Free course
Project Management
Run projects from kickoff to delivery without losing scope, time or people. Six practical lessons built around a real project of your own, with a ready-to-use toolkit and a test at the end of each lesson.
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What is project management?
Project management is the work of getting a one-off piece of work done on purpose: agreeing what it should achieve, planning how, coordinating the people involved, handling what goes wrong, and making sure the result delivers the value it was meant to. The Project Management Institute’s latest standard, the PMBOK Guide 8th edition published in November 2025, defines a project as a temporary initiative in a unique context undertaken to create value.
Most people who run projects never chose the title. They organise a website relaunch, an office move, a product launch or a new process, and learn by trial and error. This course gives you the essentials in the order you need them, so your next project starts with a plan instead of a hope.
Why it matters
PMI now defines a successful project as one that delivers value worth the effort and expense, not just one that finishes on time and on budget. By that measure there is a lot of room to improve. In PMI’s research, the global Net Project Success Score was 37 in 2025. Projects whose leaders consistently practised four habits, which PMI calls M.O.R.E., scored 94, yet only 7% of project professionals did so. The same research found that nearly 45% of projects that ended up successful were seen as at risk at some point: what separates them is how they were managed when things went wrong.
Predictive, agile or hybrid?
One of the first decisions in any project is how to run it. The current PMBOK Guide does not prescribe a single method: it expects you to tailor the approach to the project. Lesson 4 helps you choose.
| Predictive | Agile | Hybrid | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan | Detailed plan agreed up front | Short cycles, plan adjusted after each | Fixed milestones, flexible work inside them |
| Best when | Requirements are clear and changes are expensive | Requirements are uncertain or will change | There is a fixed date or budget but details will evolve |
| Typical examples | Office move, event, construction | Software, a new service, marketing experiments | Website relaunch, product launch |
| Main risk | Delivering the wrong thing on time | Losing sight of the deadline or budget | Getting the worst of both if roles are unclear |
What each lesson covers
- What a project is, and what success means. Projects versus routine work, value as the measure of success, and the habits that most improve results. Exercise: a one-page project brief.
- Define the project. Goals, scope, what is out, stakeholders and how you will measure success. Exercise: a charter and a stakeholder map.
- Plan the work. Breaking work down, estimating honestly, dependencies, milestones and who does what. Exercise: a work breakdown and a schedule.
- Choose how to run it. Predictive, agile and hybrid approaches, boards, sprints and tools. Exercise: set up your board and rhythm.
- Risks, changes and communication. A risk register, handling change requests, status reports and stakeholder perceptions. Exercise: your risk register and first status report.
- Deliver and close. Tracking progress, recovering from slippage, handover, retrospectives and measuring value after the project. Exercise: a close-out report.
Who it is for
People who run projects without being full-time project managers: team leads, marketers, operations staff, founders, freelancers and anyone who has just been told “you are leading this”. It is also a practical first step for anyone thinking about a project management career.
What you need
- A real project, current or coming up. A small one is ideal.
- A spreadsheet program such as Excel or Google Sheets for the toolkit.
- About 30 to 45 minutes per lesson, including the exercise.
- The course workbook and the project toolkit, which you download in lesson 1.
Questions about the course
Do I need any project management software?
No. The toolkit is a spreadsheet, and lesson 4 shows how to set up a simple board in a free tool or on paper. Software helps with bigger projects, but the habits matter more than the tool.
Does it prepare me for a certification like the PMP?
It covers the foundations that certifications build on, aligned with the current PMBOK Guide, but it is not exam preparation. Certifications such as PMI’s CAPM and PMP have their own eligibility rules and exams; check PMI’s site for the current requirements.
Is it agile or traditional project management?
Both. Lesson 4 explains when a predictive plan fits, when an agile approach fits, and how most real projects mix the two.
How long does the course take?
Six lessons of about 30 to 45 minutes each, including the exercise. Most people take one or two weeks, applying each lesson to their project as they go. You can take it at your own pace; your progress is saved.
What is the difference between project management and product management?
A project has a start and an end and delivers a defined result, such as a new website. A product, such as the website itself, lives on and keeps changing. Product managers decide what a product should become over time; project managers make sure a specific piece of work gets delivered. Many people do a bit of both, and the planning, risk and communication skills in this course help with either.
Can AI tools manage my project for me?
They can help, not manage. AI assistants are useful for drafting a first work breakdown, spotting risks you may have missed for a type of project, or turning notes into a status report. They do not know your team, your constraints or your stakeholders, so every output needs checking. Lessons 3 and 5 show where they help and what to watch for, including not pasting confidential information into tools your organisation has not approved.
What is a project charter, and do small projects need one?
A charter is a one or two page document that sets out the purpose, goals, scope, deadline, budget, risks and who decides. Small projects need it as much as big ones, because most disagreements come from things nobody wrote down. For a small project it can be half a page; lesson 2 walks you through it.
Is the course up to date?
Every lesson shows the date it was last updated. The course reflects the PMBOK Guide 8th edition and PMI research published up to 2026.
What do I get at the end?
The course is free, and so are the workbook and the tests. When you pass the test of every lesson, you can get a certificate of completion with your name, a public verification link and a button to add it to LinkedIn. The certificate costs $9, or is included in the Annual Pass for $20 a year. It shows that you completed the course; it is not an accredited qualification.