• Metrics Categories

Module 17: Check, Control, and Redirect

• The CSI Approach: Did we get there?
• Refresher: DIKW Model
• Benefits Realization
• Progress Iteratively
• Analysis Time
• Template: Communications Campaign Checklist
• Template: Report Worksheet
• CSI Register
• Template: Benefits Realization Review

Module 18: Stay Tuned

• The CSI Approach: How do we keep the momentum going?
• Resistance Management Plan
• Reinforcement with Balanced Diversity
• Template: Resistance Management Plan

Module 19: Guiding Principles

• The Guiding Principles
• Applying the Guiding Principles

Target Audience :

• IT Management
• IT Support Staff
• IT Consultants
• Business Managers
• Business Process Owners
• IT Developers
• Service Providers
• System Integrators

Learning Objectives :

• ITIL Foundation
• Identify the key principles and concepts of IT Service Management.
• Identify the benefits of implementing ITIL in an organization.
• Identify the Service Management Processes and how they map to the Service Lifecycle.
• Identify the basic concepts and definitions related to the Service Lifecycle.
• Identify the activities and roles involved with the Service Lifecycle.
• Identify the relationship of each component of the Service Lifecycle and how they map to other components.
• Identify the factors that affect the effectiveness of the Service Lifecycle.
• ITIL Practitioner
• Understand the ITSM concepts that are important drivers of Continual Service Improvement (CSI).
• Able to apply the ITSM guidance Principles in a real-world context.
• Able to apply the CSI approach to manage improvements in a given organizational context.
• Connect and align ITIL with other frameworks, good practices, and methodologies, such as Lean, DevOps, Agile, and SIAM.
• Able to use metrics and measurements to enable continual improvement.
• Understand how to communicate effectively to enable CSI.
• Able to apply organizational change management to support continual improvement.

Course Description :

In today’s business environment analyzing the current and future needs is key. Enhance your analytical and predictive skills and knowledge with Microsoft Excel.

Excel dashboards are diagnostic tools designed to provide busy managers with a quick overview of the organization’s performance. In this course learn how to turn data and information into timely and actionable insights.

Course Outline :

Excel Overview

Difference between Excel desktop and SaaS versions. General use of Excel and its boundaries and features. Integration with other platforms, software and data sources. 

Program Fundamentals:

What’s New in Excel SaaS, understanding the Excel program window, customizing the ribbons, using ribbon shortcuts, using the help feature, customizing the quick access toolbar, saving Excel documents in the cloud-based OneDrive.

Getting Started with Worksheets:

Cut, Copy and Paste Special mechanisms, Cell Range Reference, Overview of Formulas, Entering Formulas, Formatting Numbers and Cells, Managing Alignment, Conditional Formatting, Document Themes, Finding & Removing Blank cells, Object, Shapes and Smart art.

Working with Data Ranges:

Custom Sort, Filtering Data, Creating a Custom AutoFilter, Using an Advanced Filter, Data Validation, Removing Duplicates in multiple aspects, Grouping, Ungrouping and Subtotal workings, Hyper Links, Text to Columns, Sticky notes comment.

Managing Workbooks:

Selecting and Switching Between Worksheets, Inserting and Deleting Worksheets, Renaming, Moving, and Copying Worksheets/Workbooks, Splitting and Freezing a Window, Hide/Unhide usage, Setting the Print Area, Adjusting Page Margins and Orientation, Protecting Worksheets and Workbooks and Sharing Workbooks.

Functions Overview:

Introduction to Formulas and Functions by Syntax, Parameters and Values, Formulas using Wizard, Cell Reference and Absolute Cell Reference.

Formulas and Functions:

VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, Match, Index, Logical at all levels, Statistical, Logical, Concatenate, Text, Date & Time and More Functions, Name Ranges, Using Named Ranges in the Formulas, Using the Name Manager, Evaluating the Formulas and Error Checking, Goal Seek analysis, Consolidate Method, AutoCalculate and Manual Calculation.

Working with the Web and External Data:

Inserting a Hyperlink, Importing Data from Access or Text Files or Other Sources, Working with Existing Data Connections from SQL Server or XML Data. Practicing on Formula’s and Functions to enhance the skills in a speedy way.

Working with Tables and Pivot Tables:

Creating a Table, Filtering a Table, Summarizing a Table with a PivotTable, Creating a PivotTable, Changing a PivotTable Calculation, Grouping, Filtering and Sorting a PivotTable, Various analyses in the PivotTable, Formatting a PivotTable, Using Slicers, Power Pivot, Sharing Slicers Between PivotTables.

Creating and Working with Charts:

Creating Multiple Charts at all levels, Choosing the Right Chart, Changing Chart Layout and Style, Using Chart Templates, Workings on Settings for the apt view, Changing the Scale, Primary and Secondary axis workings, Changing Chart Type.

Ad-Hoc Tasks:

Understanding the Business/Process requirements and completing the task in a short span of time with the hygienic way in terms of delivering high-level upshot of the Dashboards. As a result of that management can take action against the process improvement by eagle-eyed performance metrics in various aspects.

Automation:

Automating the Dashboards to cut down the repetitive steps for any type of dashboard for logical reasons. In such a case, we can cut down the resources and we can cut down the SLA as well with the precise excellence and fortunately, it’s user friendly too. Here, we will be educating you in enormous ways to automate the dashboards by yourself to some extent, which will help you to showcase your skills in a bigger vision in front of your peers.

Certification:

Course completion certificate.