What is this course about?

In this course, you work in a simulated environment and gain solid budget-management skills. You learn how to establish realistic project budgets by identifying individual task costs, aggregating project budgets and quantifying risk to create a budget baseline. You learn about program master budget management and business-level strategic budgeting as well as how to leverage Earned Value Analysis to report on project financial status and forecast future budget performance. You also take home sample templates for your own use in developing estimates, budgets and tracking information.

Who will benefit from this course?

This course is valuable for the following individuals:

• Project and program managers new to budget estimation, or who need a refresher
• Program managers who need to make high-level strategic decisions about which projects to fund
• Department managers new to budget estimation or those who need a refresher
• Small business owners who need high-level budget estimates to determine strategic direction
• Individual contributors who need to estimate their own piece of a project, program or department budget

What background do I need?

Project management experience at the level of Course 296, Project Management: Skills for Success, or Course 340, Project Management for Software Development, is strongly recommended but not required.

How is this course different from Course 280, Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers?

Course 280, Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers, covers financial policy and viability and is geared toward a manager's overall budget performance. By contrast, Course 923 focuses on specific estimation and budget management methods for all tiers of budgeting from the task level to the organisation level.

How is this course structured?

This course is structured around a dynamic style of learning created by Learning Tree called RealityPlus^TM-an immersive experience that engages you in authentic tasks within a simulated real-world context. Through a real-world case study, role playing, and hands-on activities, you are immersed throughout this course in an evolving scenario that develops and refines your budgeting skills. This learning method is presented in a safe environment where you gain new skills and practice the most effective techniques to bring back to your job. At the end of your course, you are prepared to immediately and successfully apply these new skills within your organisation.

Will I use any project management tools and techniques in this course?

Yes. You use the following project management tools and techniques in this course: activity-based costing, parametric estimates, analogous estimates, 3-point estimates, aggregation, cost breakdown structure, WBS, Total Project Costs and cost baselines, Pareto analysis, risk quantification, PERT analysis, Earned Value Analysis, ROM, Net Present Value, and Kaizen process improvement.

Do I need any accounting knowledge or experience?

No. While this is a budgeting course, it is geared to the non-financial individual. This course covers multi-tier budget management, estimation and Earned Value calculations, which can all be performed with a simple calculator. You learn all of the techniques in class necessary to perform these calculations.

What is 3-point estimating and PERT analysis and how will they benefit me?

Three-point estimating provides a budget range that is further refined through PERT analysis. Used together, they give you a higher degree of confidence in your budget performance.

How much time is spent on each topic?

How much of this course is activities?

You spend approximately 60 percent of class time in activities. Activities include:

• Estimating individual task costs using various tools
• Conducting peer reviews of individual estimates
• Categorising costs
• Building the budget baseline
• Adding contingency funding
• Creating an earned value performance report
• Forecasting and recommending next steps
• Determining projects to fund
• Identifying budget policy violations
• Constructing a cash flow
• Leveraging lessons learned

Is this course applicable toward a Project Management Institute (PMI) certification?

Yes. Though this course is not designed as preparation for an exam, it is beneficial to anyone working toward, or maintaining, a PMI certification. Most PMI certifications require a specific number of PDUs in order to obtain and maintain the credential. Completion of this course provides 17 professional development units (PDUs).

Learning Tree offers several courses that help you prepare for PMI certifications, including Course 276, Preparing for the Project Management Professional (PMP)^® Exam, which prepares you for PMI's most popular certification. For more details on these courses and PMI certifications, please see the Learning Tree PMI Registered Education Provider Q&A.

How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses?

In addition to Course 296 or Course 340, which are prerequisites for this course, the following courses may also be of interest:

• Course 921, Project Recovery: Diagnosis, Strategy and Prevention
• Course 287, Strategic Project Management: Achieving Organisational Goals
• Course 212, Building an Effective Business Case
• Course 252, Strategic Planning for Organisational Success
• Course 299, Microsoft^® Project 2007: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction
• Course 276, Preparing for the Project Management Professional (PMP)^® Exam
• Course 290, Management Skills
• Course 901, Introduction to Business Intelligence: Designing a Successful BI Programme
• Course 196, Making Effective Decisions with Business Statistics
• Course 280, Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers
• Course 3620, Managing Global Projects