GIAC Certified Project Manager Certification (GCPM)

GIAC Certified Project Manager Certification (GCPM)

Type: Certification

Course: No Specific training is required for any GIAC certification. If candidates need help in mastering the objectives for this certification, there are many sources of information available. Practical experience is one option; there are also numerous books on the market covering Computer Information Security. Another option is SANS training, or any relevant courses from other training providers.

Target: The GCPM certification is designed for security professionals and managers who participate in or lead project teams and wish to demonstrate an understanding of technical project management methodology and implementation. This certification affirms the critical skill sets associated with making projects successful, including effective communication, time, cost, quality, procurement and risk management of IT projects and application development.

Requirements: 1 proctored exam – 150 questions – 4-hour time limit – 70% (105 of 150 questions) minimum passing score

Renewal: Every 4 years

Delivery: Exams are delivered online through a standard web browser. For exams purchased with SANS training, access to the exam will be available 7-10 days following the end of the conference. Standalone challenge exams are issued within 24 hours upon receipt of payment. You will receive an email from GIAC when your exam has been issued to your portal account. You have 120 days to complete the exam from the time we send notice that it is available. The exams are proctored and should be scheduled using our.

Project Management and Effective Communications for Security Professionals and. Management 525 

Course Overview

Throughout the week, we will cover all aspects of project management from initiating and planning projects through managing cost, time, and quality while your project is active to completing, closing, and documenting as your project finishes. This course follows the basic project management structure from the Project Management Institute’s Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) and also offers specific insight and techniques to help you get the job done. You will leave this course with specific tools that can be utilized immediately in your work environment. A copy of the Guide (Fourth Edition) is provided to all participants. You can reference the PMBOK® Guide and use your course material along with the knowledge you gain in class to solidify your preparation for the updated Project Management Professional (PMP®) Exam and the GIAC Certified Project Manager Exam.

The project management process is broken down into core process groups that can be applied across multiple areas of any project. This course covers cost, time, quality, and risk management, but not only from the point of view of projects that create final products. Keeping in line with prevalent needs from the InfoSec industry, we look at projects that create and maintain services and cover in depth how cost, time, quality, and risk affect IT Security and the services we provide to others both inside and outside of our organizational boundaries. We go into great detail covering human resource management as well as effective communication and conflict resolution. People are the most valuable resource we have on a project, and the communication and conflict resolution techniques presented can be used in all areas of professional work. Above all, projects fail or succeed because of the people involved. You want to make sure the people involved with the development and execution of your project build a strong team and communicate effectively.

Project Management Structure and Framework, Management 525- Day 1

This course offers insight and specific techniques that both beginner and experienced project managers can utilize. The structure and framework section lays out the basic architecture and organization of project management. We will cover the common project management group processes, the difference between projects and operations, project life cycles and managing project stakeholders.

Sample Topics:

• Definition of Terms and Process Concepts
• Group Processes
• Project Life Cycle
• Types of Organizations
• PDCA Cycle

Project Charter and Scope Management, Management 525-Day 2

During day two, we cover project charter and scope management. We will go over techniques used to develop the project charter and formally initiate a project. The Scope portion defines the important input parameters of project management and gives you the tools to ensure that from the onset your project is well defined. We cover tools and techniques that will help you define your project’s deliverables and develop milestones to gauge performance and manage change requests.Sample Topics:

• Formally Initiating Projects
• Project Charters
• Project Scope Development
• Work Breakdown Structures
• Scope Verification and Control

Time and Cost Management, Management 525- Day 3

Our third day details the time and cost aspects of managing a project. We will cover the importance of correctly defining project activities, project activity sequence and resource constraints. We will use milestones to set project timelines and task dependencies along with learning methods of resource allocation and scheduling. We introduce the difference between resource and product related costs and go into detail on estimating, budgeting and controlling costs. You will learn techniques for estimating project cost and rates as well as budgeting and the process for developing a project cost baseline.

Sample Topics:

• Process Flow
• Task Lead and Lag Dependencies
• Resource Breakdown Structures
• Task Duration Estimating
• Critical Path Scheduling
• Cost Estimating Tools
• Cost vs. Quality
• Cost Base Lining
• Earned Value Analysis and Forecasting

Communications and Human Resources, Management 525- Day 4

During day four, we move into human resource management and building effective communications skills. People are the most valuable asset of any project and we cover methods for identifying, acquiring, developing and managing your project team. Performance appraisal tools are offered as well as conflict management techniques. You will learn management methods to help keep people motivated and pro- vide great leadership. The effective communication portion of the day covers identifying and developing key interpersonal skills. We cover organizational communication, the different levels of communication as well as describing common communication barriers and tools to overcome these barriers.

Sample Topics:

• Acquiring and Developing Your Project Team
• Organizational Dependencies and Charts
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Team Building
• Conflict Management
• Interpersonal Communication Skills
• Communication Models and Effective Listening

Quality and Risk Management, Management 525- Day 5

Day five focuses on Quality and Risk. You will become familiar with quality planning, quality assurance and quality control methodologies as well as learning the cost of quality concept and its parameters. We define quality metrics and cover tools for establishing and benchmarking quality control programs. We go into quality assurance and auditing as well as using and understanding quality control charts. The Risk section goes over known vs. unknown risks and how to identify, assess and categorize risk. We use quantitative risk analysis and modeling techniques so that you can fully understand how specific risks affect your project. You will learn ways to plan for and mitigate risk by reducing your exposure as well as being able to take advantage of risks that could have a positive effect on your project.

Sample Topics:

• Cost of Quality
• Quality Metrics
• Continual Process Improvement
• Quality Baselines
• Quality Control
• Change Control
• Risk Identification
• Risk Assessment
• Time and Cost Risks
• Risk Probability and Impact Matrices
• Risk Modeling and Response

Procurement and Project Integration, Management 525- Day 6

We close out the week with the procurement aspects of project management and then integrate all of the concepts presented thus far into a solid, broad reaching approach. We cover contract basics and different types of contracts, then the make vs. buy decision process. We go over ways to initiate strong request for quotations (RFQ) and develop evaluation criteria, then qualify and select the best partners for your project. The final session integrates everything we have learned by bringing all the topics together with the common process groups. Using detailed project management methodology we learn how to finalize the project management plan and then execute and monitor the progress of your project to ensure success.

Sample Topics:

• Contract Types
• Make vs. Buy Analysis
• Vendor Weighting Systems
• Contract Negotiations
• Project Execution
• Monitoring Your Projects Progress
• Finalizing Deliverables
• Forecasting and Integrated Change Control