Project Management Essentials
Who This Program Is For
The Project Management Essentials program is for early-career professionals and team leads who manage projects as part of their role. Whether you’re starting new initiatives or coordinating complex efforts, you’ll build essential skills to plan and manage projects more effectively.
Program dates:
March 18–May 6, 2026
Format:
100% online (live virtual and asynchronous sessions)
Time commitment:
Three self-paced learning modules and five live virtual sessions over eight weeks, each lasting 1.5 hours
Fee:
$2,400
Learn Proven Approaches To Planning and Leading Projects
Develop the skills to plan and manage projects in real-world settings. This program combines live sessions with self-paced coursework, providing you with opportunities to learn from expert faculty and apply tools that support effective execution.
Key Themes and Topics
This program explores the following focus areas to help you grow as a project leader:
Project Definition, Success KPIs and Stakeholder Management
Learn how to define objectives, identify success indicators and manage relationships with key stakeholders. Understand how early decisions and alignment impact overall project outcomes.
The Planning Fallacy and Forecasting Biases
Examine how overly optimistic projections and cognitive biases affect planning. This session helps you recognize common pitfalls and adopt tools for more accurate forecasting.
Management of Large-Scale Projects
Study the unique demands of large-scale initiatives, including coordination across teams and external constraints. Understand how complexity and scope influence planning and execution.
Project Planning and the Critical Path
Explore how to structure a project plan using task dependencies and timeline mapping. Learn how to identify the critical path and use it to guide prioritization and resource allocation.
Project Planning and Risk Management
Learn how to anticipate and respond to potential risks throughout a project’s lifecycle. This topic introduces approaches to mitigating uncertainty through thoughtful planning.
Using AI for Project Planning
Discover how AI tools can support planning decisions by analyzing historical data and identifying potential risks. Understand where technology can enhance accuracy and reduce delays.
Agile Project Management
Explore the principles of agile project management and how they support flexibility and iteration. Learn how agile methods compare to more traditional project approaches.
Crisis Management and Dealing with Ambiguity
Study how to lead during high-pressure situations where outcomes are uncertain. This session focuses on adaptive decision-making and communication in complex, time-sensitive environments.
Earn Certificate Credit With This Program
Learn How the Certificate WorksMeet Your Instructor
Yael Grushka-Cockayne
Senior Associate Dean for the Full-Time (Residential) MBA, Landmark Communication Professor of Business Administration, Academic Co-director LaCross Institute for AI & Special Advisor to the Provost on AI
Professor Yael Grushka-Cockayne’s research and teaching activities focus on data science, forecasting, project management and behavioral decision-making. Her research is published in numerous academic and professional journals, and she is a regular speaker at international conferences in the areas of decision analysis, project management and management science.
Meet YaelWork Toward Completing Your Online Management Certificate With Additional Programs
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