Report on: MOOC COURSE

Project Management

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree
Of

Masters of Business Administration (MBA)

SUBMITTED BY – HONEY ANANT

ENROLLMENT NO. – A80301921014

MBA 2 (2021-2023)

SUBMITTED TO :

AMITY BUSINESS SCHOOL

AMITY UNIVERSITY, CHHATTISGARH, INDIA

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my mentors for their aspiring
guidance in different matters regarding the topic, valuable moral support, constructive
criticism, and friendly advice. I am grateful to them for sharing their truthful and illuminating
views on a number of issues related to the report. I would like to express my gratitude to the
faculty of the Amity University Chhattisgarh.
I owe my sincere thanks and appreciation for the generous support provided by my friends
during my report. I would like to express my reverence and gratitude to my family whose
love, inspiration and encouragement helped me to ride over the difficulties I had during my
project work.

Thank you,

Honey Anant

MBA 2

Place: Raipur

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CERTIFICATE OF THE MOOC COURSE

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.NO TITLE PAGE NO.

1. Introduction 5

2. Objective 6

3. Importance 7

4. Topics covered in course 8

5. Pros 15

6. Cons 16

7. Conclusion 17

8. Reference 18

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 1. INTRODUCTION

In its modern form, project management dates back to the early 1950s, although its roots go
back further to the latter years of the 19th century.

A defined project management method emerged as businesses realized the benefits of

organizing work around projects - recognizing the critical need to communicate and
coordinate work across departments and professions.

Many organizations today don't employ full-time project managers. Indeed, it's common to
pull together a project team to meet a particular need, one that usually involves producing an
end product or service that benefits the organization or effects change. The desired result can
be tangible or intangible.

Getting to a successful final result is what project management is all about. At its core, then,
project management centres on the planning and control of everything involved in delivering
the final result - and it's a process that every person on a project team needs to embrace,
understand and execute, no matter the experience level.

The certification course included a huge array of topics which is included in project
management. The certification course of project management includes a lot of short videos.
The lessons sometimes have external links to relevant resources and further information
under the videos. These links can be useful, but are often repetitive or lead to a 404 error
page. The Project Management course is made up of 32 lectures, divided into 14 sections.
It is a great way to learn about the basics of project management as companies nowadays
require skills of a project manager to complete certain tasks.

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 2. OBJECTIVES

There are various objectives when it comes to doing a course on “Project Management”.
Some of the objectives which you will learn from this course are listed as follows:

 To experience a step by step “real-time” project planned out before your eyes
 Create a Gantt Chart using only Excel, and a PERT diagram using just Post-It notes
 To create templates and tools to plan your own project simply and effectively
 To avoid common mistakes which will instantly set your project up to fail
 To learn what makes a great project manager
 Be able to manage a successful project even with zero experience in that industry
 Predicting which tasks are crucial to your project timing
 Measuring whether you're on budget and on time - and how to fix it if you're not
 To feel calm and effective in running a project of any size in any industry

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 3. IMPORTANCE

The importance of project management in organizations can't be overstated. When it's done
right, it helps every part of the business run more smoothly.
Some of the importance are listed below :

1. Strategic Alignment :
Project management is important because it ensures what is being delivered, is right, and will
deliver real value against the business opportunity.

2. Leadership :
Project management is important because it brings leadership and direction to projects.
Without project management, a team can be like a ship without a rudder; moving but without
direction, control, or purpose. Leadership allows and enables team members to do their best
work. Project management provides leadership and vision, motivation, removing roadblocks,
coaching, and inspiring the team to do their best work.

3. Clear Focus & Objectives :

Project management is important because it ensures there’s a proper plan for executing on
strategic goals.

4. Realistic Project Planning :

Project management is important because it ensures proper expectations are set around what
can be delivered, by when, and for how much.
Without proper project management and a solid project plan, budget estimates and project
delivery timelines can be set that are over-ambitious or lacking in analogous estimating
insight from similar projects.

