WBS Academy

All courses / Project Planning & Scheduling

Level I · PS-101

Scheduling Fundamentals

Dependencies, the critical path and float, learned by doing.

Start the course Free preview
  • Self-paced, about 4 hours
  • 12 lessons
  • 10 hands-on labs
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 A Define requirements B Design the product C Plan the marketing D Build the product E Produce the campaign F Set up the web shop G Launch rehearsal H Go live

Course description

Scheduling Fundamentals | PS-101

For people who are new to scheduling, and for people who use P6 or Microsoft Project without being sure how the dates are worked out. You learn how activities are tied together, how the Critical Path Method turns logic and durations into dates, and what float tells you. Most lessons end in the WBS Scheduler lab, where you change a real network and watch the schedule respond.

Who it’s for: New planners and schedulers, project engineers, project managers, and anyone who has to read a schedule.

Duration: Self-paced, about 4 hours

Scheduling lab included

10 of the 12 lessons end in the WBS Scheduler, a teaching scheduler that runs in your browser: no virtual machine, no install, no time limit. Each lab has tasks that check themselves, and your work is saved as you go.

Outcomes

What you’ll be able to do

  • Link activities with FS, SS, FF and SF relationships, with lags and leads
  • Run a forward and a backward pass by hand, then check it in the lab
  • Find the critical path and explain why it is critical
  • Tell total float from free float and use both when work slips
  • Read negative float against a deadline and recover it
  • Build a small schedule from a logic table and land the right finish

Course curriculum

What’s inside

  1. Getting started

    How the course works, and a tour of the lab.

    1. 1.1 Welcome to Scheduling Fundamentals Free preview 6 min
    2. 1.2 Meet the lab Free preview Lab 12 min

  2. Dependencies

    Logic first: relationship types, lags and leads, and why open ends mislead.

    1. 2.1 Why logic matters Free preview Lab 15 min
    2. 2.2 The four relationship types Lab 20 min
    3. 2.3 Lags and leads Lab 15 min

  3. The Critical Path Method

    The forward pass, the backward pass and the critical path.

    1. 3.1 The forward pass Lab 20 min
    2. 3.2 The backward pass Lab 20 min
    3. 3.3 Finding the critical path Lab 20 min

  4. Float

    Total float, free float, deadlines and negative float.

    1. 4.1 Total float and free float Lab 20 min
    2. 4.2 Deadlines and negative float Lab 15 min

  5. Wrap-up

    Build a schedule end to end, then check what you know.

    1. 5.1 Capstone: schedule a project end to end Lab 30 min
    2. 5.2 Knowledge check Quiz 15 min

Questions

Before you start

Do I need Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project?

No. The labs run in the WBS Scheduler in your browser. It follows the same CPM rules as P6 and Microsoft Project, and lesson 1.1 maps the terms between them.

Is my lab work saved?

Yes, in your browser on this device. Use File › Save project file in the lab to keep a copy or to carry on at another computer.

What do I need to run the lab?

A current desktop browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari) and a screen about 1280 pixels wide. On a smaller screen, scroll sideways or open the lab in its own window.