WIKIFREE LEARNING PATH · 01
Free Project Management Learning Path for Beginners
From your first brief
to a confident handover.
A guided route through free Google lessons, original exercises and one connected project. Finish with work you can explain—not just videos you have watched.
A complete story.
DELIVER
PROVE
Illustrative project timeline · your study pace is separate
The outcome
Build evidence of what you can do.
By the end, you will be able to prepare a realistic plan for a small project, explain its trade-offs, respond to a change, and assemble a clear handover. You will prove this through a simulated project portfolio, using the rubric below.
This pathway is for first-time project coordinators, aspiring team leads, students and people organizing a small team effort. You need comfortable English reading/listening and basic document editing. A spreadsheet is helpful, but paper tables or a plain text file also work.
No paid project-management tool is required. Use any document or spreadsheet editor you already have, or use the downloadable Markdown workbook. The Google Sheets demonstration is a learning example; you can reproduce its planning structure in another spreadsheet or on paper.
Before you begin · 10 minutes
Find your starting point
Answer these four prompts without looking up the answers. Award yourself one point for each answer you can explain with a concrete example.
- What makes this one-off workshop a project rather than an ongoing operation?
- Rewrite “make the workshop successful” as an observable outcome.
- Is “the venue might cancel” a risk or an issue? What changes if it has already cancelled?
- Can you accept an extra $120 request without checking its effect on the $500 limit? Explain your next step.
Open the answer guide and suggested starting point
1. The workshop has a defined end and creates a specific result; a recurring help desk is an ongoing service. 2. For example: deliver the session by working day 18, with at least 24 attendees, within the $500 limit. 3. A possible cancellation is a risk; a confirmed cancellation is an issue requiring action. 4. Assess cost, time, scope and approval authority before promising the change.
0–1: follow every stage. 2–3: start at Stage 1 and use familiar lessons as review. 4: attempt each stage’s artifact first; skip a video only if your output already meets the completion check. The score is a self-check, not an accredited assessment.
A deliberate selection
Three core courses. One connected route.
These Google video collections are already published on WikiFree. The broad collection provides the foundations; the focused planning and execution collections make the later stages easier to navigate. Some videos appear in more than one collection. This pathway assigns each of its 19 selected videos once. Every source course remains complete.
| WikiFree course | Assigned study | Why it is here |
|---|---|---|
| Free Project Management Course by Google | Core · 8 selected lessons | Foundations and selected application lessons |
| Free Project Planning Course: Budgets and Risks | Core · all 5 lessons | Planning, budgeting, risk and communications |
| Free Project Execution and Tracking Course by Google | Core · all 6 lessons | Execution, tracking, quality and closure |
We did not make the full 18-hour Google collection compulsory or add a very long general PM playlist. The selected lessons plus the original exercises target this small-project outcome with a manageable workload. That is an editorial choice, not a claim that other courses are lower quality.
Optional: deepen a specific skill
People Management: Coaching and Team Leadership
Google · about 1h 24m of video. Choose this if giving feedback or distributing work is your main difficulty. Write a short coaching conversation for the registration shortfall. Allow another 30–45 minutes to practice.
Definition of Done in Scrum
Scrum.org · 33m 10s of video. Choose this only if you already understand basic Scrum terms and want to explore product-wide quality standards. A Definition of Done is not interchangeable with an individual deliverable’s acceptance criteria. Allow another 30 minutes to draft and test both.
Both are optional, free-to-watch video collections. Neither is needed for the workshop capstone or included in the core time estimate.
Stage 1 / 6 · A clear project charter
Define the project
Watch with a purpose
Core course · Google
Free Project Management Course by Google- Lesson 1Intro to Project Management
- Lesson 2Professional Project Management Skills
- Lesson 3Project Structures & Life Cycles
- Lesson 8Key Parts of Project Initiation
- Lesson 9Communicating and Working with Stakeholders
- Lesson 10How to Set SMART Goals and Get Results
Use the lesson search inside the course to find these titles. This selection follows this pathway’s teaching order; each complete source course keeps its own lesson order.
