Projects are all around us. Virtually every organization runs projects, either formally or informally. We are engaged in projects at home and at work. Across settings, planning principles and execution methodologies can offer ways in which projects can be run more effectively and efficiently. Project management provides organizations (and individuals) with the language and the frameworks for scoping projects, sequencing activities, utilizing resources, and minimizing risks.
Offered By


Fundamentals of Project Planning and Management
University of VirginiaAbout this Course
No prior experience needed to participate in and benefit from this course.
What you will learn
How to initiate, define and organize a project
How to develop a project plan, including scoping, sequencing tasks, and determining a critical path
How to assess, prioritize and manage project risk
How to execute projects and use the earned value approach for monitoring and controlling progress
Skills you will gain
- Risk Analysis
- Project Planning
- Planning
- Management
- Project Management
No prior experience needed to participate in and benefit from this course.
Offered by

University of Virginia
A premier institution of higher education, The University of Virginia offers outstanding academics, world-class faculty, and an inspiring, supportive environment. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University is guided by his vision of discovery, innovation, and development of the full potential of students from all walks of life. Through these courses, global learners have an opportunity to study with renowned scholars and thought leaders.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Welcome to the World of Projects
Welcome to the course -- we're excited you're here! In our first week, we'll gain an understanding of what a project is, what it isn't, and why that matters. We'll consider how projects are defined and a project’s three objectives. We'll look at a model for examining a project’s organization and its stakeholders, and then analyze those stakeholders using a power/interest grid. We'll look at the main reasons why many projects fail and then learn how to measure success. Finally, we'll review the key stages in the project life cycle and highlight the important features of each stage.
The Ins & Outs of Project Planning
During our second week, we'll start digging into the details, focusing on how to develop a project plan. We'll understand why we plan and what a plan should or should not include. We'll discuss the process of scoping out a project and see tools that can help us identify what should be included in our project. We'll learn about sequencing project tasks and the nature of the dependencies among project activates. We'll learn how to determine a project’s duration and critical path, how it is determined, and why it is useful. We'll see how we should schedule a project and, finally, we’ll review how you can make changes to a plan to support your overall project objectives.
It’s a Risky World & Then the Unexpected Happened
In our third week, we'll consider the risk and uncertainties projects face. We'll understand what is risky about projects. We'll identify and assess project risks and prioritize these risks in order to focus our attention on those most impactful to the project. We’ll consider schedule risks in detail and ask, "What is the likelihood of finishing on time? What are the drivers that may cause delays in my project?" We'll see how a project budget can be set to include a contingency. Finally, we'll consider situations with a high degree of ambiguity and identify methods than can useful in these situations.
Ready, Set, Go: Project Execution
In our final week, we'll move from plan to action and consider the execution phase of a project. We'll learn about the earned value approach for monitoring and controlling progress. We'll consider the individuals who are executing the project and how their habits impact project progress. We'll discuss some alternative methods for project execution such as Agile, Scrum, and Kanban. Finally, we'll review and summarize the course, and our journey from project definition through execution and completion.
Reviews
- 5 stars78.47%
- 4 stars18.75%
- 3 stars2%
- 2 stars0.35%
- 1 star0.40%
TOP REVIEWS FROM FUNDAMENTALS OF PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
The course provided a good introductory lessons on project planning and management. The course was organized clearly with interesting exercises and the instructions were helpful. Thank you very much.
Great course! For a know-nothing person like myself, this course has given me an opportunity to understand one of the most interesting and detailed-oriented subjects to learn. Definitely recommend!
A very insightful course project management and very engaging from start to finish. I leaned some helpful knowledge in this course and hopefully i will be able to apply them in my future carrier.
Very informative, concise, and easy to digest. Provides a solid foundation / framework for approaching projects, with great tutorials on using software for analysis. Great experience overall, thanks!
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