Project Planning Scheduling and Cost Estimating Training Course

Participants can translate project requirements into defined deliverables and measurable acceptance criteria.

• Requirements traceability matrix connects stakeholder needs to planned deliverables
• Product breakdown structure separates outputs from project management activities
• Acceptance criteria define quality, evidence, ownership and approval conditions
• Scope boundaries distinguish included work, exclusions and external dependencies
• Assumption logs identify uncertain requirements needing validation or decisions
• Deliverable descriptions prevent ambiguity during estimating, scheduling and handover

Participants can create a deliverable-based work breakdown structure suitable for estimating and control.

• Work breakdown structure decomposes deliverables into manageable work packages
• The 100 percent rule tests complete scope coverage
• Work package dictionaries define outputs, owners, boundaries and acceptance measures
• Control accounts group work packages for responsibility and performance reporting
• Coding structures align scope, cost accounts and schedule activities
• Decomposition stops where duration, cost and accountability become manageable

Participants can convert work packages into logically connected activities and milestones.

• Activity lists identify measurable tasks needed to complete each work package
• Milestone definitions distinguish decision points, approvals and physical completion
• Precedence diagramming method maps finish-to-start and other dependency relationships
• Lead and lag values represent valid overlap or waiting periods
• External dependencies record supplier, regulator and stakeholder commitments explicitly
• Logic reviews expose missing predecessors, successors and circular relationships

Participants can estimate activity durations using evidence, uncertainty ranges and documented assumptions.

• Analogous estimating uses comparable projects with adjusted scope assumptions
• Parametric estimating applies productivity rates, quantities and unit measures
• Three-point estimates capture optimistic, most likely and pessimistic durations
• PERT expected duration calculations convert uncertainty into planning values
• Duration estimates distinguish effort, elapsed time, calendars and constraints
• Estimation basis sheets record sources, productivity factors and confidence levels

Participants can calculate critical path schedules and interpret float-based schedule exposure.

• Forward pass calculations determine early start and early finish dates
• Backward pass calculations establish late dates and total float
• Critical path method identifies activities controlling planned completion dates
• Near-critical paths reveal low-float sequences requiring active management attention
• Free float distinguishes local flexibility from overall schedule flexibility
• Schedule compression compares crashing costs with fast-tracking risk consequences

Participants can configure practical calendars and test schedules for misleading constraints and weak logic.

• Working calendars reflect shifts, holidays, access windows and approvals
• Hard constraints distinguish mandatory dates from planning preferences
• Constraint analysis identifies artificial critical paths and hidden schedule risk
• Schedule quality checks test open ends, excessive lags and long durations
• Milestone trend analysis tracks movement in key decision and completion dates
• Baseline dates separate approved commitments from current forecast dates

Participants can estimate resource requirements and assign labour, equipment and materials to activities.

• Resource breakdown structures classify labour, equipment, materials and services
• Skills matrices match activity requirements with available capability levels
• Resource-loaded schedules assign quantities, rates and work hours to activities
• Effort-driven tasks distinguish fixed work from fixed-duration planning assumptions
• Material lead times incorporated into procurement and installation activity logic
• Responsibility assignment matrices connect work packages with accountable roles

Participants can identify resource overloads and develop feasible resource-constrained schedules.

• Resource histograms show demand peaks by role, period and location
• Capacity plans compare scheduled demand against confirmed resource availability
• Resource levelling resolves overloads by delaying or resequencing activities
• Resource smoothing protects completion dates while reducing demand fluctuations
• Critical chain buffers address resource contention and task duration uncertainty
• Make-or-buy decisions compare internal capacity, supplier cost and timing

Participants can construct traceable cost estimates from work packages, quantities and resource rates.

• Cost breakdown structures align estimates with scope and control accounts
• Bottom-up estimating aggregates work package quantities, rates and allowances
• Direct costs distinguish labour, materials, equipment and subcontracted services
• Indirect costs allocate supervision, facilities, insurance and project support
• Unit-rate build-ups document quantities, productivity and price assumptions
• Estimate classification indicates maturity, accuracy range and supporting evidence

Participants can quantify estimate uncertainty and establish justified contingency and escalation allowances.

