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Improving Your Project Management Skills: The Basics for Success

As organizations take on more projects to support business goals, many professionals are asked to manage project work without formal training. In this seminar, you’ll learn and practice the essential tools and techniques needed to manage projects with greater confidence and control. You'll build a strong foundation in project management by learning the core framework, understanding project priorities and working through each phase of the project lifecycle. You’ll also work through the major stages of a project, from initiation and requirements gathering through planning, execution, change management and closure. Through discussions and hands-on exercises, you’ll gain practical approaches for defining work, engaging stakeholders, creating schedules and budgets, managing risk and tracking project health. You'll leave with practical tools and proven techniques you can apply immediately to plan projects more effectively, manage day-to-day execution and keep projects on track from kickoff through completion.  

Seminar Number: 06503

4.8
(1597 reviews)
  • In-Person
  • Live Online
  • At Your Company Location

Course Scheduling & Pricing

Home>Course Topic>Project Management>Improving Your Project Management Skills: The Basics for Success

About This Course

This foundational project management course helps professionals build practical skills they can use immediately at work. Designed for new and developing project managers, it covers the essential tools and techniques needed to plan, execute and monitor projects successfully, including requirements, work breakdown structures, estimating, scheduling, budgeting, communication, risk, and change management. With a focus on hands-on application rather than theory alone, this course helps participants gain confidence managing projects from start to finish.

Read the FAQs

Who Should Attend

  • Individuals who are new to project management
  • “Accidental” project managers (professionals for whom PM is a secondary part of their jobs)
  • Business analysts; subject-matter experts from any field who contribute to projects; managers responsible for projects; and experienced project managers looking to review current tools, techniques and processes

  •   In-Person3 Day(s)
    1.8 CEU, 18 CLP, 21 CPE, 18 PDCs, 18 PDU, 18 PHR, 18 PMU, 18 SPHR
  •   Live Online3 Day(s)
    1.8 CEU, 18 CLP, 21 CPE, 18 PDCs, 18 PDU, 18 PHR, 18 PMU, 18 SPHR
 
 

As organizations take on more projects to support business goals, many professionals are asked to manage project work without formal training.

In this seminar, you’ll learn and practice the essential tools and techniques needed to manage projects with greater confidence and control. You'll build a strong foundation in project management by learning the core framework, understanding project priorities and working through each phase of the project lifecycle. You’ll also work through the major stages of a project, from initiation and requirements gathering through planning, execution, change management and closure.

Through discussions and hands-on exercises, you’ll gain practical approaches for defining work, engaging stakeholders, creating schedules and budgets, managing risk and tracking project health. You'll leave with practical tools and proven techniques you can apply immediately to plan projects more effectively, manage day-to-day execution and keep projects on track from kickoff through completion.

 

  • Understand the basic project management terminology and project triangle
  • Initiate projects more effectively by defining requirements and creating a charter
  • Build a work breakdown structure and develop a project schedule
  • Create realistic project budgets using appropriate cost-planning approaches
  • Develop complete project plans that address communication, risk and resource planning
  • Track project status, manage changes and close projects with proper documentation

 

The Project Management Framework

  • Key project management terminology
  • The triple constraints, or project triangle
  • Differences between operations and projects
  • Project management in a business context

Initiating the Project

  • Project requirements vs. product requirements
  • The project charter
  • SMART requirements
  • Information-gathering techniques

Identifying and Estimating the Work

  • The purpose of a kickoff meeting
  • Developing a work breakdown structure, or WBS
  • Guidelines for making better estimates
  • Three-point estimates

Scheduling and Budgeting the Work

  • Task dependencies
  • Precedence diagramming
  • Developing the project schedule
  • Personnel and expense costs
  • Bottom-up and top-down cost budget planning

Completing and Executing the Plan

  • The project communications plan
  • Project risk management processes
  • The project procurement plan
  • Reserves
  • Project status reports
  • Effective project status meetings
  • The change management process

Closing the Project

  • Administrative and contractual closure
  • Project termination
  • Repositories and lessons learned

Program Goals

  • Apply foundational project management methods, tools, and techniques to plan and manage projects within a defined business context.
  • Analyze project constraints and priorities to make informed trade-off decisions involving scope, schedule, cost, and resources.
  • Demonstrate effective leadership behaviors to guide project teams toward defined project objectives.

The Project Management Framework

  • Define the basic project management framework and key project management terminology.
  • Differentiate between operations and projects.
  • Explain the triple constraints and how project priorities are set.
  • Describe the purpose of a business case in justifying a project.
  • Identify key stakeholders and the basics of stakeholder management.
  • List the five project management process groups.

