Project Management Online Undergraduate Certificate Program

Project Management is the formal application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project-based activities to meet organizational requirements. Project management is accomplished through the use of processes such as Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. Project managers can divide projects into these phases to provide better management control with appropriate links to the ongoing operations of the organization. Collectively, these phases, known as the project life cycle, form the foundation for the practice of project management and are guided by the Body of Knowledge from the Project Management Institute (PMI).

Project schedules allow managers, team members, and stakeholders to track progress, set and manage expectations, communicate, control costs, and collaborate. Tasks and deliverables can be monitored and controlled to ensure timely delivery-and if any delays do occur, project managers can easily gauge their impact and make the necessary adjustments. Central to the schedule is a detailed understanding of the project budget, and working to control costs and manage stakeholder expectations.

The process of managing stakeholders is an important project management activity that focuses on communicating and managing stakeholder expectations and concerns for the purpose of meeting needs, addressing issues, resolving conflict situations, and achieving the project goals. The process is generally based on holding communications and taking change requests to gather feedback and make updates to project documentation. Similarly, managing project teams is the process of tracking team member performance, providing feedback, resolving issues, and managing team changes to optimize project performance. The key benefit of this process is that it influences team behavior, manages conflict, resolves issues, and appraises team member performance.

The traditional practice of project management is based on the notion that the customer can understand and articulate his or her requirements fully and up front. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case and often customers either don't understand precisely what they need or, more often, will know it when they see it. This is where Agile Project Management comes in. Whether you are managing a project, are on the forefront of a new business venture, or are developing new business processes, Agile Project Management can help managers meet their goals without compromising business value or quality. This course will provide a foundation in Agile and build competencies in Agile Project Management through simulation, case study analysis, and software. Students will receive hands-on experience with agile and scrum processes in a class project. Students will also investigate Agile value principles, release planning, portfolio governance, and the Scrum methodology.

In project management, understanding the difference between risks and issues is critical to project success. Risk Management is the practice of identifying potential problems and addressing them before they happen, with treatments such as avoidance, reduction, transfer, and acceptance. Issue Management is the practice of addressing current problems, with approaches such as problem-solving, mitigation, transfer, and acceptance. Keeping running logs, in addition to controlling and monitoring issues and risks, often means the difference between project success and failure.

When an organization introduces a change to a project, that change needs to be effectively managed through two lenses: technical and human/organizational. A technical focus ensures that the change is developed, designed, and delivered effectively. The discipline of project management provides the structure, processes and tools to make this happen. A human/organizational focus ensures that the change is embraced, adopted, and utilized by the employees who have to do their jobs differently as a result of the project. The discipline of change management provides the structure, processes, and too??ls to make this happen. Although each discipline can function independently, the most effective approach is to integrate change management and project management to create a unified approach to implementing change on both fronts.

In the culminating course for the certificates, students will reframe knowledge and competencies from their certificate into a workable model that is applied through experiential learning models to a professional opportunity. Students will apply these competencies as professional best practice in a project that incorporates relevant research findings from the field.