IDE 761 - Strategies in Educational Project Management
This course cuts through the noise and gets to the heart of what it actually takes to lead and manage educational projects, strategically, intentionally, and with structure that doesn't buckle under pressure. Delivered entirely online, the course zeroes in on the real mechanics of project management in the context of education. We’re not talking about abstract theory. We’re talking about planning with purpose, organizing with foresight, and managing not just the work but the people, processes, and unpredictable human elements that come with it. At its foundation, project management is a problem-solving discipline. It’s about moving finite resources, time, people, money, tools, toward a clear objective. Projects aren’t ongoing operations. They have a start, an end, and a reason for existing. The project manager’s role is to hold the center, to guide the team across each phase: define, plan, organize, control, and close. These phases are more than steps, they're commitments. You define the why, align the who, map out the how, manage the what-ifs, and then wrap it all up without leaving loose ends. But here’s the catch. Managing educational projects isn’t a carbon copy of corporate project management. Academia plays by its own rules, sometimes unwritten, often nonlinear. Budgets are limited. Accountability is looser. And the same person might wear three different hats in a single meeting. A faculty member might be your stakeholder, your subject matter expert, and your end user all at once. That’s why project managers in education need more than just technical know-how. They need emotional intelligence, cultural fluency, and the ability to lead through ambiguity. Educational project management borrows from business frameworks, but it demands flexibility. Projects might be large-scale, cross-functional, and fully funded, or they might be shoestring operations driven by passion and grit. Regardless, every project follows the same fundamental principle: move with intention, solve problems, and deliver something that works, not just on paper, but in practice.
Course Overall Grade: A
Purpose and Direction
My e-portfolio on Liela Shadmani’s IDE-761 page captures the shift from managing tasks by instinct to leading educational projects with precision. This course didn’t just introduce project management frameworks, it made me own them. Every artifact on this page reflects how I learned to define scope without ambiguity, build plans that flex without breaking, and drive a project from vague idea to structured execution. I didn’t just study phases of project management, I lived them, from charter development to closing reports. I learned that leadership in education means navigating informal structures, shifting roles, and real constraints with clarity and strategy. This course sharpened how I approach collaboration, resourcing, and timelines, especially in environments where formal processes often take a back seat. By managing deliverables, team dynamics, and academic realities, I came to understand that educational project management isn’t just about finishing, it’s about finishing with intention, alignment, and impact that sticks.
Outlining The Purpose For Each Section
PMP Final Report: Holistic Growth Initiative Project
This project management plan (PMP) was built to solve a clear and costly problem, middle school teachers lacked the skills and confidence to use classroom technology, especially Chromebooks, to support student learning. The Holistic Growth Initiative Project aimed to bridge that gap through structured professional development, aggressive instructional planning, and a tight project execution timeline from January to December. The team followed a five-phase project management framework, Define, Plan, Organize, Control, and Close, with deliverables aligned to measurable outcomes. The project began with defining performance gaps and stakeholder expectations, then quickly moved into concrete planning. Objectives included building teacher proficiency, designing comprehensive instructional resources, and streamlining Chromebook usage through practical tools and targeted training. The planning phase introduced a detailed Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), activity estimates using an O+M+P formula, and a critical path analysis to manage task dependencies. In the organize phase, roles were assigned based on skill alignment and workload balance. Quality control and team communication were prioritized using structured work packages, Gantt charts, and milestone tracking. In the control phase, weekly status reports, monthly risk and change control meetings, and variance reports helped the team track issues and adapt to real-world challenges, like timeline pressures, funding shortfalls, and infrastructure risks. They adopted the ADKAR change model to maintain staff buy-in and minimize project resistance. The close phase focused on handoff and sustainability. Deliverables included a final audit, success metrics, client sign-off, and documentation of lessons learned. Key indicators of success were high teacher satisfaction, improved tech integration in the classroom, and stakeholder alignment with the district’s three-year strategic plan. The project emphasized stakeholder communication, lean management, and real-time adaptability.
Holistic Growth Initiative Project Project Management Plan 2
The school district's three-year strategic plan emphasizes improving teachers' proficiency with educational technologies currently available or soon to be introduced. Teachers have played a significant role in technological purchasing decisions and are generally positive about technological integration approaches. However, there is a notable gap in their knowledge and skills needed to effectively utilize these technologies for teaching purposes. Project Goals The goal is to manage, develop, and provide instructional solutions starting in January and then launch an implementation program in August. We will follow up with an evaluation period beginning in September through the remainder of the semester (December). This will allow for practical application of the program, facilitators to become familiar with the program, and support the students’ learning experience. This will also ensure planning methods align with cost, time, and quality while aligning their vision with the scope of work.
Deliverables
The deliverables in IDE 761 weren’t academic busywork, they were full-contact exercises in leading real projects under pressure. The PMP Final Report for the Holistic Growth Initiative tackled a high-stakes problem: middle school teachers unprepared to integrate classroom technology. Our team didn’t theorize, we mapped the gap, built a WBS, used critical path analysis, and managed change with ADKAR to push a solution from planning to execution. The YouTube video analysis grounded our strategy in hard truths, tools don’t manage projects, people do, and clarified that effective project leadership means clear goals, real timelines, and zero fluff. Together, these deliverables showed how to manage instructional change with clarity, urgency, and follow-through.
