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Politecnico di Milano

Project Management beyond planning and control

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Learn how to manage projects matching the technical and the organizational dimensions of projects

Introduction to Management Engineering series

This MOOC is part of the Introduction to Management Engineering series, which is designed to introduce prospect master students and people interested in managerial disciplines into the key fundamentals of Management Engineering. Through an analytical and engineering approach, the series provides basic concepts and language in the areas of Strategy, Economics, Financial Accounting, Organization, and Operations Management.

The series is the result of a collaborative design between METID, the service of Politecnico di Milano devoted to e-learning and e-collaboration, and the Study Course in Management Engineering.

See the other MOOCs of the series.

If you are a POLIMI student you have to log in using your Person Code. This is the only way to prove your participation in this course for official recognition.

Course description

Project Management is a fundamental theme to understand and work in any business environments. Projects are the organizational way to make innovation happen and to realize any kind of custom solution or to change how an organization work. Project Management is the set of capabilities, skills and tools to properly work on projects. The course aims to define the concept of a project and to show how, in the management of a successful business, project management and process management must coexist and integrate. During the course the project is analyzed as a managerial tool for the management of change and innovation and its links with the company strategy are emphasized.

Total workload of the course: 10 h

This MOOC is provided by Politecnico di Milano.

Information about fees and access to materials

You can access the course absolutely free of charge and completely online.

Course materials will remain available to all enrolled users after the end of the current edition, so they can return to content later. The current course edition will be followed by a new one just after its end.

Learning schedule

The course is structured in 2 weeks:

  • Week 1 – Introduction to Projects and Project Management Principles.
    This Week analyses what a project is, how it differs from processes, and what are the main approaches to project management. It focuses on the two main approaches two project management: traditional approach based on Front-Loading and the flexible one that leads to Agile Approaches.
  • Week 2 - The organizational side of Project Managemen
    This Week presents the cultural and organizational dimension of projects, focusing on how companies can properly be organized for projects and the main individual and team dynamics when working on projects. It focuses on the organizational structures, the leadership dimension, team dynamics and conflicts management.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By actively participating in this MOOC, you will achieve different intended learning outcomes (ILOs).

Week 1

  1. Identify the main variables of a project in a business context
    ESCO: analysing and evaluating information and data
  2. Describe the differences between projects and processes
    ESCO: evaluate information
  3. Pick the best project management approach for different projects
    ESCO: project management

Week 2

  1. Identify different organizational strcutures when working on a project
    ESCO: organisational structure
  2. Describe the main human and cultural dimensions when working on projects
    ESCO: lead others ESCO: apply conflict management
  3. Pick the best organizational structure for a project
    ESCO: organisational structure ESCO: project management
  4. Analyze conflicts and team dynamics when working on a project
    ESCO: manage a team

Prerequisites

No prerequisite knowledge is required.

Activities

Over and above consulting the content, in the form of videos and other web-based resources, you will have the opportunity to discuss course topics and to share ideas with your peers in the Forum of this MOOC.

Assessment

To successfully complete this course, and henceforth receive the certificate of accomplishment, it is necessary to pass the quiz with 60%.

Certificate of Accomplishment

The Certificate of Accomplishment will be released to anyone who successfully completes the course by answering correctly to at least 60% of the questions by the end of the edition. You will be able to download the Certificate of Accomplishment directly on the website.

Once you have successfully passed the course, you can request the Certificate of Accomplishment without waiting for the end of the edition.

The Certificate of Accomplishment does not confer any academic credit, grade or degree.

European Qualifications Framework Level

EQF Level 6

Thematic area (ISCED-F classification)

0410 Business and administration not further defined.

Discussion forum

The forum of this MOOC is freely accessible and participation is not guided; you can use it to compare yourself with other participants, or to discuss course contents with them.

Contact details

If you have any enquiries about the course or if you need technical assistance please contact pok@polimi.it. For further information, see FAQ page.

Course Faculty

Tommaso Buganza

Tommaso Buganza

Tommaso Buganza is Associate Professor of Leadership and Innovation at the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano where he also is co-founder of LEADIN'Lab, the Laboratory for Leadership, Design and Innovation. He is a lecturer in Innovation Management and Project Management, responsible for the Project Management Academy and coordinator of the innovation and training area at MIP (Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Business). He is scientific director of IDeaLs the global research platform of Politecnico di Milano that pioneers new ways to engage people to make innovation happen with companies. He co-founded Symplatform, the symposium on digital platforms that aims to foster a constructive discussions among scholars and practitioners.

Daniel Trabucchi

Daniel Trabucchi

Daniel Trabucchi is Assistant Professor at the School of Management, Politecnico di Milano, where he also serves as a senior researcher in the LEADIN’Lab, the Laboratory for LEAdership, Design and INnovation. He works on Innovation Management, he teaches and studies the fields of Platform Thinking, Agile Project Management and the Human side of Innovation (with a strong focus on engagement within the research platform IDeaLs). He co-founded Symplatform, the symposium on digital platforms that aims to foster a constructive discussions among scholars and practitioners.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

  1. Classes Start

    May 16, 2022
  2. Classes End

    Jan 06, 2023
  3. Length

    2 weeks
  4. Estimated Effort

    3-5 hours/week
  5. Language

    English
  6. Course Number

    PM101
  7. MOOCs For Professionals
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