Courses

The program curriculum follows content outlined in PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide, Seventh Edition). An expert instructor will introduce and illustrate various project management models, and you will have opportunities to practice and apply skills and competencies through group and individual exercises.

The SMU Project Management Certificate program comprises two integrated modules, Tools and Techniques (24 content hours) and The People Side (16 content hours), which together provide a comprehensive foundation for implementing a project management approach in your work and organization.

In Tools and Techniques, you’ll learn:

• The value of effective project management
• The roles and relationship between strategy, projects, programs, portfolios, and operations
• The six functions of a project manager and the six basic planning elements
• How to use project planning to promote constructive behaviors
• How to initiate a project and define the need, the business case, the project charter
• How to understand stakeholders and requirements
• How to develop the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• How to plan the budget with cost estimation, the budget baseline, budget reserve
• How to effectively communicate progress, problems and corrective actions to stakeholders
• How to manage project risk through identification, analysis and response planning
• How to plan your career using the Project Management Assessment & Action Planning Kit

In The People Side, you’ll learn:

• How to handle leadership challenges including team diversity, pressure risk, leading without authority
• How to develop your team, communicate effectively and empower the team
• To lead in a virtual world with leadership skills like decision making, delegation, negotiation and dealing with difficult people
• Your personal leadership style and how to work with other styles
• Methods to improve communications and make your meetings, reports and emails more effective
• How to manage conflict and motivate others