Course Description

Delivering projects on time, on budget, with desired scope is no small order. Statistically speaking, the odds are not in your favor. The margin for error with projects has all but shrunk in most organizations. We just cannot tolerate projects that don't deliver.


practical project management trainingproject management training I still refer to your Project Management class as the best training and instruction I've had. I enjoyed your class and use many of the insights you gave us nearly every day.

Pam (2 years after the program)


So, how do we successfully deliver more consistently, in the real world where there are no 5 Easy Steps to Successfully Delivering Projects? Our Essentials of Project Management workshop is a very practical way to get your organization on track to consistently delivering successful projects. And now, this proven workshop is available in an e-learning format.


project management e-learningprepare for PMP The individuals that I spoke to when we left class agreed that this is by far the best we have attended. Thank you, and I will be putting these skills learned to use starting now for the project I have been assigned to as PM.


Who is this Course Designed For?

Project managers, project leads, business analysts, team leaders, project team members, and stakeholders. We've had salespeople, administrative assistants, engineers, and more take this workshop and learn how to deliver. This course can be an important part of your preparation for Project Management Professional (PMP)® or Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® certification. Or, if you're already certified, this course allows you to earn PDUs to maintain your certification.

Bottom-line: If you need to deliver projects, this workshop is for you.

What You Will Learn

By the end of this e-learning program, you will be able to:

  • Identify key factors that lead to project success (and failure).
  • Describe the Project Management Institute’s 5 Project Management Processes and the type of activities that occur within them.
  • Facilitate a work breakdown structure exercise on a real world project.
  • Describe techniques to influence project stakeholders, even when they don’t have authority over them.
  • Identify techniques to provide better estimates for projects.
  • Describe strategies for managing changes that inevitably occur with projects.
  • Describe what critical path is and how to use it to successfully manage a project.
  • Apply a structured approach for managing risks
  • Describe how to draw out lessons learned at the end of a project.
  • Qualify for 15 contact hours for project managers pursuing their Project Management Institute (PMI)® Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification or 15 PDU's for existing PMP® credential holders: Technical (10), Leadership (4), and Strategic (1)
  • Qualify for 1.5 CEU's (click here to learn more about how our CEU process works).

I’ve been attending seminars with our company for 22 years now and Andy Kaufman is, by far, better than all the speakers combined over that time span. You hit a homerun with this guy!

Essentials of Project Management participant


"PMI and PMP" are trademarks, service marks or certification marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc., which is registered in the United States and other nations.

Andy Kaufman

Andy has worked with leaders on every continent, except for Antarctica (still working on that one!). He has taught this course for administrative professionals around the world and can't wait to share the learning with you!

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Before You Begin

  • 2

    Week 1

    • Introduction to Week 1 (1:01)

      FREE PREVIEW

    • About Project Management Institute (PMI)®

      FREE PREVIEW

    • Portfolios, Programs, and Projects: Understanding the Hierarchy and the Scope of Your Responsibility

      FREE PREVIEW

    • We're Talking About Project Management: What is It?

      FREE PREVIEW

    • The Role of a Project Manager: Introduction to an Exercise

    • Who is One of The Best Project Managers You Have Worked With?

    • The Role of a Project Manager: What Do They Do?

    • Rolling Wave Planning: How to Put Together a Flexible Plan to Keep You On Track (13:22)

    • The Project Management Triangle: A Model for How to Respond to Changes to Your Project

    • Applying the Learning: Assignment

    • Contributing Factors to Project Success and Failure

    • Phases and Lifecycles: What Are They and How Do They Help?

    • What is Agile? And What Is It Not?

    • Making Sense of Minimum Viable Product (MVP) with Agile Projects

    • Organizational Influences That Impact How We Deliver Projects

    • Assignment

    • Introduction to the People Side of Project Management

    • Language and Culture

    • How Much of Your Success Depends on Your People Skills?

    • Introduction to "People Styles"

    • How to Score Your Self-Questionnaire Results

    • Understanding Your Style (and the Styles of Those You Work With)

    • Difficult Stakeholders? Here's How to Apply the Learning

    • Summary of the People Styles: Strengths and Challenges

    • What Does This Have to Do With Project Management?

    • Share Your Thoughts: What Does This Have To Do With Project Management?

