Project Management Certificate

Project management is becoming increasingly important to the modern business enterprise as an engine of change. Rapid innovation and adaptation have become increasingly vital to achieving success in the marketplace, and project management concepts and frameworks are a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Professionals who take these courses acquire concrete skills and an understanding of project management processes that can immediately be applied to their work

Key Takeaways

Is this online business certificate right for you?

The course introduces students to the Project Management Institute’s ten knowledge areas and five process groups while offering opportunities to put the techniques learned into practice. Those who complete the four courses will understand project portfolio management, organizational structures, portfolio planning, and project alignment, along with topics that contribute to effective project management like structured thinking, business and technology architecture, organizational change management, estimation, risk management, and communications.

This online project management certificate is right for you if…

• You want to take your early or mid-level career up a notch
• You have additional management or oversight responsibilities regarding change initiatives
• You feel this program will add key elements to your skill set
• You are interested in earning project management professional or agile certifications (course materials may be helpful).

People who earn this certificate:

• Can identify the core principles of a modern project management approach that integrates people with technology solutions.
• Understand how projects fit into the strategy realization efforts and overall structure of an enterprise
• Can explain at least two Project Management Institute (PMI) frameworks as well as an industry standard framework for the Agile framework (Scrum)
• Apply basic project management methods for initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and closing a project
• Understand and apply advanced project management concepts

Curriculum

Course 1: The Origin and Role of Projects in the Enterprise

• Understand where projects fit into the enterprise landscape and how they flow from and link to corporate strategy–helping you articulate project justification and value
• Gain a broader context for defining project value and visibility to related initiatives
• Learn how to ensure that your project reflects existing enterprise standards and support capabilities

Course 2: The Financial Foundations of Business: Accounting and Finance

• Understand the project manager mindset
• Learn the critical elements that will enable you to anticipate project impacts, understand project needs, and set expectations, positioning your project for success
• Focus and articulate a project’s purpose while identifying, classifying, and engaging stakeholders, minimizing resistance
• Explore how different problems require unique approaches and how to find the right method and team to implement the desired approach

Course 3: Predictive and Adoptive Methodologies

• Understand how to deploy the appropriate product management approach
• Know the basics of a predictive/waterfall project methodology to effectively plan, execute, control, and close a project
• Learn the basics of an adaptive/agile methodology to manage and close a project using the adaptive approach

Course 4: Real-World Project Management Survival Skills

• Understand methods to assess and engage project stakeholders and manage stakeholder journeys to ensure ongoing support and end-user acceptance of changes
• Learn techniques for making a project flow smoothly and prepare for project pitfalls, building your credibility as a leader
• Build awareness of industry developments in methods and tools that may impact the future of project management, keeping you current with leading practices