Run the Migration as a Structured Program
A PQC migration is a multi-year program with hundreds of interdependent tasks, multiple stakeholder groups, vendor dependencies, and a hard deadline. Someone has to run it as a structured program, not an ad-hoc series of technical changes. This course gives project and program managers the specific methodology for managing PQC migration: work breakdown, milestone design, resource planning, dependency management, and the migration wave sequencing that determines the order of operations.
Course Outline
Module 1. Program Structure and Work Breakdown
Translating the PQC Migration Framework into a project plan. Work breakdown structure for cryptographic migration. Defining workstreams: discovery, planning, implementation, verification, and operations. Milestone design and entry/exit criteria for each phase.
Module 2. Resource and Dependency Management
Resource planning for migration programs: the skills needed at each phase and how to source them. Dependency management: technical dependencies between systems, organizational dependencies between teams, and external dependencies on vendors. Critical path analysis for cryptographic migration.
Module 3. Vendor Coordination and Wave Sequencing
Managing the vendor dependency problem within the program plan. Migration wave design: grouping systems for coordinated migration. Sequencing waves to manage risk and demonstrate progress. Handling systems whose migration depends on vendor timelines outside your control.
Module 4. Tracking, Reporting, and Risk Management
Metrics and KPIs for migration progress. Status reporting for technical and executive audiences. Risk management specific to cryptographic migration: rollback planning, contingency for vendor delays, and managing the residual risk of systems that cannot migrate on schedule.
Prerequisites
A working understanding of PQC fundamentals is recommended. Consider Post-Quantum Foundation or PQCS certification for background. Some courses assume security engineering experience.
Certificate of Completion
Upon completion, you will receive a Quantum Academy certificate of completion. CPE credits earned may apply toward Quantum Academy certification maintenance.
Who this course is for
Program managers, project managers, PMO leaders, and CISOs responsible for PQC migration program governance. Also relevant for security directors and technical leads transitioning into program leadership roles.
What you’ll be able to do afterward
- Scope a PQC migration program using documented scale benchmarks and the ratio of roughly one migration engineer to three application teams, drawn from Applied Quantum engagements including a 120,000-task migration programme
- Design governance structures that work for multi-year cryptographic transitions
- Plan multi-year funding that survives annual budget cycles
- Compose teams across the five bench areas (cryptographic engineering, infrastructure/PKI, vendor management, GRC, program management)
- Build phased migration plans using the Applied Quantum PQC Migration Framework
- Manage cross-functional dependencies across vendor timelines, internal readiness, and regulatory dates
What you leave with
You leave with the course handbook, a PDF of the full material with the instructor notes written out in place of the slides’ bullet points, and a PDF copy of Quantum Ready, included at no extra cost. The handbook is yours to keep. For most organizations, that shared reference is the clearest return on a training budget.
Enrollment includes 180 days of access to the online on-demand course. Where that course is not yet published, the 180 days start on the day it is.
Where this course fits
Post-Quantum Foundation or PQCS Specialist Training give the grounding this course builds on. Neither is enforced. PQC Migration: Executing the Waves for the delivery detail, and PQCM Manager Training for the credential.
Why we teach this
The course is built on the Applied Quantum PQC Migration Framework, published openly under Creative Commons at pqcframework.org and written by the practitioners who teach here. The people who teach this course are running migration programs inside organizations now, and the course covers what those programs hit.
About this program
Quantum Academy credentials are private professional credentials issued by Quantum Academy, a trade name of Post-Quantum Institute. They are not government-issued licenses, accredited degrees, or academic credit, and earning one does not guarantee employment, promotion, regulatory approval, or any other specific outcome.
Quantum Academy programs are educational and informational only, and are not legal, compliance, or engineering advice.