MindEdge

This intermediate-level course provides learners with essential skills for mastering Microsoft's project management software, MS Project. Aspiring project managers are provided a step-by-step tutorial on various functions that are required for every type of project. This course assumes that learners have a basic familiarity with MS Project. MS Project is a popular tool that allows project managers to develop schedules, allocate resources, and track progress. It also allows managers to perform variance analysis and combine multiple projects. This intermediate course will focus on the Microsoft Office 2019 version of MS Project.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Describe various features of MS Project and how to apply them

2. Add work, material, and cost resources to a project

3. Apply fixed and overtime costs to tasks and entire projects

4. Select the appropriate types of tasks to include in a project

5. Create baselines and perform critical path analysis

6. Incorporate effort driven scheduling, work contours, and multiple calendars

7. Track progress and perform variance and EVA analysis

8. Perform resource leveling and filter by task, resource, and or assignment

9. Effectively use resource pools, subprojects, and master projects

10. Import and export Excel, Word, and PowerPoint data into and out of MS Project

This intermediate-level course is designed to help Agile practitioners decipher and solve the problems that arise regularly in their work. The course begins with 16 video segments from seasoned Agile trainers and practitioners who provide tips and best practices for addressing Agile team challenges. The course then presents 20 short case studies that test the student's understanding of Agile practices and provide guidance for resolving common problems. The case studies are structured to simulate the conversations and interactions that happen regularly on Agile projects; seeing these disputes as narratives will help students learn to deconstruct issues and diagnose the underlying problems that need to be corrected, just as they would in their everyday work. As students decode these disputes and plan appropriate responses, they'll gain the experience they need to guide their teams and to put them back on track to deliver value to their customers.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the underlying issues that lead to common problems for Agile teams

2. Help team members recognize when their behaviors are inhibiting team development

3. Describe ways to keep an Agile team focused on delivering value

4. Uncover additional stakeholders and project participants to enhance project feedback

5. Give examples of the "must have" skills that product owners should possess

6. Reorganize daily stand-ups to improve their performance

7. Summarize options for overcoming velocity estimation mistakes

8. Outline effective rewards and acknowledgments that promote team cohesion and interaction

The ability to deliver an effective presentation is critical in most job functions. This introductory-level course helps learners organize, structure, and create effective presentations that feature slides as a visual aid. Because many organizations use PowerPoint as a way of communicating information, this course offers advice and guidance on the most effective and persuasive uses of PowerPoint, including best practices on word count, graphics, and structure.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Recognize what makes communication effective

2. Describe the elements in the communications process

3. Organize your communications and presentations

4. Describe PowerPoint graphic rules of thumb

5. Create an effective summary slide

6. Describe and employ the four steps of purposeful communication in your presentations

7. Describe the forecast, present, and echo structure for presentations

8. Recognize key visual considerations for PowerPoint slides and presentations

9. Describe how to organize and create PowerPoint presentations

10. Revise PowerPoint slides to make them more effective

11. Describe the success factors for face-to-face presentations

This introductory-level course explores the methodologies and practices of Agile development and explains the key concepts and principles that form the foundation of Agile project management. This self-paced course contains vocabulary games, flashcards, and interactive exercises to supplement and enhance your understanding of Agile concepts, as well as video segments from Agile experts to help you become a more proficient Agile practitioner.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Define Agile development and differentiate it from traditional Waterfall practices

2. Identify the similarities and differences among several Agile methodologies

3. Describe the stages of the Agile development cycle and identify the factors that promote project success

4. Describe the nuances of leading and working with Agile teams

5. Apply best practices from organizations that have successfully incorporated Agile methodologies into their business activities

This intermediate-level course provides learners with essential skills for mastering Microsoft's project management software, MS Project. Aspiring project managers are provided a step-by-step tutorial on various functions that are required for every type of project. This course assumes that learners have a basic familiarity with MS Project. MS Project is a popular tool that allows project managers to develop schedules, allocate resources, and track progress. It also allows managers to perform variance analysis and combine multiple projects. This intermediate course will focus on the Microsoft Office 2019 version of MS Project.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Describe various features of MS Project and how to apply them

2. Add work, material, and cost resources to a project

3. Apply fixed and overtime costs to tasks and entire projects

4. Select the appropriate types of tasks to include in a project

5. Create baselines and perform critical path analysis

6. Incorporate effort driven scheduling, work contours, and multiple calendars

7. Track progress and perform variance and EVA analysis

8. Perform resource leveling and filter by task, resource, and or assignment

9. Effectively use resource pools, subprojects, and master projects

10. Import and export Excel, Word, and PowerPoint data into and out of MS Project

This course covers the roles and responsibilities of the project management team leader, in particular, their responsibility with regard to project stakeholders. The course also discusses how project management team leaders can build a positive team environment through effective communication, team building activities, problem-solving, and reflective listening.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Define a team and identify six common types of teams

