Estimate and Schedule a 16-Week Custom CRM for an Agency Client
Overview
What this challenge is about.
Decompose a 22-page SOW into a 3-level WBS, estimate 80-110 tasks, and build a 16-week schedule with a 20% buffer for a verifiable certificate.
The scenario
The agency (founder-led, 14 years old, mostly tourism + retail clients) has burned 2 fixed-price projects in the last 18 months by under-estimating non-functional work — leadership wants the next one quoted differently.
The Brief
What you'll do, and what you'll demonstrate.
Plan, estimate, schedule, and staff a 16-week fixed-price CRM project so the agency hits the date and the budget.
Earning criteria — what you'll demonstrate
- Decompose a SOW into a defensible work-breakdown structure
- Apply 3-point estimation calibrated with peer review
- Build a schedule with realistic buffer and dependency-aware ordering
- Author a risk register that drives action, not documentation theatre
Program Fit
Where this fits in your program.
Sharpens the same skills your degree expects you to demonstrate.
Software Project Management
Master · Software Engineering
Strong alignment
This challenge maps to Software Project Management at the Master level. It sharpens the same practical skills your coursework expects — but in a real industry context with actual constraints and deliverables.
Skills
Skills you'll demonstrate.
Each one shows up on your verified credential.
- Estimation
Apply estimation to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Scheduling
Apply scheduling to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Work Breakdown Structure
Apply work breakdown structure to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Risk Management
Identify, assess, and mitigate risks across business operations and projects.
- Staffing
Apply staffing to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Stakeholder Communication
Apply stakeholder communication to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
Careers
Career paths this challenge builds toward
Completing this challenge demonstrates skills that transfer directly to these roles:
Product Manager
Product managers who can co-author a WBS + milestone calendar prevent the scope drift that kills fixed-price engagements.
This challenge sharpens
- work-breakdown-structure
- scheduling
- stakeholder-communication