Free Course Image Project management tutorial

Free online course Project management tutorial

Duration of the online course: 15 hours and 48 minutes

4.5

StarStarStarStarHalf star

(48)

Build job-ready project management skills fast with a free online course—learn planning, stakeholders, budgets, risk, and communication to lead projects with confidence.

In this free course, learn about

  • Primary objective of project management: deliver value by meeting goals within constraints
  • Project management career paths and how to find PM-aligned roles; demand outlook through 2027
  • Core PM skills: communication, leadership, organization, problem-solving, and stakeholder management
  • Project lifecycle structure: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling, closing
  • Initiation purpose and key outputs; resources to organize (people, budget, materials/tools)
  • Org culture and structures; classic vs matrix authority and why structure matters to PM work
  • Stakeholder engagement tools: communication planning, RACI, and why only one is accountable
  • SMART goals: defining project goals and turning them into measurable, time-bound outcomes
  • Planning fundamentals: project plan elements, milestones, scheduling buffers, and budgeting basics
  • Risk management basics: difference between risks and issues; identifying and responding to risks
  • Leadership vs management; factors that drive team effectiveness per Google research
  • Using data for decisions: what data is and how storytelling with data supports choices
  • Quality management, continuous improvement, and retrospectives for learning and process upgrades
  • Project closing criteria and inclusive meeting practices that value diverse contributions

About the free online course

Strong project management turns good ideas into real outcomes. This free online course is designed to help you understand how successful projects are shaped, led, and delivered in today’s organizations—whether you’re aiming for a first role in the field, supporting projects in your current job, or preparing to take on more responsibility in business and marketing environments.

You’ll start with a clear foundation: what project management is, why it matters, and how project roles translate into real career paths. From there, you’ll develop practical skills that help teams move from ambiguity to alignment. You’ll learn how project work typically flows from initiation through planning, execution, and closing, and why structure, context, and company culture influence how decisions are made and how authority works across teams.

A big part of managing projects is coordinating people and expectations. The course emphasizes communication that keeps stakeholders informed, reduces confusion, and supports better teamwork. You’ll also explore ways to define goals using SMART thinking, clarify responsibility with tools such as RACI, and set a shared direction so everyone knows what success looks like. Along the way, you’ll practice translating project needs into workable resources, timelines, and checkpoints that help you stay in control as priorities shift.

To help you manage uncertainty, you’ll build an understanding of risk versus issues, and how proactive planning protects schedules and outcomes. You’ll also learn how budgeting supports decision-making and how milestones, buffers, and communication plans keep projects moving without constant firefighting. Leadership and management are treated as complementary skills, with a focus on creating effective team dynamics and running meetings where different perspectives can contribute productively.

Finally, you’ll connect data to better decisions, strengthen quality practices through continuous improvement, and learn how to close projects properly so work is completed, documented, and improved through retrospectives. By the end, you’ll be able to describe the end-to-end project process, speak the language of modern project teams, and apply the core habits that make projects more predictable, collaborative, and successful.

