Grow from ideas into results: project approach
Project activity without basic knowledge is similar to cleaning after an active holiday. Initially, it is scary about the amount of work to be done, then procrastination sets in against the background of complexity, and only the last couple of hours (after the deadline set for itself) is fruitful, although often under the motto “It will do so!”. Imagine that any new business can be started not with a panic “Where to get ideas ?!”, “Where to start?”, “How to do everything, this is a colossal job ..!”, dut with planned movements towards the desired result. To do this, you just need to have in the arsenal a set of tools and approaches that gives the course "Basics of project activities".
The course will be useful to a wide range of specialists. It doesn’t matter what you do - you write film scripts, do research, design buildings, develop applications or modernize production. After completing the course, it will be easier for you not only to solve professional tasks, but also not to be afraid to implement new abstract ideas, since concrete steps to implement them will be clear.
Starting with a general idea of what a project activity is, the course will gradually give you the step-by-step guide and answers to often intuitively unclear questions:
- Why the result of the project was not what was planned? How to plan results before they appear?
- What to do when dissonance occurs in the team, and does the discord mean that the team has no future?
- How to configure the work of remote teams without losing speed and level of results?
- What and when should be done so that the project is completed within the timeline, budget and content? What if something goes wrong? How to provide for it?
- How to turn a speculative view of potential risks into a working tool to prevent their negative impact?
Meanwhile, the course is not about project management, but about the project approach; It gives only a general idea of the existing standards in the field of project management. You can delve into their study after obtaining practical experience in applying the fundamentals of project activities, because knowledge in itself, for example, of popular flexible methodologies does not guarantee success.
To increase the effectiveness of learning materials, we recommend to choose a simple project before starting the course: something close to you from everyday life or professional activity (arrangement of bicycle parking, website development, etc.). During passing of a course use the considered tools to the chosen project. You can share your results on the forum and get feedback from curators and course instructors.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, the learner is expected to be able to:
- Form a system view of the project done by a team, by means of effective communication, planning, budgeting, and considering project risks.
- Generate problem-solving ideas and communicate them effectively.
- Understand how to organize teamwork and collaboration with stakeholders at each of the project life-cycle.
- Select appropriate project management methodologies and execute all of the activities of a life-cycle project.
- Supervise and evaluate project progress as a team or a stakeholder.
