Project Planning & Scheduling Techniques Training Course

The Project Planning & Scheduling Techniques Training Course equips project managers, planners, engineers, and project team members with the proven techniques needed to develop realistic, logic-driven project plans and schedules and to use them effectively to control time and delivery. In government entities, ministries, public authorities, banks, healthcare systems, energy and utility companies, construction, engineering, and technology organizations, and large corporations, projects often fail to meet deadlines not because of the tools used, but because of weak planning: unclear scope, incomplete work breakdown, unrealistic duration estimates, missing logic, ignored resource constraints, and schedules that are not maintained once work begins. Planning and scheduling are frequently treated as software tasks rather than as disciplines grounded in sound methods. Schedules may be built directly in a tool without first defining scope and work packages, durations may be based on optimistic guesses, dependencies may be incomplete, and schedule uncertainty may not be assessed. When delays occur, teams may compress schedules without understanding the cost and risk implications. Different stakeholders may also need different levels of schedule detail, from executive milestone views to detailed look-ahead plans, which many projects do not provide. This course focuses on the underlying techniques that make schedules reliable, regardless of the software used. Participants learn the project planning process, from defining scope and developing the work breakdown structure and WBS dictionary to defining and sequencing activities using the precedence diagramming method and different types of dependencies. The program covers duration estimating techniques, including analogous, parametric, three-point, and expert-based estimating, and manual critical path method calculations using forward and backward passes to determine the critical path and float. Participants then learn resource planning, loading, leveling, and smoothing, critical chain concepts, schedule compression through crashing and fast-tracking, rolling wave planning, schedule levels and milestone schedules, and planning approaches for agile and hybrid projects. The course also addresses schedule risk analysis using quantitative methods such as Monte Carlo simulation, baselining and progress measurement, earned schedule and earned value indicators, look-ahead scheduling, schedule change control, schedule quality reviews, and scheduling requirements in contracts. The course is delivered through an interactive, application-focused approach with manual calculation exercises, network diagram workshops, estimating exercises, and a case study project developed throughout the five days. Participants leave with a work breakdown structure and WBS dictionary template, a network diagram and critical path calculation worksheet, a duration estimating guide, a resource histogram and leveling exercise, a schedule compression analysis, a schedule risk register, and a schedule review checklist.