Examine ways to implement corrective action to get troubled projects back on track and successfully completed. Understanding both the human and process dimensions of successfully assessing and recovering challenged projects is key. You will learn to determine the symptoms of a challenged project, create an assessment and recovery process, and prevent future project failure. In addition, you will practice the concepts and knowledge you have gained through team exercises.

Discover how successful project leaders proactively manage stakeholder relationships and apply leadership and communication skills that propel a project forward with confidence. You will learn to develop skills to optimize your team’s effectiveness by assessing and tailoring your personal leadership style. Examine how to develop a high-performing team and discuss what motivates team members. Learn to identify and remove barriers to team performance, including conflict management, and explore factors and techniques for making timely and appropriate decisions. You will gain hands-on experience applying the proven methods of leadership and communication that work best for your environment and project team.

Develop core competencies in interpersonal skills such as fostering self-understanding, team building, motivation, and conflict resolution to better manage teams. You will gain a better understanding of what drives team performance and how to build and sustain your high-performing team through team assessment, role-play activities, and discussions designed to encourage self-reflection.

Explore leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for data-driven decision-making within the federal government. Examine the importance of AI in analyzing federal datasets, discuss the ethical and regulatory frameworks governing AI, and learn about the opportunities and risks associated with AI in federal agencies. Emphasis is placed on understanding data privacy concerns, integrating AI into decision support systems, and implementing AI-leveraged solutions effectively. Through case studies, discussions, and real-world examples, gain a deep understanding of AI-supported data analytics to drive innovation and efficiency in federal agencies, equipping you with the knowledge to be a leader in data-driven governance.

Discover how earned value management is a powerful tool for not only capturing and analyzing relevant numbers but managing projects and programs to improve visibility and control. You will learn to identify cost and schedule overruns, compare actual work against baselines, and identify risk warning signs.

Learn the strategies needed to meet the unique challenges associated with complex projects and how to apply proven techniques and best practices in a specific and systematic way. This course will introduce you to a recommended complex project management process based on research. You will apply project management principles and techniques by working in small groups and reflecting on possible approaches to managing real projects within your organization.

Examine how to effectively build and manage stakeholder relationships through planning and monitoring engagement. You will practice using tools designed to discover and manage stakeholder and team expectations. You will leave class with a Stakeholder Engagement Planner to record specific plans to apply to your projects.

Learn how to create strategic mission and vision statements that achieve objectives by merging techniques from the world of business strategy and applying them to project management. You will discover ways to plan and craft a strategy, and then execute, monitor, and control that strategy. With exercises in which you reflect on past projects, you will leave class with a more strategic-focused mindset.

Learn best practices for effective program management, including making decisions that accomplish strategic objectives and managing change and risks. A hands-on experience will give you the tools and practice you need to build your expertise and realize program success. This course is in alignment with The Standard for Program Management as defined by the Project Management Institute (PMI).

Explore how effective portfolio management requires more than just managing separate portfolio components and measuring return on investment (ROI). It requires an approach that ensures the different components within the portfolio support each other in meeting overall organizational goals. You will gain the tools and techniques to manage time, cost, and resources across the portfolio to ultimately improve performance. Through team-based exercises, you will apply processes, create deliverables, and understand the value of portfolio management and the portfolio management office (PMO).

Learn the most effective ways to design, charter, and utilize an Integrated Project Team (IPT) to increase the project’s production of acceptable deliverables for stakeholders and end users. While IPTs have become a standard requirement for many federal government project and program environments, some audits have shown that many IPTs are in name only. Discover techniques to ensure the proper implementation of an IPT to meet both statutory and regulatory requirements. The concept of deploying IPTs covers both IT and non-IT programs/projects and can, if properly implemented, provide significant benefits to federal agencies and departments.

Explore how value is a key driver in the decisions and management of projects and programs. You will gain insights into how value-driven project management shapes stakeholder perceptions of business, strategic, and operational outcomes. You will learn the necessary knowledge and methods to integrate value-driven principles effectively into your project and program management work.