All Classes
Peruse all of our available classes below.
Better Problem Solving & Decisions
Tools for problem analysis, alternative generation, and decision-making
COST: Workshop is offered to groups of 16 to 36 persons (depending upon training facility capacity) at a per student price of $350. This fee includes the cost of the facility, lunch and refreshments, and all participant materials. Discounts apply to organizations scheduling multiple participants or providing facilities. Additional charges for travel and accommodations will be added to classes taught outside of the greater Sacramento area.
Overview
Problem solving and decision-making are critical skills to working professionals yet most people learn these skills through trial and error and have minimal formal training in these disciplines. Cognitive science has made great strides during the past two decades toward better understanding human thinking. Modern tactics and skills can build upon lessons learned from prior experience and improve both individual and team performance.
Better Problem Solving & Decisions is a one-day (7 hour) workshop providing participants with tools and tactics for working with real world problems in a professional environment. This class is a catalyst for better idea generation and provides analytical tools for problem definition, solution evaluation and selection. The workshop is highly interactive, combining demonstrations and brief discussions of key learning points with individual and group “hands on” problem solving exercises to reinforce learning and build confidence. The course is designed to help participants solve problems and make decisions to bring better value to their organizations and customers.
Objectives
The workshop is a mix of individual and group exercises that provide participants with experiences with both problem solving and decision-making. Participants apply the processes and tools presented by working on real world and case study problems throughout class. At the conclusion of the workshop participants will be able to:
More clearly define problems
Generate a wider variety of quality solutions
Support more structured analysis of options leading to better decisions
Recognize and avoid common pitfalls
Face problems and decisions with increased confidence and an improved array of useful tools and tactics
outline
Participants in this workshop will learn a variety of skills and tactics to aid them in being better problem solvers and decision-makers. The course is structured around the following topics:
Introduction: What is a “problem” and what does it mean to “solve” one? – Participants are shown new perspectives on problem identification and solutions
Verification: Tools and tactics for problem definition – Whether defining a “problem” or an “opportunity”, problem solvers must understand fundamental parameters and assumptions about the situation. This section explores methods to quickly gather and organize relevant information about a problem or opportunity.
Identification: Heuristics for alternative solution generation – Introduces participants to tools and techniques for generating a wider range of solutions. These enable problem solvers to improve both the quality and quantity of alternatives available.
Selection: Evaluating alternatives – The intersection between problem solving and evidence based decision-making is the analysis of different options. Several approaches will be explored, including advantages, disadvantages and pitfalls.
Execution: Implementation considerations – How to implement decisions for maximum effectiveness and organizational learning.
PMI-PDU Information
The Project Management Institute (PMI®) has discontinued its Registered Education Provider program. People successfully completing this course may still claim 7 contact hours of project management related education.
Inquire about this course
Problem-Solving Skills Workshop
Useful tools for better problem analysis, definition, alternative generation and evaluation
COST: This training is offered to classes of 16 to 24 persons (depending upon training facility capacity) at a per-participant price of $700. This includes the cost of the training facility, refreshments, and all student materials. Discounts are available to organizations that provide their own training facilities or enroll multiple participants. Additional charges for travel and accommodations will be added to classes taught outside of the greater Sacramento area.
Overview
Problem Solving Skills Workshop is an intense two-day learning experience that provides participants with useful tools and tactics for working with real world problems. Intended for professionals, managers and executives whose duties include creative problem solving, analysis and design in a variety of disciplines, this workshop is a catalyst for better idea generation, while providing analytical tools for problem definition and evaluation. The workshop is highly interactive, combining demonstrations and brief discussions of key learning points with individual and group “hands on” problem solving exercises to reinforce learning and build confidence.
Objectives
At the completion of the training, participants will be able to:
More clearly define problems
Generate a wider variety of quality alternatives
Better evaluate alternatives
More effectively facilitate team problem-solving
Face problems with increased confidence and an array of useful tools and tactics
outline
Participants in this workshop will be exposed to a variety of skills and tactics to aid them in being better problem solvers. The course is organized around the following outline:
What is a “Problem” and what does it mean to “Solve” one? – Participants are shown new perspectives on problem solving and explore ways to augment natural creative ability
Tools and tactics for problem definition – Whether defining a “problem” or an “opportunity”, problem solvers must understand fundamental parameters and assumptions about the situation. This section of the course explores ways to quickly gather and document relevant information about the problem.
Tools and tactics for alternative generation – Introduces participants to techniques for generating a wider range of solutions. These tools improve both the quality and quantity of alternatives available to the problem solver.
