Professional Development & Certifications
Free or Low-Cost Learning Platforms
Coursera: Google Project Management Certificate
Free with U-M login
LinkedIn Learning
Free with U-M login
Udemy
Courses from $10.99
This is a good PM summary to start with from a great trainer.
O’Reilly Media
Free with U-M login
PMI Certifications
Project Management Institute (PMI)
CAPM: Entry-level, no experience required
PMP: Requires 24-60 months of documented PM experience (depending on highest level of education achieved)
PMP Key Points:
- Industry-agnostic credential
- Application requires reframing experience into PMI language
- 1 year to pass exam after approval
- Continuing education (PDUs) required for maintenance
- PMI membership required
- Full details here
Project Management Tools
Monday.com
Cross-team visibility, dashboards, status-at-a-glance
Asana
Task ownership and tracking
Trello
Digital boards, lists, cards
Jira
Agile-focused, sprint/backlog management, visualize workflows
Collaboration & Communication
Slack
Messaging & reminders integrated with PM platforms
Google Workspace
- Gmail labeling system
- Snooze emails for follow-up
- Convert emails to calendar events
- Calendar notifications & task reminders
- Shared Google Sheets templates
- Structured Drive folders
- Google Keep for capture
Automation & File Management
Airtable
Spreadsheet-database, customizable workflows, automation.
Dropbox
File storage & sharing
Responsibility Frameworks
MOCHA Framework (from Managing to Change the World)
Manager | Owner | Consulted | Helper | Approver
Clarifies ownership and decision rights.
Resource: https://www.managementcenter.org/resources/assigning-responsibilities/
RACI Matrix
Responsible | Accountable | Consulted | Informed
Defines execution vs decision authority and prevents duplication.
Resource: https://www.projectmanagement.com/wikis/234008/raci
Books
Thinking in Systems: A Primer
Donella Meadows
Managing to Change the World: The Nonprofit Manager’s Guide to Getting Results
Alison Green & Jerry Hauser
Templates from PMI
At A Glance Weekly Status Report
This guide was created by: Lydia Thornburg, Project Associate Manager; Mikalia Dennis, Executive Workflow Manager; Charles Keenan, Urban Technology Managing Director