Project Management Course

Lesson 1 • Project Management Frameworks Overview

Surveys predictive, agile, and hybrid frameworks at a high level. Provides context for choosing the right approach before deep dives later.

Lesson 2 • The Project Lifecycle

Maps the five process groups: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, and closing. Shows how phases connect and gate decisions throughout delivery.

Lesson 3 • Organisational Structures and PM

Contrasts functional, matrix, and projectised organisations and their effect on PM authority. Prepares students to navigate real workplace constraints.

Lesson 4 • What Is a Project

Defines projects versus day-to-day business operations and introduces key characteristics. Anchors all subsequent methodology choices to a clear project definition.

Lesson 1 • Writing the Project Charter

Drafts the formal document that authorises the project and names the PM. Each charter element is tied directly to business case inputs.

Lesson 2 • Identifying Business Needs and Opportunities

Techniques for uncovering the problem or opportunity driving a project. Links business strategy to project justification before any planning begins.

Lesson 3 • Developing the Business Case

Builds a cost-benefit argument to secure project approval. Introduces financial and non-financial justification methods used in real organisations.

Lesson 4 • Stakeholder Identification at Initiation

Maps all parties with interest or influence over the project early. Early identification prevents costly misalignment during planning and execution.

Lesson 1 • Building the Work Breakdown Structure

Decomposes deliverables into manageable work packages using hierarchical decomposition. The WBS becomes the foundation for schedule and cost estimates.

Lesson 2 • Scope Baseline and Change Control

Formalises the approved scope baseline and establishes a change control process. Protects project integrity by requiring authorisation for any scope changes.

Lesson 3 • Defining Project Scope

Translates requirements into a formal scope statement with inclusions and exclusions. Establishes the boundary that prevents scope creep later.

Lesson 4 • Validating and Controlling Scope

Inspects deliverables against acceptance criteria and monitors scope drift. Connects scope control to quality and stakeholder satisfaction outcomes.

Lesson 1 • Critical Path Method

Calculates early/late start and finish dates to identify the longest path. CPM reveals which activities directly control the project end date.

Lesson 2 • Developing the Project Schedule

Assembles activities, durations, and dependencies into a network diagram and Gantt chart. Produces the schedule model used for all downstream monitoring.

Lesson 3 • Defining and Sequencing Activities

Breaks work packages into schedule activities and establishes logical dependencies. Correct sequencing is the prerequisite for accurate duration and path analysis.

Lesson 4 • Schedule Compression Techniques

Applies crashing and fast-tracking to recover lost time without changing scope. Students evaluate trade-offs between cost, risk, and schedule recovery.

Lesson 1 • Cost Control and Reporting

Establishes processes for authorising expenditures, tracking actuals, and reporting status. Connects cost control to change control and scope management.

Lesson 2 • EVM Performance Indices and Forecasting

Calculates SPI, CPI, EAC, and ETC to forecast final cost and schedule outcomes. Indices guide corrective decisions before the project exceeds its baseline.

Lesson 3 • Cost Estimation Techniques

Covers bottom-up, analogous, and parametric methods for estimating activity costs. Accurate estimates form the foundation of a credible project budget.

Lesson 4 • Earned Value Management Fundamentals

Introduces PV, EV, and AC metrics to measure schedule and cost performance objectively. EVM provides early warning signals before variances become critical.

Lesson 1 • Risk Management Planning

Defines the approach, roles, and tools for managing risk throughout the project. A documented risk management plan ensures consistent, repeatable risk practices.

Lesson 2 • Risk Response Planning and Monitoring

Selects avoid, transfer, mitigate, or accept strategies and assigns risk owners. Ongoing monitoring ensures responses remain effective as conditions change.

Lesson 3 • Qualitative Risk Analysis

Prioritises risks using probability-impact matrices and urgency ratings. Focuses limited resources on the risks most likely to affect project objectives.

Lesson 4 • Quantitative Risk Analysis

Applies Monte Carlo simulation and decision trees to model numeric risk exposure. Quantitative outputs support reserve calculations and go/no-go decisions.

Lesson 1 • Quality Control Tools and Techniques

Applies control charts, Pareto analysis, and fishbone diagrams to inspect deliverables. Data-driven quality control reduces rework and protects the schedule baseline.

Lesson 2 • Team Development and Motivation

Applies Tuckman's stages and motivational theories to build high-performing teams. Effective team development directly improves execution speed and quality.

Lesson 3 • Quality Planning and Assurance

Defines quality standards, metrics, and audit processes aligned to stakeholder expectations. Quality assurance prevents defects rather than detecting them after the fact.

Lesson 4 • Conflict Resolution and Negotiation

Identifies conflict sources and applies resolution techniques appropriate to each situation. Resolved conflict preserves team cohesion and keeps execution on track.

Lesson 1 • Lessons Learned and Knowledge Transfer

Captures successes and failures in a structured lessons-learned repository. Knowledge transfer ensures future projects benefit from current project experience.

Lesson 2 • Project Closure Process

Executes formal closure activities including final acceptance, contract closeout, and archiving. Proper closure protects the organisation and releases resources cleanly.

Lesson 3 • Integrated Change Control

Manages all change requests through a formal review and approval process. Integrated change control prevents unauthorised changes from destabilising baselines.

Lesson 4 • Issue Management and Escalation

Distinguishes risks from issues and applies structured resolution processes. Timely escalation prevents minor issues from becoming project-threatening problems.