Evaluating solutions – Explores tactics for evaluating alternatives, considering elements of risk as well as the “fit” of various solutions. The evaluation model provides ways of guiding the team to solutions that are “good enough” when time or resources are constrained.
Team problem solving – Examines the dynamics of group problem solving and introduces participants to facilitation skills needed to lead others in the successful application of the tools and tactics presented in the course.
PMI-PDU Information
The Project Management Institute (PMI®) has discontinued its Registered Education Provider program. People successfully completing this course may still claim 7 contact hours of project management-related education.
Inquire about this course
Successful Project Management – Virtual
Practical Project Management in four sessions of two hours each
COST: Workshop is offered to groups of 12 to 30 persons at a per student price of $300. This includes the cost of all participant materials.
Overview
Successful Project Management is an eight-hour virtual course taught in four segments of two hours each that provides participants the skills and techniques needed to more effectively participate in the definition, planning, and management of projects. Intended for project managers as well as senior project team members, the course combines lecture, discussion, demonstrations and hands-on exercises to communicate and reinforce key concepts while providing basic tools and models that can be immediately applied in a professional setting.
Objectives
The course focuses on practical results with a goal of introducing and reinforcing project management concepts and skills. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will:
• Understand basic concepts and techniques needed to plan and manage projects
• Share a common project management language with their peers
• Have improved their project & task definition and estimation skills
• Be better prepared to plan and manage projects in the real world
outline
Instruction is organized in four sessions that focus on different project management activities:
1. Defining Project Objectives – Emphasizes the importance of clearly defined objectives and provides usable tools to assist the project manager in organizing a team to determine objectives and construct a comprehensive charter that addresses the schedule, scope and resource targets and constraints of the project.
2. Building Plans – Presents a process to support the creation and refinement of credible plans to accomplish project objectives. Particular emphasis is placed on task definition, schedule creation, and estimation.
3. Optimizing Plans – Introduces risk management, techniques for making trade-offs among schedule scope and resources to explore ways to meet project goals and emphasizes communication between the project manager and project sponsors to facilitate informed decision-making.
4. Doing, Managing, and Closing a Project – Shows how to use work products from planning to assist with tracking progress, assuring work product quality, supporting informed decisions and recommendations, coordinating the activities of the project team and external entities, identifying and capitalizing on opportunities for process improvement, and communicating project status. Then outlines a process for efficiently closing a project administratively while assuring that the sponsoring organization benefits from lessons learned.
PMI-PDU Information
The Project Management Institute has discontinued its Registered Education Provider program. All participants will receive a certificate showing 8 hours of technical project management education.
Inquire about this course
Project Sponsorship
Establishing an informational context for effective sponsorship and guidance of projects
COST: This training is offered to classes of 12 to 16 persons (depending upon available training facility capacity) at a per student price of $450. This includes the cost of the training facility, refreshments and all student materials. Discounts are available to organizations that provide their own training facilities or enroll multiple participants.
Overview
Project Sponsorship is a one-day course that presents participants with an informational context to support and direct projects within their organizations. Intended for senior managers and executives, who may or may not have project management backgrounds, this seminar provides a foundation for informed interaction with project managers in support of business projects. The foundation is built through a series of discussions, exercises and lecture modules.
Objectives
At the completion of the training, participants will:
Understand the three-step project management process of Definition, Planning and Execution
Recognize the importance of clear project definition to successful project estimation and implementation
Know what information and work products to expect from project managers before, during and at the conclusion of a project
Be familiar with typical pitfalls of project management and sponsorship
Better appreciate the senior manager’s role in promoting good practices as well as sponsoring and influencing the outcome of projects.
outline
The course is organized to build outward from an initial understanding of the project management process. Throughout this course, the role and responsibility of the sponsor in effective project management is stressed. The following topics are addressed in this course:
Challenges to effective project management
The role of the project sponsor
The role of the project manager
The project management process
Key deliverables and review points in the project life cycle
Typical pitfalls and problems
Risk management, project cancellation and project failure
Effective project sponsorship
PMI-PDU Information
The Project Management Institute (PMI®) has discontinued its Registered Education Provider program. People successfully completing this course may still claim 7 contact hours of project management-related education.
Inquire about this course
Project Assessment
A Practical Introduction to the appraisal of a Project’s Definition, Plans, Status and Management
COST: This training is offered to classes of 15 to 100 persons at a per student price of $400. This includes the cost of the training facility, lunch and refreshments, and all student materials. Discounts are available to organizations that provide their own training facilities or enroll multiple participants.
Overview
Project Assessment is a one-day intermediate-level workshop that provides participants with an approach to and basic tools for gauging project status. This workshop is intended for project managers, auditors, or consultants who must quickly and efficiently assess projects and combines discussion, demonstrations, and hands-on exercises to communicate and reinforce key concepts while providing checklists and methods that can be immediately applied to real projects.
