What are contracts and how are they created?

• The need for contractual relationships
• What is needed to create a valid contract?  Ingredients and formalities
• Authority and agency
• The tender process
• Alternative sourcing
• Making contracts enforceable – with particular emphasis on the international context

The Structure of contracts

• Form of Agreement
• Hierarchy of Terms and Conditions
• Different contractual structures ?Traditional and new
• Risk and Title (ownership) in international trade. When does it transfer?
• Notices and other formalities
• Which law and which courts?

Collateral documents

• Securitising performance obligations
• Bonds and guarantees
• Parent company guarantees
• Letters of intent,  comfort or awareness
• Insurance policies
• Assessing the need for financial security

Change and variation

• Changes to Contract documents
• Assignment/Novation explained and distinguished
• Variation clauses  and changes to the scope of work
• Claims – what they are, and how they arise
• Delay and disruption
• Force majeure

Resolving Disputes

• Conflict avoidance and tiered dispute resolution clauses
• Negotiation
• Litigation
• Arbitration
• Mediation, ENE and new best practices in dispute resolution and management
• Final questions and review of course

The World of Project Management

• What is a project?
• Mature project management
• Selecting projects to meet organizational goals
• Managing programmes and portfolios
• Uncertainty in project selection decisions
• Project data, information and knowledge management

Project Planning, Scheduling and Budgeting

• Strategic, tactical and operational planning
• The contents of a project plan
• Level of detail in scheduling
• Network logic and dependency analysis
• Project uncertainty and risk management
• Fundamentals of budgeting and cost control

Project Resourcing, Monitoring and Control

• Resource allocation
• Expediting a project
• The Critical Chain approach
• Designing the monitoring cycle
• Performance indicators and control mechanisms
• Designing the change control system

The Project Manager’s Roles and Responsibilities

• Selection of the Project Manager
• Project Team-building and empowerment
• Delegating with confidence
• Communication within the project team
• Project team leadership
• Conflict handling

Project Evaluation, Reporting, Closure and Hand-over

• Evaluation criteria and project auditing
• Analysing project performance
• Progress reports and records
• Determinants of project success
• Successful project hand-over
• Lessons learned and creating learning culture