Project Management Essentials with Microsoft Project 2021
MS Project
Overview
Project management is an essential part of modern business and one of today’s fastest-growing professional fields. This course provides participants with a practical introduction to the core principles, tools, and techniques of effective project management.
Through interactive discussions, practical workshops, case studies, and real-world examples, participants will learn how to initiate, plan, execute, monitor, control, and close projects successfully.
The course covers key project management concepts based on the PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition and provides hands-on experience using Microsoft Project 2021 to create, manage, monitor, and track realistic project plans.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
Understand core project management principles and processes.
Plan, monitor, and control projects effectively using Microsoft Project 2021.
Develop project schedules, budgets, resources, and risk management plans.
Apply project management best practices from initiation through project closure.
Target Audience
This course is suitable for:
Project Managers
Project Team Leaders
Project Team Members
Professionals transitioning into project management roles
Professionals involved in project planning and coordination
Course Outline
1. Introduction to Project Management
Project management fundamentals
Projects, programmes, portfolios, and operations
Project management process groups
Project management knowledge areas
Project data, information, and reporting
Project success measurements
Tailoring project management approaches
2. Project Environment & Organisation
Enterprise environmental factors
Organisational process assets
Organisational systems and structures
Governance frameworks
Project Management Offices (PMOs)
The role of the Project Manager
Project management competencies
Leadership and management styles
Managing complexity
3. Project Initiation
Initiating process group
Developing the project charter
Identifying stakeholders
Defining project objectives and requirements
4. Project Planning
Developing the project management plan
Scope, schedule, cost, quality, and resource planning
Communications and stakeholder management
Risk and procurement planning
Change and configuration management
Requirements collection
Defining project scope
Creating the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Defining and sequencing activities
Estimating resources, durations, and costs
Developing project schedules
Risk identification and analysis
Planning risk responses
5. Microsoft Project 2021
Participants will gain practical experience in:
Creating and managing project plans
Setting project dates and calendars
Adding and organising tasks
Creating task dependencies
Setting constraints and deadlines
Adding and assigning resources
Estimating task durations and costs
Updating project plans
Setting baselines
Resolving resource conflicts
Using the Critical Path
Tracking project progress
Creating reports and dashboards
Creating custom views, tables, and fields
Exporting project data to Excel
Linking documents to project plans
Creating visual reports
6. Project Execution
Directing and managing project work
Managing project knowledge
Managing quality
Acquiring and developing resources
Managing project teams
Managing communications
Implementing risk responses
Conducting procurements
Managing stakeholder engagement
7. Monitoring & Controlling
Monitoring project performance
Managing integrated change control
Validating and controlling scope
Controlling schedules and costs
Controlling quality and resources
Monitoring communications and risks
Controlling procurements
Managing stakeholder engagement
Updating and rescheduling tasks
Filtering and grouping project data
8. Project Closing
Closing projects and project phases
Creating project templates
Sharing resources
Creating master projects
Documenting project outcomes and lessons learned