Project Planning Course

Lesson 1 • Planning Within Organizations

Explains how organizational structure and culture shape planning practices. Prepares learners to adapt plans to different environments.

Lesson 2 • Key Roles and Responsibilities

Identifies the people involved in project planning and their accountabilities. Clarifies how roles interact during the planning process.

Lesson 3 • What Is a Project

Defines projects by their key attributes: temporary nature, unique output, and defined scope. Establishes the vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • Building the Work Breakdown Structure

Introduces the WBS as the hierarchical decomposition of all project work. Connects scope to tasks that will be scheduled and resourced.

Lesson 2 • Managing Scope Creep

Explains how uncontrolled scope growth occurs and how to prevent it. Introduces the change request process as a scope protection tool.

Lesson 3 • Writing the Project Scope Statement

Teaches how to convert requirements into a formal scope statement with inclusions and exclusions. Establishes the baseline for change control.

Lesson 1 • Estimating Activity Durations

Presents multiple estimation techniques and their appropriate contexts. Accurate estimates reduce schedule risk and improve stakeholder trust.

Lesson 2 • Defining and Sequencing Activities

Breaks work packages into schedulable activities and establishes their logical order. Provides the input needed for duration estimation.

Lesson 3 • Schedule Compression Techniques

Introduces crashing and fast-tracking to recover lost time or meet deadlines. Teaches cost-benefit analysis of each compression option.

Lesson 4 • Critical Path Method

Teaches forward and backward pass calculations to identify the critical path. Enables planners to focus control efforts on schedule-driving activities.

Lesson 1 • Assigning Resources to Activities

Covers the mechanics of loading resources onto scheduled activities. Produces a resource-loaded schedule that reveals demand over time.

Lesson 2 • Resource Leveling and Smoothing

Addresses over-allocation by adjusting assignments or schedule dates. Balances workload without unnecessarily extending the project end date.

Lesson 3 • Procurement and External Resources

Introduces planning for contracted or outsourced work within the project plan. Covers make-or-buy decisions and vendor coordination basics.

Lesson 1 • Developing the Project Budget

Aggregates activity cost estimates into a time-phased budget. Introduces contingency and management reserves as budget components.

Lesson 2 • Cost Baseline and Funding

Establishes the approved cost baseline used to measure performance. Explains how funding limits affect cash flow planning.

Lesson 3 • Earned Value Fundamentals

Introduces EV metrics to measure cost and schedule performance against the baseline. Provides early warning indicators for budget overruns.

Lesson 1 • Risk Monitoring and Control

Establishes ongoing processes to track risks and trigger responses. Keeps the risk register current throughout the project lifecycle.

Lesson 2 • Risk Response Planning

Develops specific actions to reduce threats and exploit opportunities. Responses are integrated into the schedule and budget as planned activities.

Lesson 3 • Quantitative Risk Analysis

Applies numerical techniques to model the combined effect of risks on objectives. Supports data-driven decisions about reserves and contingencies.

Lesson 4 • Qualitative Risk Analysis

Prioritizes risks using probability and impact assessments without detailed data. Focuses planning effort on the most significant threats.

Lesson 1 • Reporting and Status Updates

Covers the design of status reports, dashboards, and progress meetings. Effective reporting maintains stakeholder confidence and enables decisions.

Lesson 2 • Designing the Communication Plan

Specifies what information is shared, with whom, how often, and through which channel. A structured plan prevents information gaps and overload.

Lesson 3 • Stakeholder Identification and Analysis

Systematically identifies all parties affected by or influencing the project. Analysis results guide engagement and communication strategies.

Lesson 1 • Baseline Setting and Approval

Formalizes the scope, schedule, and cost baselines through sponsor approval. Approved baselines enable objective performance measurement.

Lesson 2 • Plan Quality and Completeness Review

Applies a structured checklist to verify the plan is complete before execution begins. Identifies gaps that could cause delays or cost overruns.

Lesson 3 • Monitoring and Control Framework

Establishes the processes used to track performance against baselines during execution. Connects planning outputs to ongoing control activities.

Lesson 4 • Kick-Off Meeting Planning

Prepares the project kick-off to align the team and stakeholders on the plan. A well-run kick-off accelerates team cohesion and shared understanding.