PMP 0400 - Project Management Essentials

This course is an introductory course to Project Management, built upon the project management best practices contained in the current version of the Project Management Institute’s (PMI’s) A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)® and PMI Practice Standards. Participants will learn project management terminology, the PMI framework for project value delivery, and how to tailor the framework for use in their business using traditional, agile, and hybrid project development life cycles. Through hands-on exercises and a running case study, participants will apply globally-recognized project delivery principles that reinforce concepts to which the student is exposed in class.

Participants will be introduced to the essential skills, models, methods, and artifacts employed in modern project management. Emphasis is placed on gaining practical experience that ensures successful project performance.

This course is designed to be taken either as a stand-alone course or as the first course in the Mason Project Management Certificate program. If taken as part of the Certificate program, foundational concepts to which the student is introduced in the Essentials course are expanded upon in the subsequent courses.

Course Topics

• Introduction to Project Management: The PMI Framework
• Project Selection
• Building the Team
• Organizing the Project
• Planning the Work
• Performing the Work
• Monitoring / Controlling the Work
• Closing the Project
• Assessing Business Value

Attendees will be provided the following materials in an electronic format:

• Course presentation materials
• Course case study and workbook
• Compendium of printed reference materials
• Course exercises and answer keys

Benefits

• Annual surveys, commissioned by PMI, demonstrate PMP credential holders enjoy higher salaries and access to greater professional opportunities than non-credentialed project managers.
• Small class size encourages an interactive learning environment.
• Gain from experience and insights of course instructors who each have over 25 years of proven executive and project management experience in a variety of industries, including finance, energy, environmental, construction, defense, and information technology.
• Learn in an environment that relates theory to relevant work situations and employs real-world case studies, group projects, and discussions to enhance learning.
• Network with other project management professionals.

Instructors

• Kris Allen, PE, PMP
• Bruce Falk, PMP
• Susan Finn, PMP*
• Michael Sands, PMP
• Alan Zucker, PMP, PMI-ACS, CSP

100% attendance and participation are expected from participants.

It is highly recommended (but not required) that the Essentials of Project Management course be taken first when participating in the Project Management Certificate Series. Remaining Certificate courses may be taken in any order.

Managers and mid-level professionals faced with increasing pressures to improve organizational performance should take this course. This course is also intended for individuals who aspire to be project managers and recently assigned project managers.

For existing managers, the course provides a refresher course on the state-of-the-art of project management. Course participants should have had some exposure to project management processes and techniques.

For individuals seeking to pass the Project Management Professional (PMP®) Certification examination offered by Project Management Institute, this course serves as the foundation course prior to taking the George Mason course: PMP 0401: Project Management Certification: PMP® Exam Preparation.