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Project Management Fundamentals (Udemy.com)

Practical Project Management worked example using Gantt Charts, PMI, PMP, APM

Created by: Chris Croft

Last updated June 2025

Our take

Based on the ratings of 45,798 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in June 2025. No course pays to be reviewed.

Chris Croft's course is a 2.5 hour walk through one 12 step method for planning a project, from defining it to the final review. It builds a real example live, using Post-it notes for the PERT diagram and Excel for the Gantt chart. The sections are short, mostly five to fifteen minutes, with one longer block of nine lectures on the Gantt chart. It is aimed at people who have a project to run and no formal training, not at anyone chasing a certification.

Reviewers keep coming back to clarity. They call it easy to follow and practical, and one says Croft's calm delivery helped them actually study. Another is glad of the hands-on approach after many courses that were all theory. Two mention a role-play section, one of them with an AI, as a fun, interactive extra. The complaints are mild. One three star reviewer found the project plan hard to read visually and got little applicable work out of it. Fewer than 400 of roughly 45,800 ratings are one or two stars.

At 2.5 hours it is a quick introduction, not a deep one. The syllabus does not cover Agile or Prince2, and despite the PMP and PMI name-checks it is not exam prep. You will need Excel or a similar spreadsheet, and having a real project in mind helps. The last update was June 2025, though Post-it notes and spreadsheets do not age much. For a first pass at planning, with more than 120,000 students behind it, it is an easy recommendation.

Best forPeople who have a real project to plan and want a quick Excel and Post-it method, not theory.
Skip it ifYou want PMP exam prep, Agile, Prince2, or anything deeper than a 2.5 hour overview.

Pros

  • Builds one real project live, from defining it to the final review, in 12 steps
  • Gantt chart and PERT diagram made with only Excel and Post-it notes, no special software
  • Calm, clear delivery that reviewers call easy to follow and practical
  • Short lectures and 12 quizzes make the 2.5 hours easy to fit in

Cons

  • At 2.5 hours it stays introductory, so risk and cost topics get only a few minutes each
  • Not PMP exam prep, and it skips Agile and Prince2 despite the PMP and PMI mentions
  • One reviewer found the visual project plan hard to follow and got little applicable work
Very good and practical course on how to get started with project management! Great variety after so many courses dedicated to theory only.
Katri Keränen, a student

Listed for all levels, but it suits beginners and first-time project leads best. Nothing needed beyond Excel.

Featured in our guide: The 9 Best Project Management Courses on Udemy in 2026

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What you will learn

  • Feel confident applying Project Management theory to your real life project
  • Be able to manage a successful project even with zero experience in that industry
  • Build a Gantt chart using no specialist software (just Excel and Post-it Notes)
  • Use the PMP or PMI method to do Project Management
  • Measuring whether you're on budget and on time - and how to fix it if you're not
  • Learn how to make a Gantt Chart and a PERT diagram with ease
  • Feel calm and effective in running a project of any size in any industry

Course content

14 sections · 33 lectures · 2.5 hours of video 12 quizzes

  1. 1Introduction 2 free previews2 lectures · 7 min
  2. 2Step 1 - Define the Project 1 free preview1 lecture · 1 quiz · 6 min
  3. 3Step 2 - List the Tasks1 lecture · 1 quiz · 6 min
  4. 4Step 3 - Post It Notes2 lectures · 1 quiz · 14 min
  5. 5Step 4 - Estimating Times 2 free previews4 lectures · 1 quiz · 13 min
  6. 6Step 5 - Safety Margin & Check OK2 lectures · 1 quiz · 11 min
  7. 7Step 6 - Gantt Chart 2 free previews9 lectures · 1 quiz · 51 min
  8. 8Step 7 - Resources 1 free preview1 lecture · 1 quiz · 3 min
  9. 9Step 8 - Risk Analysis 1 free preview2 lectures · 1 quiz · 6 min
  10. 10Step 9 - Monitor Progress2 lectures · 1 quiz · 6 min

Who it is for

The instructor says it suits

  • Anyone managing a project (now or soon) - whether big or small
  • People who find project management stressful - or feel their projects often run late or overspend
  • Those who want to run smooth, efficient and impressive projects - and level up their career
  • Someone who wants to do Project Management in their future career
  • This course does not teach Agile or Prince - but something even better!

What you need before you start

  • Nothing - just a willingness to learn!
  • We will use Excel Spreadsheets in the course so having that (or a similar tool) will be necessary
  • Having a project in mind would be helpful

How it compares

Against the other 243 rated Udemy courses in Project Management on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.7 out of 5higher than 85% of them
  • Reviews45,798#5 of 244 by number of reviews
  • Length2.5 hoursshorter than 65% of them
  • Last updatedJune 2025earlier than 65% of them

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Course Description

Project Management Fundamentals

Practical Project Management worked example using Gantt Charts, PMI, PMP, APM

Project Management is an incredibly powerful skill, and pretty much everything in the world relies on it! The Olympics, developing a new disease cure, putting a man on the moon, launching a new product range, or even just planning a birthday party - if you can master Project Management you can lead any project of any size with the same simple process. However, amazingly, most people are never taught it, and those who are will often be shown an overcomplicated and overwhelming version with confusing software and detailed maths. Instead, in this course, you’ll be walked through step by step on how to simply and effectively manage any project, in any industry, with any budget.