Start with a decision, not a task list
Before you start: no project-management experience is needed. The introductory lessons establish roles and the project life cycle; initiation, goals and stakeholder lessons then help you turn a request into an agreed purpose.
A charter explains why the project exists, what success means and who can approve decisions. A deliverable is something you produce, such as an agenda. An outcome is the change it is meant to support, such as participants completing a useful digital task.
Vague: “Run a great workshop.”
Testable: “Deliver a 90-minute session by working day 18, attract 30 registrations and at least 24 attendees, collect at least 20 feedback responses, and achieve at least 80% ‘useful’ ratings while staying within $500.”
The feedback percentage must name its denominator: 16 useful ratings out of 20 responses meet the target; 16 out of 24 do not. Attendance alone does not prove learning.
Write a one-page charter
Include the problem, intended benefit, success measures, in-scope deliverables, exclusions, deadline, spending limit, sponsor and two assumptions. Add a five-person stakeholder map covering the sponsor, volunteers, facilitator, venue contact and participants.
Output: a one-page charter plus a stakeholder map. Identify one approval owner for scope and spending; the sponsor’s approval is simulated.
Completion check: another reader can explain the purpose, deadline, cost limit, success measures and decision owner without asking you to translate vague phrases.
Common trap: describing an activity as success. If you get stuck: rewrite each success statement as “By [when], [who/what] achieves [observable result], measured by [evidence].”
Stage 2 / 6 · Scope, tasks and a schedule
Build a workable plan
Watch with a purpose
Core course · Google
Free Project Planning Course: Budgets and Risks- Lesson 2The Benefits of Project Planning
- Lesson 4Project Planning for Beginners
Core course · Google
Free Project Management Course by Google- Lesson 29Building Out a Project Plan With Google Sheets
Use the lesson search inside the course to find these titles. This selection follows this pathway’s teaching order; each complete source course keeps its own lesson order.
Make the work small enough to assign
Before you start: bring the Stage 1 charter and constraints. Planning lessons come before the spreadsheet demonstration so you understand the work before choosing how to display it.
Begin with deliverables, then break them into tasks. “Prepare the session” is too broad to track. “Draft a 90-minute agenda and have the facilitator approve it” has a visible result. Distinguish effort from duration: two hours of work may wait three days for approval.
Give each task one accountable owner, a duration, a predecessor where one exists and an acceptance condition. Parallel tasks are useful only when people and resources can support them. Do not treat a colorful Gantt chart as proof that the plan is feasible.
| Task | Days | Depends on | Owner | Visible evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A · Approve brief | 1–2 | — | You | Approved charter |
| B · Design session | 3–6 | A | Volunteer 1 | Reviewed agenda |
| C · Prepare registration | 3–5 | A | Volunteer 2 | Test registration |
| D · Invite participants | 6–14 | C | Volunteer 2 | Registration log |
| E · Confirm logistics | 7–13 | B | You | Venue and materials checks |
| F · Rehearse | 16–17 | B, E | All three | Timed rehearsal notes |
| G · Deliver session | 18 | D, F | All three | Attendance and feedback |
| H · Handover and close | 19–20 | G | You | Closure pack |
These dates are a case assumption, not an estimated duration supplied by Google. Check volunteer availability, waiting time and the unassigned gap before rehearsal.
Turn the brief into a scope and schedule
Create a work breakdown with at least four deliverables and eight tasks. Adapt the sample schedule, add dependencies and milestone approval points, and identify what would happen if registration preparation took two extra working days.
Output: a scope/work-breakdown table and a task schedule. Include at least three exclusions, such as video production, a second session and an ongoing training program.
Completion check: every promised deliverable maps to tasks; dates respect dependencies; no owner is assigned impossible simultaneous work; the session can still occur by day 18.
Common trap: scheduling dependent work before approval. If you get stuck: start from the session date, trace its prerequisites backward, then check the sequence forward.
