Project Management Certificate

You will learn how project management differs based on market segment and how different roles in an organization rely on a project manager’s deliverables to make decisions. You will also learn the textbook approach and illustrate its real-world application to become more sophisticated in your approach to leading project teams and solving problems. Finally, you will develop the mindset, skills and tools of project management and creative problem-solving and be able to:

• Identify and apply the FourSight Thinking Profile to strengthen team synergy
• Shift to a project-oriented mindset to produce short-term, mid-term and long-term strategic and project goals
• Understand the differences between predictive, agile and hybrid approaches to project management
• Create and sustain a participatory environment that increases engagement among external entities, internal departments, team members and stakeholders
• Improve project implementation through the application of emotional intelligence
• Generate requirements and criteria for evaluating project success
• Create a work breakdown structure with specifications
• Design a project schedule with activities, durations and interdependencies
• Delineate, assign and track project resources and associated costs
• Identify the real problems inhibiting project success
• Improve and learn how to capture project communication
• Apply processes to better assess risk, estimate cost and schedule requirements
• Understand different contract types and their impact on a project
• Identify, capture and analyze metrics used in controlling a project
• Understand the leadership competencies of successful project managers, including how to build successful teams and deal with issues that affect performance
• Apply tools to avoid the most common problems that plague today’s project manager
• Manage expectations of all individuals directly or indirectly involved in the project
  
• Define deliverables and due dates to avoid project slippage
  

The Project Management certificate course is for professionals of all levels who wish to increase their project management acumen.

The program satisfies the 23 and 35 contact hours required to apply for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) and Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, respectively. The content is based on the Project Management Body of Knowledge and the Agile Practice Guide, which serve as the foundation for the CAPM and PMP exams.

While this course focuses on real-world examples and applications, we will also cover how the exams are structured by tying content back to the CAPM and PMP each week. In addition, we will cover questions you can expect on the exam to provide examples of how questions are structured and how to go about answering them. This class will provide you exposure to concepts the exams cover, as well as the opportunity to network with other aspiring PMPs on the road to certification. However, if you are seeking a course focused on exam preparation, see our CAPM/PMP Prep Course.

• FourSight Thinking Profile – the leading assessment helping individuals and teams understand how they approach problems and innovation
• The project management process
• Stakeholder management – where you fit in the chain and how can you be more effective
• Ten problem-solving tools
• Managing for today, with the end-game in mind for tomorrow
• Defining process and the five process groups: initiation, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing
• Management of project integration, scope, schedules, cost, resources, risk, quality, communications, procurement and stakeholders
• Conflict management – understanding and how each of the concepts above play a role in managing through and resolving conflict

• PC (Windows-based) or Mac
• Class sessions are delivered via Zoom, therefore robust internet access and functional knowledge of the platform is required. Firefox or Chrome are recommended.
• MS Office, including functional knowledge of MS Word and Excel

This program consists of 12 three-hour interactive Zoom sessions. Through individual exercises and in teams, you will learn to recognize, develop and apply best practices at every stage of the project in a consistent fashion. Content will be delivered through short cases, articles and online resources.

Robert E. Pyszczynski

Education
EMBA and BA, University at Buffalo
MS, University of Washington
MS, Rochester Institute of Technology
DBA (expected 2024), William Howard Taft University

Rob Pyszczynski spent eight years in the U.S. Army as a sergeant leading troops, including a deployment in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pyszczynski started his civilian career as a project manager and held a variety of roles from director to VP, and has managed more than $500 million worth of projects over his 23-year tenure. He currently leads project management teams with an operations focus to strive for a predictable outcome in an uncertain economy. Rob’s experience has led him to be a subject-matter expert in construction, where he has provided testimony, numerous consultations and analysis of contracts, scopes of work, budgets and schedules.

Pyszczynski was a recipient of the Business First 40 Under 40 award in 2017 and is currently enrolled as part of the Leadership Buffalo Class of 2022. In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, he has also spent the last 10 years teaching a variety of courses at the undergraduate and graduate level at Erie Community College and the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Pyszczynski lives on Grand Island with his wife, Lisa, their two children, Evan and Stella, and their dog, Thor. He spends most of his free time being a full-time father and is very involved with his children’s activities. When not spending time with his family, he enjoys playing golf.

$1,510 includes all materials used for class

Payment must be received by the program start date to be granted access and can be made by credit card at the time of registration or by ACH transfer.

A 75% discount is available to a limited number of Executive MBA alumni through the Alumni Advantage program. Availability is on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact the Office of Professional and Executive Development at mgt-ced@buffalo.edu.

Discounted seats are available to employees of the University at Buffalo on a space-available basis. Contact the Office of Professional and Executive Development at mgt-ced@buffalo.edu.

Program registrations are fully refundable until the day before the program starts.