COURSERA 2.

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Date: - 14.07.2024

COURSE-1,MODULE-2

Reflection: Influence without authority :- Your

grade 100%

1st Question: - In this exercise, you will read a scenario and comment about
how you would react to the situation. Then, you will list and describe skills that
make a project manager successful. Start by considering the following scenario:

A co-worker is responsible for researching and providing you with a list of

potential venues for a retirement party. For the last three weeks, they have been
telling you they will complete the list by “the end of the week (EOW).” When you
check in with them at the beginning of each of the weeks, they tell you they didn’t
get around to completing it but that it will be done by the current week.

How might you influence this situation without authority? Write 2-3 sentences.

Answer: - There are the following four interpersonal skills

1) Communication: communication is the best skill for a project manager, and this
skill is much required to complete a project with time and budget. By strong
communication, we handle leadership and team dynamics.

2) Negotiations: as a project manager we able to negotiate with our plan or

strategy with our teammates to compromise on a new deadline and balance their
needs and what is best for project.

3) Conflict mediation: Conflict mediation is the great skill to practice and develop
to ensure the project does not suffer, involving teammates who struggle to agree
upon best way to handle shared task.

4) Understanding motivation: as a project manager we able to motivate our

teammates during they are delayed their assigned task fails on time, prefer to
receive feedback and how they like to receive recognition for doing a great job
 Correct Answer or suggestion from coursera:- Correct

How did you do? Here are a few approaches we recommend:

Talk to your co-worker about the overall schedule for the retirement party, and
explain to them how selecting a venue as soon as possible is critical to the success
of the overall event and will determine what the date of the party will be.

Ask your co-worker about their current workload and see if there is anything you
can do to free up their schedule. You can also offer to get someone else to help
them, if needed.

Midweek, consider sending your co-worker a gentle reminder about their end of
week commitment and ask how it's coming along.

2nd Question: - Write a list of the most valuable interpersonal skills required to
be a successful project manager and describe how each skill contributes to a
project manager’s success. Write and describe at least four skills.

Answer:- As i know that my CO-workers have much pressure to find venues and
they tell me around to completing it so i try to find with better communication
with them and try to understand what they have done till now, then i negotiate
with him and motivate him to complete it on current week.

Correct Answer or suggestion from coursera:- Here’s a recap of the most

valuable interpersonal skills we’ve discussed so far in the course.

 Interpersonal skills: Enabling decision making: The ability to enable decision

making on the team, or gather decisions from the appropriate leader is crucial to
keep projects on task and achieve their goals. As a project manager, you will
need to enable decisions frequently.
 Communicating and escalating: As a project manager, you’ll use your
communication skills in just about everything you do. And you need to know
when it is appropriate to escalate, so that critical issues are raised and addressed
as soon as possible to reduce negative impact on a project.
 Remaining flexible: As a project manager, knowing how to be flexible when
changes are needed is key. Plans will change — even with careful, upfront
planning. As a project manager being flexible is critical to be able to course
correct and adapt when the unexpected happens.
 Organizational Skills: Having strong organizational skills means having the ability
to organize the core elements of a project and ensure nothing gets lost or
 overlooked. A project manager needs to be organized so that they can manage a
project and all of its moving parts.
 Negotiation: As a project manager, you’ll have to know how to balance the needs
of your teammates with the needs of the project. For example, if a teammate
says they can’t complete their work on time, you may need to compromise on a
deadline.
 Conflict mediation: Resolving tension and conflict within a team is an important
skill. This may involve setting up a meeting with two teammates that are
struggling to agree upon the best way to handle a shared task.
 Understanding motivations: Getting to know your teammates and figuring out
what pushes them to their best work is an effective skill to have. Understanding
motivations also involves understanding how your teammates prefer to receive
feedback.

