Skills for Project Planning, Scheduling and Cost Estimation Planning

This DIXONTECH course equips professionals with essential competencies for project planning, scheduling, and cost estimation across various industries. Participants will master tools and techniques used in Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Gantt charts, resource allocation, and budget forecasting. The training emphasizes practical project control, accuracy in cost estimation, and integration between scheduling and budgeting systems to enhance decision-making and project performance.

TRAINING TOPICS:

•  Project Planning Principles and Frameworks
•  Scheduling Techniques and Time Control
•  Cost Estimation Methods and Forecasting
•  Resource Planning and Optimization
•  Budget Integration with Project Scheduling
•  Monitoring, Tracking, and Performance Analysis
•  Risk and Contingency Planning
•  Project Reporting and Cost Control Tools

BY THE END OF THIS TRAINING COURSE, DELEGATES WILL BE ABLE TO:

• Plan and structure complex projects efficiently
• Develop accurate project schedules and budgets
• Estimate and control project costs
• Identify and mitigate schedule risks
• Integrate cost, scope, and schedule performance
• Apply WBS and Gantt chart techniques
• Use estimation and tracking software tools

TRAINING IS TAILORED TO:

•  Project and program managers
•  Planning and scheduling engineers
•  Cost estimators and analysts
•  Project controllers and coordinators
•  Construction and operations managers
•  PMO and project support officers
•  Team leaders involved in project delivery

TRAINING METHODOLOGY:

The course uses interactive sessions, real-world project simulations, and software-based exercises (MS Project, Excel, and cost models). Participants practice developing complete project schedules, cost baselines, and performance reports while engaging in group activities and case studies.

DAY 1

PROJECT PLANNING PRINCIPLES AND FRAMEWORKS

•  Understanding project life cycle and planning stages
•  Defining project scope and deliverables clearly
•  Developing Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
•  Setting milestones and project objectives
•  Linking planning to organizational strategy
•  Identifying stakeholders and planning responsibilities
•  Managing assumptions, constraints, and dependencies
•  Project documentation and planning templates

DAY 2

PROJECT SCHEDULING TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS

•  Scheduling fundamentals and critical path method (CPM)
•  Network diagrams and precedence relationships
•  Gantt chart development and tracking progress
•  Resource loading and leveling principles
•  Using MS Project for task scheduling
•  Float and slack time analysis
•  Setting project baselines and updating schedules
•  Schedule compression and optimization techniques

DAY 3

COST ESTIMATION AND BUDGETING METHODS

•  Fundamentals of project cost estimation
•  Top down and bottom-up estimating approaches
•  Analogous, parametric, and three-point estimation
•  Developing cost breakdown structures (CBS)
•  Estimating labor, materials, and overheads
•  Managing contingency and reserves
•  Using Excel for cost modeling and forecasting
•  Preparing the project cost baseline

DAY 4

INTEGRATING COST AND SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT

•  Relationship between scope, cost, and time
•  Earned Value Management (EVM) principles
•  Integrating WBS and CBS in control systems
•  Forecasting project performance using EVM
•  Managing changes in cost and schedule
•  Analyzing variances and performance indexes
•  Practical workshop: integrating plan and budget
•  Real-life case studies and exercises

DAY 5

PROJECT CONTROL, REPORTING, AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

•  Developing project dashboards and performance reports
•  Identifying and responding to project deviations
•  Using KPIs for schedule and cost performance
•  Lessons learned and continuous improvement planning
•  Risk based project control and corrective actions
•  Cost–schedule optimization techniques
•  Final group exercise: project simulation and report presentation