• The Open University

Project Management: Beyond the Basics

Build your existing project management knowledge and develop the skills to manage teams and deliver effective projects.

45,018 enrolled on this course

Image showing lots of sketches and post-it notes that relate to project management

Project Management: Beyond the Basics

45,018 enrolled on this course

  • 4 weeks

  • 3 hours per week

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Intermediate level

Find out more about how to join this course

Learn how to lead project teams with success

Digital transformation and the rise of large scale infrastructure projects has created a growing demand for more project-oriented jobs worldwide. On this course, you will go beyond the fundamentals of project management and improve your knowledge so you’re better prepared to lead projects in the future.

You will focus on ensuring your projects deliver the intended benefits to stakeholders whilst being on time and within budget. You will learn how to choose the best approach to projects and develop the leadership and management skills needed to grow effective project teams.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 17 seconds Welcome to this course on

Skip to 0 minutes and 19 seconds Project Management: Beyond the Basics There is a growing need for project management skills. Indeed, many of the learners who completed the first course asked for more learning on project management. As more and more people work and lead the projects, it becomes important that they acquire not only technical skills but also the softer skills involved in being successful. This course focuses on more than the fundamental techniques. It looks at four different challenges

Skip to 0 minutes and 55 seconds In other words, how do you develop the skills needed to manage a project in the complex context that we operate in now?

Skip to 1 minute and 12 seconds Managing people in projects and successfully leading project teams

Skip to 1 minute and 23 seconds This course was created in collaboration with the Association for Project Management, which is the chartered body for the Project Management profession in the UK. On your journey, you will meet my colleague Matthew Moran who is an experienced Project Manager and he will lead you at weeks two and three. It is important to recognize that this is not a purely academic course. While we are focused on presenting you with models and frameworks that are well supported in project management literature, you will also learn from the experience of several real life Project Managers. They will share their approaches to the different challenges we see in the course.

Skip to 2 minutes and 5 seconds And so this you can aspire to a sort of similar challenges you find in your own work.

Syllabus

  • Week 1

    Becoming an effective project manager

    • Developing as a project manager

      What are the skills you need?

    • Engaging stakeholders

      Finding the right strategy.

    • Working ethically in projects

      Can you make difficult decisions while acting ethically?

    • Check your understanding

      Review your week's learning.

  • Week 2

    Managing projects in a complex world

    • Understanding and responding to complexity

      Frameworks that make sense of a complex world.

    • Linear and iterative projects

      Two different approaches: but when should they be used?

    • Adapting approaches to context

      What happens in practice?

    • Check your understanding

      Review this week's learning.

  • Week 3

    Managing project people

    • Establishing and leading project teams

      How are teams put together – and how do they work?

    • Creating the conditions for project teams to succeed

      What is the project manager's role in creating and supporting a team?

    • Developing and safeguarding team members

      What happens after a project team has been formed?

    • Check your understanding

      Review this week's learning.

  • Week 4

    Managing projects in complex organisations – seeing the bigger picture

    • Managing quality

      Project management means identifying the cost of quality and creating a quality plan.

    • Managing resources

      How will you manage the resources that you use on a project?

    • Managing conflicts

      Conflicts on a project are inevitable. How will you manage them?

    • Check your understanding

      Review your week's learning, and complete the end-of-course test.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Reflect on your current knowledge on project management and go beyond the basics of project management in your own professional practice
  • Identify the appropriate methods and techniques best suited for specific project management scenarios
  • Improve your awareness of the professional skills required to be a project manager
  • Demonstrate your understanding of how to manage project teams with success
  • Improve your ability to give and receive feedback from all project stakeholders
  • Apply appropriate communication tools and techniques to engage with project stakeholders
  • Develop an awareness of the ethical aspects in project management

Who is the course for?

This course is for people working on and leading projects in their work but who may not see themselves as professional project managers. It also offers the opportunity for people to explore project management as a career.

Who will you learn with?

Giacomo is a Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management at The Open University Business School. He holds a work experience in project management both in consulting companies and in EU research projects.

I am Head of Transformation at The Open University and lecturer in the OU Business School, and I speak, write, consult and advise on strategy, project and product management and organisational change

Liz Moody is a Senior Lecturer in the Open University Business School. She has managed a number of large programmes and change projects in a variety of settings and sectors.

Who developed the course?

The Open University

As the UK’s largest university, The Open University (OU) supports thousands of students to achieve their goals and ambitions via supported distance learning, helping to fit learning around professional and personal life commitments.

  • Established

    1969
  • Location

    Milton Keynes, UK
  • World ranking

    Top 510Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020

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Choose the best way to learn for you!

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For the first two months. Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

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  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$134/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible

Limited access

Free

Sample the course materials

  • Access expires 16 Apr 2024

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