MODULE-2 CHALLENGE:-

1st Attempt on dated 13.07.2024 and secure 68.1% i.e. Fail

1. Question 1
Suppose that as a project manager, you provide detailed plans and frequent
project updates to both the team and stakeholders. What project management
value does this represent? 1 / 1 point
Effective communication
Optimism
Delegation
Prioritization
Correct

2. Question 2
As a project manager, you discover your teammates lack a resource needed to
complete an essential task. You escalate this issue to a stakeholder and work to
secure the resource so your team can move forward. Which project management
responsibility does this represent? 0 / 1 point

Utilizing productivity tools

Managing the budget
Managing tasks
Developing information sharing processes
Incorrect

Please review the video on the roles and responsibilities of a project manager.

3. Question 3
As a project manager on a product team, which of the following activities
would be the best way to ensure that issues and risks are tracked and visible?
Select all that apply.0.5 / 1 point
Collaborate with other teams at the organization.
Establish “escalation paths.”
Correct
Give teammates ownership over specific pieces of the project and manage
the tasks, not the person.
Choose the best project management methodology for your team and
ensure they adhere to it throughout the project.
This should not be selected
Please review the video about the responsibilities a project manager has within a
team. Note:- Option-2 & 3 are correct answer.

4. Question 4
What is an example of measuring progress for a cross-functional team? 0 / 1 point
Defining key items and encouraging team members to ask questions.
Learning what makes team members feel supported and giving positive
feedback.
Setting up effective tools so the team can easily work together.
Asking team members if they anticipate being finished on time and, if not,
how you can help them succeed.

Incorrect
Please review the reading on working with cross-functional teams.
Note:- correct option is 02

5. Question 5
You’re a project manager on a team improving a product. How can you make sure
the project stays on schedule? 1 / 1 point

Track daily product improvement tasks of team members in a spreadsheet.

 Have a meeting with stakeholders to make them aware of product concerns.
Limit communication with stakeholders to avoid input until product launch.
Provide data and feedback about how customers interact with the product.
Correct

6. Question 6

As a project manager, one of your team members suddenly must leave your
project to deal with a family emergency. To stay on schedule, you pull another
team member off of a task that is not time-sensitive and assign him to the urgent
task that your departing team member was working on. Which flexible planning
strategy did you use to deal with this unexpected circumstance? 1 / 1 point

Planning for risks and challenges

Assessing external constraints
Calculating “float” in your schedule.
Enabling decision-making
Correct

7. Question 7
Suppose you have two teammates who disagree on the best way to complete a
task. Which interpersonal skill can you use to help them resolve their
disagreement? 0 / 1 point

Understanding motivations
Conflict mediation
Positive attitude
Negotiation
Incorrect
Please review the video on leadership and team dynamics.
8. Question 8
As a project manager impacting an organization, you want to break down barriers
to help your team succeed. Which of the following would a project manager do to
break down barriers? 1 / 1 point

Keep the project within the budget approved by leadership.

Encourage stakeholders to provide feedback on new product features.
 Write clear goals for the project in the project’s documentation.
Provide support for the team as they try new approaches to find solutions.
Correct

9. Question 9
Which of the following are examples of external customers? Select all that
apply.1 / 1 point

Consumers
Correct
Suppliers
Correct
Team members
Contractors
Correct
10. Question 10

As a project manager, you maintain an open door policy to build trust within your
team and among stakeholders. In doing this, you are utilizing interpersonal skills
to fulfill what responsibility? 1 / 1 point

Budgeting and controlling costs

Communicating status and concerns
Teaching and mentoring
Controlling change
Correct

11. Question 11
Sofia is a project manager for the implementation of a new call center software
program. Which of the following is necessary for Sofia to be an effective project
manager? 1 / 1 point

Sofia must have been recognized by leadership as a top performer.

Sofia knows how to create a project plan, manage the various members of
her team, and identify risks.
Sofia must have a college degree in software engineering.
Sofia must have worked at a large customer service call center.
Correct.

Date: - 15.07.2024

COURSE-1, MODULE-3
 Project management life cycle and methodologies
You will learn about the phases of the project life cycle, what tasks they involve, and
why it is important to complete them. You will also learn about the different project
management methodologies and approaches and which is most effective for a given
project.

