Project Management Course Outline

The project life cycle consists of four phases: identifying needs, proposing a solution, performing the project, and terminating the project. Lesson 1 begins with an overview of these and other essential project management concepts. As you begin this lesson, consider some of the projects you have been involved in during your life. What were the objectives, the constraints, the schedules, and the resources used for those projects

Lesson 2 covers the second phase of the project life cycle, which starts when the request for proposal (RFP) becomes available at the conclusion of the needs identification phase and ends when an agreement is reached with the person, organization, or contractor selected to implement the proposed solution.

Lesson 3 discusses performing, or doing, the project. This lesson discusses these last two phases of the project life cycle. Implementing the proposed solution starts after a contract or agreement is drawn up, and it ends when the project objective is accomplished. The fourth and final phase of the project life cycle involves terminating the project.

Lesson 4 explores the concept of planning. Planning is the systematic arrangement of tasks to accomplish an objective. The plan lays out what needs to be accomplished and how it is to be accomplished. Learn how the plan becomes a benchmark against which actual progress can be compared.

A schedule is a timetable for a plan and cannot be established until the plan has been developed. In this lesson you will learn more about schedules, what it means to make schedules and why they are important. In addition, you will learn how to determine how long a task will take.

This lesson covers controlling a project. Learn how to control a project schedule after the project has started as well as how to recognize the kinds of events that could occur that would throw off a schedule and discover strategies to avoid them or handled them if they do occur.

In many projects, resources available to perform the project activities are limited. You’ll be introduced to several approaches to incorporating resource considerations into the project plan and schedule and how to ensure that everything is within budget.

People are the key to project success. It’s the project team — not the procedures and techniques —that are critical to accomplishing the project objective. Procedures and techniques are merely tools to help people do their jobs. Chapter 10 focuses on the roles and responsibilities of the project team.

This lesson discusses an element vital to the effective performance of a project—communication. Explore the various ways in which people can be organized to work on projects, and you will learn about various types of organizational methods.

An overview, this lesson explores the critical concepts and processes utilized by managers to operate an organization. You will examine the nature of management and build a tool box of critical knowledge and skills to face the challenges ahead. Finally, this section focuses on researching career information related to management and the opportunities available.