Project Management Course ( Module 1)

Getting started with the program

Video: Welcome Google Project Management Certificate
What exactly is project management? Project Management is the application
of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques that meet project requirements
and achieve the desired outcome.

Reading: Program and course Overview

1. Foundations of Project Management
2. Project Initiation: Starting a successful Project
3. Project Planning: Putting it All Together
4. Project Execution: Running the Project
5. Agile Project Management
6. Capstone: Applying Project Management in the Real World

Reading: Helpful Resources

Providing feedback on course content such as Videos, readings, and
materials. Open the resource and look for the thumbs-up and thumbs-down
symbols.
 Click thumbs-up for materials that are helpful.
 Click thumbs-up for materials that are not helpful.
Flag specific issues with items that, click flag icon, select a category, and
then optionally type explanation in text box.
Feedback goes to developers to create even better programs in the future.
To receive official Google Project Management Certificate, you must:
 Pass all graded assignments in all 6 courses of the certificate program.
Each graded assignment is part of cumulative graded score for the
course and pass each course with at least an 80%.
And ONE of the following:
 Pay course certificate fee
 Be approved for Coursera Financial Aid, Or
 Complete certificate through educational institution, employer, or
agency sponsoring your participation.
Helpful habits to successfully complete the certificate
Learners bring all past experiences and best learning practices to the
program. Designers put it all together for helpful habits that they believe will
help you be successful:
1. Plan your time
- Set a regular study time each week
- Use a calendar/ timetable for a scheduling
- List what you plan to do each week to break down the work in
achievable goals
- Create a quiet place to watch the videos, review readings, and
complete activities to really focus on the material.
2. Be curious
- If an idea gets you excited, act on it!
- Ask questions, search details online, check out links that interest
you, take notes on discoveries you find
- Little things support your learning along the way will take your
knowledge even further, open more doors in high-growth field, and
help qualify for jobs
3. Take notes
- Notes are useful to remember information that will be important in
the future
- Especially preparing to enter a new job field
- Taking notes is an effective way to connect between topics and gain
better understanding of the topics
4. Build your career identity
- Career identity is unique value you bring to the workforce
- Discover and define your own career identity making you better
equipped to choose a career path that aligns with your strengths,
values, and goals and it’s more effective in your chosen profession
5. Study together
- Its hard finding time to progress through Google Career Certificate with
life’s distractions
- Live study sessions hosted Monday-Thursday offering dedicated time
and space to focus on coursework along side a community of peer
- Study Group is optional for learners
6. Connect with other learners
- Reach out in the discussion forum to ask for help from other learners in
the program
- Visit Coursera’s private Google Project Management Community,
expand your network, discuss career journeys, and share experiences
- Check out quick start guide
7. Update your profile
- Update profile on Coursera
 - Link appears in the menu when you click on your name at top right
corner of screen
- Classmates find you in discussion forums, they click on your name to
view your profile and get to know you more

EXPLORE PROJECT MANAGEMENT ROLES

Securing a high-demand position as a Project Manager is the greatest benefit
in the project management field that encompasses a wide variety of position
across numerous industries. As the certification is completed, I will acquire
skills that qualify me for various job titles. Discussing different project
management job categories and common roles within those categories.
Describing great potential for career progression in project management,
from entry-level positions to senior program management roles, and the
many opportunities in between.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT JOB CATEGORIES/COMMON

ROLES
Intro-level project management roles
Entry-level project management position is an opportunity to get your foot
in the door and learn the ins and outs of ways companies operate and
manage projects. Lessons learned from experiences are extremely valuable
in your growth in project management. Some entry-level project
management positions include:

Junior Project Manager: Performing all aspects of a project

manager alongside a more experienced professional.
Project Administrator: Assisting the project team with
administrative tasks.
Project/Program Assistant: Support team members with
working on project and offers administrative support. Performs
research or create training documents along with other jobs assigned
by program leaders.
Project/Program Coordinator: Participates in hands-on project
work and administrative tasks. Work under supervision of a project
manager making sure projects complete on time and within budget.
Project Support Specialist: Works along side project managers
and team members overseeing assigned projects. May be responsible
for training and developing employees performing designated tasks.

TRADITIONAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT ROLES

 Once gained some experience in introductory-level positions, explore
traditional project management roles, such as:
 Project Manager: Project initiator, planner, executor, monitor, and
closeout manager. Project managers can possess skills that are
transferable to other industries. Examples include IT project
managers, construction project managers, and engineering project
managers.
 Project Analyst: Providing information, supporting the analysis of
data, and contributing to the strategy and performance of a
project.
 Project Leader/Director: Ensures that key decisions are made
and that the project is heading in the right direction. Product- and
deliverable-knowledgeable.
 Project Controller: The primary responsibility of this position is to
plan projects. A job title like this can be found in industries such as
engineering and construction.
 Technical Project Manager: Identifying and managing company
goals through project planning and management. Provides timely
and cost-effective completion of projects according to requirements.
 Project Management Office (PMO) Analyst: Manages
progression of complex project to ensure timely execution and
completion.

PROGRAM AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT ROLES

Project Managers are responsible for day-to-day management of projects.
Project managers must apply the right tools, techniques, and processes to
complete projects successfully, on time and within budget.

