Project Management
starter pack (1)
A comprehensive collection of activities for remote project management training
This collection of activities has a strong focus on experiential, collaborative learning experience provided to the delegates. The activities are tailored to accommodate beginner and intermediate levels. With these activities, you are targeting the development of a series of skills, essential to project management.
Included Activities
1. PM Interview
Participants team up for a pair introduction. They interview their team partner. During the PM interview, participants answer a few questions related to the topic of the training session. Then they present their team partner in plenary. The input collected this way from each pair is a great icebreaker for the discussion in sight.
Group size: teams of two participants
Duration: 20 min; additional 3min/team if more than 3 teams
2. Successful vs failed project
Participants brainstorm and gather a collection of traits of both successful and failed projects. They build this way a shared understanding of the matter, since the definitions of success/failure can vary a lot from one person to another.
Group size: 1-5 teams of up to 4-7 participants/team
Duration: ~30 min for 3 teams; additional 3 min/team if more than 3 teams
3. Four Magic Letters
An experiential activity using the alphabet, but with a little twist – participants are asked to form only 4-letter words, as many as possible in 2-minute rounds. For this to happen, they will have to come up with a strategy and proper approaches, thus revealing key aspects of team collaboration and change management.
Group size: 1-5 teams of up to 4-7 participants/team
Duration: 35 min
4. Project brief
Participants are invited to present in a brief, structured manner the vision behind a certain project, by formulating 3 key messages – the answers to the why, what, and how questions – and also by defining the main benefits, the ones that will persuade any stakeholder. Following this format will bring clarity in the way they convey the essence and importance of a project that will be implemented in the organisation.
Group size: 1-5 teams of up to 3-4 participants/team
Duration: 30 min for 3 teams; additional 3 min/team if more than 3 teams
5. Elements of Value (A)
Participants discuss and share with their teammate’s Participants discuss and share with their teammates the most valuable aspects they discovered during the training session/day, in terms of validation, clarification, and novelty. The differences or similarities in perspective can also be of value to the group. Let the exploration and acknowledgement begin!
Group size: 3 participants/team
Duration: 15 min; additional 3 min/team if more than 3 teams
6. Risk assessment matrix
Using the risk assessment matrix participants get to properly assess the risks associated with a certain project, by taking into consideration two key aspects: the probability of occurrence and impact on the project. The position of a certain risk on this matrix is visually enlightening when it comes to the severity of the risk and the mitigation approaches that need to be further addressed.
Group size: 1-5 teams of up to 3-4 participants/team
Duration: 30 min for 3 teams; additional 3 min/team if more than 3 teams
7. Fishbone Diagram
Participants are invited to brainstorm the possible causes of a symptomatic problem they face within their team/organization by working with their peers. Using the Fishbone diagram as a root cause analysis tool enables participants to focus on real causes rather than on symptoms.
Group size: with the whole group or in 2 teams of up to 4-7 participants/team
Duration: 30-40 min
8. Better Project Manager
A brainstorming activity meant to help participants define and/or refine their approaches as Project Managers, when it comes to managing people involved in a project, achieving better results and developing skills crucial to project management. This activity is the perfect opportunity to share ideas or to be as creative as possible in defining a series of approaches essential to a PM’s activity.
Group size: 1-5 teams of up to 3-4 participants/team
Duration: 30 min for 3 teams; additional 3 min/team if more than 3 teams
9. Elements of Value x3
Participants discuss and share with their teammates the insights they gained during the training session from 3 perspectives: something new, something they like, and something to apply to their work. Being in agreement or having different opinions bringbrings both validation and complexity to the table.
Group size: 3 participants/team
Duration: 15 min; additional 3 min/team if more than 3 teams
Explore Project Management Starter pack (1) in Colltrain
Note: All activities follow CARTA Guide, available here.
