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Keep shoppingTop 10 Project Management Lessons Learned (2 PDU's)
6,702 students
Top 10 Project Management Lessons Learned (2 PDU's)
Take a multi decade career shortcut by making the ten most important project management lessons learned yours.
Created byWilliam Stewart PhD, PMP, DPPM
Last updated 7/2026
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What you'll learn
- "Outstanding course with priceless pragmatic wisdom – these are the lessons that guarantee project success." – Ken Semerkant, PMP
- Learn how the Project Manager can leverage accountability to obtain the authority they need to ensure project success.
- Learn the magic sentence the PM can use to maximize the chances of the organization giving you what you need.
- Learn why defining the Work Breakdown Structure of deliverables makes everything else in PM easy.
- Learn how I once talked a senior, reluctant, aggressive, and arrogant team into being WBS believers.
- Get a real example of a WBS my team developed for a $140M aerospace project.
- Learn why best practice process can solve any problem, no matter how complex.
- Get a real example of a Precedence Diagram my team developed for a $140M aerospace project.
- Learn why risk management makes the entire PM process work, with essential risk planning tips.
- Learn eight common risks it is always worth considering including in your project risk register.
- Learn essential tips for monitoring and controling the risk budget as you proceed through your project.
- Learn how to defend keeping as much of your risk budget as possible when you are under pressure to give some up.
- Learn the two big advantages of deriving the requirements from a higher level description of user workflow.
- Hear a useful story about how backfitting a set of user scenarios at relatively little cost helped reduce millions of dollars of acceptance risk.
- Learn why closing is a separate, organized set of project activities.
- Hear a true story about the negative impact of not formally closing a project procurement, and the process that would have prevented it.
- Hear a very useful story about a PM that made all three of the most common mistakes in project management.
- Learn the huge benefits of keeping your eye on the top three drivers of project success.
- Learn how the project manager broadcasting an optimistic and success oriented attitude to the entire team helps maximize project success.
- Hear an example of how believing a solution existed, even though we didn’t know what it was, enabled us to shorten a schedule by six months.
- Hear a story of the benefits of telling the truth when my boss asked me to do something impossible, even though he obviously did not want to hear it.
- Hear the three big advantages I gained from repeatedly telling the truth, for my project, my boss, and my own reputation and career.
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Course content
12 sections • 24 lectures • 1h 59m total length
Requirements
- This course will provide anyone with a deep understanding of how to be a successful Project Manager.
- No prerequisits or specific experience required, gain decades of experience in under two hours.
Description
"Wow, this is great stuff. If anyone ever asks you 'What does a Project Manager do?' direct them to this course." – Leah Henig.
Why is being the accountable Project Manager the best position to be in, and how can you use that accountability to create the authority you need to ensure project success? How can you convince a reluctant team that creating a work breakdown structure will make everything else in project management easy? How can best practice process solve almost any problem, no matter how complex, and why is the precedence diagram much more important than the Gantt schedule? What are the eight risks you should always consider putting in your risk register? What is the rule of thumb for how much risk budget you should have left as you go through the project, and how can you defend keeping it when under pressure from management to give some up?
What are the huge benefits of backfitting user scenarios when you don't already have them? Why should you make friends with the procurement department, and all supporting departments, and how can they help keep your project out of trouble? What are the top 3 drivers of project success, and how can they help save your project from the top 3 causes of failure? How does broadcasting a success oriented mindset to the team help you solve problems when you don't know how? And why is telling the truth about problems early the most important thing you can do to protect the customer, the sponsor, the team, and your own reputation and career?
This course goes well beyond technical theory, covering the top ten most important real-life lessons you need to know to be the most effective possible project manager and leader of teams. In less than two hours, it can make these lessons yours. Several real life stories are included of how to handle difficult situations with your teams and your management. A real WBS and precedence diagram is provided for a $140M aerospace project. PDF downloads are included of all the key points, along with a professional complete Excel risk register template.
Instructor
William Stewart is President of The Institute For Practical Project Management (IFPPM), and has managed projects for more than 30 years, from just a handful of people to $55M, and worked in senior roles on PM teams for projects up to $3B. He is a PMI certified Project Management Professional (PMP), an IFPPM certified Deeply Practical Project Manager (DPPM), and has taught more than 330 project management live courses to more than 3,300 people. He has managed projects in the domains of system integration, software development, business process, construction, real estate, and others. Internationally recognized, he has spoken twice as a keynote speaker at International Project Management Association (IPMA) conferences. Previously, he worked for aerospace, government, academia, and founded the cloud computing company Cirrus Computing. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science for discovery of an algorithm that builds geodesic domes in multiple dimensions in optimum space and time.
Learner Feedback
"Decades of valuable project management experience." - Thibaut Lefebvre
"Project management comes to life!" - April Bly-Monnen
"Great information for all PMs both new and old, certified or not. Great use of time." - Gerald Gentle
"Full of sound advice from years of experience. Recommend to any new or experienced PM." - Peter Hungiapuko
"A great course that shares valuable experience and addresses soft skills. Loved it." - Carlos Camargo
"In every lesson there is a golden nugget." - Isaac Leal
"Actionable, real-world advice for both PMs and people interested in project management." - Alex Hadar
"Clear, rational, calm and friendly, empowering!" - Peter Courtley
"Good advice about communicating with executives." - Natalie Tangen
"Very helpful, recommend to all PMs at any level." - Matthew Webber
Who this course is for:
- Anyone that would like to understand the mindset, responsibilities, and real life experience of the successful Project Manager in challenging environments.