What does the course cover?
In this applied business management course, start with scattered ideas and proposals, and structure a business problem. Connect the story to strategic direction, that direction to projects you can evaluate, and selected projects to ownership, planning and tracking. BloomBox Coffee, a fictional case study created for the course, illustrates the connections between the story, strategic direction, project selection and implementation.
What will you learn?
Distinguish KPIs from OKRs, projects from processes, and risks from issues.
Structure the situation, complication, question and answer using SCQA, then connect the story to how you will proceed and the next steps.
Connect Vision, Purpose Statement, Change Agenda, Strategy, Objectives, Key Results and Initiatives.
Frame an initiative with a project definition and business case; assess projects through Strategic Alignment, Value and Ease of Implementation, then prioritise them using an impact/effort matrix.
Prepare a Project Charter, roadmap, action plan, roles and responsibilities, status report, and risk, issue, decision and change logs for a selected project.
Distinguish outputs, outcomes and business benefits; connect benefit tracking and lessons learned to project closure.
Choose a topic from your own work and bring the problem, expected outcome, first action, time and place, and follow-up together in an initial action card.
Introduction — The Working System as a Whole
Explore the course's progression from a common language to a story, strategic direction, project selection and implementation. See how a clear problem, a reasoned decision and an implementation plan complement each other.
Module 0 — A Common Language
Explore direction, goals and measurement; work structure and delivery; value and investment; prioritisation and planning; agile working and learning; and governance, roles and risk. Clarify the terms used in the following modules and the distinctions between them.
Module 1 — Building the Story
Build an SCQA story in the order Situation → Complication → Question → Answer. Then expand the answer with How / Next Steps. Work through effective and weak examples and an application template.
Module 2 — Clarifying Strategic Direction
Develop the main answer through Vision, Purpose Statement, Change Agenda, Strategy, Objectives, Key Results and Initiatives, in that order. Define the move from the current state to the desired state; connect objectives to measurable results and those results to concrete work.
Module 3 — From Initiatives to a Project Portfolio
Start with a project / initiative list, then build the project definition and business case. Use the Three-Lens Model to assess Strategic Alignment, Value and Ease of Implementation. Use the impact/effort view and prioritisation matrix to consider which projects to start now, schedule later, phase or put on hold.
Module 4 — Putting Priority Projects into Practice
First clarify the portfolio and ownership, then prepare the Project Charter, roadmap and action plan. Track progress through governance, RACI and status reporting. Build an implementation structure that runs from risk, issue, decision and change logs to benefit tracking and lessons learned.
Module 5 — Applied Case Study: BloomBox Coffee
Bring the previous modules together through profitable growth, customer loyalty and operational experience in BloomBox Coffee, a fictional case study created for the course. Move from the story and strategic direction to project selection, initiation of the selected project and a tracking system. Use the final template to adapt the approach to your own business problem.
Closing — A First Application in Your Own Work
Review the progression through story, direction, selection, implementation and benefit. Choose a topic from your own work, then write down the problem, expected outcome and first action. Decide when and where you will start, and who you will review progress with.
Who is it for?
For aspiring managers who want to connect decisions with implementation; specialists and project leaders who want to turn ideas into well-founded projects; and business development teams who want to connect opportunities to strategy and action.
Applications and materials shown in the lessons
The lessons cover an SCQA story template; templates for writing objectives, key results and initiatives; and a one-page project definition and business case. Examples illustrate the Project Charter, action plan, RACI, status report, logs, benefit tracking and lessons learned. The Order Flow Automation example and BloomBox Coffee, a fictional case study created for the course, make these structures concrete. A template for applying the approach to your own work and the initial action card in the closing section help you use it with your own problem.