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University of Maryland, College Park

Program Management Fundamentals – Governing with Excellence to Drive Strategic Change

University of Maryland, College Park via edX

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Overview

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Programs fail before they start, and there is a good reason for that. The relationships amongst portfolios, programs, and projects are not understood well nor is the role of programs in achieving change aspirations.

  • Today nearly 70% of Digital Transformation programs fail and the reasons seem to be addressed as a guessing game;
  • The likelihood of being in the 30% successful bucket hinges on the leadership qualities of the program team and the clear program vision and purpose supported by value-driven roadmaps.

In this course, you will learn key program management principles, leadership skills, roles, mechanics, and supporting cultural attributes. This will provide you, over four weeks, the foundational understanding of the program management and program lifecycle role in executing strategies, successfully driving initiatives, developing an exploring mindset, and uncovering program management fundamental templates and toolsets, such as the Work Breakdown Structure, and skill sets, such as customer focus, applied in the real world.

Syllabus

Week 1: The first week starts with understanding the value of programs in the delivery of charters’ strategic outcomes from individual projects with excellence. A case example, coupled with a focus on the role of the conductor, will be used in learning how to drive and tailor the delivery of programs to achieve speed and quality of decisions and simulate complexity for better quality customer-centered solutions and outputs.

Week 2: The second week explores the future changemakers and how world organizations use change management in achieving strategic results from related projects, and how change management and excellence models cover the gaps leaders miss when they tackle change programs such as digital transformation or new product introductions. The week also covers insights shared in PMWJ publication on the value of integrated decision-making and a model of digital transformation that combines culture, systems, and people attributes.

Week 3: The third week gets into the importance of the role of the program sponsor as the driver for the big picture and the clear mission of the PMO. Program management needs will be best uncovered with the application of tiers of stakeholders in organizing a program’s focus. Connected program goals, project interdependencies, and the developed mindset and discipline needed for program leaders to think again for a change, will directly link to achieving business objectives.

Week 4: The last week pivots to look at how getting to an end-2-end joint vision and clear strategic goals can inspire focus and commitment to the strategic plan and achieving program value. The program management office builds on the principles and methodologies of the project management institute. Successful programs will rely not only on effective cost management but also on how empathy and human connection are critical ingredients to the integrated program way of working, and the course finishes with tips for context validation’s role in programs success.

Taught by

Al Zeitoun

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Reviews

4.2 rating, based on 23 Class Central reviews

4.7 rating at edX based on 7 ratings

Start your review of Program Management Fundamentals – Governing with Excellence to Drive Strategic Change

  • Anonymous
    The course gives a solid background on Project Management basics, the instructor is knowledgeable and clearly understands the subject matter. The content delivery is however a bit stiff and could be more engaging.
  • Anonymous
    The course does successfully teach foundations of program management, with reference and notes well provided.
  • Anonymous
    Very informative and well structured course .I really recommend people working in management advance their skills.
  • Anonymous
    Good introduction to program management. Content was presented in a digestible manner, not too overwhelming. I appreciate the use of examples throughout the course, which helped illustrate theoretical concepts with real-world applications. The know…
  • Anonymous
    There are a lot of buzz words used but not much of substance. It's not quite helpful, give you only a general and very vague idea on any concept mentioned. The study cases are not explained well.
  • Anonymous
    Great and amazing introduction to the contentsn and principales of Program Management. The information, videos, quiz are the best quality and are adapted the projects. Overall it was a positive course. Congratulations, I liked the program.
  • Anonymous
    The course was beneficial as an introduction to Program management. It included a good blend of information on how to drive change across the enterprise and how to improve as a leader in the program space.
  • Anonymous
    The course was beneficial as an introduction to Program management. It included a good blend of information on how to drive change across the enterprise and how to improve as a leader in the program space.
  • Abdul Ghani El Bizri
    Very comprehensive course, but I recommend having the ability to easily download all the summaries as currently, it has to be done manually by copy-pasting them or printing them which is a hassle.
  • Anonymous
    Great course with relevant updated PM information. I liked the comment related to how the PM world moves from governance and gates to behaviors such as trust, discipline and team work!
  • Profile image for Amy D
    Amy D
    Great course to give you an overview of program management and how change and project management integrate. Good review of portfolios. Instructor's videos were valuable and interesting.
  • Anonymous
    There is a discrepancy between the Videos, written summaries and quizzes/tests. In addition, even though I verified, there's no way to download the course summary for future needs.
  • Anonymous
    I found the course interesting for consolidating a lot of views in management and bringing them to bear on program management - it was an eye-opener as far as knowledge integration goes.
  • Profile image for Ashish Kumar
    Ashish Kumar
    The Course is very well designed and informative. It covers all the relevant topics required to initiate the career path in Program Management. Would strongly recommend it.
  • Anonymous
    Very good topics, but very high level. If you know the basics, it is good, and you can check the topics covered in depth by yourself
  • Anonymous
    Great introduction to the core principles of Program Management. The instructor Mr. Zeitoun knows his stuff and is energetic, and the case studies and material all appear to be up-to-date and in line with the latest PM industry thinking. The class materials and quizzes would benefit from an editor, however, because the grammar and wording is quite vague and imprecise in places. Nonetheless it is a decent introduction-level course.
  • Anonymous
    Overall it was a positive course. I think some parts were hard to follow, maybe that's just from being new to program management but I felt this was a course designed for beginners so I wish some of the components broke things down into easier language. Videos were hard to follow at times. Overall some great components and notes to pull out and research further to continue to strengthen my Program Management skills.
  • Anonymous
    The course is best for those who are new to program management or if you are looking at additional learning with the recent changes in the way we work. There were references to models and strategies that a beginner would benefit more from with adequate time. I felt like some contents were rushed and connections were not as clear as they could have been. The reference list at the end of each class is perfect!
  • Publius 108
    Great class - very informative lectures delivered in a thought-provoking manner. I liked the course leader's energy level and contemporary examples. Highly recommend this course for anyone interested in Change Management and especially the importance of communication in achieving successful outcomes.
  • Anonymous
    The instructor teaches and makes us think about what we really need to be a successful program manager. I really liked the energy and how the instructor uses real cases. I have applied many concepts in my work as a project and program manager, and I am looking forward to start the next course.
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