Projects are all around us. Virtually every organization runs projects, either formally or informally. We are engaged in projects at home and at work. Across settings, planning principles and execution methodologies can offer ways in which projects can be run more effectively and efficiently. Project management provides organizations (and individuals) with the language and the frameworks for scoping projects, sequencing activities, utilizing resources, and minimizing risks.
This is an introductory course on the key concepts of planning and executing projects. We will identify factors that lead to project success, and learn how to plan, analyze, and manage projects. Learners will be exposed to state-of-the-art methodologies and to considering the challenges of various types of projects.
Welcome to the course -- we're excited you're here! In our first week, we'll gain an understanding of what a project is, what it isn't, and why that matters. We'll consider how projects are defined and a project’s three objectives. We'll look at a model for examining a project’s organization and its stakeholders, and then analyze those stakeholders using a power/interest grid. We'll look at the main reasons why many projects fail and then learn how to measure success. Finally, we'll review the key stages in the project life cycle and highlight the important features of each stage.
Considering the Organization & Stakeholders•6 minutes
Project Success & Failure•6 minutes
The Making of Boyhood & British Airways T5 Examples•0 minutes
The Making of Boyhood & British Airways T5 Summary•2 minutes
Project Life Cycle•5 minutes
4 readings•Total 50 minutes
Course Overview•10 minutes
The Making of Boyhood and British Airways Terminal Five Examples•20 minutes
HealthCare.gov (Supplemental Case Study)•10 minutes
Week 1 Slides•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
The Fundamentals •30 minutes
3 discussion prompts•Total 30 minutes
Introduce Yourself•10 minutes
The Making of Boyhood & British Airways T5 Examples•10 minutes
HealthCare.gov (Supplemental Case Study)•10 minutes
The Ins & Outs of Project Planning
Module 2•2 hours to complete
Module details
During our second week, we'll start digging into the details, focusing on how to develop a project plan. We'll understand why we plan and what a plan should or should not include. We'll discuss the process of scoping out a project and see tools that can help us identify what should be included in our project. We'll learn about sequencing project tasks and the nature of the dependencies among project activates. We'll learn how to determine a project’s duration and critical path, how it is determined, and why it is useful. We'll see how we should schedule a project and, finally, we’ll review how you can make changes to a plan to support your overall project objectives.
What's included
9 videos1 reading1 assignment1 discussion prompt
Show info about module content
9 videos•Total 57 minutes
Why Plan?•3 minutes
Detailed Scoping•6 minutes
Identifying Dependencies•6 minutes
Determine the Completion Date & Critical Path•17 minutes
How Do We Schedule?•3 minutes
What If I Don’t Like Planning? Making Changes•4 minutes
Reflecting on Common Mistakes•7 minutes
Virginia Festival of the Book (Supplemental Case Study)•5 minutes
Supplemental Tutorial: Getting Started with Microsoft Project•6 minutes
1 reading•Total 10 minutes
Week 2 Slides•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
Project Planning •30 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
Virginia Festival of the Book (Supplemental Case Study)•10 minutes
It’s a Risky World & Then the Unexpected Happened
Module 3•2 hours to complete
Module details
In our third week, we'll consider the risk and uncertainties projects face. We'll understand what is risky about projects. We'll identify and assess project risks and prioritize these risks in order to focus our attention on those most impactful to the project. We’ll consider schedule risks in detail and ask, "What is the likelihood of finishing on time? What are the drivers that may cause delays in my project?" We'll see how a project budget can be set to include a contingency. Finally, we'll consider situations with a high degree of ambiguity and identify methods than can useful in these situations.
What's included
9 videos1 reading1 assignment1 discussion prompt
Show info about module content
9 videos•Total 60 minutes
What Is Risky About Projects?•8 minutes
Identifying & Assessing Project Risks•10 minutes
A More Realistic Timeline Part I•7 minutes
A More Realistic Timeline Part II•8 minutes
Cost Risk Analysis•3 minutes
Planning for Ambiguity•4 minutes
Lumi Juice (Supplemental Case Study)•4 minutes
Supplemental Tutorial: Modeling Schedule Uncertainty Part I - Tornado Charts in Microsoft Excel•8 minutes
Supplemental Tutorial: Modeling Schedule Uncertainty Part II - Monte Carlo Simulations in Microsoft Excel•7 minutes
1 reading•Total 10 minutes
Week 3 Slides•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
Project Risks •30 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
Lumi Juice (Supplemental Case Study)•10 minutes
Ready, Set, Go: Project Execution
Module 4•3 hours to complete
Module details
In our final week, we'll move from plan to action and consider the execution phase of a project. We'll learn about the earned value approach for monitoring and controlling progress. We'll consider the individuals who are executing the project and how their habits impact project progress. We'll discuss some alternative methods for project execution such as Agile, Scrum, and Kanban. Finally, we'll review and summarize the course, and our journey from project definition through execution and completion.
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Learner reviews
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Showing 3 of 10421
J
JL
5·
Reviewed on Sep 6, 2020
Very informative, concise, and easy to digest. Provides a solid foundation / framework for approaching projects, with great tutorials on using software for analysis. Great experience overall, thanks!
Y
YS
4·
Reviewed on May 12, 2022
I really enjoy the case stuties review but there has to be more reading materials(Books & articles) and related assignments plus quiz inorder to make the student know the details of course.
M
MM
5·
Reviewed on Dec 15, 2021
This is very good course to understand the fundamentals of project planning and management. The instructor explain the concept in a simple way. There are good examples given to understand the course.
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