Target Audience
The workshop is designed for participants must quickly appraise the “health” of a project currently underway for purposes of:
Assuming a project leadership role (such as project or program manager)
Providing an independent appraisal of status (as auditor, reviewer, or oversight consultant)
Identifying possible corrective actions or process improvements (as reviewer or consultant)
Objectives
The course focuses on practical results with a goal of building and reinforcing project assessment skills and providing useful tools, and techniques. During the workshop participants will:
Receive an orientation to the basic project management principles that guide an assessment
Become familiar with a model that helps establish a context for the review based upon a project’s size, complexity, and business risk and the maturity level of the organization performing the work
Learn and apply practical techniques to quickly get up to speed on a project that is underway
Learn what work products to ask for to facilitate orientation and maximize review efficiency
Gain an approach to reviewing project definition, planning, and status reporting work products
Obtain and work with checklists and questionnaires to facilitate quick orientation as well as identification of areas needing further analysis
After the workshop, participants will be better prepared to conduct or participate in project assessments
PMI-PDU Information
The Project Management Institute (PMI®) has discontinued its Registered Education Provider program. People successfully completing this course may still claim 7 contact hours of project management-related education.
Inquire about this course
Integrating Risk into Project Planning
Integrating Risk into Project Planning is a one-day workshop
COST: This workshop is offered to groups of 12 to 100 persons (depending upon facility capacity) at a per participant price of $400. This includes the cost of the training facility, refreshments and all student materials. Discounts are available to organizations that provide their own training facilities or enroll multiple participants.
Overview
Integrating Risk into Project Planning is a one-day workshop that provides participants with tools to identify and mitigate risks. Intended for project managers and senior team members, the workshop combines lecture, discussion, demonstrations, and hands-on exercises to communicate and reinforce key concepts while providing basic tools and models that can be immediately applied in a professional setting.
Objectives
The course focuses on practical results with a goal of introducing and reinforcing risk management skills. During the workshop participants will:
Learn & apply practical techniques to identify and quantify project risks
Learn decision-making processes that support prioritizing and integrating preventive actions and contingency plans into project plans
Participate in a Monte-Carlo simulation that underscores the surprising consequences of typical schedule and resource risks and highlights the effectiveness of a few straightforward risk mitigation strategies
Share information with other professionals about encountered risks and mitigation strategies that are working (or not) in the real world
outline
The workshop begins with basic risk management and then moves to intermediate risk topics associated with estimation and scheduling
Introduction
Risk management fundamentals
Basic prioritization methods
Estimation risks
Exercise: Impact of integrating risk mitigation into project plans
Sharing Best Practices: Lessons from the real world
PMI-PDU Information
The Project Management Institute (PMI®) has discontinued its Registered Education Provider program. People successfully completing this course may still claim 7 contact hours of project management related education.
Inquire about this course
Schedule Risk: Why Your Project Will Be Late
Schedule Risk Webinar
COST: $25
Overview
Completing non-trivial projects on their originally promised date is such a rare occurrence that we often expect them to be late. Although there are numerous valid reasons for exceeding schedule commitments, some of the most overlooked are structural risks associated with how the schedule was created and expectations were initially set. This webinar will explore aspects of schedule creation and examine the surprising effects of risks, including merge bias, the challenges of estimation, and trying to represent uncertainty in a schedule. It will also suggest a way to effectively communicate schedule risks to clients and sponsors.
Objectives
Participants will learn about structural challenges in schedule dependencies: merge and burst nodes
Participants will learn some of the advantages of 3-point estimates
Participants will be introduced to monte carlo schedule simulations
Participants will learn an effective way to communicate schedule risk and confidence to stakeholders
outline
Define Risk
Explore estimation
Burst Nodes
Merge Nodes
Distributions created from 3-point estimates
Presenting schedule uncertainty
PMI-PDU Information
The Project Management Institute (PMI®) has discontinued its Registered Education Provider program. People successfully completing this course may still claim 1 contact hour of project management related education.
Inquire about this course
Project Quality Management
A practical approach to establishing and implementing effective quality management plans
Overview
Project Quality Management is a one-day workshop that provides participants with tools to develop a quality plan, orient their teams, and manage project quality in a manner appropriate to the effort. Intended for project managers and senior team members, the workshop combines presentation, discussion, demonstrations, and hands-on exercises to communicate and reinforce key concepts while providing basic tools and models that can be immediately applied in a professional setting.
