Google's Certificate Program in Project Management

Introduction

• Speaker: Emilio, Program Manager on the Responsible Innovation team at Google
• Purpose: Welcome to Google’s certificate program in project management

Initial Exercise

• Task: Reflect on various life tasks (e.g., planning events, moving, organizing reunions).
• Purpose: Highlighting that these tasks develop skills useful for project management.

Program Overview

• Components: Courses, activities, quizzes, exercises.
• Objective: Teach fundamentals of project management and aid in career advancement.

Speaker's Career Journey

• Background: Preferred hands-on, action-oriented tasks in college.
• First Job: Spanish and leadership teacher in Los Angeles.
• Realization: Enjoyed building visions and bringing groups together - core project management skills.

What is Project Management?

• Definition: Application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet project requirements and achieve desired outcomes.
• Insight: Many people manage projects daily without realizing.
• Versatility: Spans various industries and company types; doesn’t require deep technical knowledge.
• Relevance: Job and life experiences contribute to building project management skills.

Program Structure

• Courses: Six industry-relevant courses focusing on:
  • Fundamentals, goals, objectives, deliverables.
  • Risk management, team dynamics.
  • Project management methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Waterfall).
  • Data-driven decision making.
• Materials: Personal anecdotes, quizzes, case studies.
• Pacing: Self-paced with flexible content navigation.
• Hands-on Learning:
  • Building project plans and timelines.
  • Managing budgets, and stakeholder needs.
  • Using tools like Kanban and software like Asana.
  • Developing soft skills.

Career Opportunities

• Outcome: Readiness for job opportunities.
• Showcasing Work: Share work with Google and other employers.
• Professional Examples: Opportunities to present learned skills through projects.

Instructor Introductions

• Joanne: Senior Program Manager, Cloud Security Programs
  • Course 2: Setting the stage for a project.
• Rowena: Senior Program Manager, Google Cloud
  • Course 3: Project planning, key milestones, dependencies, scheduling, budgeting, risk management.
• Elita: Senior Engineering Program Manager
  • Course 4: Project execution, communication, risk management, team dynamics, data-informed decision making, tracking progress.
• Sue: Technical Program Manager, Google’s Support Platform
  • Course 5: Agile project management, principles, practices, agile transformations, team dynamics, sprints, releases.
• Dan: Program Manager, Google Research
  • Course 6: Applying project management in real-world scenarios.

Conclusion

• Next Steps: Access full learning experience, advance to the next course.
• Encouragement: Congratulations on finishing the introductory video, subscribe for more content on Google career certificates.