COURSE OVERVIEW:

Welcome to the Essential Principles of Project Planning course. This program will equip you with the knowledge and capabilities required to understand what project planning is all about, how the planning process works, and who needs to be involved to ensure that planning is collaborative, accurate and strategically aligned. You will explore the foundational terms used in project planning, how to review a project definition, and how to interpret the statement of need or opportunity that begins every planning cycle. You will also examine the statement of the project’s overall objective, the list of constraints and assumptions, and the list of deliverables and benefits, including why each deliverable and benefit must meet the SMART test to support clarity, accountability and successful project completion.

This course begins by analysing how to develop the project budget and how to assess the risks associated with project delivery. This section explains the project strategy and the skills required to manage that strategy effectively, and how to derive the project logic needed for sequencing and coordination. You will explore the structure of the planning meeting, the task-boarding process, the creation and purpose of a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), and the use of the what-what diagram to clarify tasks, outputs and dependencies.

Another area of learning focuses on preparing a project schedule and distributing responsibilities across the team. You will examine how to determine the length of key project stages, why plans go wrong, and the common sources of project estimates. This section explains the capacity problem, what can be done to resolve capacity constraints, and how frequent time robbers weaken planned schedules. You will explore how long a project will take, how to display time data in chart form, and how to analyse the logic diagram to confirm accurate sequencing and identify potential delays.

A further area of learning explores resource and cost analysis in detail. You will examine how to create a table of resource needs, how to work out project costs, and the inputs necessary for developing the operating budget. This section explains the typical costs included in a project budget, the financial plan that supports delivery, and why contingencies are necessary to protect the project against variability, uncertainty and emerging risks. You will also explore how to optimise planning decisions to meet customer needs while maintaining cost efficiency.

The next area of learning examines the project completion date and the relationship between project duration and business need. You will explore how to use critical path analysis, how to identify and secure resources, and how to present the plan for validation and approval. This section explains how to review project risks, how to reassess assumptions, how to resolve outstanding issues, and how to review and confirm the project budget to ensure that planning inputs remain accurate, realistic and current.

Another area of learning focuses on defining and using project milestones effectively. You will examine how to set milestones, how each milestone must identify a significant happening, and how milestone management strengthens visibility, motivation and accountability throughout the project. This section explains how to launch the project, how to prepare for project launch, and the role of both formal and informal reporting processes in communicating progress, risks, changes and achievements.

By the end of this course you will be able to understand the fundamentals of project planning, review project definitions, build SMART deliverables, develop budgets, assess risks, create WBS and logic diagrams, prepare schedules, analyse capacity, evaluate resources and costs, establish financial and contingency plans, define milestones, plan project launches, validate project assumptions, secure approvals, communicate effectively through reporting processes, and deliver structured and optimised project plans that align with organisational objectives and customer expectations.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:

·       What is project planning?

·       The planning process

·       Who needs to be involved in the planning process?

·       The terms used in project planning

·       How to review the project definition?

·       The statement of need or opportunity

·       The statement of the project overall objective

·       The list of the constraints and assumptions

·       The list of deliverables and benefits

·       Why the deliverables and benefits should meet the SMART test?

·       The project budget

·       The analysis of the risks

·       The project strategy and skills required

·       How to derive the project logic?

·       The planning meeting

·       The task-boarding process

·       The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

·       The what-what diagram

·       How to prepare the project schedule?

·       How to hand out responsibilities? 

·       How long do the key project stages take?

·       Why plans go wrong?

·       Project estimates and sources

·       The capacity problem

·       What can you do to fix the capacity problem?

·       The frequent time robbers

·       How long will the project take?

·       How to display time data in chart form?

·       How to analyse the logic diagram?

·       Resource and cost analysis

·       How to create a table of resource needs?

·       How to work out the project costs?

·       What are the inputs to the operating budget?

·       The typical costs included in the budget

·       The financial plan

·       Why contingencies are necessary? 

·       How to optimise to meet customer needs?

·       The project completion date

·       Why balance the length of the project with the business need?

·       How to use the critical path analysis?

·       How to identify and secure resources?

·       How to validate and plan approval?

·       How to review the risks?

·       How to review your assumptions?

·       How to resolve issues?

·       How to review and confirm the budget?

·       How to set the project milestones?

·       How each milestone must identify a significant happening?

·       How to launch the project?

·       How to prepare for project launch?

·       The formal and informal reporting process

·       The launch meeting

COURSE DURATION:

The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.

ASSESSMENT:

A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.

CERTIFICATION:

Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.