Stage 3 / 6 · Budget, risks and communications
Protect cost and commitments
Watch with a purpose
Core course · Google
Free Project Planning Course: Budgets and Risks- Lesson 1Risk Management Basics
- Lesson 3Create a Project Communication Plan
- Lesson 5How to Create a Project Budget
Use the lesson search inside the course to find these titles. This selection follows this pathway’s teaching order; each complete source course keeps its own lesson order.
Make assumptions and uncertainty visible
Before you start: use your scope and schedule. Budget, risk and communication lessons belong together because a change in one often changes the others.
A risk may happen; an issue has happened. Record a specific cause, possible event and effect, then assign an owner, a prevention action and a trigger for the fallback. “Things may go wrong” cannot guide a decision.
$400 base + $80 reserve
Venue $120; refreshments $90; printing $60; equipment $50; materials $80. Planned authorization: $480. The $500 limit leaves another $20 unallocated.
Printing rises from $60 to $94. The forecast base becomes $434. A $34 reserve draw leaves $46 of reserve, so the authorized total remains $480. Obtain the required approval; do not add the reserve draw twice.
Risk: low registration may reduce attendance below 24. Owner: Volunteer 2. Trigger: fewer than 20 registrations by day 10. Response: ask the community partner to send a targeted reminder and review registrations on day 12.
For prioritization, use low/medium/high likelihood and impact, scored 1/2/3 if useful. A score is a sorting aid, not a probability or an expected financial loss.
Prepare three linked controls
Build an itemized budget that reconciles to the limit; write five risks covering people, venue, registrations, materials and quality; and create a communication plan stating audience, purpose, channel, frequency and owner.
Output: a budget, a five-row risk register, and a stakeholder/communication plan. Give the sponsor a weekly decision-focused update; give volunteers a short action-focused check-in.
Completion check: totals add correctly, the reserve is separate from base costs, every risk has an owner and trigger, and each approval request has a named recipient and due date.
Common trap: sending identical updates to everyone. If you get stuck: ask what decision each audience needs to make, then include only the information needed for that decision.
Stage 4 / 6 · A status report and change log
Lead, track and adapt
Watch with a purpose
Core course · Google
Free Project Execution and Tracking Course by Google- Lesson 1Leadership vs Management In a Successful Team
- Lesson 2Storytelling with Data to Make Decisions
- Lesson 5Effective Project Management
- Lesson 6Project Tracking Methods and Examples
Use the lesson search inside the course to find these titles. This selection follows this pathway’s teaching order; each complete source course keeps its own lesson order.
Report what changed and what needs a decision
Before you start: have an approved baseline, named owners and a risk register. The execution course is listed as intermediate on WikiFree; the earlier stages supply the planning background needed for these selected lessons.
Compare current evidence with your baseline. A status update should say what is complete, what is threatened, why it matters, and who will do what by when. Percent complete means little unless the measurement is defined.
Day 10: registration is below the checkpoint.
Evidence: 12 registrations against a day-10 target of 20. Impact: the final attendance target is at risk. Action: Volunteer 2 prepares a partner reminder by day 11. Decision: sponsor confirms the partner mailing by noon on day 11. Next review: day 12.
This uses the agreed trigger, not a guessed completion percentage. A supportive team conversation asks what is blocking progress and what assistance is needed. Keep ownership clear without treating a missed checkpoint as proof that someone is careless.
Write an update that leads to action
Use the day-10 registration shortfall and the $34 printing increase. Then assess a new request: record and edit the session for an extra $120, with no date extension.
Show the effect on scope, cost, time, resources and permissions. With the revised $434 base, adding $120 would reach $554 before any remaining reserve: it exceeds the $500 limit. Recommend a defensible option, such as deferring recording or removing approved scope after sponsor agreement. Do not silently change the baseline.
Output: one concise status report and a change log containing the request, impact, options, recommendation, decision owner, decision date and baseline change.
Completion check: a reader can distinguish facts from forecasts and see an actionable decision. Your costs match the budget and your dates match the schedule.