Learning Objectives
 Explain why it is important to understand and follow the life cycle of a project.
 Define and outline a project’s phases and each phase’s tasks.
 Compare different program management methodologies and determine which is
most effective for a given project.
1 Introduction: (Video) The project management life
cycle and methodologies:-
Welcome back. Before we move on, let’s recap what's already been covered. You learned how
to define project management what a project is, what it isn't, and how to explain its value to
businesses. You also discussed when and why it's necessary to have a project manager, the
role in day-to-day responsibilities of a project manager and the core skills needed to be a
successful project manager.

Now is a good time to stop and recognize how much you've learned. By now you're familiar with
the job of project management and you've started learning what it takes to be an effective
project manager. Now you'll go a little further, and learn some of the ins and outs of the job, and
before you know it, you’ll be ready to guide any project successfully. Are you ready?

Well, coming up, I'll introduce you to the two most popular approaches to project management,
Waterfall and Agile. We’ll also cover the project management life cycle and phases, and you'll
learn about the different styles, Scenarios and factors that can impact a project and its tasks at
any given phase. When we're done, you'll be able to explain and follow the life cycle of a project,
define and outline a project's phases, and each phase's tasks, compare different project
management methodologies to determine which methodology is most effective for a project, and
finally, organize how a project is run, According to different program management
methodologies. Ready? Let's get started.

2 (video): Exploring the phase of the project life cycle

No two projects are exactly the same, which means there are many different ways to manage them.
Each project comes with its own needs and factors that impact how you'll take action and achieve
your goals. There are many ways to manage projects and not always one right way to do so.
Picture this, you're project managing a political campaign for a local candidate. To make it happen,
you need to think about things like your available resources, the people you'll be working with, the
election date, and the location. You need to be aware of lots of
details to successfully complete your project. Because so many different things can impact a
project, it's important to understand its basic structure. We call this structure the project lifecycle. The
life cycle is a great way to guide your project in the right direction so
that you and your project stay on track and end up in the right place.
each with their own set of tasks and concerns. Check it out. The main phases of a project are initiate
the project, make a plan, execute and complete tasks, and finally, close the project. Let's talk about
the first phase, initiate the project. This is the launchpad for the entire process of your project.
In this phase, you'll define project goals and deliverables, identify the budget and resources you'll
need, the people involved in your project, and any other details that can impact the successful
completion of your project. You'll document all this information in one place to showcase theproject's
value, and hopefully get approval to move forward with it. Once the project is approved, it's time to
get rolling. Next, you'll make a plan for how you will meet the goals of your project. There are all
kinds of ways to plan your project, and we'll get into some different methods and techniques later
on. Right now, the important thing to know is that for every single project, creating a plan of how
you're going to meet your goals is absolutely 100 percent essential. Think about it. You can't
hire a contractor to build a house without planning what it'll look like or how much you have to
spend. These same considerations apply to any project that you manage. To be effective, your
plan needs to include a lot of things. For example, a budget, a breakdown of all the tasks that you
need to be completed, ways to communicate team roles and responsibilities, a schedule,
resources, and what to do in case your project encounters problems or needs to change.
That's just to name a few. Once you have your plan in place, it's time to execute and complete those
tasks. It's important to point out that your project team has the job of completing the project tasks.
As a project manager, your role's a little different. While you might be in charge of completing certain
tasks in the project, your primary tasks as the project manager are to monitor progress and keep
your team motivated. You also remove any obstacles that might come up so that the tasks are
executed well and on time. Finally, when all the tasks have been completed, all the resources have
been accounted for and the project has crossed the finish line, it's time to close the project. Why is it
important to close? One big reason is so your team has a moment to celebrate all of their hard
work. Closing the project is also a chance to evaluate how the project went. You can make note of
what worked and what didn't so you can plan better for next time. Even if the project was a massive
success,it's helpful to take time to reflect. Closing the project is also a great way to connect with
anyone outside your team who may have had interest in the project's goal. You can let everyone
know what was completed and what you accomplished. Some projects like the campaign
example will have a firm end date. Once the project is finished, that's it. There's no more work to
do. Other projects have different finish lines. For example, a project where you're implementing a
new ordering system at a restaurant is complete after the system is set up and the employees know
how it works. At that point, your goals are completed. It's time to hand over the project to another
group whose job it is to provide support and make sure the system stays running on a day-to-day
basis. Another example of this is, I once project managed the creation of a dashboard that would be
used by various stakeholders in my organization. This dashboard would show pertinent information
to each stakeholder,depending on the team that they were a part of in our broader organization.
I project managed the beginning, from writing up the vision for the project to the end where we
delivered the dashboard. Once I passed off the final product, I transitioned the continued update
of each team's data and the corresponding dashboard page to the respective teams. Think of it like
turning over the keys of a newly built house to its new owner. The project of building the house
is complete and now it's up to the owner to take care of the house's maintenance and the upkeep.
There you have it. The project life-cycle. The exact name for each phase might change depending
on the type of project or organization you work for. The general idea stays the same. Following
theproject processes you will learn in this course will set you up for project management
success. Next, we'll take a closer look into what happens during each phase of the traditional project
life cycle.

