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Quick Look Course Summary:Project Management Fundamentals (2 days)
  • Length: 2 day(s)

  • Price (at your venue): 1 Person R 10,326 EX VAT 3 Person R 7,594 EX VAT 10 Person R 5,537 EX VAT

  • Certification Type:Non-Accredited

  • Locations & Venues: Off-site or in-house. We train in all major city centres throughout South Africa.

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    Project Management Fundamentals (2 days)

    Managers and team members choose the right project, plan it properly, track it with simple measures and bring it to a clean close.

    Projects land on managers' desks long before anyone shows them how to run one. Without a method, scope grows, deadlines slip and nobody can say whether the project is on track until it is too late. This project management fundamentals course gives beginners and new project leads a clear, dependable way to run a work-based project from idea to close.

    Day one covers getting a project right before it starts: selecting a project that serves the unit's goals, scoping it with clear objectives, deliverables and boundaries, and building the plan – work breakdown structure, schedule, resources, budget and risks. Day two covers delivery: setting up simple tools to measure progress on time, cost, scope and quality, running the plan with the team, reporting to stakeholders, controlling changes and closing the project with a proper handover and lessons learned.

    Delegates work on a real project from their own unit throughout, using spreadsheet-based tools rather than specialist software, and leave with a project charter, a plan and a progress tracker they can use straight away.

    Why this course

    For your organisation

    • Projects that support business goals, not side tasks that drift
    • More projects delivered on time and on budget
    • A shared project vocabulary and method across teams
    • Earlier warning when a project goes off track

    For your delegates

    • A clear, simple method for any work-based project
    • A charter, plan and progress tracker for your own project
    • Confidence to report progress and raise problems early
    • A solid foundation for further project management training

    What delegates will be able to do

    • Explain what a project is and how the project life cycle works
    • Choose a work-based project that supports your unit's goals
    • Scope a project with clear objectives, deliverables and boundaries
    • Build a project plan with a work breakdown structure, schedule, budget and risk register
    • Set up simple measures and a tracker to follow progress
    • Control changes, deviations and issues during implementation
    • Report progress clearly to sponsors and stakeholders
    • Close a project with a proper handover and lessons learned

    Who should attend

    Complete beginners, team members moving into project roles, administrators and coordinators, and supervisors and managers who run projects in their own unit alongside their normal work. No previous project management training is needed.

    Course outline

    Day 1 – Selecting, scoping and planning a project

    Projects and project management
    • Workshop objectives and personal learning goals
    • A project versus routine operations
    • Scope, time, cost and quality: the constraints every project balances
    • The project life cycle and the five process groups
    • Why projects fail and what good project management prevents
    Selecting the right project
    • Identifying improvement opportunities in your unit
    • Linking projects to business goals
    • Simple selection criteria: benefit, cost, risk and urgency
    • Project roles: sponsor, project manager and team
    Scoping the project
    • Objectives and success criteria
    • Deliverables, boundaries, assumptions and constraints
    • The one-page project charter
    • Exercise: a charter for your own project
    Developing the project plan
    • Building a work breakdown structure
    • Sequencing tasks and estimating durations
    • Milestones and the critical path in plain terms
    • A simple Gantt chart in a spreadsheet or Microsoft Project
    • Resources and the project budget
    Planning for risk and communication
    • Identifying and assessing risks
    • A simple risk register and risk responses
    • Stakeholder analysis and a communication plan

    Day 2 – Measuring, controlling and closing

    Tools to measure project performance
    • Choosing key measures: schedule, cost, scope and quality
    • Setting the baseline
    • A simple progress tracker and traffic-light dashboard
    • Exercise: building the tracker for your project
    Putting the plan into action
    • The kick-off meeting and team agreements
    • Assigning work to people who do not report to you
    • Running short, focused project meetings
    Monitoring and controlling
    • Tracking progress against the baseline
    • Handling deviations and taking corrective action
    • Change control and stopping scope creep
    • Issues versus risks, and the issue log
    Reporting and evaluating progress
    • Short, clear status reports
    • Escalating problems early
    • Evaluating progress against the objectives
    Closing the project
    • Handover and sign-off
    • Lessons learned review
    • Recognising and releasing the team
    • Personal action plan for your next project

    How it is delivered

    Two days, 08:30-16:00. In person at your offices anywhere in South Africa, at a BOTI venue, or live online. One delegate or a group of up to about 20; case studies tailored to your sector on request. Workbook, charter, plan and tracker templates included; laptops with spreadsheet software can be supplied on request. We deliver it at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and anywhere else in South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online for teams in different places.

    Certificate: Delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance. This is a non-accredited short course; the training spend may count towards your B-BBEE skills development – check with your verification agency. For a credit-bearing route, ask us about the QCTO Occupational Certificate: Project Manager.

    What our clients say

    ★★★★★ 4.8 on Google from 770+ reviews · word-for-word quotes from signed letters of reference, from clients on this and/or related BOTI courses

    “All training programmes were delivered in a highly professional manner, with effective coordination and strict adherence to our scheduling requirements. The facilitators demonstrated a commendable level of expertise, and the quality of delivery consistently met our expectations.”

    A national public entity (innovation)Head: HR · Course: Eight programmes 2021-2026, from Customer Service Excellence and… · 2026

    “The training was practical, engaging and relevant to our workplace environment, providing participants with valuable knowledge and practical skills that could be applied in their respective roles.”

    A cosmetics manufacturerHR Department · Course: Reception and Telephone Skills Training · 2026

    “The facilitator was excellent and took time to ensure that the employee understood the content and was able to apply the learning in order to develop the portfolio of evidence.”

    A construction and renovations companyManager · Course: Taking charge as a Leader & Closing the Gap between Specialist and… · 2026

    Read what our clients say

    Frequently asked questions

    Can you run this course at our offices?

    Yes. Most groups are trained at the client's premises anywhere in South Africa; we can also host it at a BOTI venue or deliver it live online.

    How many people can attend?

    From one delegate to groups of about 20. The price per delegate drops as the group grows – see the price table, or ask us for a quote.

    Is it accredited?

    No – it is a non-accredited short course and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance. For a full credit-bearing route, ask us about the QCTO Occupational Certificate: Project Manager.

    Do we need project management software?

    No. Everything is done with simple templates in a spreadsheet. Delegates who already use Microsoft Project can apply the same steps there.

    What comes after this course?

    Delegates who manage larger projects can move on to BOTI's Project Management Course and Project Management Advanced Course, and teams that work in sprints can look at our agile options such as Scrum Master Certified.

    Can you run this course in Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban?

    Yes. We train on site at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and across South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online so a team spread over several offices can attend together.

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