Initiate the Project

  • Explain how and why organizations initiate projects.
  • Differentiate project requirements from product requirements.
  • Develop a project charter that defines a project's purpose, scope, and constraints.
  • Create a product requirements document capturing business, user, and functional requirements.
  • Write requirements using the SMART model.
  • Select appropriate information-gathering techniques for eliciting requirements.
  • Explain how product scope is validated during the project.

Identify the Work

  • Explain the purpose of a project kick-off meeting.
  • Describe how a work breakdown structure organizes the total scope of work into a deliverable-based hierarchy.
  • Apply the steps for decomposing deliverables into a WBS, supported by a WBS dictionary.
  • Construct a work breakdown structure for a project scenario.

Estimate the Work

  • Explain how the work breakdown structure and historical information provide the foundation for accurate estimates.
  • Apply estimating best practices—ownership, level of detail, and human productivity—to produce more reliable estimates.
  • Calculate three-point (PERT) estimates to account for risk and uncertainty.
  • Differentiate calendar-based (duration) from resource-based (effort) estimates.

Schedule the Work

  • Describe the types of task dependencies and relationships.
  • Sequence project tasks using a precedence (network logic) diagram.
  • Calculate the critical path and float using forward and backward passes.
  • Develop a project schedule using Gantt charts and milestones.

Create the Budget

  • Construct a responsibility assignment matrix to assign accountability for tasks.
  • Determine the personnel and expense costs for a project.
  • Differentiate between bottom-up and top-down cost planning, and when each is appropriate.
  • Apply resource leveling and schedule compression to balance the project triangle.
  • Explain how to assign resources to work packages based on project needs.

Complete the Plan

  • Create the project communications plan.
  • Describe the project risk management processes, from identification through response.
  • Apply risk response strategies: avoid, transfer, mitigate, and accept.
  • Explain the purpose of contingency and management reserves.
  • Describe the purpose of the procurement plan and common contract types.
  • Recognize how project baselines support monitoring and controlling during project execution.

Execute the Plan

  • Create a project status report.
  • Analyze variances between planned and actual performance to determine project health.
  • Demonstrate how to run an effective project status meeting.
  • Describe the change control process for managing changes to the plan.

Close the Project

  • Identify the elements in the project closure procedure.
  • Describe administrative and contractual closure.
  • Describe how projects are terminated.
  • Explain the importance of a repository and lessons learned.

Download Extended Seminar Outline PDF

View a Sample of Our Reviews

4.8

1597 reviews

 
instructor very knowledgeable and lots of exercises allowing groups to get hands on training as to how these tools should be applied
5
Ashley L.
 
ENGINEER
 
Industry: Membership Organization
The training was great for me because I feel confident now that I can utilize some of the tools I have acquired through the course.
4
David M.
 
Maintenance Supervisor
 
Industry: Manufacturing, Industrial Machinery & Equipment
The instructor was very knowledgeable, with deep practical experience. The 'hands-on' course work did more to set the information than simply reading through the course material. I highly recommend this class.
5
Linda C.
 
Business Support IV
 
Industry: Government
Well organized, good flow through the material. Examples really emphasized key points. The instructor kept the class moving and on time which is always appreciated.
5
Eric E.
 
Project Manager
 
Industry: Manufacturing
It was a great and engaging class. Perfect for someone like myself, who is not necessarily a project manager but does take on projects in my organization of varying scales.
5
Robert M.
 
Financial Analyst
 
Industry: Manufacturing

This course is valid for PMUs.

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HRCI. The use of this seal confirms that this activity has met HR Certification Institute’s® (HRCI®) criteria for recertification credit pre-approval.

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AMA is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for the SHRM-CPSM or SHRM-SCPSM.

Talent Triangle PDUs
16 Ways of Working [WOW] 2 Power Skills [PS]
Project Management Institute (PMI) Talent Triangle, 2015.
Reproduced with the permission of PMI. Copyright and all rights reserved

 

American Management Association is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and is accredited to issue the IACET CEU.

American Management Association is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org. For additional information or for more information regarding administrative policies such as complaints and refunds, please contact Customer Service at 800-262-9699.