3 Case study: The significance of each project phase

The consequences of rushing through a project phase
It’s Friday night when Jason, a project manager at a company that specializes in virtual reality
software, receives an urgent call from his manager, Mateo. Mateo tells Jason that he needs a cost
and timeline for a virtual reality training program for Flight Simulators, Inc., a company that does
aircraft maintenance, by the end of the weekend.

Jason spends the weekend working through a proposal for Flight Simulators, Inc. He quickly throws
together a proposal estimating that it will cost $200,000 and take six weeks to develop the course.
This is the standard cost and time frame for developing training on his company’s platform. He
sends the proposal over to Flight Simulators, Inc. so that he can meet their deadline.

When Jason walks into the office on Monday morning, Mateo tells him that he got reprimanded for
not following the company’s process for building out a proposal and including the engineers in the
process. The engineers take a look at the information presented by Flight Simulators, Inc. and
realize that the company’s software won’t work with their platform. It will take six months to develop
their platform to meet the needs of the organization’s software and another six months to test the
software and platform integration. The cost to develop and test this software will be over a million
dollars.

This project has failed before it even started. There’s no way to complete the request from Flight
Simulators, Inc. without impacting the budget, quality, and timeline.

What should have happened

When his manager calls, Jason tells him that while he understands that Mateo wants to make the
customer happy by getting them a proposal promptly, he would like to take a little more time to get
the proposal right. Jason tells Mateo that he will draft up an email to Flight Simulators, Inc. and
request additional time to develop an accurate and reasonable proposal. Mateo is hesitant but
agrees.

On Monday morning, Jason sees that Flight Simulators, Inc. has responded to his request. They
appreciate the fact that he communicated his concerns about the quick turnaround on the proposal
request. They say they will give him a week to work with his team to provide an estimate for the
project.

Now Jason has the time to get all of the key players involved in estimating the effort it will take to
complete the project, including the cost, schedule, and resources.

Let’s apply the project life cycle to this project.

Initiating the project
This is the phase Jason rushed through in the first scenario. Ideally, in this phase, Jason discusses
project goals with Flight Simulators, Inc. to gain a clear understanding of what they are asking for.
Once Jason has defined the project goals, he can gather the stakeholders and project team
members to define what needs to be done to successfully create this training for Flight Simulators,
Inc. Jason identifies the skill sets required, the timeline, and the cost to develop the training. He
identifies and documents the value that this project creates for the company. He presents all of the
information he has put together to his company’s leadership team, who approves Jason’s proposal.
Jason then submits the proposal to Flight Simulators, Inc., and they accept it.

Making a plan
Now that Jason has the green light to work on the project, he makes a project plan to get from start
to finish. Having a plan in place ensures that all team members and stakeholders are prepared to
complete their tasks. Jason outlines the important deadlines and tasks for the project to be
successful. He creates a schedule to account for all resources, materials, and tasks needed to
complete the project.

