Course Overview
Your ability as a project manager to demonstrate best practices in project management—both on the job and through professional certification.

Course Overview
Rapid, Accurate Estimating provides a checklist and the rationale for upgrading the participant's project plan and schedule.  It presents the factored estimating method.  It enables participants to prepare good estimating ranges for project budgeting and detailed estimating. Up to 3 participants project plans and schedules will be peer reviewed and specific suggestions provided for improvements.  They  must be received for review over 2 weeks in advance of class.  

This course does not make use of any project management software application, but instead focuses on the participant's project plan and schedule for their current or future project.

Audience
Participants enrolling in this course should have a plan and estimate for their project or be personnel who will be coaching project managers.

Prerequisites
Completion of Project Management: Fundamentals.  Providing by email more than 2 weeks in advance a project plan and schedule. 

Benefits:
The factored estimating method will enable future projects of the same type to be estimated approximately 1/4th the effort than before.  Participants will produce an upgraded Microsoft Project plan and schedule that will include all document deliverables and process steps, will prompt tracking at the low end of estimated ranges, and will enable precise measurement of project progress.  

What's Next:
Optionally, for 1 additional hour's consulting, participants plan and schedule may be provided within a week of end of class for assistance in completing improvements.  Instructor's email address will be provided.

Benefits to You
Participants will learn how to use the plan and schedule checklist provided to make upgrades, implement the factored estimating method, and incorporate estimating ranges for uncertain activities.  Participants will:

	Examine their schedules for each item of the checklist and make sample improvements to be completed after class.
	Discuss and practice the factored estimating method using each participant's own project tasks.
	List estimating factors corresponding to participants' needs.
	List the classic faults in making estimates.
	Understand how to represent uncertainty and how to estimate ranges.

Course Outline
Lesson 1: The Problem
Topic 1A:  Unfulfilled expectations make executives angry
Topic 1B:  Document deliverables don't get done
Topic 1C:  Good processes aren't followed

Lesson 2: The Checklist
Topic 2A:  Task names
Topic 2B:  Durations
Topic 2C:  Predecessors
Topic 2D:  Resources

Lesson 3: Exercise A:  Fix Your Plan and Schedule
Topic 3A:  Fix one example of each type
Topic 3B:  Fix three examples of the hardest types
Topic 3C:  Discuss show stoppers and plan completion

Lesson 4: The Factored Estimate Method
Topic 4A:  The estimating factor
Topic 4B:  The count and unit effort
Topic 4C:  Complexity and productivity

Lesson 5: Exercise B:  Estimating Factors
Topic 5A:  Each participant - a different factor
Topic 5B:  Gather three tasks based on that factor, in rotation

Lesson 6: Uncertainty and Classis Errors
Topic 6A:  Creative activities
Topic 6B:  Calibration of subjective judgment
Topic 6C:  Classic Errors

Lesson 7: Estimating Ranges
Topic 7A:  The uncertainty ratio
Topic 7B:  Tracking performance

Lesson 8: Estimate Your Tasks
Topic 8A:  Estimate unit efforts for factored tasks
Topic 8B:  Apply counts for factored tasks
Topic 8C:  Set uncertainty ratios for factored tasks