Recommended CPE Credit:  21 hours/Basic
Prerequisites: None
Advance Preparation: None
Delivery Method: Group Live/Group Internet Based
Field of Study: Technical – Management Services

In-Person Schedule

17 Sessions Available

Live Online Schedule

15 Sessions Available

  • $2,895.00 Non Members
  • $2,595.00 AMA Members
  • $2,567.00 GSA
Date Duration State City Zip
  2026-07-20 2026-07-22 Jul 20, 2026 - Jul 22, 2026 3 Days DC Arlington/Washington 22202-4807 Arlington/Washington Register Now

  2026-07-27 2026-07-29 Jul 27, 2026 - Jul 29, 2026 3 Days NY New York 10019 New York Register Now

  2026-07-29 2026-07-31 Jul 29, 2026 - Jul 31, 2026 3 Days IL Chicago 60601-5927 Chicago Register Now

  2026-08-10 2026-08-12 Aug 10, 2026 - Aug 12, 2026 3 Days TX Houston 77001 Houston Register Now

  2026-08-17 2026-08-19 Aug 17, 2026 - Aug 19, 2026 3 Days GA Atlanta 30309-7705 Atlanta Register Now

  2026-09-09 2026-09-11 Sep 9, 2026 - Sep 11, 2026 3 Days CA San Francisco 94103 San Francisco Register Now

  2026-09-28 2026-09-30 Sep 28, 2026 - Sep 30, 2026 3 Days DC Arlington/Washington 22202-4807 Arlington/Washington Register Now

  2026-10-19 2026-10-21 Oct 19, 2026 - Oct 21, 2026 3 Days MA Boston 02110 Boston Register Now

  2026-10-21 2026-10-23 Oct 21, 2026 - Oct 23, 2026 3 Days IL Chicago 60601-5927 Chicago Register Now

  2026-11-02 2026-11-04 Nov 2, 2026 - Nov 4, 2026 3 Days NY New York 10019 New York Register Now

  2026-11-11 2026-11-13 Nov 11, 2026 - Nov 13, 2026 3 Days DC Arlington/Washington 22202-4807 Arlington/Washington Register Now

  2026-12-02 2026-12-04 Dec 2, 2026 - Dec 4, 2026 3 Days CA San Francisco 94103 San Francisco Register Now

  2026-12-07 2026-12-09 Dec 7, 2026 - Dec 9, 2026 3 Days GA Atlanta 30309-7705 Atlanta Register Now

  2027-01-20 2027-01-22 Jan 20, 2027 - Jan 22, 2027 3 Days TX Dallas 75001 Dallas Register Now

  2027-02-03 2027-02-05 Feb 3, 2027 - Feb 5, 2027 3 Days NY New York 10019 New York Register Now

  2027-02-24 2027-02-26 Feb 24, 2027 - Feb 26, 2027 3 Days IL Chicago 60601-5927 Chicago Register Now

  2027-03-15 2027-03-17 Mar 15, 2027 - Mar 17, 2027 3 Days CA San Francisco 94103 San Francisco Register Now

Frequently Asked Questions

Who should take project management courses?

This basic project management course is designed for professionals who manage projects as part of their role—team leads, managers, coordinators and emerging project managers—who want to build strong project management skills and a structured foundation for delivering projects successfully.

Does this project management course cover the full project lifecycle?

Yes. This project management skills training covers the full project lifecycle—from initiating and planning to executing, monitoring, controlling and closing—so you can manage projects more consistently and improve overall project outcomes.

Is this a PMP® exam prep or a certification course?

No. This course focuses on basic project management skills and practical tools rather than certification or exam prep. It’s ideal for improving project management skills you can apply immediately at work, using real-world methods and templates. AMA offers a course to prepare you for the PMP Exam.

What tools and techniques will I learn in this project management training course?

You’ll learn essential project management skills and tools, including defining scope, building a work breakdown structure (WBS), estimating and scheduling, budgeting, stakeholder management, risk management, status reporting and change control—core skills needed for project success.

How does this compare to PMI’s self-paced Project Management Basics?

PMI’s course introduces concepts in a self-paced format. This project management skills course is instructor led and hands on, making it a strong option for professionals who want guidance, practice and application support while building project management capabilities.

What project management skills will I improve after attending?

After completing this improving project management skills course, you should be able to define projects more clearly, make realistic commitments on scope, schedule and budget, manage stakeholders proactively and control changes so projects stay on track and don’t derail.

Can this project management training course be delivered in-house to help teams strengthen their project management skills?

Yes. This course can be delivered at your company, in person or live online, for team members who manage or contribute to projects. Delivery can be tailored to your organization’s project environment, tools, and priorities, helping participants plan, execute and communicate more effectively across projects. To explore options, please contact us for more information.

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