Project Management Essentials

• "This course is great, to the point, informative, lecturer is very knowledgeable. One of my favorite courses. Great job." – Romol Bereaux
• What project management fundamentally does, and the domains it applies to.
• Who in the organization can benefit from using project management.
• How project management applies to small (sometimes very small) projects.
• What comes before project management, before you have a project.
• When project management is most useful, and the process will be more than worth the effort.
• The five stages of the formal project management process, their essential features, and how they fit together.
• The most important concept in project management – the triple constraint, its key messages, and how the parts inter-relate.
• The role of the Project Manager, key responsibilities, and why accountability is a good thing.
• The purpose of project initiation, and the key elements of the project charter.
• The importance of the first definition of the project scope – the one sentence objective.
• A one-page flowchart of the whole planning process, setting up your project for success.
• The official baseline for the project scope – the work breakdown structure.
• The precedence diagram – your most important tool for planning, communicating, and managing your project.
• The official baseline for the project schedule – the Gantt chart.
• The essential elements of the project cost breakdown.
• The importance of planning for the unexpected – risk management planning.
• Documenting the planning in a concise project management plan for sponsor review.
• The purpose and key elements of the monitoring and control phase.
• Managing the number two cause of project problems – scope changes.
• The essential elements of managing the project schedule.
• The essential elements of managing project cost.
• The essential elements of managing project risk.
• The best way to conduct the monthly project review.
• The purpose and key elements of project closing.
• Wrapping up the project with a targeted final report.
• A summary checklist of all the key learnings of the course.

"This is a great course, not only for new project managers who want to learn the basics of project management, but also for existing PMs who would like to refresh themselves with the fundamentals. Clear, concise, and very informative." – Jade Mercado

This course provides you a crash course on the most important concepts in project management in under two hours. Based on more than 30 years of experience managing projects from just a few thousand dollars up to $55M, and working in senior roles on PM teams on projects up to $3B, this course gives you the essential information you need to understand what project management does, how it flows across the life-cycle, and the key steps you need to take to make your project successful.

1. Overview: What project management fundamentally does. The five stages of the formal process. The most important concept in PM - the triple constraint. And the critically important role of the Project Manager, and how accountability can automatically give you authority and be listened to.

2. Initiation: The purpose of Initiation. Baselining the first definition of your project’s scope - the Objective.

3. Planning: A one page flowchart of the entire Planning process. The project scope baseline - the work breakdown structure. The logic of the project - the precedence diagram. The schedule baseline - the Gantt chart. The cost breakdown. Risk management. Documentation of the Project Management Plan.

4. Execution: The purpose of Execution. The essentials of building the best project team.

5. Monitoring & Control: The purpose of Monitoring and Control. Managing scope, schedule, cost, and risk. The monthly project status review.

6. Closing. The purpose of Closing. Wrapping up the project with a targeted final report.

If after taking this crash course you wish to dig deeper, please feel free to check out my comprehensive course "Deeply Practical Project Management", which explains *how* to implement the PM processes in-depth. Enjoy!

Instructor

William Stewart is a PMI certified Project Management Professional (PMP) who has managed projects for more than 30 years, from just a few thousand dollars to $55M, and worked in senior roles on PM teams on projects up to $3B. He has managed projects in the domains of system integration, software development, business process, construction, real estate, and others. Internationally recognized, he has spoken twice as a keynote speaker at International Project Management Association (IPMA) conferences. He has delivered this course live more than 330 times to more than 3,300 people. Previously, he worked for aerospace, government, academia, and founded and led the cloud computing company Cirrus Computing. He has deep experience with project management, risk management, systems integration, software engineering, and negotiating. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science for discovery of an algorithm that builds multi-dimensional geodesic domes in optimum space and time, which to his knowledge has never been used for anything practical.

Student Feedback

"This is the best quick refresher project management course there is out there. Highly recommend!" – Adity Das Gupta

"I think I learned almost as much here as in my PMP bootcamp, a very good refresher before I take the test. Thank you." – John Franklin

"A must have course as a ready reference for a new or even a seasoned PM." – Jignesh Jani

"The best course in the Udemy portal that I have come across. Concepts are crisp and neatly explained! I strongly recommend!" – Suresh Raju

"Working with project managers for a long time, brings a clearer understanding of what they were doing and why. A good overview for anyone working on a project, not just for project managers." – Dave Uebele

"Cuts through the noise and delivers tangible and practical lessons." – Harold Floyd

"Would have been very useful to learn this earlier, but better late than never!" – Tibor Kocsis

"Great, succinct overview covering all the major points of project management in an easy-to-follow format." – Kathleen Adams

"Concentrated the PM theories into less than two hours - that is a very great job!" – Samuel Song

"Great course. I'm not a project manager, but it has made me realize I definitely undertake some of the key elements of the role already." – Rachel Horne

"Awesome refresher course on Project Management. I would recommend this course to any new Project Manager." – Manjunath Maller

"It was a great course. Excellent course for people who are planning to become a PM." – Adolph Robinson

"The course instructor is an expert and has managed very large projects successfully. That is why I have taken this course, to learn practical skills from someone that has actual experience in managing large complex projects. I recommend this course to anyone wanting to understand project management and how to get started in the field." – Stefan du Plooy