BEGINNERCOURSE

Digital Project Management

Smooth processes and happy human relationships are key to managing effectively. Learn better ways to work with complexity so you can run projects like a pro.

Taught by

Travis Gertz and Rachel Gertz

In partnership with Louder Than Ten, our Digital Project Management course takes you on a deep dive into better ways to work with humans and complexity. The aim? For you to run healthier, happier projects in real-time.

Whether you're a freelancer or work full-time, this course will teach you smart project management principles that you can use immediately. While administering a giant boost of confidence, it'll also help you cultivate the soft and hard skills you need for setting and resetting expectations, strengthening relationships, and taking your projects across the finish line without a cold sweat.

What you’ll learn

How to set up, run, and close smooth projects
How to read, interpret, and prepare for red flags and risks
Ways to increase project value and profitability
How to champion your team and stakeholders to work better together
How to effectively handle change
How to scope and estimate your work more accurately

Requirements

A computer (Windows, Mac or Linux) with the latest version of Chrome installed and a broadband internet connection. You’ll also want to set up a Notion account and a TeamGantt account for some exercises. That's all!

Target Audience

Anyone who runs projects (surprise, that's all of you!) or wants to make a career switch and learn how to herd cats, set up better project workflows, and have more effective conversations about the work you manage every day. This course is role and methodology agnostic. It's applicable whether you lead projects or are part of a bigger team: you'll learn to do what works best for your projects whether you're a designer, developer, or wear another hat altogether.

Chapter 01

Intro to Digital Project Management

We’ll take a look at what makes digital project management such a unique and critical skill. We’ll also dive into the lifecycle of a digital project, and learn the all-important pillars of project management.

Lesson 01

Welcome to Digital Project Management!

Lesson 02

What is Digital Project Management

Lesson 03

Digital Project Lifecycle

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Chapter 02

Working With People

We’ll learn what project management is really all about: working with people. We’ll take a look at how to build alignment and open communication channels with your stakeholders to keep everything on track.

Lesson 01

Working with People

Lesson 02

Internal Stakeholders

Lesson 03

External Stakeholders

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Chapter 03

Project Intake

We'll learn all about how to ensure a project's success before it even starts. This will include identifying red flags and risks during project intake, as well as evaluating whether or not a project is the right fit before you take it on.

Lesson 01

Project Intake

Lesson 02

Client Fit

Lesson 03

Red Flags

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Chapter 04

Project Setup

So you've won the project–now what? We'll show you how to set up a project for success by setting the tone and pace with your stakeholders right away. We'll also give some tips on helpful tools and processes you can use to start a project off on the right foot.

Lesson 01

Transitioning

Lesson 02

Initial Meetings

Lesson 03

Other Meetings

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Chapter 05

Meetings

Your time is sacred, so why waste it in pointless meetings? We'll show you how to get the best bang for your buck by running efficient and productive meetings. We'll also teach you what type of meetings you should be having in the first place depending on your goals.

Lesson 01

What is a Meeting?

Lesson 02

Types of Meetings

Lesson 03

Status Meetings

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Chapter 06

Discovery and Research

One thing required in every project, big or small, is a discovery. We’ll deep dive into how to run an excellent project kickoff, position your research, and gather initial requirements to start giving your project some shape so you can hit the ground running.

Lesson 01

What is Discovery?

Lesson 02

How Long is Discovery?

Lesson 03

Get Paid for Discovery

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Chapter 07

Project Documentation

We'll go over the core documents used in project management and their purposes, including contracts, project plans, communication plans, and more.

Lesson 01

Documents in Project Management

Lesson 02

Project Briefs

Lesson 03

Contracts

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Chapter 08

Approaches and Methodologies

Agile, Scrum, and Kanban–oh my! We'll walk you through the most common methodologies in project management, and how to use a hybrid methodology by taking components and principles of each and remixing them to fit your project's needs.

Lesson 01

What is Waterfall?

Lesson 02

When to use Waterfall?

Lesson 03

Waterfall Do's and Don'ts

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Chapter 09

Scoping

We'll learn how to effectively scope a project, and how to avoid the most common scoping pitfalls. We'll also talk about how four different forms of scope creep can impact your project, and how to navigate them with ease.

Lesson 01

What is Scope?

Lesson 02

How to Scope Effectively

Lesson 03

Build the Right Thing

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Chapter 10

Prioritization

So you've got your project scope–now how do you decide what to work on first? We'll show you how to analyze urgency, impact, and effort to come up with a Minimum Valuable Product (MVP). We'll also give you some prioritizing hacks that you can use on your tasks, projects, and even your life!

Lesson 01

What is Prioritization?

Lesson 02

Analyzing Urgency Impact Effort

Lesson 03

Impact vs Effort

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Chapter 11

Estimation

We'll learn all about estimation: what it is, and how to avoid pitfalls. We'll also learn different types of estimation, top-down and bottom-up, as well as provide you with some handy tips on how to refine your approach to estimating.

Lesson 01

What is Estimation?

Lesson 02

When to Estimate

Lesson 03

Who Estimates?

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Chapter 12

Scheduling

Learn how to set up a flexible schedule that allows for focus and time blocking. We'll also talk about the cost of delays, and how to avoid scheduling pitfalls that can derail your project.

Lesson 01

What is a Schedule?

Lesson 02

When Should You Schedule?

Lesson 03

How to Set Up a Schedule?

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Chapter 13

Risks + red flags

We'll give an introduction into red flags and risks, and what to do when you spot them in your project. We'll learn about how red flags can impact different parts of your project, and how to reset your project if it's going off the rails.

Lesson 01

Risks and Red Flags

Lesson 02

Positive vs Negative Risk

Lesson 03

What are Risks?

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Chapter 14

Change management

Change is inevitable, so we'll teach you what to do when it happens in your project. We'll show you how to set up a change management system and improve your quality assurance process. We'll also talk through smoothing out project approvals and turnarounds.

Lesson 01

What is Change Management

Lesson 02

Types of Change Control

Lesson 03

Types of Natural Change to Manage

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Chapter 15

Continuous improvement

Woohoo, your project is complete! Now what? We'll teach you how to set up, run, and launch future phases, as well as how to improve handoffs, retainers, and launches. We'll show you how to close out a project and run an amazing retrospective.

Lesson 01

What is Continuous Improvement?

Lesson 02

How to Incorporate Continuous Improvement

Lesson 03

Future Phases

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Chapter 16

Putting it all together

In the last lesson of the course, we'll put it all together and talk about the power you have through project management. We'll also talk about how PM will change in the future, and ways to deepen and expand your learning.

Lesson 01

Putting it all Together

Lesson 02

Your Growth Path

Lesson 03

How to Grow Your Path

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Get access to Digital Project Management

Practical, go-at-your-own pace learning, with help from our industry experts and experienced teachers
Projects and code that you can alter and include in your own sites and portfolio
Resources to get you started and going post-course

Your instructors

Travis Gertz

Teacher

Travis is a partner and designer at Louder Than Ten. He went to school to design magazines, ended up making websites, and now he’s on a mission to help the world see how cool and underrated project management actually is.

Rachel Gertz

Teacher

Rachel Gertz is Co-founder and Digital PM Trainer at Louder Than Ten. She trains apprentices in digital project management so they can work full time while learning to keep their companies happy, healthy, and ready for the future. Rachel works on raising tides that float all boats to elevate the technology industry.