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The Importance of Project Management in the Global Construction Industry

Why is the management of construction projects important and why do construction projects fail?

3,366 enrolled on this course

  • Duration

    2 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours
This course is part of the program Global Project Management Practice, which is one of the building blocks that leads to a degree in MSc Construction Project and Cost Management. Find out more.

Evaluate the key principles and strategies of construction project management

This course is designed to provide you with a broad overview of the make-up of a project and the fundamental activities that take place in construction project management.

You will explore the life cycle of a project and the key activities within each phase. You will investigate the key steps in defining a project, including setting objectives, determining scope, identifying stakeholders and clarifying strategies.

As part of this course, you will examine the increasingly critical role of project management within construction, focusing on various international case studies.

What topics will you cover?

• A brief overview of what a project is, how a project is classified and its importance in the construction industry.

• An overview of three project parameters in a construction project and their importance.

• A brief overview of PM definitions, their importance in the construction industry and how to identify the key actors involved in construction PM.

• A brief overview of the PM methodologies – PRINCE, PROMPT, PMBoK and CCPM – their characteristics and importance in global construction projects.

• An overview of the five key stages of the project life cycle in construction – initiating, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling and the closing processes – their characteristics and how each stage is formulated.

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Explore the definitions of a project and discover how a project is classified and the importance of projects in construction
  • Evaluate the three project parameters in a construction project and their importance
  • Evaluate the definition of project management in construction, the processes of project management and its relevance in a global construction context
  • Assess the importance of project management in the global construction context
  • Interpret and evaluate the project management methodologies in global construction projects and their importance
  • Identify the key stages in the construction project life-cycle and their characteristics
  • Explore the importance of each key stage in a project life cycle in construction and how each stage is formulated

Who is the course for?

This course is for people working in or studying the built environment. This might be students, recent graduates or construction professionals engaged in construction cost and project management, civil and structural engineering, architectural technology, surveying and building services engineering.

Please note that the staff described in the ‘Who will you learn with?’ section below may be subject to change.

Who will you learn with?

Dr Abdussalam Shibani Associate Professor in Construction Management, PhD in Construction and Project Management, Course Director MSc Construction Management with BIM.

Who developed the course?

Coventry University

Coventry secured 5 QS Stars for Teaching and Online Learning in the QS World University Ranking 2020 and has received No. 1 in the world for Massive Open Online Courses in MoocLab’s World University Ranking 2021.

  • Established

    1992
  • Location

    Coventry

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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Advance your career with a degree

Since 2017 you have been able to take a degree on FutureLearn. This free course is a bit like a starter course for a degree — it should give you a flavour of the degree subject but can also be your first step towards a degree qualification.

If you enjoy this course you can apply to join the program it’s part of to start working towards a degree on FutureLearn.

Don’t worry, you can still take the course without doing a full degree!

Do the free course
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Get academic credit for an online degree from Coventry University
This course is part of the program Global Project Management Practice, which is one of the building blocks that leads to a degree in MSc Construction Project and Cost Management.

Apply core concepts and techniques in project management and develop an enhanced awareness of managing project resources, finances, risks, people and organisational change.

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