Optimize Projects and Processes

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Optimize Projects and Processes

This course is part of Lead for Results: From Planning to Execution Specialization

Instructor: Harvard Business Review

Included with

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3 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Intermediate level

Some related experience required

2 weeks to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

3 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Intermediate level

Some related experience required

2 weeks to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

Define project objectives and scope
Develop a realistic project schedule and budget
Manage project risks, and communicate effectively with stakeholders
Analyze, monitor and improve business processes

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Learn more about Coursera for Business

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Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Lead for Results: From Planning to Execution Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 3 modules in this course

Effective project management and strategic process improvement are two powerful ways you can help your team perform well In this course, you'll learn how to manage projects effectively, enabling you to achieve strategic goals, minimize company costs, and ensure the timely completion of tasks. You’ll also find out how to boost productivity by analyzing and improving your team’s processes.

Effective project management can take an organization to new and greater heights. By managing projects well, you can achieve strategic goals, minimize company costs, and ensure tasks get completed on time.

What's included

9 videos47 readings1 assignment

9 videos Total 26 minutes

How to Manage Project Teams 2 minutes
Run a Disciplined Innovation Experiment 3 minutes
Listen for Your Clients’ Real Needs 3 minutes
How to Manage Scope Creep 3 minutes
Why You Need a Project Plan 3 minutes
Be Less of a Boss and More of a Coach 3 minutes
The Equation for Change 3 minutes
A Roadmap to Better Project Management 3 minutes
Why Postmortems Are Essential 3 minutes

47 readings Total 470 minutes

Understand Project Management 10 minutes
Project management defined 10 minutes
Benefits 10 minutes
A four-phase process 10 minutes
Overlapping activities 10 minutes
Establish Project Scope 10 minutes
Define the problem 10 minutes
Identify stakeholders 10 minutes
Define objectives 10 minutes
Anticipate trade-offs 10 minutes
Estimate project resources 10 minutes
Create a project charter 10 minutes
Develop a Schedule and Budget 10 minutes
Define a schedule 10 minutes
Steps for drafting your project schedule 10 minutes
Optimize your schedule 10 minutes
Scheduling systems 10 minutes
Create a budget 10 minutes
Assemble Your Project Team 10 minutes
Understand your role 10 minutes
Recruit your team 10 minutes
Assign people to tasks 10 minutes
Anticipate people problems 10 minutes
Manage Project Risks 10 minutes
Understand risk management 10 minutes
Conduct a risk audit 10 minutes
Avoid or minimize risk 10 minutes
Develop contingency plans 10 minutes
Monitor Project Progress and Problems 10 minutes
Understand project monitoring 10 minutes
Manage your team 10 minutes
Address team challenges 10 minutes
Monitor budget 10 minutes
Monitor schedule 10 minutes
Monitor scope 10 minutes
Monitor quality 10 minutes
Communicate with Stakeholders 10 minutes
Benefits 10 minutes
Launch meeting 10 minutes
Team meetings 10 minutes
Progress reports 10 minutes
Regular updates 10 minutes
Close Out a Project 10 minutes
Post-project evaluation 10 minutes
Lessons learned 10 minutes
Final report 10 minutes
Celebration 10 minutes

1 assignment Total 30 minutes

Project Management 30 minutes

Your organization creates value for customers through a series of activities. Ensure you and your team are at your most productive by understanding the processes you are part of and redesigning them to enhance your organization’s performance.

What's included

9 videos34 readings1 assignment

9 videos Total 24 minutes

Fixing Potholes 4 minutes
Distinguish Good Failures from Bad Ones 2 minutes
The Best Response to Customer Complaints 2 minutes
The 5 Whys 3 minutes
Empower Your Customer-Facing Employees 3 minutes
Five Ways to Measure Performance 3 minutes
Haste Makes Waste 3 minutes
Simplicity 2 minutes
Getting a Return on Improvement 2 minutes

34 readings Total 340 minutes

Understand Business Process Improvement 10 minutes
What is a business process? 10 minutes
Formal and informal processes 10 minutes
Adopt a process mindset 10 minutes
Defining business process improvement 10 minutes
What triggers BPI? 10 minutes
The BPI process 10 minutes
Plan a Process Improvement 10 minutes
Process improvement steps 10 minutes
Detect signs of trouble 10 minutes
Select a process to improve 10 minutes
Define scope, goals, and schedule 10 minutes
Assemble your team 10 minutes
Get everyone on board 10 minutes
Analyze the Process 10 minutes
Map the existing process 10 minutes
Identify problems 10 minutes
Interview stakeholders 10 minutes
Benchmark best practices 10 minutes
Redesign the Process 10 minutes
Envision a better process 10 minutes
Test your ideas 10 minutes
Weigh implications 10 minutes
Document the redesign 10 minutes
Invite stakeholder input 10 minutes
Implement the New Process 10 minutes
Acquire resources 10 minutes
Address obstacles 10 minutes
Roll out the process 10 minutes
Continually Improve the Process 10 minutes
Measure performance 10 minutes
Track performance 10 minutes
Take needed action 10 minutes
Revise your metrics and targets 10 minutes

1 assignment Total 30 minutes

Process Improvement 30 minutes

What's included

2 assignments

Earn a career certificate

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Share it on social media and in your performance review.

Instructor

Harvard Business Review

24 Courses 12,248 learners

Offered by

Harvard Business Review

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