Project, Programme, Portfolio & PMO
Project Management Practitioner Programme
A five-day practitioner programme that builds a consistent working method across the project population: scope that survives a gate review, a schedule with real logic, RAID operated as a discipline rather than a register, change control that makes scope movement visible, and reporting a sponsor can act on.
The business challenge
Why organisations commission this programme
Where no common method is applied, project performance varies by individual rather than by difficulty. Estimates are not comparable, schedules carry no logic, risk registers are completed for governance rather than used for management, and reporting is optimistic by default. The portfolio cannot then be managed, because the underlying data is not consistent enough to aggregate.
Projects are run by capable people using inconsistent methods, so performance varies by individual rather than by difficulty, and reporting cannot be compared across the portfolio.
Who it is for
Participants
- Audience
- Project managers, project engineers, workstream leads and project support staff
- Recommended cohort
- 12 to 20 participants
- Prerequisites
- Current or imminent responsibility for delivering a project or workstream. No formal project qualification assumed.
Outcomes
What participants will be able to do
- Define scope, deliverables and acceptance criteria that survive scrutiny at a gate review.
- Build a credible schedule with logic, dependencies, critical path and realistic resource assumptions.
- Operate risk, assumption, issue and dependency management as a working discipline rather than a register.
- Apply change control so that scope movement is visible, assessed and approved rather than absorbed.
- Report progress honestly, including delivery confidence and exceptions, in a form a sponsor can act on.
Learning objectives
- Establish a single working project method across the delivery population.
- Raise the quality of scope definition, estimating and scheduling to a standard that withstands gate review.
- Make risk, issue and dependency management an operating discipline rather than a reporting obligation.
- Improve the honesty and usefulness of progress reporting, including delivery confidence.
Indicative content
Programme structure
Content is confirmed during design and adapted to your context.
Day 1
Lifecycle, governance, roles, business case and the organisation's own project method; baseline assessment.
- Lifecycle, gates and governance
- Roles and accountabilities
- Business case and benefits basis
- The client project method; baseline assessment
Day 2
Scope definition, work breakdown, estimating and the construction of a defensible baseline.
- Scope definition and acceptance criteria
- Work breakdown structure
- Estimating techniques and bias
- Baseline construction
Day 3
Scheduling, dependencies, critical path, resourcing and re-planning; applied planning workshop.
- Schedule logic and dependencies
- Critical path and float
- Resource planning and levelling
- Re-planning discipline
Day 4
RAID in practice, change control, stakeholder and interface management, and quality planning.
- RAID in practice
- Change control
- Stakeholder and interface management
- Quality planning and acceptance
Day 5
Monitoring, forecasting, reporting, closure and lessons; integrated case exercise and assessment.
- Monitoring, variance and forecasting
- Reporting and delivery confidence
- Closure and lessons
- Integrated case exercise and assessment
Delivery and customisation
Configured around your organisation
- Typical duration
- Five days
- Formats
- Classroom or blended; multi-cohort rollout common
- Language
- English by default. Other languages subject to facilitator availability and materials translation, agreed during design.
How it can be tailored
- The client project method, lifecycle, gate criteria and templates.
- A live or recent client project as the running case, with sponsor consent.
- Client reporting formats, dashboards and delivery confidence definitions.
- Sector-specific constraints such as turnaround, capital or regulated delivery environments.
- Alignment to an existing qualification syllabus where the client intends participants to progress to formal certification independently.
Methods
- A single running case used across the week, ideally a live or recently completed client project.
- Syndicate teams producing a complete project control pack incrementally, day by day.
- Use of the client's own templates, gate criteria and reporting formats throughout.
- Facilitated critique sessions in which syndicates challenge one another's baselines and assumptions.
Materials, assessment and completion
Materials
- Participant workbook containing session content, frameworks, exercises and space for applied work.
- Client-contextualised case material and scenario packs used during the programme.
- Job aids, checklists and templates designed for use in the role after the programme.
- Assessment instruments and the marking criteria applied to them.
- Individual action plan template and a manager briefing note.
- A complete set of project control templates aligned to the client method.
Reinforcement
- Individual action plans agreed during the programme and shared with line managers where the client permits.
- Manager briefing material setting out what was taught and what should be reinforced in the role.
- Toolkits and templates issued in editable form for continued use.
- Follow-up session at 30, 60 or 90 days where commissioned, reviewing action-plan progress and obstacles.
- Optional surgery sessions where participants bring their live project artefacts for review after the programme.
Completion
- Attendance at no less than 80 per cent of scheduled contact time, recorded daily and reconciled against the registered cohort.
- Participation in the assessed practical components of the programme.
- Submission of the assessed work product and the individual action plan.
- Achievement of the assessment threshold where the client sets one; where no threshold is set, results are reported without a pass or fail determination.
Participants who meet the completion criteria receive a Knull certificate of completion recording the programme, dates, duration, content covered and, where assessed, the assessment outcome. Knull does not award accredited or regulated qualifications and does not hold third-party training accreditation. Attendance and assessment records are retained under the engagement terms and provided to the client with the completion report.
| Component | Weighting | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline and post assessment | 30% | Knowledge instrument administered before and after, reported as learning gain. |
| Project control pack | 45% | Scope statement, work breakdown, schedule, RAID log and change log produced by the syndicate, marked against a rubric. |
| Sponsor panel presentation | 15% | Clarity, honesty of delivery confidence, handling of challenge and quality of supporting evidence. |
| Individual action plan | 10% | Application of the method to the participant's own project, with specific committed changes. |
Next step
Make it fit your organisation
Dates, cohort, format and fees are agreed in a proposal once scope is defined. To register interest in a closed cohort, use a corporate booking request — Knull reviews every request; it is not a confirmed reservation.
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Discuss this programme for your organisation
Tell us about your priorities, capability gaps or business challenges. We'll help identify an appropriate next step.