Objectives
The course focuses on practical results with a goal of introducing and reinforcing quality management concepts and techniques. During the workshop participants will:
Receive an introduction to quality principles, practices, and tools and apply them to classroom situations
Learn how quality requirements derived from scope planning are enforced and monitored through quality control and quality assurance plans and actions
Receive sample quality management plan templates that can serve as a foundation for project quality management efforts
Explore quality data as a valuable part of status reporting
Share information with other professionals about quality management strategies that are working (or not) in the real world
outline
The workshop begins with basic quality management tools and techniques and then moves to integrate this information with other project management processes
Introduction
Quality Fundamentals
Project Quality & Scope
Quality Tools
Project Quality Management
Samples
Quality Management & Status
Close
PMI-PDU Information
The Project Management Institute (PMI®) has discontinued its Registered Education Provider program. People successfully completing this course may still claim 7 contact hours of project management related education.
Inquire about this course
Introduction to Projects for Team Members
A One-Day Classroom Seminar to Introduce Team Members to Project Management Concepts
COST: This training is offered to classes of 12 to 20 persons (depending upon available training facility capacity) at a per student price of $400. This includes the cost of the training facility, refreshments and all student materials. Discounts are available to organizations that provide their own training facilities or enroll multiple participants.
Overview
Introduction to Projects for Team Members is a one-day seminar that provides participants with the skills needed to effectively participate as part of a project team. Intended as an introduction to project management concepts for team members and support staff, the course combines discussion, demonstrations, and hands-on exercises to introduce and reinforce key concepts while providing information that can be immediately applied on the job.
Objectives
The course focuses on practical results and real-world explanations. The course goal is to introduce effective project team member skills. At the conclusion of the class, participants will:
Have been introduced to the Project Management concepts and language used to define, plan and manage projects
Be able to identify tasks as the elementary units of project work
Understand the importance of timely and accurate status reporting
Understand the concept of task dependencies and the implications of schedule slippage
Be familiar with the fundamentals of time management for individuals and how this relates to project performance and reporting
outline
Instruction is organized around five groups of project management processes:
Initiating – Emphasizes the importance of clearly defined objectives and a charter that captures the project’s schedule, scope and resource targets and constraints.
Planning – Presents processes to support the creation and refinement of credible plans to accomplish project objectives.
Executing – Doing project work.
Controlling – Using the work products from planning to facilitate tracking progress, coordinating project activities, and communicating project status.
Closing – Efficiently closing a project administratively while assuring that the sponsoring organization benefits from lessons learned.
PMI-PDU Information
The Project Management Institute (PMI®) has discontinued its Registered Education Provider program. People successfully completing this course may still claim 7 contact hours of project management related education.
Inquire about this course
Fundamentals of Successful Project Management
A participatory workshop teaching practical project management concepts and skills.
COST: This workshop is offered to classes of 12 to 20 participants at a per-student price of $950. This includes the cost of the facility, lunch, and all participant materials. Discounts are available to organizations sending multiple participants or providing their own facility.
Overview
Fundamentals of Successful Project Management is a three-day workshop that teaches the skills and techniques needed to effectively define, plan, and manage projects. Intended for project managers and senior team members, the course combines discussion, demonstrations and hands-on exercises to communicate and reinforce key concepts and skills.
Objectives
At the conclusion of the three-day workshop participants will:
-Understand concepts, skills, and techniques needed to define, plan, and manage projects
-Have applied these skills and techniques to case study projects and situations in class
-Possess improved project & task definition and estimation skills
-Know tracking mechanisms to improve management and status reporting
-Share a common project management language with their peers
-Be better prepared to define, plan, and manage projects in the real world
outline
Instruction is organized around five groups of project management processes:
Initiating – Emphasizes the importance of clearly defined objectives and provides tools to assist with organizing a team to determine objectives and construct a comprehensive charter that captures the project’s schedule, scope and resource targets and constraints.
Planning – Presents processes to support the creation and refinement of credible plans to accomplish project objectives. Particular emphasis is placed on task definition, schedule creation, risk management and communication between the project manager and project sponsors to facilitate informed decision-making.
Executing – Doing project work.
Monitoring & Controlling – Using the work products from planning to facilitate tracking progress, assuring work product quality, supporting informed decisions and recommendations, coordinating the activities of the project team and external entities, identifying and capitalizing on opportunities for process improvement, and communicating project status.
Closing – Efficiently closing a project administratively while assuring that the sponsoring organization benefits from lessons learned.
PMI-PDU Information
The Project Management Institute (PMI®) has discontinued its Registered Education Provider program. People successfully completing this course may still claim 24 contact hours of project management-related education.
Inquire about this course
To bring a class to your site, contact Catalysis Group at sales@catalysisgroup.com