Principles of Planning

Course Overview

This course has been designed to precede a project scheduling software course such as Microsoft Project, Primavera P6, Asta Powerproject or other scheduling tools.

The aim of this course is to:

  • Define projects and project management
  • Understand a project’s life cycle
  • Familiarise with the basics of project planning and scheduling
  • Complete a Statement of Work and/or a Project Charter

This one-day course is instructor led training and is aimed at individuals who are interested in learning how to plan projects.

The course includes activities at the end of each module where participants can practice preparing several planning documents.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Define and create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
  • Identify and understand task relationships
  • Estimate task durations and determine project duration
  • Construct a network diagram
  • Calculate the critical path of a project
  • Use the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) to create estimates
  • Plan for risks
  • Create a communication plan
  • Effectively allocate project resources
  • Update and monitor the project schedule

Pre-Requisites

Need to read and write English.
No formal pre-requisites.

Should I Study This Course?

This course is suitable for individuals with little or no planning or scheduling experience who are looking to begin or further their career in the project management sector.

Course Agenda

Modules include:

  • Overview
  • Projects and Schedules
  • The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
  • Estimating Activity Durations
  • Identifying Task Dependencies
  • Aligning Activities with Resources
  • Project Planning and Network Diagrams
  • Scheduling Software
  • Updating and Monitoring the Schedule
  • Uncertainty and Risk Management
  • Creating a Viable Schedule