The Project Management process taught in this Project Management Fundamentals course is the APM (aka PMP or PMI) method. It’s based on decades of academic research and is widely accepted as the ultimate Project Management solution. The difference with this course is that it’s a live work-along version - so we will plan a real-life project together and show you how simple and effective the tools are. You’ll learn how to make a PERT diagram with Post-it notes, and a Gantt Chart using only Excel. Say goodbye to overcomplicated Prince2 or Agile, and enjoy the simplicity of this 12 Step Process. This course covers detailed tips for excellent planning using Gantt Charts and PERT diagrams, managing a team, avoiding overspend, predicting risks and dealing with multiple stakeholders.


After this course, you will feel calm, collected, well prepared and confident that your project will be a success. You’ll know how to come in on time, on budget, and with a very happy boss. We look at lots of real-life project management examples (some of which will definitely get you laughing) and give you practical tools you can use right away to get better results in your projects. Whether you're managing a small at-home project or an entire global corporate expansion this course will empower you as someone who is always one step ahead.


Chris Croft is an international speaker, and widely published author, who's been teaching Project Management to companies for over 20 years. He's taught all over the world, as well as online, and has an entertaining and practical teaching style. This course is guaranteed to keep you engaged and amused, and teach you life-changing skills for home and work.


The course overview includes:

  • A step by step “real-time” project planned out before your eyes

  • Create a Gantt Chart using only Excel, and a PERT diagram using just Post-It notes

  • Templates and tools to plan your own project simply and effectively

  • Common mistakes which will instantly set your project up to fail

  • What makes a great project manager

  • Be able to manage a successful project even with zero experience in that industry

  • Predicting which tasks are crucial to your project timing

  • Measuring whether you're on budget and on time - and how to fix it if you're not

  • Feel calm and effective in running a project of any size in any industry

  • This course does not look at Agile or Prince in detail - but something better!

  • And lots lots more!

By becoming great at Project Management, not only will you pave the way for a future promotion, but you'll also have saved your company thousands!

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Instructor Details

Chris Croft

Chris Croft is one of the UK's leading trainers and provides a wide variety of courses designed to involve, inspire and motivate people of all levels. To date Chris has trained some 87,000 people in person and millions online. His video courses are some of the most viewed in the world.


Chris has come from an Engineering background, with a masters degree from Cambridge University, qualifying as a Chartered Engineer, and working as a senior manager in manufacturing for 10 years. He gained an MBA and worked as a university lecturer for four years before starting his own training company 25 years ago.

Chris runs face to face courses in the UK, does zoom training for companies anywhere in the world, and makes video courses in his own studio. You can follow him on Linkedin and YouTube, and he has 18 books on Amazon.


Chris is passionate about practical and fun education with courses that are memorable, entertaining and immediately actionable.

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Reviews

4.7

45,798 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Emma Elizabeth Colegrove on 8/10/2026

The course itself is well organized but I'm just not getting much applicable work out of it. The project planning isn't easy to look at visually and understand what my path of work is, I think it's just not for everyone.

By Leane Beukes on 8/3/2026

I really enjoyed this course.I wish this guy was my teacher in school i would have probably done much better and actually had the energy to do the things needed.He brings a calm and exciting view to what he is teaching which allowed me to study well.

By Kortney Michelle Whan on 7/21/2026

This course exceeded my expectations. The instructor explains project management concepts in a way that is easy to understand without oversimplifying them. I especially appreciated the practical examples, the role-play scenarios, and the real-world decision-making, rather than memorization of terms.

By Malcolm Laven on 7/19/2026

Excellent course that turns project management theory into a practical, easy-to-follow process. The 12-step framework is well structured, and the real-world garden office example makes each concept easy to understand and apply. Highly recommended for new project managers and anyone looking for a simple, practical project planning methodology without getting lost in complex PM terminology.

By SRINIVAS RACHAPALLI on 6/25/2026

Very great intro course and more valuable information is what to do next after finishing this course is more interested topic for me which was clearly guided and references also provides. thanks for course and practical example.

By Glenn Marshall on 6/24/2026

I learned how to create a Gantt chart in Excel and how to use it for projects. That was the most valuable part of the course. I didn't give the full 5 star rating because there was no Gantt chart for the role play Section and I could not answer the AI questions.

By Wilandi Laubscher on 6/18/2026

Will highly recommend! Chris is clearly super experienced, and helped me a lot. I work in Change Management and Learning and Development for years now. With this one course, I learned so much, like the Critical path (never knew this) as well as the Quality / time / cost triangle. Thanks Chris for helping with the next steps portion as well. I also did additional research in the meantime on the critical path and the floaters and will do more on the gantt of gantt :)

By Karthikeyan Kesavan on 6/4/2026

Yes it was a really good course which helps to understand on Project Management, Steps involved, Risk Factors, Budget, Plan Manhours , adding Roles & Resp, Critical path and now line are really helpful.

By Jared Mason on 6/3/2026

Excellent communication, good practical examples and insights, effectively distilled project management down to its fundamental components. One slight negative: the quizzes don't seem to fully align with the content. But still a 5 star course!

By Karlos Bryan on 3/25/2026

I really enjoyed this course! The concepts were easy to understand and the example used made the content digestible. I recommend this for anyone needing a refresh or interested in becoming a Project Manager.

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Overall Score : 94 / 100