5. Quality Control :
Project management is important because it ensures the quality of whatever is being
delivered, consistently hits the mark. Dedicated project management ensures that not only
does a project have the time and resources to deliver but also that the output is quality tested

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at every stage.

4. Topics covered in the course

1. Define the project

 Specific (the project scope states exactly what the project should achieve)
 Measurable (the goal is measurable not vague)
 Achievable (it is reasonable to believe the team could accomplish this goal)
 Realistic (it can be achieved relatively easily without going over budget)

2. List the tasks

So step two is to get a list of all of the tasks – Work Breakdown structure is a good way to list
the tasks required for your project.
Just produce a big random list of of what will be all the jobs needed.

WBS levels :

 First level: Project title of final deliverable.

 Second level: Major deliverables or controls account.
 Third level: Work packages that are deliverable to the customer.
 Fourth level: Activities assigned to team members to complete work packages.

3. Post it notes

A Post-it Note (or sticky note) is a small piece of paper with a re-adherable strip of glue on its
back, made for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces.
Project managers have relied on sticky notes for decades, and for the most part, that system
has worked just fine. But just like water system in our old asbestos-era home, even though the
water heater might still work — it’s time for an upgrade.

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 4. Estimating Times

People often underestimate the amount of time needed to implement projects, particularly
when they're not familiar with the work that needs to be done. This is why it's important to
estimate time accurately if your project is to be successful.

Why Estimate Time Accurately?

Accurate time estimation is a crucial skill in project management. Without it, you won't know
how long your project will take, and you won't be able to get commitment from the people
who need to sign it off.

How to Estimate Time Accurately

Use these steps to make accurate time estimates:

Step 1: Understand What's Required

Start by identifying all of the work that needs to be done within the project.

Use tools such as Business Requirements Analysis, Work Breakdown Structures, Gap
Analysis, and Drill-Down

Step 2: Order These Activities

Now, list all of the activities you identified in the order in which they need to happen.

At this stage, you don't need to add in how long you think activities are going to take.
However, you might want to note any important deadlines.

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 Step 3: Decide Who You Need to Involve

You can do the estimates yourself, brainstorm them as a group, or ask others to contribute.

Where you can, get the help of the people who will actually do the work, as they're likely to
have relevant experience to draw upon. By involving them, they'll also take on greater
ownership of the time estimates they come up with, and they'll work harder to meet them.

Step 4: Do your estimates

Once you have your total estimate, you can review the number to ensure it's accurate. You
may compare this number to other projects and discuss it with your team members. If it
seems much higher or lower than previous, similar projects, consider reviewing each task to
determine why.

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 5. Safety Margins and check OK

Safety planning, which encompasses all health and safety conditions in the workplace and job
site, not only decreases the chances for project delays and the possibility of injuries, but also
increases the potential for success and the confidence of team members. As part of risk
management, safety planning is used to:

■ Protect the workers

■ Anticipate possible dangerous situations and bypass hazards

■ Guide the evaluation of the safety conditions of the project environment

■ Determine the minimum requirements, equipment or tools needed to perform specific

activities

■ Meet or exceed the legal obligation for safety and health conditions in the work
environment.

By focusing on inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs, project managers can develop and
implement an efficient safety plan with team feedback as the critical element.

6. Gantt Chart

A Gantt Chart is a horizontal bar chart used in project management to visually represent a
project plan over time. Modern gantt charts typically show you the timeline and status—as
well as who’s responsible—for each task in the project.

Here’s a quick look at the details a gantt chart enables you to capture at a glance:

 How a project breaks down into tasks

 When each task will begin and end

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  How long each task will take

 Who’s assigned to each task

 How tasks relate to and depend on each other

 When important meetings, approvals, or deadlines need to happen

 How work is progressing in a project

 The full project schedule from start to finish

In other words, a gantt chart is a super-simple way to communicate what it will take to
deliver a project on time and budget.

