USMx: ENCE607.5x Agile for Project Control

FAQ for Agile For Project Control:

1. Who should I email if I have a technical question?

Learners that are new to edX should consider viewing the edX Demo101.

To get help with a technical problem, click Help to send a message to edX Student Support.

2. Who should I email if I have a specific question about the course?

Should you get stuck and need assistance because of issues related to course content, please don't hesitate to reach out to the instructional team.  

The Instructor and the Teaching Assistants supporting the course will answer questions as quickly as possible to emails sent to "agilepmedx2018" at "gmail.com."

3. What are PDUs and how many are earned for this course?

PDUs are “Professional Development Units” that are required for recertification as a Project Management Professional by the Project Management Institute (PMI). You can learn more about them here: https://www.pmi.org/certifications/maintain/earn-pdus

You can claim 10 PDUs when you complete this course, and ANY of the Agile Project Management Certificate courses from University of Maryland.

For this course, we suggest you claim the PDUs as follows from the Talent Triangle:

• 3 Technical
• 3 Leadership
• 4 Strategic & Business Management

Need help claiming? Check out the PMI website: 

https://www.pmi.org/certifications/maintain

4. Is this course tied to a program? 

This is course is part of a five-course Professional Certificate in Agile Project Management. It's recommended but by no means required that you take the preceding courses before taking this course.

https://www.edx.org/professional-certificate/umd-usmx-agile-project-management

Here is a description of all the courses in the program:

1. Applied Scrum for Project Management - Learn the project management processes, roles, mechanics, and philosophies behind Scrum, the simplest and most pure approach to managing work at the team level.
2. Driving Speed through Agile Planning - Learn how to drive speed into any project by selecting and limiting work-in-progress through agile planning and task management.
3. Agile Solutions for Greater Innovation - Learn how to deliver greater value through Agile solution targeting and theory of constraints that unleash your team’s innovative potential.
4. Agile Leadership Principles - Accelerate and improve team decisions by learning Agile’s facilitating leadership principles to unleash team productivity, motivation, and problem solving.
5. Agile for Project Control - Learn Agile controls that get work done with confidence by using true transparency (actuals not estimates) and continuous improvement to ensure your people, process, and products deliver valuable, working solutions.

5. What can I do with my verified certificate?

EdX provides a great explanation on the benefits for verified certificates here: https://www.edx.org/verified-certificate

However, as for this program you gain added benefits, because project management is a certificate-driven industry.

With a Professional Certificate from the University of Maryland, College Park, you can prove your mastery of the Agile principles. You'll receive a certificate that can be used for claiming and verifying PDUs, CEUs, and the return on investment (ROI) that is authoritative (see example from Agile Leadership Principles Course below):

You can also post your achievement on LinkedIn, so anyone can see your certificate:

For more on PDUs, please refer to the FAQ answer above.

6. How is the experience different for verified vs. audit?

The primary differences between verified and audit learners in terms of the experience when taking this course are as follows:

1. Duration of access to the course
2. Access to Quizzes and Finals

Shared Learning Experience. Audit and verified learners have access to all the videos, write-ups, and reference materials. We also provide ungraded Knowledge Checks to reinforce learning as it happens. So your personal learning experience should be optimized regardless of verification.

Duration Limited for Audit Students. Audit learners have only four weeks, the expected duration of the course, to complete all modules. After the initial four weeks, access to the course will be suspended unless the learner becomes verified.

Access to Quizzes and Finals. Verified learners have added assessments to prove they have engaged with and learned the course material. This allows us to verify your achievement and provide you with a certificate that you can add to your resume, publish on LinkedIn, present for proof of completion to your employer, and provide as evidence to professional organizations of continuing education (e.g. PDUs, CEUs, etc.).

7. Why should I verify for the course?

Project management is a certificate-driven industry.  Verifying will prove that you’ve mastered these skills beyond the survey-level of watching videos. 

Moreover, a Verified Certificate gives you:

• Unlimited Access to Materials refresh, relearn, and use references anytime
• Proof of completion to Employer            helps with reimbursement & assessment
• Credentials on LinkedIn present your verified education on EdX
• Motivation to Finish push yourself with the commitment

Here’s an example of the type of credentials you’ll see on LinkedIn after you link your achievement to your account:

8. Is there a discount if I take all 5 programs in the course?

Yes! You’ll save 10% if you buy all 5 courses together as part of the Agile Professional Certificate. 

• Instead of $625 USD, the cost is just $562.50 USD for the entire program!
• You save $62.50 USD!
• Only $11.25 per PDU

9. Will this course help me for the PMP, (or list others) certification test?

This course will allow you to better understand the principles that actually work in project management. We do review concepts from across major frameworks, like the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and the Scrum Framework for what has evidence of success. We focus on teaching what works in the real world.

However, it’s important to say clearly that this course will not help you study for the PMP, nor will it provide you with the knowledge you need to pass any Agile certification (PMI-ACP, CSM, SPC, etc.). There are many courses designed with that purpose in mind that will help you gain the mindset and knowledge that aligns with those tests and certifications.

In this course, we focus on what works based on research and scientific principles, unbiased towards frameworks and professional organizations.

10. How will this course help me at work and in my career?

Employing the principles taught in this Agile Project Management Certificate will better enable you to have success and increase both your satisfaction and happiness at work, and dramatically improve the ROI of your projects to customers and the organization. 

Delivering high value with a positive attitude is a winning combination for any career.