Project Management Foundations: Small Projects

Course details

Learn how to efficiently manage small projects for great results. In this newly updated course, instructor and project manager Bonnie Biafore shows how to manage smaller scale projects with a simpler yet effective approach. She defines what "small" means in the context of project management and provides an overview of the life cycle of a small project, sharing the best techniques for planning, getting things done, tracking progress, and wrapping up.

Along the way, Bonnie shares the top 10 things you should know about small projects; special considerations for freelancers; best practices for estimating time and costs; objective measures for assessing quality; smart ways to identify risk; and meaningful ways to close a project. Use these tips to make your next small project a success.

Learning objectives
Summarize the characteristics of a small project.
Recall the benefits of identifying intermediate deliverables.
Identify the elements that make up the triple constraint.
Explain the steps taken to build a project team.
Recognize effective strategies to ensure projects are completed on time.
Describe strategies to shorten a schedule.

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Managing small projects effectively
02 - Understand the project scenario

1. Getting Started with Small Projects

03 - How do you identify a small project
04 - Overview of small project management
05 - Manage small projects effectively
06 - Tools for managing small projects

2. Defining the Project

07 - What is the purpose of the project
08 - Identify what the project will deliver
09 - Define the project scope
10 - Identify the most important factor
11 - Get approval for the project definition

3. Planning the Project

12 - How much project management do you need
13 - Organize your project files
14 - Identify the work
15 - Estimate time and cost
16 - Put the project tasks in sequence
17 - Build your team
18 - Assign resources to tasks
19 - Identify risks
20 - Add contingency time to the schedule
21 - Approve the project plan

4. Getting Things Done

22 - Kick off the project
23 - Hand out assignments
24 - Keep things moving
25 - Work through problems

5. Tracking Progress

26 - Get status updates
27 - Evaluate progress
28 - Get back on track
29 - Handle changes

6. Wrapping Up the Project

30 - Get sign-off
31 - Tie up loose ends

Conclusion

32 - Additional resources for managing small projects