How to make a Gantt chart in Excel

1. List your project schedule in an Excel table.

2. Begin making your Excel Gantt by setting it up as a Stacked Bar Chart.

3. Add the start dates of your tasks to the Gantt chart.

4. Add the durations of your tasks to the Gantt chart.

5. Add the descriptions of your tasks to the Gantt chart.

6. Format your chart so it looks like a Gantt chart.

7. Risk Analysis

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Risk analysis is the process of identifying and analyzing potential issues that could negatively
impact key business initiatives or projects. This process is done in order to help organizations
avoid or mitigate those risks.

It figures out how likely risk will arise in a project. It studies the uncertainty of potential risks
and how they would impact the project in terms of schedule, quality and costs if in fact, they
were to show up. Two ways to analyze risk are quantitative and qualitative.

8. Monitor Progress

Monitoring your project progress involves keeping track of lots of moving parts.

You have to monitor elements such as the budget, scope, schedule, resources and tasks to
be completed. Accurate and effective monitoring helps you stick to your timeline and
identify problems early in the process to ensure your project is a success.

Benefits of Monitoring :

 Ensuring that tasks are being carried out according to project requirements (quality
control) 
 Letting the PM make sure important deadlines are met 
 Providing a thorough perspective on employee workload and capacity 
 Allowing for project changes or remedies in case of problems
 Offering clear budget tracking and adherence 
 Encouraging accountability from both team members and stakeholders

9. Monitor Costs

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To Monitor cost you will compare project spending to your Cost Plan, to see if the money is
being spent to do the right things and at the right times.

Every project needs to be completed in an agreed upon amount of money. Completing the
project within budget is one of the most important project success criteria. Money is the most
important resource and this needs to be spent wisely in a project.

10. Adjust Plan ( if necessary )

Poor planning can lead to some pretty ugly consequences—from missed deadlines and budget
overages to team burnout and client frustration. That’s why it’s important to establish a solid
backup plan you can use at times when needed.

11. Review and Wrap up

A Project Management Review is an exercise undertaken at the end of each Project Phase to
identify the current status of the project. The Project Review identifies the deliverables which
have been produced to date and determines whether or not the project has met the objectives
set.

There are 3 ways discussed in this course to review your project:

 The first is good, bad and better.

 Secondly, what was bad that we're going to avoid?

What holes did we fall down?

 And thirdly, how could we have done it even better knowing what we now know,
what would we have done differently?

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 5. Pros of this course

 It’s very comprehensive and will give an absolute beginner a good level of general
knowledge, while also pointing them toward more specific areas that they can
investigate further.
 The videos are well-made and use everyday language. Every video has subtitle
options and can be watched at your preferred speed.
 Learn how to build a Gantt chart using no specialist software (just Excel and Post-it
Notes)
 This course will increase your knowledge in the specified area and improve your
chances of achieving the desired result
 Uses real-life businesses and hypothetical scenarios to explain concepts

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 6. Cons of this course

 The course has too many methodologies and being overly obsessed with them.
It has many tools to execute projects, but not all are necessary. Using the project
manager’s discretion and delivering result should be a key priority.

 Flexible hours makes it easy to procrastinate, there’s no deadline for completing

the course which makes it easy to skip and procrastinate as per the will of the
student.

 No special attention: The students if they don’t understand a topic, can't get
special attention from the tutor.

 High Fees : This course had a very high fee charged by students. The topics
covered are not very informative as per the fee they have charged.

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 7. Conclusion

The fundamentals of project management course is a great way to learn about the basics of
handling a project and entering the PM world.
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques applied to
project activities in order to meet the project requirements and this course has helped me to
achieve the required knowledge in that field. Also it is a great way to get a certification added
in your CV.

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 8. Reference

https://www.udemy.com/course/project-management-fundamentals-gantt/learn/lecture/
14694454#overview

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management

https://www.investopedia.com/

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