Executing and completing tasks

During this project phase, Jason’s project team puts his plan in motion by executing the work. Jason
monitors his team as they complete project tasks. His role as the project manager is not to complete
the individual tasks but to help break down any barriers that would slow or stop the team from
completing their tasks. It is also Jason’s responsibility to communicate schedule and quality
expectations. Jason uses his communication skills to keep Flight Simulators, Inc. up to date on the
project status and gather feedback from them. This keeps the project on schedule and within budget.

Closing the project

Jason’s team has successfully completed the training, and he delivers it to Flight Simulators, Inc.
They are very pleased with how it turned out! Jason is now ready to close this project and move on
to the next one. Before he closes this chapter, Jason and his team discuss and document the
lessons learned from the project. What worked well, and what could work better next time? Jason
also puts together a small lunch gathering for his team to celebrate and recognize their hard work.

Key takeaway
It may seem like a lot of work to go through an entire project life cycle, but the long-term impact it will
have on your project is huge! It is your job as the project manager to make sure that your leadership
truly understands the risk of not properly preparing for a project. Making assumptions that are
incorrect can put your company at risk. Instead, taking the time to carefully initiate, plan, execute,
and close your project leads to project success and good working relationships with customers.

4.Test your knowledge: Understanding the project life cycle

Practice Quiz. • 8 min. • 4 total points available.4 total points
Question 1
What are some potential consequences of rushing through the initiation phase
of a project? Select all that apply. 1 / 1 point

Impact to the timeline

Correct
Failing to gather information from project team members to define what needs to
be done at the start of the project can result in impact to the project’s timeline at
a later stage.

Impact to quality
Correct
During the initiation phase, it’s important for the project manager to clearly
define the project’s goals and gather information from team members about
what will be involved in accomplishing those goals. Otherwise, they risk impacting
the project’s quality.

Impact to previous projects

Impact to the budget

Correct
If a project manager does not take the time to define the project’s goals and gain
a clear understanding of what the stakeholders are asking for during the initiation
phase, they risk impacting the project’s budget.
2.Question 2
Imagine that a project manager has just begun working on a project for a
trucking logistics company. The customer wants to see a proposal as soon as
possible, but it is taking the project manager longer than expected because he
needs more input from stakeholders and the project team. What should the
project manager do to turn the project into a success? 1 / 1 point

Research the cost and timeline for similar projects at other trucking logistics
companies and share that information with the customer.

Ask the customer for more time to consult with stakeholders and the project
team to deliver an accurate cost and timeline proposal.

Immediately provide the customer the most recent comparable cost and
timeline estimate for the work.

Tell the customer he will need four to six weeks to formulate a proposal.
Correct
Taking the necessary time to get input from all stakeholders and the project team
is a key part of formulating an accurate proposal.
3.Question 3
What are the main phases of the project life cycle? Select all that apply.
1 / 1 point

Initiate the project

Correct
In the initiation phase, a project manager defines project goals and deliverables,
identifies the budget, resources, and people they need, and confirms any other
details that can impact the successful completion of the project.

Make a plan
Correct
In the planning phase, the project manager makes a plan for how to achieve the
project goals. The plan should include a budget, a breakdown of all the project
tasks, ways to communicate team roles and responsibilities, a schedule, and what
to do in case their project encounters problems.

Define project roles

Execute and complete tasks

Correct
In the execution phase, the project team completes project tasks while the
project manager monitors progress and keeps the team motivated. The project
manager also removes any obstacles that come up in order to execute the tasks
well and on time.

Close the project

Correct
In the closing phase, the team celebrates all of their hard work and evaluates how
the project went. It is also an opportunity to let everyone who had interest in the
project’s goal know what the team accomplished.
4. Question 4
What are three benefits of closing a project? Select all that apply 0.75 / 1 point

Share the team’s accomplishments with people outside the team Correct
When closing a project, the project manager lets everyone who had an interest in
the project’s goal know what was achieved.

Celebrate the team’s success Correct

Closing the project gives the team an opportunity to celebrate and be
acknowledged for all of their hard work.

Remove any obstacles that come up

Evaluate what worked and what didn’t work
You didn’t select all the correct answers