About this course: Projects are all around us. Virtually every organization runs projects, either formally or informally. We are engaged in projects at home and at work. Across settings, planning principles and execution methodologies can offer ways in which projects can be run more effectively and efficiently. Project management provides organizations (and individuals) with the language and the frameworks for scoping projects, sequencing activities, utilizing resources, and minimizing risks. This is an introductory course on the key concepts of planning and executing projects. We will identify factors that lead to project success, and learn how to plan, analyze, and manage projects. Learners will be exposed to state-of-the-art methodologies and to considering the challenges of various types of projects. As a Project Management Institute (PMI®) Registered Education Provider, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business has been approved by PMI to issue 10 professional development units (PDUs) for this course, which focuses on core competencies recognized by PMI. (Provider #2122)
Created by: University of Virginia
Taught by: Yael Grushka-Cockayne (@grushkay), Associate Professor of Business Administration
Darden School of Business
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 4 weeks of study, 1-2 hours/week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Welcome to the World of Projects
Welcome to the course -- we're excited you're here! In our first week, we will gain an understanding of what a project is, what it isn't, and why that matters. We'll consider how projects are defined and a project’s three objectives. We will look at a model for examining a project’s organization and its stakeholders, and then analyze those stakeholders using a power/interest grid. We'll look at the main reasons why many projects fail and then learn how to measure success. Finally, we will review the key stages in the project life cycle and highlight the important features of each stage.
8 videos, 4 readings
- Video: Course Introduction
- Discussion Prompt: Introduce Yourself
- Reading: Course Overview
- Reading: Course Resources
- Reading: Learning Community
- Video: What Is a Project?
- Video: How Do We Define a Project?
- Video: Considering the Organization and Stakeholders
- Video: Project Success and Failure
- Video: Introduction to Supplemental Examples
- Reading: Supplemental Examples
- Video: Discussion of Supplemental Examples
- Video: Project Life-Cycle
Graded: The Fundamentals
WEEK 2
The Ins and Outs of Project Planning
During our second week, we will start digging into the details, focusing on how to develop a project plan. We'll understand why we plan and what a plan should or should not include. We will discuss the process of scoping out a project and see tools that can help us identify what should be included in our project. We'll learn about sequencing project tasks and the nature of the dependencies among project activates. We will learn how to determine a project’s duration and critical path, how it is determined, and why it is useful. We'll see how we should schedule a project and, finally, we’ll review how you can make changes to a plan to support your overall project objectives.
9 videos
- Video: Why Plan?
- Video: Detailed Scoping
- Video: Identifying Dependencies
- Video: Determine the Completion Date and Critical Path
- Video: How Do We Schedule?
- Video: What If I Don’t Like Planning? Making Changes
- Video: Reflecting on Common Mistakes
- Video: Project Management in Action: Virginia Festival of the Book
- Video: Supplemental Tutorial: Getting Started with Microsoft Project
- Discussion Prompt: Discuss Interesting and/or Challenging Items
Graded: Project Planning
WEEK 3
It’s a Risky World and Then the Unexpected Happened
In our third week, we will consider the risk and uncertainties projects face. We'll understand what is risky about projects. We will identify and assess project risks and prioritize these risks in order to focus our attention on those most impactful to the project. We’ll consider schedule risks in detail and ask, "What is the likelihood of finishing on time? What are the drivers that may cause delays in my project?" We will see how a project budget can be set to include a contingency. Finally, we'll consider situations with a high degree of ambiguity and identify methods than can useful in these situations.
9 videos
- Video: What Is Risky About Projects?
- Video: Identifying and Assessing Project Risks
- Video: A More Realistic Timeline Part I
- Video: A More Realistic Timeline Part II
- Video: Cost Risk Analysis
- Video: Planning for Ambiguity
- Video: Project Management in Action: Lumi Juice
- Video: Supplemental Tutorial: Modeling Schedule Uncertainty Part I - Tornado Charts in Microsoft Excel
- Video: Supplemental Tutorial: Modeling Schedule Uncertainty Part II - Monte Carlo Simulations in Microsoft Excel
- Discussion Prompt: Discuss Interesting and/or Challenging Items
Graded: Project Risks
WEEK 4
Ready, Set, Go: Project Execution
In our final week, we will move from plan to action and consider the execution phase of a project. We'll learn about the earned value approach for monitoring and controlling progress. We will consider the individuals who are executing the project and how their habits impact project progress. We'll discuss some alternative methods for project execution such as Agile, Scrum, and Kanban. Finally, we will review and summarize the course and our journey from project definition through execution and completion.
6 videos, 1 practice quiz
- Video: From Plan to Action
- Video: Earned Value
- Video: Those Who Execute
- Video: Agile, Scrum, and Kanban
- Video: Supplemental Tutorial: Tracking Progress and Updating Project Plan in Microsoft Project
- Practice Quiz: Earned Value Analysis
- Video: Course Wrap Up
- Discussion Prompt: Mission Accomplished?
Graded: Project Execution
FAQs
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University of Virginia
A premier institution of higher education, The University of Virginia offers outstanding academics, world-class faculty, and an inspiring, supportive environment. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University is guided by his vision of discovery, innovation, and development of the full potential of students from all walks of life. Through these courses, global learners have an opportunity to study with renowned scholars and thought leaders.
Pricing
| Audit | Purchase Course | |
|---|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Not available | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Not available | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Not available | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
Basic, but very practical indeed! Gives you a flying start when you're new to project management. A must-see if you're about to start any project and don't know how or where to start exactly.
Is a very complete fundamentals course. This give me new tools and approaches that make me re-think past projects. Thank you very myuch.
In this course professor Yael Grushka-Cockayne explains how to build successful project using modern tools and knowledge. It is great course for those who want build career like Project Manager in different areas. Thank you so much!
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PC
This course was really helpful for me ... I was able to strengthen my knowledge needed for the implementation of projects and also learned techniques to monitor progress and make decisions. I feel it will be very useful in my current job.