01
Everyone knows what done looks like
A one-page charter and a clear In, Out and Later list give your sponsor, your team and you the same picture of success before the work starts.
Camderson Academy · CA-TD-007
Plan, schedule and deliver projects people can count on.
A practical, self-paced course for anyone who leads or helps with projects, in any department, with or without a project title. Learn to agree scope on one page, map the people who matter, break the work down, build a realistic schedule and budget, stay ahead of risks and changes, write status reports people read and close every project with lessons that make the next one easier.
About 6 hours · 18 lessons with video · Beginner · For anyone who runs or supports projects · Self-paced · A live project workbook you keep · 30-day money-back guarantee
Good project habits turn busy weeks into work that lands.
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A plan you can actually trust
Work broken into pieces, estimates given as ranges and a critical path you can see let you promise dates with confidence and spot where time really matters.
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Calm, clear updates
A simple RAID log, a change path and a one-page status report keep people informed early, so decisions get made quickly and surprises stay small.
Learning outcomes
What you will be able to do
Eight practical outcomes, each practiced in an exercise and checked in the final assessment or the capstone.
- Explain what makes work a project, how projects differ from everyday operations and how scope, schedule and cost trade off.
- Choose a predictive, agile or hybrid approach for each part of a project.
- Write a one-page charter with measurable objectives and a scope with In, Out and Later lists and acceptance criteria.
- Identify and engage stakeholders and agree who decides what, with one decider per decision.
- Break the work down, estimate with ranges and build a budget with contingency.
- Sequence the work, find the critical path and float, and track progress against a baseline.
- Manage risks, issues and changes with a RAID log, a clear escalation route and a simple change path.
- Report status honestly, close a project well and turn lessons learned into actions.
The Camderson method
Plain tools that make project work clear for everyone
The Project Test, the Approach Picker and the Charter on a Page
Clear end? · Something new? · Requirements · Pieces · Feedback · Cost of change · Why · What · When · Budget
Tell a project from everyday work, choose how to run each part, and agree the purpose, limits and success measures on one page.
The Stakeholder Compass, the Work Breakdown Tree and the Critical Path Finder
Who cares · Who decides · Deliverables · Work packages · Ranges · Dependencies · Float
Map the people who matter, break the work into pieces you can estimate, and see which tasks set the finish date.
The Risk Radar, the Escalation Ladder and the Change Path
Likelihood · Impact · Owner · Response · Raise early · Assess · Decide · Log
Stay ahead of what could go wrong, move issues to the right person quickly, and handle changes without red tape.
Status on a Page, the Closeout Checklist and the Lessons Loop
Green, Amber or Red · Decisions needed · Handover · Sign-off · Keep · Change · Try · Owner and date
Write updates people read, hand over cleanly, and turn lessons into actions that change the next project.
Agree it on one page. Plan it in pieces. Say early what has changed.
Curriculum
Inside the course
Six modules, 18 lessons with worked examples and video
01
Starting a Project Well
What makes work a project, choosing a predictive, agile or hybrid approach with the Approach Picker, and the Charter on a Page everyone agrees on.
02
Scope, Stakeholders and Roles
Scope with In, Out and Later lists and acceptance criteria, the Stakeholder Compass, and clear decision rights with the Decision Rights Grid.
03
Planning the Work
The Work Breakdown Tree, estimating with ranges instead of single numbers, and building and tracking a simple budget with contingency.
04
Schedule and Dependencies
Sequencing work with the Dependency Map, finding the critical path and float, and tracking progress against a baseline with the Progress Snapshot.
05
Risks, Issues and Change
Seeing trouble early with the Risk Radar, issues and decisions in a RAID log with the Escalation Ladder, and change control with the Change Path.
06
Communicating, Closing and Learning
Status on a Page reports people read, closing and handing over with the Closeout Checklist, and lessons learned that change the next project with the Lessons Loop.
What is included
Skills, tools and templates you keep and use in your work
- 18 lessons, each with a written lesson, worked examples and figures, and a narrated lesson video, at your own pace
- A running example from Calderwick Provisions, a fictional wholesale food distributor where a customer service supervisor leads her first project to bring two service desks together in one new hub
- A fillable Workbook with Try it and Reflect pages for every lesson
- A Project Toolkit (Word) with a template for every tool, each followed by a filled example
- A Calderwick Project Practice workbook with live formulas (schedule with critical path and float, risks, issues and changes, budget tracker, status, closeout and lessons sheets), a solutions version and a reusable Project Tracker for your own projects
- Quick Reference Cards and the Calderwick Case Pack
- An optional visual companion PDF with every lesson slide
- Knowledge checks for every module and a 20-question final assessment
- A project plan capstone for a project you lead or help, or for a fictional community food bank, reviewed by a person
- A Camderson Academy Certificate of Completion when you pass the final assessment and the capstone
- Access to the Camderson Academy community
Is this course right for you?