Course content

  • Video class: Intro to Project Management | Google Project Management Certificate 07m
  • Exercise: What is the primary objective of project management as described in the introduction of Google's Project Management Certificate Program?
  • Video class: Types of Project Management Careers | Google Project Management Certificate 23m
  • Exercise: What is project management?
  • Video class: Skills You Need to be a Project Manager | Google Project Management Certificate 21m
  • Exercise: What is a primary way a project manager adds value to a team?
  • Video class: Understanding the Life Cycle and Structure of a Project | Google Project Management Certificate 34m
  • Exercise: What is the primary purpose of initiating a project in the project lifecycle?
  • Video class: Finding a Project Management Job | Google Project Management Certificate 06m
  • Exercise: What is the projected demand for project management aligned roles by 2027?
  • Video class: How Company Culture Affects Project Management | Google Project Management Certificate 27m
  • Exercise: What is an organizational structure and why is it important to understand it as a project manager?
  • Exercise: What is the main difference between a classic and a matrix organizational structure regarding project management authority?
  • Video class: Key Parts of Project Initiation | Google Project Management Certificate 10m
  • Exercise: What is the main purpose of the project initiation phase in project management?
  • Video class: Communicating and Working with Stakeholders | Google Project Management Certificate 23m
  • Exercise: What should a project manager consider when identifying people resources for a project team?
  • Exercise: Why is it important to have just one person designated as 'accountable' in a RACI chart?
  • Video class: How to Set SMART Goals and Get Results | Google Project Management Certificate 42m
  • Exercise: What is a project goal?
  • Video class: The Best Resources and Tools to Manage Your Project | Google Project Management Certificate 29m
  • Exercise: What are the three resources that project managers typically work with during the initiation phase?
  • Exercise: Which is NOT typically considered a primary resource that project managers need to organize during the initiation phase?
  • Video class: Risk Management Basics | Google Project Management Certificate 29m
  • Exercise: What is the difference between a risk and an issue in project management?
  • Video class: The Benefits of Project Planning | Google Project Management Certificate 35m
  • Exercise: What is the purpose of a milestone in project management?
  • Video class: Create a Project Communication Plan | Google Project Management Certificate 35m
  • Exercise: What happened during the surprise party planning breakdown?
  • Video class: Project Planning for Beginners | Google Project Management Certificate 36m
  • Exercise: What are the five basic elements that go into a project plan?
  • Exercise: What is the primary purpose of adding a buffer in project scheduling?
  • Video class: How to Create a Project Budget | Google Project Management Certificate 49m
  • Exercise: What is a project budget?
  • Video class: Leadership vs Management In a Successful Team | Google Project Management Certificate 39m
  • Exercise: What are the top five factors identified by Google's researchers that have an impact on team effectiveness?
  • Video class: Storytelling with Data to Make Decisions | Google Project Management Certificate 34m
  • Exercise: What is the definition of data, and how can it be used in decision-making?
  • Video class: Quality Management and Continuous Improvement | Google Project Management Certificate 45m
  • Exercise: What is the primary purpose of conducting project retrospectives?
  • Video class: How and When to Close a Project | Google Project Management Certificate 19m
  • Exercise: What are the three criteria that make up a project closing?
  • Video class: Effective Project Management | Google Project Management Certificate 23m
  • Exercise: Which aspect of effective meetings ensures that every participant's contributions are valued and that people of different views, backgrounds, and experiences can work together successfully?
  • Video class: Project Tracking Methods and Examples | Google Project Management Certificate 36m
  • Exercise: What will be covered in the Project Management Tutorial by Google during the execution stage?
  • Video class: What is Scrum? | Google Project Management Certificate 25m
  • Exercise: What are the three pillars of Scrum?
  • Exercise: What are the three foundational pillars of Scrum?
  • Exercise: What are the three pillars of Scrum that form the foundation for Scrum teams?
  • Video class: Agile and Scrum in the Real World | Google Project Management Certificate 47m
  • Exercise: What does the term "value" mean in project management?
  • Exercise: What is the key reason behind the development of agile methodologies?
  • Video class: Scrum Master Tutorial | Google Project Management Certificate 45m
  • Exercise: What are the three key features of a product backlog?
  • Exercise: What is the primary responsibility of the product owner during the backlog refinement process in Scrum methodology?
  • Exercise: What is the main purpose of a product backlog in the Scrum framework?
  • Video class: Foundations of Agile and Agile Examples | Google Project Management Certificate 52m
  • Exercise: What is Agile project management?
  • Exercise: Which Agile methodology uses a visual system to manage work as it flows through a process and is known for emphasizing Work-In-Progress (WIP) limits?
  • Video class: How to Write the Close Out Report | Google Project Management Certificate 20m
  • Exercise: What is the responsibility of a project manager when communicating project problems to senior stakeholders?
  • Exercise: When synthesizing a project problem into a one-sentence summary for a senior stakeholder, what is the key purpose of this summary?
  • Video class: Plan Your Project and Negotiate with Stakeholders | Google Project Management Certificate 37m
  • Video class: Building Out a Project Plan With Google Sheets | Google Project Management Certificate 46m
  • Exercise: What is the central artifact a project manager builds during the planning phase?
  • Exercise: What is the primary purpose of a project plan in project management?
  • Video class: Determining Your Project's Success | Google Project Management Certificate 49m
  • Exercise: What are the benefits of creating and maintaining quality management in a project?

This free course includes:

Icon for learning via the audio course

15 hours and 48 minutes of online video course

Icon for the digital course completion certificate

Digital certificate of course completion (Free)

Icon for exercises to practice what you've learned

Exercises to train your knowledge

Icon for courses that are 100% free from start to finish

100% free, from content to certificate

What is the difference between a project risk and an issue?

A risk is a potential problem that may occur in the future, while an issue is a problem that has already happened and needs action.

Why is only one person accountable in a RACI chart?

One accountable person creates clear ownership for a task and prevents confusion or conflicting final decisions.

What are the five basic elements of a project plan?

A project plan typically defines the project goals, scope, schedule, resources, budget, and key communication or risk-management activities.

Ready to get started?Download the app and get started today.

Install the app now

to access the course
Icon representing technology and business courses

Over 5,000 free courses

Programming, English, Digital Marketing and much more! Learn whatever you want, for free.

Calendar icon with target representing study planning

Study plan with AI

Our app's Artificial Intelligence can create a study schedule for the course you choose.

Professional icon representing career and business

From zero to professional success

Improve your resume with our free Certificate and then use our Artificial Intelligence to find your dream job.

You can also use the QR Code or the links below.

QR Code - Download Cursa - Online Courses

Course comments: Project management tutorial

Students found the free online course relevant, practical, useful, and enjoyable. They appreciated the engaging teaching, well-prepared materials, and valuable learning, especially for aspiring or current project managers.

YH

Ying-yi Hung

StarStarStarStarStar

Relevant and relatable

AA

Abbas Abdi Keynan

StarStarStarStarStar

very important course, an experianced teachers on way they'r teaching importan topic of the course and well prepared slide. thank your ❤️❤️❤️

DM

Doreen Marabe (myXiluva)

StarStarStarStarStar

practical and relevant

ML

Marissa Lynn Murphy

StarStarStarStarStar

what a great start

SI

suleiman ibrahim

StarStarStarStarStar

i have learned alot for this course!

VA

VINOTHINI ANANDHAN

StarStarStarStarStar

Useful

VV

Vishal Verma

StarStarStarStarStar

Awesome Content and way of teaching, Great Course

SV

Sohail Verma

StarStarStarStarStar

WOW! It was a really great course. Especially for the people who want to become Project managers or who are already working in this domain.

SH

Saqib Hameed

StarStarStarStarStar

Great Course , Awesome Learning!

AK

Ali Khalid

StarStarStarStarStar

Excellent

More free courses at Project Management

Free Ebook + Audiobooks! Learn by listening or reading!