Introduction to Project Management for Management Consultant

What is the aim of this course?

Managing projects it’s not easy and on top of that, it is pretty stressful. You have to deliver the agreed results despite the tight budget, challenging deadlines, and all unpredictable obstacles. However, with the right approach, tools, and some hints you can handle the situation and surprise your boss with great results. In this course, I will teach how to conduct fast and efficiently projects within the defined budget and deadlines.

In the course you will learn the following things:

1. Essential Concepts used in Project Management
2. When using projects makes sense
3. How to define the scope of the project
4. How to estimate the costs and benefits of the project
5. How to estimate the time required to finish the project
6. What are the roles of different team members during the project
7. What tools are used in Project Management

This course is based on my 15 years of experience as a consultant in top consulting firms and as a Board Member responsible for strategy, performance improvement, and turn-arounds in the biggest firms from Retail, FMCG, SMG, B2B, and services sectors that I worked for. I have carried out or supervised over 90 different performance improvement projects in different industries that generated a total of 2 billion additional EBITDA. On the basis of what you will find in this course, I have trained in person over 100 consultants, business analysts, and managers who now are Partners in PE and VC funds, Investment Directors and Business Analysts in PE and VC, Operational Directors, COO, CRO, CEO, Directors in Consulting Companies, Board Members, etc. On top of that my courses on Udemy were already taken by more than 171 000 students including people working in EY, McKinsey, Walmart, Booz Allen Hamilton, Adidas, Naspers, Alvarez & Marsal, PwC, Dell, Walgreens, Orange, and many others.

I teach through case studies, so you will have a lot of lectures showing examples of analyses, and tools that we use. To every lecture, you will find attached (in additional resources) the Excel files as well as additional presentations, and materials shown in the lectures so as a part of this course you will also get a library of ready-made analyses that can, with certain modifications, be applied by you or your team in your work.

Why have I decided to create this course?

Firms love projects. There are efficient ways to deliver complex products that require the involvement of people from many departments. You have a big chance of either being a team member or even a project manager. Most firms don’t give you the full toolbox that you need to deliver projects. This may lead to huge frustration during projects and a lot of inefficiencies.

Therefore, I have decided to create this course that will help students understand or refresh the main skills and tools that they need during business projects. The course will give you the knowledge and insight into real-life case studies that will make your life during projects much easier. Thanks to this course, you will know what and how to do during business projects. You will know how to define scope, what to do during projects, how to prepare a cost-benefit analysis, and how to manage a project team.

To sum it up, I believe that if you want to become a world-class Management Consultant or Project Manager you have to have a pretty decent understanding of project management. That is why I highly recommend this course to Management Consultants or future Project Managers, especially those that did not finish business school. The course will help you become an expert in project management on the level of McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and other top consulting firms.

In what way will you benefit from this course?

The course is a practical, step-by-step guide loaded with tons of analyses, tricks, and hints that will significantly improve the speed with which you understand, and analyze businesses. There is little theory – mainly examples, a lot of tips from my own experience as well as other notable examples worth mentioning. Our intention is that thanks to the course you will learn:

1. Essential Concepts used in Project Management
2. When using projects makes sense
3. How to define the scope of the project
4. How to estimate the costs and benefits of the project
5. How to estimate the time required to finish the project
6. What are the roles of different team members during the project
7. What tools are used in Project Management

You can also ask me any question either through the discussion field or by messaging me directly.

How is the course organized?

The course is divided currently into the following sections:

• Introduction. We begin with a little introduction to the course as well as some general info on how the course is organized
• Essential Concepts in Project Management. In this section, we will learn about the essential concepts in Project Management. We will discuss the main terms and concepts used.
• How to estimate the time. Time is crucial when it comes to project management. In this section, we will see what it really means and how you can handle this area of the project.
• How to estimate the costs and benefits of the project. In this section, we will discuss costs and budgeting which is crucial for most projects. You have to define how much money will be spent on the project and make sure that the budget is sufficient.
• Who does what on the project? In this section, we will discuss the main roles of different stakeholders. It will help you adjust to the situation depending on your role.
• Other Essential Concepts. Apart from the essential concepts that we have discussed in previous sections, I will also explain some additional terms and frameworks that may prove useful. I will discuss things like project lifecycle, agile vs waterfall approach, risk management, and many more.
• Tools used in Project Management. In this section, we will discuss essential tools that you will need to manage a project.
• Private Label Project – Case Study. In the second part of the course, we will apply all the concepts presented in the first part of the course. You will have to help a drugstore chain define a project aiming at building a private label department.

You will be able also to download many additional resources

1. Useful frameworks and techniques

2. Analyses shown in the course

3. Additional resources

4. Links to additional presentations, articles, and movies

5. Links to books worth reading

At the end of my course, students will be able to…

• How to define the scope of the project
• Estimate the time required to complete the project
• Estimate the costs and benefits of the project
• You will know what to do during projects both as a Project Manager and a team member
• What tools to use to manage projects

Who should take this course?

• Management Consultants
• Project Managers
• Business Analysts
• Managers
• Startup Founders

What will students need to know or do before starting this course?

• Basic or intermediate Excel
• Basic knowledge of economics
• Basic or intermediate knowledge of finance & accounting