Business Management Skills for Project Managers
(formerly Developing Your Project Business Savvy)
Become business minded so that your projects are financially successful
Organizations are recognizing that projects are more than just exercises in cost and schedule logistics, technology and resource management. Projects represent an investment that the organization is making in time, money and resources. Project deliverables need to produce economic value—such as increased cash flow, market share, customer satisfaction—or decrease the costs of doing business.
Developing solid business cases is the basis for project sponsors to make business decisions about projects. Executive project governance teams depend on valid business cases to make decisions about their organization’s portfolio of projects. However, well-defined business cases with concrete measureable business objectives are rare for a number of reasons. Common reasons include 1) it takes too much time to write the case, 2) the cost of writing the case is not worth it or 3) the project is too small to merit a business case.
Experienced and forward-looking project managers know that a solid business case enhances the success of the project; therefore, they can help develop business cases for sponsors. In this course, you’ll learn key concepts, principles and practical tools aimed at helping you to increase your project-related business skills that will enhance your performance and your career. Your organization will also benefit from your ability to be business minded by developing business cases for big projects and mini-business cases for mid-size and small projects.
Learn how to:
- Appreciate the interface and interaction between the worlds of projects and business
- Anticipate what management expects from your projects in terms of business results
- Build an efficient and effective business case process
- Develop solid business cases for big projects
- Write mini business cases for mid-size and small projects
- Work effectively with project sponsors in developing business cases
- Perform acceptable financial analyses to prepare your project for justification or approval
- Speak in business language so you can better communicate with your management
- Prepare financials for a major scope change
- Effectively present business alternatives to sponsors or executives via a scope change
- Examine business case information in a project portfolio and practice making decisions
- Track benefits realized from project deliverables
The University of Wisconsin–Madison, as a member of the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA), authorizes this course for 2.2 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or 22 hours, as well as 22 PDUs.
pfriede@exed.wisc.edu