    • Improving Your Effectiveness by Flexing Your Style

    • How Project Managers Can Use Style Flexibility (Demonstration)

    • Some Things To Keep In Mind as You Apply This Learning

    • It's a Wonder Communication Even Works! Common Breakdowns To Watch Out For

    • Want to Improve Your Communication? Be Aware of the Illusion of Transparency

    • People Can't Read Our Minds

    • How to Navigate Conflict On Projects

    • Exercise

    • End of Week Quiz

    • Discussion about Week 1 content
  • 3

    Week 2

    • Worksheets for case study exercises

    • Initiating Projects: "The Expert"

    • Introduction to Week 2

    • How Do You Decide Which Projects To Invest In?

    • The Project Manager's Role in Initiating

    • Introducing the Project Charter

    • How Do You Know, In Practical Terms, If Your Project Is Considered a Success?

    • Getting Agreement on Success Criteria

    • Ideas for Defining High-Level Requirements During Initiating

    • Why It's Critical to Identify Stakeholders Early in Your Project

    • Project Charter Example

    • Initiating Wrap Up

    • Introduction to Project Planning

    • Understanding the Project Scope

    • Identifying Project Deliverables

    • Identifying Project Constraints

    • Why "Don't Assume" Is Terrible Advice

    • What's Not In Scope? Documenting Exclusions

    • Scope Example

    • Planning Assignment

    • Wrap Up

    • End of Week Quiz

    • Overview of the Discussion Exercise

    • Discussion about Week 2 content
  • 4

    Week 3

    • Introduction to Week 3

    • What is a WBS and Why Is It So Important?

    • Overview of Work Packages

    • Getting Down to the Activity Level: How Low Do You Go?

    • Tips for Creating a WBS

    • WBS Demonstration

    • Example tool: Mindmapping

    • Example tool: Trello

    • Example tool: Asana

    • WBS Exercise

    • WBS Wrap-Up

    • Introduction to Estimating

    • Discussion: When You Need More Time Than You've Been Given

    • Strategies to Help You Influence Others for More Time

    • Discussion: Estimating

    • Estimating Lessons: Part 1

    • Estimating Lessons: Part 2

    • Some Productivity Killers to Keep in Mind When Estimating

    • Estimating Topics: Effort, Duration, and Accuracy

    • Some Initial Estimating Techniques

    • The 3 Point Technique: Part 1

    • The 3 Point Technique: Part 2

    • Estimating Wrap-Up

    • Week 3 Quiz

    • Week 3: Discussion
  • 5

    Week 4

    • Week 4 Introduction

    • How to Sequence Your Work for Maximum Efficiency

    • Sequence Activities Demonstration

    • Sequence Activities Exercise

    • Leads and Lags

    • Developing and Compressing a Schedule

    • Free Excel Templates for Schedules

    • Balancing Demand and Capacity

    • Understanding Critical Chain

    • Understanding Critical Path

    • How to Calculate Critical Path on the PMP® or CAPM® Exams

    • Planning in the Real World

    • Follow Up

    • Intro to Risk Management

    • Plan Risk Management and Identify Risks

    • Perform Qualitative and Quantitative Risk Analysis

    • Plan, Implement, and Monitor Risk Responses

    • Risk Management Example

    • Risk Management Assignment

    • Risk Management Wrap-Up

    • Change Control Example

    • Introduction to Closing

    • What do you Do When Closing a Project?

    • Closing a Project

    • Quiz

    • Gold Sheet Planning

    • Discussion about Week 4 content

    • The Rest of the Story
  • 6

    Additional Resources

    • Practice Worksheet for 3-Point Estimates and Standard Deviation

    • Practice Worksheet for Network Diagram and Critical Path

    • Even more information about how to calculate critical path!
  • 7

    Your Feedback on this Program

    • Program Feedback Survey

Reviews

5 star rating

tools for life

Jose Cabaltera

This was chocked full with useful tools, some of which seem like evolved species of my rudimentary attempts. These (the WBS, estimation strategies) are the r...

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This was chocked full with useful tools, some of which seem like evolved species of my rudimentary attempts. These (the WBS, estimation strategies) are the reasons I joined this course!

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5 star rating

Excellent training - highly recommend.

Jill Santa

Strongly recommend this. I already hold the PMP credential and took this for hours toward recertification. I'm glad I did. Excellent coverage of PM fundament...

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Strongly recommend this. I already hold the PMP credential and took this for hours toward recertification. I'm glad I did. Excellent coverage of PM fundamentals with real-world applicability. There are several assignments to complete and submit. Andy replies with helpful insights. Great training! I will take the advanced course for my next recertification.

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5 star rating

oscar sanabria

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