Common trap: marking everything green to reassure people. If you get stuck: use four headings: evidence, impact, action and decision.
Stage 5 / 6 · Acceptance and a handover
Check quality and close
Watch with a purpose
Core course · Google
Free Project Execution and Tracking Course by Google- Lesson 3Quality Management and Continuous Improvement
- Lesson 4How and When to Close a Project
Core course · Google
Free Project Management Course by Google- Lesson 27How to Write the Close Out Report
Use the lesson search inside the course to find these titles. This selection follows this pathway’s teaching order; each complete source course keeps its own lesson order.
Close against evidence, not a feeling
Before you start: bring your approved success measures, status report and change decisions. Quality and closure lessons now help you distinguish finishing activities from delivering something accepted.
Acceptance criteria are specific checks for a deliverable. “The registration process works” is weak; “a test registration records the required details and sends the expected confirmation” is inspectable. A closeout report compares intended and actual results, explains deviations and gives any remaining action an owner.
31 registrations; 25 attendees; 20 feedback responses; 17 rated the session useful. Final direct costs: venue $120, refreshments $84, printing $94, equipment $50, materials $75.
Check: total spend is $423. That is $57 below the $480 authorization and $77 below the $500 limit. Useful ratings are 17 ÷ 20 = 85%. The attendee and feedback targets are met. This dataset does not demonstrate learning gains, long-term impact or real-world event delivery.
Prepare an acceptance and closure note
Create at least five observable acceptance checks for the agenda, registration, logistics, delivery and records. Compare results against your charter, explain the printing variance, and write three lessons learned with a specific future action for each.
Output: a closure/handover report, acceptance checklist, file index and remaining-action list. Use simulated approval, not an invented real signature.
Completion check: every success measure has evidence or an explicit “not measured”; costs reconcile; remaining actions have owners and dates; the next organizer can locate the final files.
Common trap: calling a project successful because the event happened. If you get stuck: place each original success measure beside its actual result and explain every difference.
Stage 6 / 6 · Eight connected project artifacts
Defend your project portfolio
Your final project is a coherent decision record—not eight unrelated templates.
Before you start: complete the five stage outputs. Spend approximately four hours reviewing, reconciling and presenting them. This estimate is for synthesis; the earlier exercises already created the first drafts.
Submit these eight artifacts
- Charter: purpose, outcomes, constraints and decision authority.
- Scope and work breakdown: deliverables, exclusions and tasks.
- Schedule: owners, dates, dependencies and milestones.
- Budget: baseline, reserve, change and final actuals.
- Risk register: five risks, owners, triggers and responses.
- Stakeholder and communication plan: tailored updates and approvals.
- Status report and change log: the registration shortfall, printing increase and recording request.
- Closure and handover: acceptance evidence, results, lessons and open actions.
Add a five-minute spoken walkthrough or a 500-word commentary explaining your two hardest decisions. Label the portfolio “Simulated project — WikiFree learning exercise.” If you use a real project instead, remove private information and obtain permission before sharing it.
| Criterion | Points | What strong work shows |
|---|---|---|
| Clear purpose and acceptance | 15 | Measurable outcome, explicit scope and named approval owner |
| Feasible plan | 20 | Complete task coverage, realistic dependencies and usable ownership |
| Cost and risk control | 20 | Correct totals, visible reserve, meaningful triggers and responses |
| Communication and decisions | 20 | Evidence-based status, impact analysis and an explicit change decision |
| Closure and handover | 15 | Results checked against the charter and remaining work assigned |
| Consistency and explanation | 10 | Matching numbers, dates, scope and decisions across the portfolio |
How to score: award full points when the evidence is complete and consistent, half the points when usable but incomplete, and zero when missing or contradictory. Ask a peer to review if possible; there is no provider-marked submission.
Completion standard
Reach 80/100 and fix all four critical faults: a missing artifact; a broken dependency or impossible owner schedule; an unreconciled budget or unauthorized overspend; or a success claim with no evidence. A high score does not compensate for a critical fault.
