Project Management & Process Improvement   

Course Overview 

You are responsible for organizing and managing a multifaceted activity involving people from differing specialties to create something brand new. Quality is essential, resources are limited, and time is of the essence - a classic scenario. This course provides the practices, tools, and skills required to manage such an enterprise. The process starts with scoping the project, moves through identifying tasks and estimating resources, and concludes with setting schedules and completing a plan. Working individually and in groups, you will apply and extend your workplace expertise and integrate project management competencies. Tools acquired during this course will be applied in the next certificate course, Implementing Project Management.

 Learning Objectives:

• Have a solid understanding of what PMs do
• Illustrate the flow of managing a project
• Have skills and resources for applying project management best practices
• Grasp work breakdown structure and work package design
• Understand task estimation and prioritization
• Build scopes, Gantt charts and schedules
• Become familiar with the Project Management Institute (PMI) and explore its role in supporting project management
• Explain the difference between project management & Agile/Scrum
• Understand the Triple Constraint and the PMI Talent Triangle
• Possess at least a dozen tools for creating relevant project documents
• Make progress on your own project

Who Should Attend?

The second in the USM Project Management certificate series; this course is designed for people who want a practical "how-to" experience in structuring a successful project. Emphasis is on scoping the project, scheduling project activities, and acquiring scarce resources for project execution. If you are a new or aspiring project leader, this course is for you. Experienced project leaders will walk away with tools to help you optimize your projects. Suggested prerequisite: Introduction to the Practice of Project Management or an equivalent of knowledge.

Additional Information

This is the second course in the series of three project management courses and a leadership elective required for the Project Management Certificate. This course contains three days or 15 hours of classwork and 6 hours of offline work for a total of 21 hours (2.1 CEUs). The registration fee includes all materials.

Digital Badge

A level 2 digital badge may be awarded recognizing that learners completed a comprehensive curriculum, obtained an organized approach to managing a project, and the successful completion of all assignments in the Effective Project Management course.

Course Overview 

This course is the third in the USM Project Management certificate series. It is designed to help project leaders more fully integrate the discipline of project management into their organization. This course provides the concepts, practices, and skills required to face the common workplace project challenges with success. This class will address two important implementation challenges: (1) How can you implement your newly learned project management tools and processes for the specific projects you have been assigned? (2) How can the project leader gain acceptance for project management in your organization, and among co-workers? This course provides opportunities for class participants to examine their organizations' structures, strategies, practices, and history with the perspective of project management best practices.

This course builds on the second course in the certificate series, Effective Project Management.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain skills and gather tools and resources for applying project management best practices
• Develop a persuasive explanation of project management benefits
• Be able to explain project management principles & benefits to non-project managers
• Adopt strategies for managing projects in the workplace
• Acquire tools for project communication
• Value the role relationships play in project management
• Become familiar with the Project Management Institute's® (PMI) Talent Triangle and how it impacts project leaders and projects
• Discuss the essentials of project team leadership
• Examine the causes of project implementation failures

Who Should Attend?

Aspiring project leaders will get a thorough introduction to real project environments, new project leaders will gain useful tools, and experienced project leaders can use this class to optimize their work.

Required prerequisite: Effective Project Management.

Suggested prerequisite: Introduction to the Practice of Project Management

Additional Information

This course builds on the pre-requisite second course in the certificate series, Effective Project Management. It is the third in the series of three project management courses and a leadership elective required for the Project Management Certificate. This course contains 15 hours of classwork and 6 hours of offline work for a total of 21 hours (2.1 CEUs). 

Digital Badge

A level 3 digital badge may be awarded recognizing that learners completed a comprehensive curriculum, obtained an organized approach to managing a project, and the successful completion of all assignments in the Implementing Project Management course.

Course Overview 

Project Management is the application of skills, methodologies, tools and techniques to achieve goals while navigating the uncertainty, risk, and constraints that inevitably impact project work. This course orients individuals considering the field, functional managers running projects, and assigned project managers to the practice of Project Management. Through discussion and team exercises, participants will obtain an overview of frameworks and tools to support project and organizational success, share experiences about common risks and mistakes, and identify key skills and competencies for successful individual practice to apply in their own work settings.

Learning Objectives:

• Orient individuals to the practice of Project Management
• Identify key analysis and Project Management tools and practice applying them
• Discuss organizational maturity, external influences, and the impact of culture on projects
• Share experiences about common risks and mistakes
• Identify key skills and competencies for individuals in a project leadership role 

Who Should Attend?

Anyone considering the field of Project Management, as well as functional managers running projects and assigned project leaders. 

Additional Information

This instructor led, live-online workshop is the first in the series of three project management courses and a leadership elective required for the Project Management Certificate. This course contains 10 hours of classwork and 4 hours of offline work for a total of 14 hours (1.4 CEUs). All materials are included in the registration fee. 

Digital Badge

A level one badge recognizes the learner's interest in developing Project Management knowledge and the successful completion of all assignments in the Introduction to the Practice of Project Management course.

This course is designed for nonprofit executives, senior leaders, board members, and emerging operational leaders who are navigating organizational growth and increasing complexity. The course focuses on what it truly takes to scale a nonprofit organization successfully—not just expanding programs or revenue, but building the leadership, systems, culture, governance, and operational discipline required to sustain long-term impact.

Participants will learn how to assess organizational readiness, avoid common scaling pitfalls, strengthen execution capacity, and lead effectively through periods of growth and transformation. The course is highly participatory and will use an evolving case study to guide discussion, encourage peer learning, and help participants apply course concepts to challenges within their own organizations.

Course Objectives: 

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:   

1. Apply tools and frameworks to assess organizational readiness for sustainable growth.
2. Recognize common operational, cultural, governance, and leadership challenges associated with scaling organizations.
3. Understand how leadership, organizational structure, decision-making, and accountability must evolve as organizations grow.
4. Develop strategies to lead change, strengthen collaboration, and build sustainable operations.

Course Themes:

The course consists of five in-person classes, each 3 hours in length, held over 5 consecutive weeks.

Class 1              Scaling Readiness:  Assessing Organizational Readiness for Growth

Class 2              Professionalizing the Organization:  Structure, Change and Resistance

Class 3              Scaling Leadership: Structure, Accountability and Organizational Design

Class 4              Sustaining Growth:  Governance, Culture, and the Next Operating Model

Class 5              Wrap up and Applied Learning Project Presentations

The final class will synthesize key learnings from the course and provide participants with the opportunity to present an Applied Learning Project focused on a current organizational challenge within their own institution.  Participants will apply course concepts, frameworks, and discussion themes to develop practical recommendations and strategies relevant to their organizational context.