2. Explain Bruce Tuckman's model of group development

3. Describe how the project life cycle is relevant to team issues

4. List the three sources of power for project management team leaders

5. Describe ways to manage stakeholder expectations

6. Explain different types of team building activities

7. Define reflective listening

8. Identify the challenges of virtual teams and how they relate to the project management team leader's roles

9. Compare and contrast voting and consensus as methods for decision-making

10. More effectively identify and resolve team problems

11. Explain the different characteristics of effective and open team communication

12. Identify the best practices for using e-mail and telephone among team members

13. Identify several common team problems and apply methods for resolving these issues

This course features 25 of the most popular Excel tip and tricks for both novice and advanced Excel users. In this course, you will learn time-saving techniques to boost efficiency, increase productivity and workflow, and improve and advance your skills. Topics include data entry, data organization, data cleaning, elements of style, data sorting, data filtering, and spreadsheet display tips. This course also covers three of the most popular lookup and reference functions: VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, and Find + Replace. To follow along with the content and activities in this course, you will need access to Microsoft Excel. This course features Excel 2019, which may differ from other versions of Excel.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Employ copy and paste shortcuts

2. Arrange, filter, and sort data by text, color, and by custom criterions

3. Modify the worksheet view with various display tools, such as Freeze Panes, Hide/Unhide, Text-To Column, and Zoom In/Out

4. Describe and apply data organization tools and functions

5. Retrieve data using VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, and Find + Replace

6. Apply patterns, gradients, cell borders, and other style elements to data

7. Experiment with the Quick Analysis Tools to create charts, graphs, and calculations

8. Make use of the lock/unlock and track changes features

This intermediate-level course is designed to help Agile practitioners recognize and resolve many of the common issues that emerge when Agile concepts are introduced into Waterfall organizations. The course begins with 24 video segments from seasoned Agile trainers and practitioners who provide tips and best practices for addressing integration obstacles. The course then presents 20 short case studies that simulate the communication and interchanges that can occur as Agile and Waterfall practitioners work to resolve differences in the ways that they see and execute tasks. As students evaluate these case studies, they'll learn to deconstruct and diagnose any underlying problems that need to be resolved, just as they would in everyday practice. While they work to decode and correct these issues, they'll begin to recognize the common pitfalls that can happen as project teams collaborate and interact.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Identify whether Agile concepts and methodologies could be integrated into an existing organization

2. Describe tools and techniques that could assist in Agile integration

3. Recognize the problems that Agile and Waterfall collaborators contend with on a regular basis

4. Apply practical tips from experienced practitioners to correct these problems

5. Recognize the advantage of "failing fast"

6. Uncover impediments or obstacles that may occur when running Agile and Waterfall in parallel

7. Examine several project artifacts that can be used to show progress during transitional states

8. Identify the essential elements of an integration framework

9. Discuss ways to temper expectations as integration takes hold

Whether adopting new technology or adapting to a drastic shift in an organization's core focus, change is a constant in any successful business. Managers play a fundamental role in successful effecting changes across an organization, and meanwhile, humans, by nature, will often resist change out of fear of the unknown. This introductory course addresses the key issues managers face in a dynamic environment. By understanding the steps in effecting change and how to overcome resistance, a manager can successfully lead change at various levels of an organization.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Discuss organizational change and the forms it can take

2. Describe Kotter's Eight Step Process recommended for implementing change successfully

3. Outline Lewin's model of change and discuss its limitations

4. Identify the factors a leader or manager can employ to promote change

5. Outline the change initiative planning process

6. Explain the role of a leader in communicating change

7. Discuss methods to foster participation

8. Discuss the underpinnings of resistance to change and how to overcome it

9. Discuss other models of change management (ADKAR, GE CAP, Cisco Change Roadmap)

10. Match change management models to specific scenarios

11. Understand strategic change and mastering a changing environment

This course outlines the fundamental theories and principles of Scrum frameworks, including the underlying philosophy and essential tools practitioners need to adapt to an Agile way of working. Implemented properly, these techniques can produce extraordinary results for stakeholders and customers.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Define essential Scrum terms and identify the interdependent nature of key concepts

2. Summarize the specific, distinct roles that practitioners assume in effective Scrum frameworks

3. Identify the stages of the Scrum cycle and demonstrate how these stages combine to meet evolving customer needs and requirements

4. Compare and contrast the three primary Scrum artifacts and detail how they integrate to ensure a common understanding of project expectations

5. Explore several tools and techniques that help project participants meet and exceed customer needs and wants