This course is for you if
- You lead, coordinate or help with projects at work, in any role and any department, with or without a project title
- You are new to leading projects, or you have been running them on instinct and want a clear, simple way of working
- You want practical tools for scope, schedules, budgets, risks and status reports that fit into a busy week and work in an ordinary spreadsheet
It is not the right fit if
- You are studying for a professional certification (this course teaches practical project skills and is not preparation for any certification exam)
- You want training in a specific project software product (the course uses ordinary spreadsheets and documents so the skills work anywhere)
- You need advanced methods such as earned value management or formal portfolio governance (this is a fundamentals course)
Your instructor
Meet your instructor
Taught by Camderson Advisory
Strategic advisor and organizational leader
Your instructor is a strategic advisor and organizational leader whose career spans healthcare, public service, human resources, operations, and learning and development. Years of building and facilitating workplace trainings for hundreds of employees and leaders have shown that projects go best when the plan is simple, shared and honest. In this course, your instructor helps you plan, run and finish projects with clear scope, honest updates and lessons that make every next project easier.
About
About Camderson Academy
Camderson Academy is the education division of Camderson Advisory Services. Camderson helps leaders build organizations that work without them in the room. Everything we teach has been used in a real organization first.
Training a team?
We offer group enrollment for teams and whole organizations that want everyone who leads or supports projects to share the same simple planning tools and language. Email connect@camderson.com to talk through your group.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be a project manager to take this course?
No. The course is written for everyone who leads or helps with projects: coordinators, team leads, analysts, specialists and managers in any department, with or without a project title. Lesson 1.1 shows how much project work happens outside formal project roles.
Do I need any experience or a previous course?
No. There is no prerequisite. If you have ever organized a piece of work with a start and an end, you are ready.
How long do I have access?
Your access does not expire. We review the course every year, and any updates are added for you at no extra cost.
How long does it take?
About 6 hours in total, including the written lessons and their videos, the Try it exercises, the knowledge checks, the final assessment and the capstone. Everything is self-paced.
Do I have to use my own project for the capstone?
No. You can build your project plan for the fictional Tregarth Valley Food Bank included in the course. If you use your own project, you use roles instead of names and leave out anything confidential.
Is the research in the course real?
Yes. Every fact comes from a named source, such as the CDC Unified Process guides, the U.S. Government Accountability Office schedule, cost and agile guides, the Agile Manifesto, the Scrum Guide and peer-reviewed studies on estimating and project reporting. Nothing is invented, and every number in the running example is labeled as fictional.
Is the certificate accredited, and does it count toward PMI certification?
No. You receive a Camderson Academy Certificate of Completion after passing the final assessment and the capstone, a project plan that a person reviews. It is not an academic credential, is not accredited and does not carry continuing education or other professional credit. Camderson Academy is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the Project Management Institute (PMI). This course does not award professional development units (PDUs) and is not preparation for any certification exam.
Is there a money-back guarantee?
Yes. You are covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee. If the course is not right for you, email connect@camderson.com within 30 days of purchase and we will refund you in full. No questions asked. Your course access ends when the refund is issued.
What tools do I need?
A spreadsheet program that opens .xlsx files (Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers or LibreOffice Calc), a word processor that opens .docx files and a PDF reader. No project software is needed. All templates and practice files are included as downloads.
Plan, schedule and deliver projects people can count on.
Self-paced, about 6 hours, with a Workbook, a Project Toolkit, Quick Reference Cards and a live project workbook to help you lead any project with clear scope, a realistic plan and honest updates.
Backed by our 30-day money-back guarantee.
This course earns a Camderson Academy Certificate of Completion. It is not an academic credential, is not accredited and does not carry continuing education or other professional credit. Camderson Academy is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the Project Management Institute (PMI). This course does not award professional development units (PDUs) and is not preparation for any certification exam. This course is general education about running projects at work, not legal, financial, contract, procurement or safety advice.