Project Planning & Scheduling Certification

Module 1: Introduction to Project Planning & Scheduling

• Planning fundamentals
• Scheduling fundamentals
• Planning vs scheduling
• Project lifecycle
• Planning responsibilities
• Schedule management principles

Module 2: Understanding Project Scope

• Project objectives
• Project requirements
• Scope definition
• Project deliverables
• Scope boundaries
• Planning assumptions

Module 3: Work Breakdown Structure

• WBS concepts
• Deliverable decomposition
• Work packages
• WBS hierarchy
• Organising project work
• WBS development

Module 4: Activity Definition

• Identifying activities
• Activity lists
• Activity attributes
• Work package activities
• Planning detail
• Activity documentation

Module 5: Activity Sequencing

• Sequence planning
• Logical relationships
• Activity dependencies
• Mandatory dependencies
• Discretionary dependencies
• External dependencies

Module 6: Dependency Relationships

• Finish-to-Start
• Start-to-Start
• Finish-to-Finish
• Start-to-Finish
• Leads
• Lags

Module 7: Activity Duration Estimation

• Duration estimation concepts
• Expert judgement
• Analogous estimating
• Parametric estimating
• Three-point estimating
• Estimation assumptions

Module 8: Project Milestones

• Milestone concepts
• Key project events
• Milestone planning
• Milestone schedules
• Milestone tracking
• Management milestones

Module 9: Network Diagramming

• Network diagrams
• Activity relationships
• Precedence Diagramming Method
• Network logic
• Schedule paths
• Reviewing network diagrams

Module 10: Critical Path Method

• Critical path concepts
• Critical activities
• Forward pass
• Backward pass
• Critical path calculation
• Managing critical activities

Module 11: Float and Schedule Flexibility

• Total float
• Free float
• Schedule flexibility
• Near-critical activities
• Negative float
• Float management

Module 12: Resource Planning

• Resource requirements
• Resource types
• Resource availability
• Resource calendars
• Skills requirements
• Resource planning

Module 13: Resource Allocation

• Assigning resources
• Resource workloads
• Resource constraints
• Capacity considerations
• Resource conflicts
• Allocation adjustments

Module 14: Resource Levelling and Smoothing

• Resource overallocation
• Resource levelling
• Resource smoothing
• Schedule impacts
• Resource optimisation
• Balancing workloads

Module 15: Developing the Project Schedule

• Schedule development
• Activities and milestones
• Dependencies
• Resources
• Schedule calculation
• Integrated schedule

Module 16: Schedule Baseline Management

• Schedule baseline concepts
• Baseline approval
• Planned dates
• Baseline documentation
• Baseline comparison
• Maintaining baselines

Module 17: Schedule Compression

• Schedule compression concepts
• Fast tracking
• Crashing
• Cost and schedule considerations
• Compression risks
• Selecting compression techniques

Module 18: Schedule Risk Management

• Schedule risks
• Delay risks
• Resource risks
• Dependency risks
• Risk assessment
• Schedule contingency

Module 19: Schedule Progress Tracking

• Progress measurement
• Actual start and finish
• Remaining duration
• Percentage complete
• Status dates
• Schedule updates

Module 20: Schedule Variance Analysis

• Planned versus actual progress
• Start variance
• Finish variance
• Duration variance
• Milestone variance
• Schedule trend analysis

Module 21: Schedule Reporting and Forecasting

• Schedule reports
• Milestone reports
• Look-ahead schedules
• Progress dashboards
• Completion forecasting
• Stakeholder reporting

Module 22: Schedule Control and Optimisation

• Schedule performance review
• Identifying delays
• Root cause analysis
• Corrective actions
• Schedule recovery
• Continuous schedule optimisation