Overview

Successfully managing a project requires effective planning and adherence to the industry's best practices in every step of the process. By understanding the fundamentals of project management, you will be better prepared to initiate a project in your organization and position it for success. In this course, you will identify effective project management practices and their related processes. At this point in your professional development, you are ready to take on the responsibility for managing projects. You can manage a project by developing a solid understanding of the fundamentals of project management and its underlying structure and elements, including project phases, project life cycles, stakeholders, and areas of expertise. These, coupled with the ability to identify the project management processes that are recognized industry-wide as good practice, will help you to apply effective project management techniques to improve the efficiency of your projects and ensure their success. This course is designed for individuals whose primary job is not project management, but who manage projects on an informal basis. Also, anyone who is considering a career path in project management and desiring a complete overview of the field and its generally accepted practices can benefit from this course. In this course, you will: identify the key processes and requirements of project management; initiate a project; plan for time and cost; plan for project risks, communication, and change control; execute, manage, and control a project; and close a project.

Syllabus

Getting Started with Project Management

You actively participated in a project. Now, you want to move from participating in projects to managing projects. In this lesson, you will be introduced to the basic terminology used in project management, examine the phases in a project's life cycle, and identify the roles and responsibilities of a project manager.

Initiating a Project

You have some knowledge of the project life cycle and the skills required to be a project manager. Having understood the rudiments of project management, you are ready to get going with the initial stages of a project. In this lesson, you'll discover how to initiate a project and perform the critical steps involved in laying the foundation for your project's success.

Planning for Time and Cost

You initiated a project and identified the skills required to perform the project tasks. Now that you have a solid foundation to start the project, you need to plan for its successful completion. In this lesson, you will plan for the project time and cost.

Planning for Project Risks, Communication, and Change Control

You have planned the time and cost for the project. Now you need to proceed with the other elements of good planning. In this lesson, you'll plan for project risks, communication, and change control in your project.

Managing a Project

You finished your project planning and integrated the outputs from each of the planning processes into a comprehensive project management plan. Now you may want to transition your project from planning to execution. In this lesson, you will execute a project plan.

Closing the Project

You have successfully executed the project plan and obtained all deliverables from the project team. You are ready to hand over the project to the customer. In this lesson, you will close the project.