Master Project Planning, Scheduling & Cost Estimation

Why This Course

Successful projects depend on clear planning, realistic scheduling, accurate cost estimation, and strong control over scope, time, and budget. Without a structured planning approach, projects can quickly face delays, cost overruns, resource conflicts, unclear responsibilities, and weak performance tracking.

Project planning is not only about preparing a schedule. It requires defining scope, breaking work into manageable components, estimating resources and costs, identifying risks, setting baselines, and creating control mechanisms that support effective execution. When scope, schedule, and cost are properly integrated, project teams can make better decisions and respond more effectively to change.

This comprehensive 5-day course equips participants with advanced skills in project planning, scheduling, and cost estimation. Through practical exercises, case studies, planning workshops, scheduling techniques, cost estimation tools, and baseline control activities, participants will learn how to develop realistic project plans, build accurate schedules, estimate costs effectively, and manage project performance with confidence.

What You’ll Learn and Practice

By joining this program, you will:

• Understand advanced project planning principles and practices.
• Create detailed project plans aligned with project objectives.
• Develop comprehensive work breakdown structures.
• Define and manage project scope effectively.
• Conduct stakeholder analysis and prepare communication plans.
• Apply critical path method and network diagramming techniques.
• Develop resource-loaded schedules.
• Apply resource allocation, leveling, and optimization techniques.
• Use scheduling software more effectively.
• Apply advanced cost estimation methods.
• Develop accurate project budgets.
• Use cost-loaded scheduling techniques.
• Understand earned value management principles.
• Identify, assess, and manage project risks.
• Integrate scope, schedule, and cost baselines.
• Apply change control, performance reporting, and project recovery techniques.

The Program Flow

Day 1: Foundations of Project Planning

• Introduction to project planning principles.
• Understanding the role of planning in project success.
• Developing comprehensive work breakdown structures.
• Defining work packages, deliverables, activities, and responsibilities.
• Scope definition and management.
• Stakeholder analysis and communication planning.
• Practical exercise: Building a project scope statement and work breakdown structure.

Day 2: Advanced Scheduling Techniques

• Critical path method and network diagramming.
• Identifying dependencies, durations, float, and critical activities.
• Resource allocation and leveling.
• Schedule optimization and compression techniques.
• Fast tracking, crashing, and schedule trade-off analysis.
• Using scheduling software effectively.
• Workshop: Creating and optimizing a resource-loaded project schedule.

Day 3: Cost Estimation and Budgeting

• Cost estimation methodologies and best practices.
• Analogous, parametric, bottom-up, and three-point estimation.
• Developing accurate project budgets.
• Cost-loaded scheduling techniques.
• Linking cost estimates with project activities and resources.
• Earned value management principles.
• Practical exercise: Preparing a project cost estimate and budget baseline.

Day 4: Risk Management in Planning

• Identifying and assessing project risks.
• Understanding risk sources related to scope, schedule, cost, resources, suppliers, and stakeholders.
• Quantitative and qualitative risk analysis.
• Developing risk response strategies.
• Contingency planning and reserve analysis.
• Integrating risk management into project plans.
• Workshop: Creating a project risk register and response plan.

Day 5: Plan Integration and Control

• Integrating scope, schedule, and cost baselines.
• Understanding the relationship between planning baselines and project control.
• Change control processes and baseline management.
• Performance measurement and reporting.
• Using project performance data to support decision-making.
• Project recovery strategies and re-planning techniques.
• Final activity: Presenting an integrated project plan with schedule, cost, risk, and control elements.

Individual Impact

• Strengthen your ability to create comprehensive and realistic project plans.
• Improve confidence in developing accurate schedules and budgets.
• Build stronger skills in work breakdown structures, CPM, and resource planning.
• Improve cost estimation and budgeting accuracy.
• Enhance your ability to identify and manage project risks.
• Gain practical tools for controlling scope, schedule, and cost baselines.

Work Impact

• Improve project planning accuracy and execution readiness.
• Reduce delays, cost overruns, and resource conflicts.
• Strengthen integration between project scope, schedule, cost, and risk.
• Improve project monitoring, reporting, and decision-making.
• Support stronger change control and baseline management.
• Increase the likelihood of successful project delivery within approved constraints.

Training Methodology

This program uses a practical and project-focused approach to help participants apply planning, scheduling, and cost estimation tools directly to real project environments. Learning methods include:

• Interactive discussions and guided facilitation.
• Project planning case studies.
• Work breakdown structure development exercises.
• Critical path and network diagramming workshops.
• Resource-loaded scheduling activities.
• Cost estimation and budgeting exercises.
• Earned value and performance reporting examples.
• Risk assessment and response planning scenarios.
• Integrated project plan development and presentation.

Beyond the Course

Upon completion, participants will be prepared to plan, schedule, estimate, and control projects with greater confidence and structure. They will return ready to:

• Create comprehensive and realistic project plans.
• Develop accurate project schedules and budgets.
• Apply effective risk management in project planning.
• Integrate scope, schedule, and cost baselines.
• Use performance measurement and reporting tools.
• Apply project recovery and re-planning techniques when projects face challenges.