Resource limitations and payoff expectations require organizations to make tough decisions regarding the projects they undertake. Yet far too often critical decisions regarding the funding of projects, and the allocation of human resources to projects, are based on faulty assumptions, weak data, and wishful thinking. While conventional project management tools are helpful in estimating and tracking project costs, these tools are not designed or adequate for evaluating long-term costs versus benefits. Consequently, decision makers need, but often lack, special skills and tools to assess the business return on investment of potential projects. They also need to be able to communicate and defend their analysis on the basis of facts, logic, and defensible assumptions.

In this half-day seminar, Measuring and Communicating the ROI of Projects™, you will acquire skills and tools for evaluating and predicting the long-term return on investment of potential projects and purchase decisions. You will also learn how to prepare and present the results of your ROI analyses in a manner that clearly communicates the projected costs, benefits, risks, and unknowns—allowing selection decisions to be made on the basis of facts and reasonable assumptions.

Why perform an ROI analysis? Using ROI analysis to complement project requirements analysis ROI Analysis Flowchart Caveats about measurements and monetary equivalencies Decomposing a tough measurement Important questions about investment potential Three methods of estimating ROI ROI examples Opportunity costs, discount rates, and the time value of money ROI adjusted for the discount rate Net present value (NPV), with and without discount rate adjustments Plotting NPV versus discount rates Internal rate of return (IRR) -- What does it mean and what does it measure? Comparison of various investment indices -- knowing which to choose Using Excel to calculate ROI, NPV, and IRR Giving your numbers, estimates, and assumptions a reality check Practical hands-on exercises

This course was designed and is instructed by the author of the book ... .

Duration:
This is a half-day skill-building course with extensive hands-on exercises.  Many of the exercises take advantage of the charting and data analysis capabilities of Excel. Each participant should have access to a computer (laptop or desktop) that has MS Excel installed (version 2003 or later) and also a basic working knowledge of Excel.