Project Management from a People Perspective - Online Course

This series goes beyond the basic mechanics of project management and focuses on the people side of getting projects accomplished. It helps you develop a deeper understanding of interpersonal dynamics that can make you more effective in leading a project team. Look to this series for topics such as building a team, leading a team, influencing team members across departments, communicating, documenting, and balancing multiple projects.

This series is for anyone who wants to become a more effective project manager by improving their interpersonal and team leadership skills. This online course contains 6 lessons and should take approximately 12 hours to complete.

Lesson 1: Working Across Departments (2.0) hours

Working Across Departments teaches you how to analyze the interpersonal and behavioral context of a project, manage a diverse team that includes a variety of perspectives, analyze the organizational context of a project, list the key interpersonal skills involved in leading a project team, and explain the value of self-awareness for a project manager. This course provides information on how to work with diverse project teams that are drawn from multiple departments. It shows you how to examine the behavioral context of your project and the impact of the corporate structure on the project team. Topics include The interpersonal and behavioral context, Managing diverse perspectives, The organizational context, The role of interpersonal skills, and The value of self-awareness.

Lesson 2: Building and Leading a Team (2.0) hours

Building and Leading a Team teaches you how to explain the process of assembling a project team, lead a team through the beginning stages as it starts work on a project, describe the appropriate management style for each stage of a project, foster teamwork and collaboration on the project team, and work with individual team members to get the most from them. This course provides information on how to apply appropriate interpersonal skills as you go about building and leading a project team. Topics include Building a team, Getting the team started, How teams evolve, Fostering teamwork and synergism, and Getting the most from team members.

Lesson 3: Managing Project Stakeholders (2.0) hours

Managing Project Stakeholders teaches you how to identify internal and external project stakeholders, manage other project interfaces, such as regulatory agencies, organizational policies, systems, and the corporate culture, manage your interactions with project stakeholders, and assess the prevailing political environment of the company. This course provides information on how to work with project stakeholders, which includes all the people who are involved with or affected by a project. Topics include What are stakeholders?, Internal stakeholders, External stakeholders, Other interfaces, Stakeholder management, and The political environment.

Lesson 4: Communicating Effectively (2.0) hours

Communicating Effectively teaches you how to develop a communications roadmap, select an appropriate method and medium for communicating, list the most important communications guidelines, explain how to conduct high quality meetings, and list the major skills involved in effective communications. This course provides information on how to communicate effectively when managing a project. Topics include Developing a road map, Methods of communicating, Communications guidelines, Conducting high quality meetings, and Communications skills.

Lesson 5: Key Documentation (2.0) hours

Key Documentation teaches you how to develop the initiation documents used in the early stages of a project, develop the planning documents used when defining intermediate work products, develop the execution and control documents used when completing major project tasks, and develop the close-out documents used in the late stages to complete project work. This course provides information on how to develop and use appropriate documentation when managing a project. Topics include Initiating documents, Planning documents, Execution and control documents, and Close-out documents.

Lesson 6: Balancing Multiple Projects (2.0) hours

Balancing Multiple Projects teaches you how to manage your personal schedule, manage a team with reliability in mind, assess your workload, and apply strategies to relieve an overloaded project schedule. This course provides information on how to manage your time while balancing multiple projects. Topics include Personal time management, Managing for reliability, What's on your plate?, Your project portfolio, and Handling project overload.