Project Portfolio
Program
Manager Manager
Manager

Program Managers: Manage a group of projects related to or similar to

one another and handles coordination of those projects. Between the
individual project managers there is an effective communication and
support where it’s necessary. Assist with creating and managing long-
term goals for their organization.
Portfolio Managers: Manages group related programs within the same
organization. They coordinate various programs to ensure they are on
 track and that the organization is meeting its strategic initiatives. Portfolio
managers oversee all projects and programs with the organization and
prioritize work as necessary.
OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT ROLES
 Operations Analyst: Manages, coordinates research, investigates
workflows, creates business procedures, and recommends changes
that would improve the project and company.
 Operations Manager: Oversees strategic decision-making,
financial, schedule, and resource reporting.
 Chief Operating Officer: Oversees day-to-day administrative and
operational functions of a business.
AGILE ROLES
Scrum Master: Coordinates and guides the scrum team. Knowledgeable
in Agile framework and scrum, they’re able to teach others the values and
principles about scrum. They are also listed as Technical Program Manager
or Technical project Manager.
Product Owner: Drives the direction of product development and
progress.

Career goals and next steps

Discussion Prompt
Please respond to one or more of the following questions below:
 Consider your current role and any past positions you’ve held.
Which skills are transferable to a project management career?
When it comes to past positions I have held in the medical field and
learning about the skills needed for a project management career are
quite similar and its very mind blowing to me. The skills I have learned
in the medical field are adaptability, communication, time
management, interpersonal skills, teamwork, communication skills,
collaboration, patience, and organization \and learned that all those
skills are also significant in a project management career.
 Consider the different project management job categories
discussed in the reading. Which categories interest you most?
Why?
Considering there are tons of project management job categories that
were discussed in the reading, the ones that interest me the most were
project manager (of course), project controller, IT project manager,
construction project manager, Project/ program coordinator, and
engineer project manager. Project Management caught my eye
because the responsibilities that they hold require a lot of patience and
flexibility. I am a person who loves to see things from start to finish and
one of there roles is to oversee the projects from beginning to finish.
Project controller’s role is for project planning, and I love planning
so I figured that it would be something I can look more into because
it’s in my alley way. It is also seen in construction and engineering. IT
project manager was the very first career path I wanted to be part of
because I consider myself proficient when it comes to dealing with
technology. I am always trying to help my mom or grandparents with
fixing their devices. Construction project manager because when in
this career path you have to learn to take responsibility for the failure
or success of a project. Then, you also got to be willing to analyze,
think critically, and prepare something new. You always must be on
your toes eager and hungry to learn new ways to make you better.
Project/Program Coordinator is a hands-on project work style and
administrative tasks. Even though you work under a project manager
doesn’t make you any less significant. You must make sure projects are
completed on time and within the budget. Kinesthetic-INTJ learner is
how I learn and to be in this career path you have to be a hands-on
learner. Engineer project management role is to plan, direct,
coordinate development of new products, designs, and processes or
offerings. They are expected to lead the research and development
stage of projects, creating detailed project plans, proposing budgets,
and staffing and equipment needs. With all I love designing new things
and figuring out how they work this is in my will house and makes me
confident that I would be very successful in this career path as well.

Using buzzwords in your job search

So now know how to start looking for project management jobs! Job
searching can be an opportunity for self-reflection, progress, and
enthusiasm. When it comes to changing careers, it might be
intimidating. We're about to provide you with some tips to help you
with your job hunt, including an introduction to some frequent phrases
and talents that appear in job descriptions.
Job descriptions list specific skills required for candidates to have. Skills
become the term you use in your job search: Example skills include:
Coordination: Getting people and teams to work together. In the job
description under responsibilities, you will see “coordination of efforts
to achieve project deliverable” or “coordinate internal resources to
ensure successful project completion.” Project managers essentially
manage the coordination of resources to achieve end goals.
Coordination is a top skill as a project manager, so search for the terms
to lead you in the appropriate positions.
Organization: or the ability to maintain concentrate on multiple
projects. You may come across phrases like "solid organizational skills,
including attention to detail and multitasking skills" or something as
basic as "highly organized." Being an excellent project manager
requires a strong sense of organization. In the following classes, we will
go over a variety of techniques to improve this skill.
Leadership: Having the ability to lead a group of individuals. Job
descriptions may include language like "strong leadership qualities" or
"ability to lead". A project manager must demonstrate leadership in a
variety of ways, including excellent planning, efficient task
coordination, motivating team members, and making critical decisions.
In this program, you are developing many of the abilities required to be
an effective leader!

SKILLS

Job Responsibilities
 Common project management buzzwords
Including buzzwords and skills in your job search will help you locate
opportunities that are a good fit for you and your skill set. When you've
located a position, you want to apply for, highlighting buzzwords and
talents that are related to the job might assist recruiters and hiring
managers recognize you as a competent applicant.

common project management-related

buzzwords/skills included on your resume are:
 Analytical
 Assertive
 Assessing outcomes
 Assessing progress
 Attention to detail
 Conflict resolution
 Collaborative
 Coordination
 Communication
 Development
 Evaluation
 Executing plans
 Financial analysis
 Impact assessment
 Leadership engagement
 Managing meetings
 Managing client expectations
 Managing conflicts
 Managing relationships with stakeholders
 Managing vendors
 Meeting deadlines
 Monitoring
 Multitasking
 Planning
 Prioritizing
 Problem-solving
 Process development
 Process improvement
 Project coordination
 Project implementation
 Project initialization
 Project planning
 Project reporting
 Quality control
 Risk assessment
 Risk management
 Solution development
 Strategic planning
 Strong interpersonal skills
 Strong verbal communication
 Strong written communication
What a project manager does video
Which of the following are important project management responsibilities?
Planning
Managing Tasks
Budgeting
Controlling costs
Roles and responsibilities of a project manager video
As a project manager at a small construction firm, your responsibilities
include planning and organizing the start of new buildings. Which of the
following activities does planning and organizing involve?

Exploring project management roles

As you search for project management roles, you may see a variety of
industry-specific positions with titles like “engineering project manager” or
“construction project manager.” Why is it possible for a project manager to
move between industries?
. Transferable skills are abilities that can be used in many different jobs and
career paths. Your transferable skills can likely be utilized in project
management roles in many other industries.