Project Management Courses

What is Project Management?

Project management includes the application of specialized skills, knowledge, processes and procedures to successfully take a project from start to finish. A project can include any type of temporary initiative or goal, from developing a software program to putting an addition on a house. Project managers study the project scope and requirements and develop plans and systems to achieve project goals within specified parameters including time frame and budget. Skills required for project management include communications, leadership, risk management, time management, analytics and more.

Online Project Management Courses and Programs

Explore online courses, project management boot camps, and graduate-level programs in project management from major universities and institutions. Get an introduction to the field of project management with a free online course from the University of Adelaide or take courses that focus on project management for IT, development or engineering projects.

The Project Management MicroMasters program from RIT is a 4-part course program designed to teach you the key skills to start or launch your career in this lucrative and in-demand field. You will quickly learn the required project management tools, processes, and techniques to successfully take a project from initiation to closing. Learn about the unique challenges of managing a project across different countries and industries and understand how to implement project structures and communication channels to work efficiently and effectively in a global environment.

Additional MOOCs are available to introduce you to Six Sigma methodology and the DMAIC process improvement flow. Enroll now and get on a path to a career in project management.

What are the Qualities of a Good Project Management Professional?

Leadership is a crucial characteristic of good project management professionals. Having a clear vision and goal for everyone to follow allows everyone to works towards the same destination. A good project management professional (pmp) is someone who can spot any irregularities and deal with the issue directly to get everyone back on course.

Trust is an overlooked characteristic of project management. Sometimes, you will be so focused on meeting the goals of your client that you decide to micro-manage every aspect of the project. Instead, you should pass along tasks to proven team members and give them the vote in confidence that you trust their style and judgment.

Bad communication can derail a project for everyone involved. If you find that you talk to different teams through different communication methods, you can quickly find yourself losing control on the project. There are a lot of great tools out in the market like Trello to keep everyone on the same page and allow the flow of communication to continue in one place.

Having empathy for your team members is another overlooked aspect of excellent project management. One way that you can show empathy is by being accommodating to everyone on the team. Whether someone can’t be at a meeting at 9 AM, someone having disability via communication, or something else entirely, you should make everyone feel included. Get to learn what would make life easier for your team and try and accommodate everyone, so everyone feels valued.

Problem-solving will be an ongoing aspect of project management. At any moment, you may be thrown a curveball that will need solving at a given notice. Perhaps a team member decides to leave the company, so you will need to figure out a replacement to allow the project to continue. Other aspects of problem-solving will include dealing with outside factors that are out of your control, but you should still find ways to work around the obstacles.

Conflict resolution is something that is bound to happen on any project. For one reason or another, people or teams are going to get discouraged with each other. Maybe the issue deals with personalities not clicking, deadlines not hit, or something else altogether. As a good project manager, you should have the ability to identify these conflicts and address them before they boil over into something bigger.

Why is Project Management Needed?

Like the examples above of what makes a good project manager, you should understand why project management is needed in the real-world today. Let’s say for instance that you are working with a client that needs a website built in three months. The client would like to have phone calls every week to check in on the status of the build. A project manager can be the liaison between the client and your team to allow the communication to happen while not removing your team from working on their daily tasks. The project manager can also be the voice to let the client know of any issues that may have come up during a project build to keep everyone informed on all matters.

Project Management Process

A project management process is the planning, forecasting, and controlling the strategy and execution of the life cycle within a project. A waterfall view is common via the project management process because it easy to visualize where you stand within the task. As a project manager, your responsibilities will include managing the project plan from it’s early design to its final release. You will handle all project requirements which includes getting the right people and resources to be part of the plan. You help facilitate all groups that are part of the project that can consist of pushing timelines, project activities, project tasks, key decision making, resource allocation, scoping software development, and expectations clearly across a company’s agenda. Project performance success can mean many things, but typically finishing a project on time, under budget, without errors, and more is usually the sense of accomplishment.

What is Scrum Project Management?

Scum is an agile project management process that is built around a small team and a scrum master. The team has a Scrum Master whose job it is to remove any roadblocks and obstacles to complete the assignments. Work is broken down into smaller tasks to speed up the process of project management. The primary goal with agile project management via Scrum is to shorten release cycles and push updates at a faster rate for project success.

Jobs that Use Project Managers

There are many jobs out in the market that need qualified project planning managers to join their team. Having qualified project management professionals (pmp) on your team can be the difference in a project being under budget and delivered on time for a company. Some examples of professions that require project management professionals (pmp) include construction projects, healthcare institutes, financial service companies, technology firms, and more. Having great project management skills can allow you to perform business analysis, identify project risks, and spot opportunities to speed up a deliverable for a client. Portfolio management is also a critical aspect for employers looking to hire project managers for their team. Being able to make investment decisions and carry out activities are common requests that employers look for in project managers.

Project Management Principles and Practices

There are many elements of successful project management principles to follow. Some of the most common principles include project structure, defining the process, clear goals, transparent updates on where the project lives, business analysis, forecasting, and more. Making sure that your team is clear on what needs to be worked on along with frequent and clear updates gives everyone the confidence that the project is running smoothly. Many project management tools are out there like Trello, Slack, Microsoft Project Teams, and more to keep everyone on the same page with how a project is progressing. In addition to tools, you can also find professional development units online and offline to assist with your project management training.

Online Courses for Project Management

Here at edX, we offer a wide range of professional development courses in project management for working professionals. Maybe you are a manager at a company and you are looking to expand your soft skills to lead your team, or you would like to move permanently into a project management role at a company. Whatever the reason, edX has professional development courses designed to improve your project management skills. Proudly display your project management certification and project management certificate (PMP certification) on LinkedIn and other social networks after completing the course from your education provider. Displaying this case study on LinkedIn can help boost your resume for that next role!