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Time Management Strategies for Project Management

Develop your time management skills and discover time management strategies to ensure every project you manage runs smoothly.

18,693 enrolled on this course

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  • Duration

    2 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours

Learn how to get your projects running like clockwork

Every project manager or project leader has had a project that seems to spiral out of control - absorbing more time and resource than was planned. This course will help you stop that happening.

You will learn time management strategies to help you prevent projects becoming unmanageable and develop the fundamental skills of a project manager to make sure every project you run meets its deadlines.

Now is the time to put an end to runaway projects.

What topics will you cover?

  • Introduce the time management processes
  • Explain the key concepts in time management, including lags and leads, critical path, feeding buffers, resource leveling, resource smoothing, schedule completion date, target completion date, milestones.
  • Explain various tools and methods improving time management, including Precedence Diagraming Method (PDM), Critical Path Methods, Critical Chain Method, Gantt chart

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...

  • List the time management processes
  • Identify components of the schedule management plan
  • Define an activity
  • Describe the transition from scope to schedule
  • Explain the Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
  • Distinguish the difference between a mandatory and discretionary dependency
  • Define lags and leads
  • Calculate the critical path for a project using the critical path method, including forward and backward pass
  • Calculate float for each activity
  • Explain why schedule compression may be necessary
  • Distinguish the difference between crashing and fast tracking and the project implications of each
  • Describe the difference between a schedule and target completion date
  • Identify the difference between the critical chain method and the critical path method
  • Define project and feeding buffers
  • Define resource leveling and resource smoothing
  • Determine when these two techniques are necessary
  • Explain the point when a schedule is base lined
  • Explain project milestones
  • Create a Gantt chart with project data
  • List the things that a Gantt chart can display
  • List the benefits and challenges in using scheduling software

Who is the course for?

This course is for program managers, project managers, project leaders and even anyone who is interested in project management and time management concepts.

What do people say about this course?

"I found the course to be very well presented and a great refresher, or perhaps an introduction for those that haven't studied project management before. Overall, for such a short course, it was crammed with content and a good opportunity for people who want to see if this is a subject they'd like to investigate further. "

"In studying this course, I encountered cutting edge skill sets and tools involved both in time management processes as well as the components of schedule management plan. This offers informed judgment with a strategic advantage in reflecting on the possibilities of achieving efficient and desired outcomes and mirror perspectives that differ from the prevailing view."

Who will you learn with?

Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)®

Who developed the course?

Purdue University

One of the four best public universities in the US, Purdue delivers an engaging learning experience and a world-class degree.

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

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

Get a taste of this course

Find out what this course is like by previewing some of the course steps before you join:

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