The primary objective of this course is to acquaint students with a broad overview of project management and the roles that a project manager plays in the five primary processes involved in managing projects. In this course, the skills needed to successfully play these roles are identified and discussed. In addition, learning the life cycles of typical projects provides a basis for understanding the variety of skills needed, how these skills can be assembled, and how they relate to each other. Informal case studies and exercises are used to illustrate application of these skills.
Topics include an overview of the five primary project-management processes; writing an effective project plan; developing successful project schedules; executing and controlling the project plan; the "triple constraint" and how it affects the project manager; and understanding project phases and project life cycles.
For Online Sections of this course: Online courses are largely self-study with instructor support through threaded discussion groups, email and sometimes scheduled online chats. Some instructors may allow students to pace themselves following the published syllabus, enabling them to accelerate through the material and finish early. However, all students must complete and submit all assignments by the schedule end date. Grades are issued for the entire class approximately two weeks after the scheduled end date.