• Risk-based estimating links cost uncertainty to identified risk events
• Contingency reserves cover known-unknowns within approved project scope
• Management reserves distinguish unknown-unknowns from controlled project contingency
• Monte Carlo simulation models combined duration and cost uncertainty
• Probability-impact scoring prioritises risks requiring quantified response allowances
• Escalation calculations account for inflation, market indices and procurement timing

Participants can convert estimates into time-phased budgets and forecast project cash requirements.

• Cost loading distributes planned costs across scheduled activity periods
• Planned value curves establish authorised budget by reporting period
• Cash-flow forecasts distinguish commitments, accruals, invoices and payments
• S-curves compare cumulative budget, forecast and actual expenditure trajectories
• Funding profiles identify financing gaps before contractual payment obligations arise
• Cost accounts reconcile schedule activities with finance reporting structures

Participants can establish integrated baselines and assess proposed changes before approval.

• Scope, schedule and cost baselines approved through defined governance authorities
• Baseline review verifies traceability between work packages, activities and budgets
• Change requests state rationale, impact, alternatives and decision owner
• Impact assessment quantifies effects on dates, resources, costs and risks
• Configuration control preserves authorised versions of planning documentation
• Rebaselining criteria distinguish approved changes from poor performance correction

Participants can collect reliable progress data and update forecasts using objective completion evidence.

• Status dates establish consistent cut-off points for schedule reporting
• Physical percent complete uses measurable quantities, inspections and acceptance evidence
• Milestone weighting measures progress where quantity-based measurement is unsuitable
• Rules of credit assign earned progress to defined completion events
• Actual cost collection reconciles invoices, timesheets, accruals and commitments
• Schedule updates record actual dates, remaining duration and revised logic

Participants can calculate earned value indicators and explain cost and schedule performance trends.

• Planned value measures authorised budget scheduled by the status date
• Earned value records budgeted value of objectively completed work
• Actual cost captures expenditure incurred for completed and incomplete work
• Schedule performance index indicates progress efficiency against the baseline plan
• Cost performance index measures cost efficiency of completed work
• Estimate at completion forecasts final cost using performance-based formulas

Participants can identify planning risks and develop response actions linked to schedule and cost exposure.

• Risk registers connect causes, events, effects, owners and response actions
• Schedule risk analysis tests uncertainty within durations and dependency assumptions
• Sensitivity analysis identifies assumptions with greatest completion-date influence
• Cost risk drivers include quantities, rates, exchange exposure and market capacity
• Response plans assign triggers, contingency actions and residual risk ratings
• Risk-adjusted forecasts distinguish probable outcomes from deterministic baseline values

Participants can interpret adverse trends and prepare credible schedule and cost recovery plans.

• Variance analysis separates root causes from symptoms and reporting narratives
• To-complete performance index tests feasibility of remaining budget targets
• Remaining work reviews validate assumptions behind revised duration forecasts
• Recovery schedules sequence corrective actions, decisions and resource commitments
• Trend logs track recurring variance patterns and unresolved management actions
• Forecast narratives explain uncertainty, confidence ranges and key decision points

Participants can present planning information in forms suited to sponsors, delivery teams and finance stakeholders.

• Milestone schedules communicate key commitments without unnecessary activity detail
• Look-ahead plans focus teams on near-term work, constraints and handoffs
• Dashboard measures combine schedule status, cost position, risks and decisions
• Exception reports highlight variance thresholds, causes, actions and owners
• Planning assumptions communicated clearly to prevent false certainty in commitments
• Executive briefings distinguish approved baseline, current forecast and recovery options

Participants can specify the data, controls and software practices needed to maintain reliable project plans.

• Microsoft Project and Primavera P6 scheduling functions compared for planning needs
• Activity codes support filtering by owner, location, phase and discipline
• Schedule data dictionaries define mandatory fields, conventions and validation rules
• Version control preserves approved baselines, updates and scenario analyses
• Import checks detect calendar errors, duplicate activities and broken relationships
• Data quality reviews confirm current status, resource assignments and estimate inputs

Participants can build, review and present a complete scope, schedule, resource, cost and control pack for a project.

• Scope statement and work breakdown structure establish deliverable accountability
• Network schedule demonstrates dependencies, critical path, calendars and milestones
• Resource plan identifies demand, capacity constraints and levelling decisions
• Cost estimate documents quantities, rates, contingencies and escalation assumptions
• Time-phased budget and cash-flow forecast support funding and control decisions
• Risk register, change process and earned value model complete governance arrangements