Module 1: PowerShell Fundamentals

Lesson 1: Introduction to PowerShell

• What is PowerShell? (Object-oriented shell vs. traditional CLI)
• PowerShell versions (5.1 vs. 7+)
• Key features (Pipeline, Cmdlets, Modules)

Lesson 2: Basic Syntax & Commands

• Cmdlet structure (Verb-Noun pattern)
• Getting help (Get-Help, Get-Command)
• Common cmdlets (Get-Process, Get-Service)

Lesson 3: Hands-on Lab

• Launch PowerShell console and VS Code
• Run basic system inspection commands
• Customize the PowerShell profile

Module 2: Working with Objects

Lesson 1: The PowerShell Pipeline

• Object passing vs. text parsing
• Select-Object, Where-Object, Sort-Object
• Formatting output (Format-Table, Format-List)

Lesson 2: Data Export & Import

• Exporting to CSV, JSON, XML
• Importing data for processing
• Working with ConvertTo-Json and ConvertFrom-Json

Lesson 3: Hands-on Lab

• Filter and sort process data
• Export system info to CSV
• Create a report from imported data

Module 3: Scripting Basics

Lesson 1: Variables & Operators

• Variable types and scope
• Comparison operators (-eq, -lt)
• Logical operators (-and, -or)

Lesson 2: Control Flow

• If/Else statements
• Switch statements
• Loops (For, While, ForEach)

Lesson 3: Hands-on Lab

• Write a script to check disk space
• Create a user input validation script
• Process a list of servers with loops

Module 4: Functions & Modules

Lesson 1: Writing Functions

• Function structure (parameters, return values)
• Advanced parameters (validation, pipeline input)
• Comment-based help

Lesson 2: Creating Modules

• Script modules vs. binary modules
• Module manifest files
• Publishing to PowerShell Gallery

Lesson 3: Hands-on Lab

• Build a reusable logging function
• Create a custom module
• Share a module via local repository

Module 5: Error Handling & Debugging

Lesson 1: Error Handling

• Try/Catch/Finally
• $Error automatic variable
• Common error types (terminating vs. non-terminating)

Lesson 2: Debugging Techniques

• Write-Debug and breakpoints
• Step-through debugging in VS Code
• Transcript logging (Start-Transcript)

Lesson 3: Hands-on Lab

• Add error handling to existing scripts
• Debug a problematic script
• Create an error logging system

Module 6: Administrative Automation

Lesson 1: Windows Administration

• Active Directory cmdlets
• Managing services and processes
• Registry and file system operations

Lesson 2: Cross-Platform PowerShell

• PowerShell Core on Linux/macOS
• SSH remoting
• Managing Docker containers

Lesson 3: Hands-on Lab

• Automate user creation in AD
• Create a cross-platform backup script
• Manage Azure resources via PowerShell

Module 7: Advanced Topics

Lesson 1: Regular Expressions

• Pattern matching with -match
• Select-String cmdlet
• Regex in validation and parsing

Lesson 2: Working with APIs

• Invoke-RestMethod
• OAuth authentication
• Processing JSON responses

Lesson 3: Hands-on Lab

• Parse log files with regex
• Query a REST API and process results
• Build a weather reporting script

Module 8: Real-World Projects

Lesson 1: Automation Projects

• System health monitoring
• Automated reporting
• Bulk user management

Lesson 2: Capstone Project

• End-to-end solution: Data collection → Processing → Reporting → Notification

Lesson 3: Best Practices Review

• Script organization
• Performance optimization
• Security considerations