Project Management Core Concepts Course

Lesson 1 • Roles and Responsibilities in Projects

Maps the project manager, sponsor, team, and stakeholder roles. Clarifies accountability boundaries that prevent confusion during execution.

Lesson 2 • Project Management Frameworks and Standards

Surveys predictive, agile, and hybrid frameworks alongside global PM standards. Enables informed framework selection for different project contexts.

Lesson 3 • What Is a Project

Defines projects by their unique, temporary, and goal-driven nature. Contrasts projects with ongoing operations to anchor all subsequent PM concepts.

Lesson 4 • The Project Lifecycle Overview

Introduces the four standard lifecycle phases: initiating, planning, executing, and closing. Provides the structural framework used throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • Conducting the Kickoff Meeting

Structures an effective kickoff to align the team and stakeholders on goals and roles. Converts charter approval into shared commitment and momentum.

Lesson 2 • Identifying and Analyzing Stakeholders

Introduces stakeholder identification, power-interest mapping, and engagement planning. Ensures critical voices are captured before scope is defined.

Lesson 3 • Developing the Project Charter

Guides construction of a charter covering purpose, objectives, constraints, and authority. The charter becomes the formal authorization document for the project.

Lesson 4 • Defining Project Objectives and Success Criteria

Applies SMART criteria to translate business needs into measurable project goals. Establishes the baseline for evaluating project success at closure.

Lesson 1 • Writing the Project Scope Statement

Translates requirements into a formal scope statement with inclusions and exclusions. Establishes the agreed boundary that controls change requests later.

Lesson 2 • Collecting and Prioritizing Requirements

Applies elicitation techniques to gather stakeholder needs and rank them by priority. Produces a requirements baseline that drives scope decisions.

Lesson 3 • Building the Work Breakdown Structure

Decomposes deliverables into manageable work packages using WBS best practices. The WBS becomes the foundation for scheduling, costing, and risk planning.

Lesson 1 • Schedule Compression and Control

Applies crashing and fast-tracking to recover schedule slippage while managing trade-offs. Establishes monitoring routines to keep the project on time.

Lesson 2 • Defining and Sequencing Activities

Breaks WBS work packages into discrete activities and establishes logical dependencies. Correct sequencing prevents rework and scheduling conflicts downstream.

Lesson 3 • Estimating Activity Durations

Applies analogous, parametric, and three-point estimation to produce reliable duration estimates. Accurate estimates reduce schedule risk and improve stakeholder trust.

Lesson 4 • Developing the Project Schedule

Integrates activities, durations, and resources into a schedule using Gantt charts and network diagrams. Produces the schedule baseline used for performance tracking.

Lesson 1 • Earned Value Management Fundamentals

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

Lesson 2 • Developing the Project Budget

Aggregates work package estimates into a cost baseline with contingency reserves. The approved budget becomes the financial control benchmark for the project.

Lesson 3 • Cost Estimation Techniques

Covers bottom-up, analogous, and parametric cost estimation with accuracy ranges. Accurate estimates form the foundation of a credible project budget.

Lesson 1 • Quantitative Risk Analysis

Applies numerical techniques to model overall project risk exposure and cost/schedule impact. Provides data-driven confidence levels for budget and schedule targets.

Lesson 2 • Risk Management Planning

Defines the risk management approach, roles, and thresholds for a specific project. A documented plan ensures consistent risk practices across the team.

Lesson 3 • Risk Response Planning and Monitoring

Selects and documents avoidance, mitigation, transfer, and acceptance strategies. Establishes ongoing monitoring to detect triggers and implement contingency plans.

Lesson 4 • Qualitative Risk Analysis

Prioritizes risks using probability-impact assessment and risk urgency ratings. Focuses limited response resources on the highest-priority threats and opportunities.

Lesson 1 • Quality Assurance and Control Tools

Applies checklists, control charts, Pareto analysis, and cause-and-effect diagrams. These tools detect defects early and drive continuous process improvement.

Lesson 2 • Quality Planning and Standards

Defines quality requirements, metrics, and the quality management plan for the project. Proactive quality planning reduces costly rework during and after execution.

Lesson 3 • Directing and Managing Project Work

Covers work authorization, issue management, and change request processing during execution. Keeps the project aligned with the approved plan while adapting to reality.

Lesson 4 • Managing Procurement and Vendors

Covers make-or-buy decisions, contract types, and vendor performance monitoring. Effective procurement management protects scope, cost, and schedule commitments.

Lesson 1 • Lessons Learned and Knowledge Transfer

Captures successes, failures, and recommendations in a structured lessons-learned register. Institutionalizes knowledge so future projects benefit from current experience.

Lesson 2 • Integrated Change Control Process

Manages change requests through a formal review, approval, and implementation cycle. Prevents unauthorized changes that undermine the project baseline.

Lesson 3 • Integrated Performance Monitoring

Combines schedule, cost, scope, and risk data into a unified performance dashboard. Integrated monitoring enables faster, more accurate corrective decisions.

Lesson 4 • Corrective and Preventive Actions

Distinguishes corrective actions that fix current issues from preventive actions that avoid future ones. Systematic responses keep the project on track without overreacting.