Course status. Module 1 is open for review and Modules 2 to 8 are in preparation. There are no accounts, no saved progress and no certificate issuing yet: everything you answer stays in your browser tab and is not stored.
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Course Passport
| Item | Entry |
|---|---|
| Course title | Delivering Projects: Scope, Risk and Control |
| Track | Professional Track, one of four (Foundation, University, Professional and Executive) |
| Intended learner | New and aspiring project leads, team leaders who run projects alongside other work, and professionals who join project teams and want to contribute well. |
| Length | 8 modules, one per week, about 6 study hours each: about 48 hours in total |
| Format | Interactive visual lessons (animated infographics, tables, graphs). No video lectures or podcasts. |
| Prerequisites | Workplace experience of any kind. Comfort with simple arithmetic and percentages. No software is required. |
| Language and tone | Plain professional English. Terms are defined at first use. Examples are invented and labelled as such. |
| Assessment | Practice sets 10%, module checkpoints 40%, labs and cases 15%, capstone 35% |
| Pass rule | 70% overall, and the capstone rubric passed separately. Checkpoints unlock the next module at 80%, with unlimited retakes. |
| Credential | Certificate of Completion. It states that it is not an accredited qualification. |
Why this course exists
Many projects run late or over budget because the work was never defined clearly, the real schedule was misunderstood, or risks were ignored until they became problems. This course teaches a small set of practical tools: a clear scope, a work breakdown, a schedule with its critical path, a risk register and simple control routines. Every method is shown with an invented worked example. For background, see the entries on the critical path method, risk scoring and security risk assessment, and the articles Defining Project Scope and Managing Risk and Scheduling and the Critical Path.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, a learner can:
- O1. Define the purpose, scope and deliverables of a project.
- O2. Break work down into manageable tasks and state what is excluded.
- O3. Build a simple schedule and find the critical path.
- O4. Identify risks and rank them by expected cost.
- O5. Track progress and respond to change with simple controls.
- O6. Report on a project clearly to a sponsor.
Course map
Eight modules take a project from idea to close: scope, work breakdown, schedule, resources and cost, risk, tracking, communication and change, and a final plan.
| Module | Big idea | Hours | Outcomes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1. What a Project Is and How to Scope One | A project has a purpose, limits and an owner, and scope is the main constraint. | 6 | O1, O2 | Open for review |
| M2. Breaking Work Down | A work breakdown makes a project estimable and assignable. | 6 | O2 | In preparation |
| M3. Schedules and the Critical Path | The longest path sets the project length. | 6 | O3 | In preparation |
| M4. Resources and Cost | People and money limit what the schedule can achieve. | 6 | O3 | In preparation |
| M5. Managing Risk | Rank risks by expected cost and assign owners. | 6 | O4 | In preparation |
| M6. Tracking Progress | Measure progress against a plan, not against hope. | 6 | O5 | In preparation |
| M7. Communication and Change Control | Agree changes before they are made. | 6 | O5, O6 | In preparation |
| M8. Your Project Plan | A plan is a short document that a sponsor can approve. | 6 | O6 | In preparation |
Capstone thread (proposed). The capstone is a short project plan for a small project chosen by the learner: scope in Module 1, work breakdown in Module 2, schedule in Module 3, risks in Module 5 and a sponsor report in Module 8.
Limits of this course
This course teaches general practice for small and medium projects. It does not prepare for any specific professional certification, and large or regulated projects need additional methods and specialist advice. Figures in worked examples are invented for teaching.
Our standard
Numbers are checked and sources are named by title and publisher. Limits are stated. The course awards no degree and no academic credit. Completing it will earn a Certificate of Completion only, which states plainly that it is not an accredited qualification. Certificates are not issued yet.
More courses: see all Specialty Digest Online Courses or the Professional Track.