XLC’s Project Management Certificate Program is built on the content and processes found in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) – Sixth Edition. This highly interactive program develops the essential skills and real-world practices required for project managers to be successful, delivering projects on time, on budget, and according to specifications.

An emphasis is placed on projects being processed with gates or quality checkpoints embedded within these processes. Not all projects are the same — they range from capital assets projects where the endpoint is known to IT and development projects where the endpoint is somewhat vague.

Successfully deliver your projects on time, on budget, and according to specifications by:

Developing an applied understanding of the principles, processes, and tools of project management and how to leverage them in your real-world environment
Understanding the needs and requirements of key stakeholders to effectively define project scope and deliverables
Learning how to utilize the project management process and tools to control elements of the project, such as cost, scope, and scheduling
Effectively leveraging resources such as team members, project sponsor, and project management tools
Incorporating risk management and contingency planning into your project

To successfully complete the Xavier Project Management Certificate program and earn a digital badge, you will apply program learnings by completing homework after each of the 3 modules. The homework will be reviewed by the program facilitator.

Program Schedule:

February 27, 2023
March 1, 2023
March 27, 2023
March 29, 2023
April 24, 2023
April 26, 2023

Module I: Understanding the Project Process

Being a member of a project team requires a complete understanding of the project process and the terminology and roles inherent to it. What is a project? How are projects organized? How do I manage risks? What are the roles and expected deliverables? How do I control quality?

The answers to these questions can be found in the two-day Understanding the Project Processmodule of our Project Management Series. By attending this program, participants will learn how to define a project in terms of business need, project objectives, project deliverables, and risk. Participants will also be given typical project life cycles.

Module II: Project Planning and Scheduling

Planning and scheduling are critical aspects of the project management process. In predictive projects, keeping the project focused, on budget, and on time is necessary in order to achieve successful completion. Project planning and scheduling are ways of keeping things moving in the desired direction and at the desired pace.

Adaptive projects also require planning. Understanding backlog development and iterative planning is essential to maximizing customer value.

Project Planning and Scheduling will focus on planning the project before “rushing off” to completion. It will teach participants how to develop a work breakdown structure, an activity-based schedule, and how to cover contingency planning.

Module III: Project Execution and Control

Execution and control are the final stages of the project management process. It is at this point in the process that the project team can see and evaluate the results of their work. But the task of managing the project is still not complete.

This final segment, Project Execution and Control, presents tools and techniques used in monitoring project execution. It will show participants how to determine where or if adjustments in the project execution must be made. It will also focus on the areas of progress tracking, updating the project plan, managing changes, and calculating earned value.

Participants will walk away with these skills:

Defining a project
Organizing projects
Identifying risks associated with projects
Knowing the roles and responsibilities in the project management process
Defining and understanding a project’s expected deliverables (predictive projects)
Controlling quality
Chartering a project team
Understanding the Project Management framework, knowledge areas, and project life cycles
Using a work breakdown system
Utilizing steps to successful activity-based scheduling
Covering risk contingencies
Creating a milestone schedule
Estimating required resources
Staffing up and staffing down resources during a project
Defining a backlog, scope and deliverables
Defining interim deliverables for each final deliverable using life cycle stages
Measuring quality criteria for each interim deliverable
Creating a table of reviews and approvals
Reviewing project team membership for gaps and overlaps
Managing changing requirements
Updating the project plan effectively
Calculating earned value
Knowing the appropriate role of the Project Manager during project execution
Tracking project progress
Monitoring cost, schedule and quality
Dealing with project adjustments, change management, and recovery
Defining and managing “scope creep”
Utilizing project reporting techniques
Managing project closeout processes