Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

• Use project management principles to participate in projects through all phases (from making proposals, planning, completing cost analysis, scheduling, and determining critical path, to tracking and controlling) in order to meet customer needs
• Present project proposals, plans, and progress reports to key stakeholders
• Apply project management fundamentals to successfully progress through more advanced project management courses, and to build a foundation potentially leading to the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam.

•  Various individual and/or group skill-building activities such as case studies, or exercises toward critical analysis of course concepts.
• Written assignments and presentation formats designed to integrate course material into personal experience or experiences of others.
• Exams comprised of essay and/or objective questions, and complete an individual comprehensive project plan and /or team project or paper, which requires integration, application, and critical examination of course concepts, issues, and themes.

Themes
Project design focuses on meeting customer needs and reaching key deliverables
Effective project presentation is a critical part of communication with stakeholders.
Project Management professionals can earn a professional designation to solidify credentials.
General Concepts
Project management
Foundation: supporting organizational mission and goals to interface with the statement of work and project charter.
Proposal formats
Kick-off meetings
Charter components: scope, objectives, alternatives, cost analysis
Team building skills
Schedule: work breakdown structure, tasks, deliverables, milestones, network diagrams, critical path, Gantt Charts
Software applications and options
Tracking and control systems
Closeout and follow-on tasks
Archival and communication with key stakeholders and project sponsor
Time management skills
Presentation skills
Issues
Project managers often coordinate numerous functions with no direct authority
Frequent changes in project technology requires adjustment and adaptability
Skills
Planning a project
Setting goals
Determining project scope, objectives, risk profile, payback analysis
Preparing linear responsibility matrix for task assignments
Developing alternative project scenarios
Developing action plans for tracking progress, monitoring costs, revising schedules, redrafting budgets, establishing time lines
Developing a communication plan
Using internet/intranet communications
Presenting project plans and progress reports
Building project teams
Leading project teams