Caveat Academy course · Grades 9 to 12

Project Management

How to take a project from idea to finish: charters and stakeholders, SMART goals, scope and the work breakdown structure, estimates, dependencies and the critical path, budgets, roles and earned value, teams, communication and risk, and agile methods such as Scrum and Kanban. Six modules at your own pace, built around school, club and community projects, with a certificate at the end.

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$19one-time · every device you sign in on
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Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Career and trades courses, $79 for 18 items.

6 modules · 18 lessonsabout 12 hours$19

Six modules, eighteen lessons

Each module ends with a practice set that tracks mastery, an explain-it-back prompt, a short written response and a module exam. The final opens when every module is proficient; passing it earns a certificate with a verification code.

  1. Module 1: Projects and project managers

    Distinguish projects from operations, apply the triple constraint, and map a project's phases and stakeholders.

    • What makes a project
    • The project life cycle
    • Charters and stakeholders
    about 2.1 h

  2. Module 2: Goals, scope and the work breakdown

    Write SMART goals and a scope statement, manage change requests, and build a work breakdown structure.

    • Setting goals
    • Defining scope
    • The work breakdown structure
    about 2.1 h

  3. Module 3: Scheduling

    Estimate durations, draw dependencies, and compute the critical path and float.

    • Estimating time
    • Dependencies and network diagrams
    • The critical path and Gantt charts
    about 2.1 h

  4. Module 4: Budgets, roles and tracking

    Build a budget with contingency, assign roles with a RACI chart, and interpret cost and schedule performance indexes.

    • Building a budget
    • Roles and responsibilities
    • Tracking progress
    about 2.1 h

  5. Module 5: Teams, communication and risk

    Guide a team through its stages, plan communication, and rank and respond to risks.

    • Building a team
    • Communication
    • Managing risk
    about 2.1 h

  6. Module 6: Agile methods and finishing well

    Compare waterfall, Scrum and Kanban for a given project and close a project with lessons learned.

    • Agile and Scrum
    • Kanban and choosing a method
    • Closing and careers
    about 2.1 h

Try it before you start

This is how every lesson works: step through a worked example at your own pace, then answer a check and get the reason right away. Nothing here is saved; the course keeps your progress.

Module 4 · Tracking progress

Worked example: earned value

  1. Budget: $10,000. By today the plan called for 60 percent done, so PV = $6,000. Example numbers.

A lesson check from each module

The checks need JavaScript turned on. The course itself works the same way.

What you get

Vocations · Job Skills$19 · included with the Academy pass and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A finished course in project management: you can tell a project from ongoing operations and balance scope, time and cost, map stakeholders and write a charter, set SMART goals, control scope and build a work breakdown structure, estimate durations and find the critical path and float, build a budget with a contingency reserve, assign roles with a RACI chart and read cost and schedule performance indexes, guide a team, plan communication and rank and respond to risks, choose among waterfall, Scrum and Kanban, and close a project with lessons learned. Passing the final earns a Caveat certificate of completion.
Who it is for
Students in grades 9 to 12 taking a business, leadership or career and technical education course, students running clubs, events, fundraisers or team projects who want them to go well, and homeschool families who want a practical course with real planning tools. It introduces ideas that appear in project management certifications without claiming to prepare for one.
Format
An online self-paced course: 6 modules and 18 lessons with worked examples you reveal step by step, 144 practice and exam items (multiple choice, numeric, fill-in and ordering), an explain-it-back prompt and a rubric-checked short response in every module, module exams with one retake, a 24-question final and a certificate with a verification code. About 12 hours in all; works on a phone or a computer.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the course opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Career and trades courses ($79) and the Vocations Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Progress is saved in this browser on this device, and the certificate page lets you download your record.
Where it lives
The Job Skills space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Access, a receipt, a refund or a correction to the course: team@caveatacademic.com.

How it works

  1. Open the course and start Module 1. Each lesson takes about 25 to 35 minutes; two or three a week finishes the course in about a semester.
  2. Answer the checks as you read. Every answer shows the reason, and a miss links you back to the lesson that covers it.
  3. Finish each module with its practice set and exam. Proficient on every module opens the final; 70 percent passes it.
  4. Print or download your certificate and record from the certificate page.

Start the course

Sources and accuracy

The lessons are original writing by Caveat Academic Services. Facts were checked against these free, open references, which are also good places to read further.

  1. Project Management Institute, What is project management, and its standards and certifications: pmi.org
  2. Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, The Scrum Guide, 2020, free to read: scrumguides.org
  3. Manifesto for Agile Software Development, 2001: agilemanifesto.org
  4. Bruce Tuckman, Developmental Sequence in Small Groups, Psychological Bulletin, 1965; with Mary Ann Jensen, 1977
  5. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, project management specialists: bls.gov/ooh

Project Management is a self-paced course from Caveat Academic Services. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Project Management Institute, and it does not by itself prepare anyone for a certification exam. Dollar amounts, durations and scores in it are examples for teaching. It does not replace a school course and awards no credit. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.