Are you looking to develop your skills as a future project manager? Have you recently been appointed as project team leader?
The module 'Managing Projects' offers you a best-practice framework in which to learn and apply project management skills. You should plan to join the course with a distinct project in mind. This can be either a workplace-based project, one you are involved in or about to start, or a private project which you wish to carry out on a personal basis.
Examples of previous workplace projects have encompassed many different sectors from IT, finance, 3rd world development, marketing and business development to the more exotic world of Sinology! Examples of previous private projects have included costing options to install solar panels in a private house, the risks and benefits of becoming self-employed, and designing the optimal path for career development.
To run successful projects, managers need to cope with a range of activities and to develop a range of personal qualities and skills. The module starts with the premise that a project is a one-off, non-repeated set of tasks that achieves stated objectives within a set timeframe.
We look at who project stakeholders are, goal-setting, risks and constraints, processes, and how to measure progress against project performance indicators:
- Project preparation including stakeholder analysis
- Project planning using a range of planning tools
- Financial considerations and appraisal
- Managing projects through people including the personal skills needed by project managers
- Implementation processes and the importance of communication
- Project completion, evaluation and “lessons learned”
Learning targets
You will discover and apply a number of different ways in which projects can be set up and organised and enhance your own capabilities to manage them effectively.
By the end of the course you will have:
- applied a six-step model of project management
- defined the scope of a project in conjunction with stakeholders
- worked with risk assessment and project planning tools
- defined project steps, processes and expected outcomes in order to measure success
- considered the qualities needed by successful project managers
- created a personal self-development plan for the future
This module has been developed in cooperation with the Open University Business School (OUBS).
