Schedule slippage and budget overruns rarely come from one bad decision – they build up from a schedule that was never properly structured, costs that were estimated too loosely, or a lack of connection between the two. The Arab British Fellowship Training Academy designed this Project Scheduling and Cost Control course to attack that problem directly.

Participants learn to break a project down into a realistic schedule built on the critical path, estimate and control direct and indirect costs, and produce the financial reports that let managers catch deviations early rather than explain them after the fact. The programme closes by showing how scheduling and cost management reinforce each other, so participants leave able to defend both the timeline and the budget of a project with confidence.

Who Should Attend?

• Project managers and professionals responsible for planning and executing projects.
• Personnel in planning, monitoring and operations management departments.
• Financial specialists involved in budgeting and cost control.
• Engineers and supervisors associated with project implementation.

Knowledge and Benefits:

After completing the programme, participants will be able to:

• Apply project scheduling principles and time planning techniques.
• Prepare budgets and estimate project costs.
• Monitor project costs and analyse financial variances effectively.
• Integrate project schedules with financial resource planning.
• Prepare professional financial and performance reports for projects.

• Module 1: Why Schedule and Budget Overruns Happen – and How to Prevent Them
  • Introduction to project scheduling concepts and their importance to project success.
  • The relationship between schedules, resources and performance indicators.
  • Why cost overruns and delays are almost always structural, not accidental.
• Module 2: Breaking the Project Down – Structure, Activities and the Critical Path
  • Developing the work breakdown structure and identifying main and supporting activities.
  • Methods and techniques for developing project schedules.
  • Determining activity durations and understanding the critical path.
• Module 3: Resourcing and Tracking the Schedule
  • Allocating financial and human resources across project phases.
  • Monitoring project progress against the approved schedule.
  • Addressing delays and schedule deviations effectively.
• Module 4: Building the Project Budget – Estimating Direct and Indirect Costs
  • Understanding project budgets and their role in financial planning.
  • Methods for estimating direct and indirect project costs.
  • Preparing financial estimates and budget forecasts.
• Module 5: Analysing Costs and Controlling Expenditure
  • Classification and analysis of project cost components.
  • Estimating financial reserves and contingency allocations.
  • Techniques for monitoring and controlling operational and capital expenditure.
• Module 6: Reporting Financial Performance to Stakeholders
  • Developing periodic financial reports for management.
  • Measuring and analysing financial variances.
  • Monitoring project cash flow and preparing financial performance indicators.
• Module 7: Connecting the Dots – Linking Schedule and Budget Decisions
  • Linking project schedules with financial planning and cost structures.
  • The impact of schedule delays on project budgets and resources.
  • Managing resources according to operational and financial priorities.
• Module 8: Driving Better Financial and Time Performance
  • Methods for cost optimisation and expenditure efficiency.
  • Enhancing resource utilisation and operational productivity.
  • Developing effective financial monitoring and control plans for projects.