If you do not pass, identify the weakest criterion, return to its stage and revise the affected artifacts together. Keep version 1 so you can explain what improved.
A pace you can sustain
Plan about 26 hours, then adapt.
The selected lessons total 9h 53m 10s at normal playback speed. Practice is a separate 16-hour editorial estimate, including the four-hour capstone review. Rewatching, tool setup and feedback may add time. Optional courses are not included.
Choose 1–40 hours. Finish by demonstrating the outputs, not by the calendar alone.
| Hours / week | Approximate duration | Useful rhythm |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 13 weeks | One lesson block and one short practice block |
| 5 | 6 weeks | About two hours of videos and three hours of application, adjusted by stage |
| 10 | 3 weeks | Several focused blocks with a review day between stages |
At five hours per week, use week 1 for Stage 1, week 2 for Stage 2, week 3 for Stage 3, week 4 for Stage 4, week 5 for Stage 5 and the first capstone review, and week 6 for revisions. The capstone week has extra room for feedback.
Make it tangible
Your project workbook
Download the editable Markdown workbook with the fictional brief, eight artifact templates, case updates and scoring checklist. Open it in any text editor or copy the tables into your preferred document tool.
Questions before you commit
Access, expectations and next steps
Is the entire pathway free?
The selected public videos and this WikiFree pathway are free to access. The original exercises can be completed with paper or the Markdown workbook; no paid software, subscription or exam is required. Video access may depend on your location and YouTube’s availability. Optional products demonstrated by instructors may have separate terms.
Will I receive a Google or WikiFree certificate?
No. These public videos do not include enrollment in Google’s assessed certificate program, instructor marking or a credential. The progress checklist records your own work. Your result is a self-reviewed project portfolio.
Must I watch every video in the three course pages?
No. Follow the named lessons assigned to each stage. The broad Google page includes additional topics and overlaps with the two focused pages. You can explore the rest later; no lessons have been removed from any course.
Can I use this to prepare for PMP or become a Scrum Master?
This pathway develops a foundation for a small project. It is not a certification preparation course and does not establish exam eligibility or professional experience. Agile, procurement, advanced scheduling, contracts and organization-specific governance require additional study and practice.
Can I work through it on my phone?
You can read the pathway and watch the lessons on a phone. A larger screen makes a multi-column schedule or budget easier to work on. The printable workbook also works as a paper-based route.
Where is my progress stored?
When browser storage is available, stage checkmarks are saved in this browser on this device. They are not synced to a WikiFree account. Clearing browser data, changing browsers or using private mode may remove them. Download your project files separately.
What if a video is unavailable or a detail changes?
Use the course’s official source link to check access, then use Contact and Corrections to report the lesson title. The pathway is included in WikiFree’s weekly review of new, changed and unavailable courses; recommendations are reviewed before editorial updates are published.
Editorial record
Sources and scope
Created by WikiFree Editorial. Course pages, lesson metadata and public source playlists checked on . We checked listings and metadata; we did not watch every lesson or test playback in every region. Video times are the listed normal-speed durations; practice times are our estimates.
- Grow with Google: Project Management video collection — foundations and selected application lessons.
- Grow with Google: Project Planning video collection — planning, budget, risk and communication lessons.
- Grow with Google: Project Execution video collection — tracking, team leadership, quality and closure lessons.
- Grow with Google: People Management videos — optional communication and coaching study.
- Scrum.org: Definition of Done playlist and official explanation — optional product-quality study.
The pathway sequence, workshop case, worksheets, completion checks, estimates and assessment rubric are original WikiFree teaching materials. WikiFree is independent and is not the provider of the external Google or Scrum.org courses.
Coverage boundary: you practice a small simulated project. The route does not provide supervised work experience, professional certification, full Agile delivery training, advanced project finance, legal/procurement advice or guaranteed employment.
Version 1.0 · First edition: 12 October 2026 · Included in weekly editorial review. Dates will change when substantive content is actually reviewed or updated.
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