Standford University, Here I Come!

Applying to Stanford

So in my last post I wrote about my excitement applying for Stanford University’s SCPM (Advanced Project Management Certificate Program). Well I’m even more excited to break the great news that I have been accepted into the program. As I move forward with Stanford I am going to be blogging about my journey to getting the SCPM certification. So first thing’s first what is the process for applying?

First I visited the SCPM website at Stanford: http://apm.stanford.edu
Learned more about the program.
Completed several personal information questions and three 200 word (minimum) essay questions.

There are prerequisites for entering the program as follows:

3 years experience managing projects or programs
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
An approved Stanford Advanced Project Management Application

There are two options for attending the SCPM program at Stanford:

On campus
Online (I opted for this one due to distance)

Cost of tuition for the SCPM program:

On campus is $2750 (there is an early registration discount)
Online is $1095 per course
There is a one time fee of $75 (attached to the cost of the first course)

Note: You can pay for multiple courses, but can only take one at a time online.

I hear (read online) it helps to have your PMP certification and will typically reduce the amount of time for approval. The official timeframe for being approved into the SCPM program is 10 days, but my application was approved in 1 day. So what did I have in my application? Well, there are three questions/requests and my answers:

My job responsibilities include managing full lifecycle projects. This is includes the responsibility for managing all aspects of the project including project human resources, scope, risk management, budget, project schedule, project management documentation, deliverables, status reports, and communicating business initiatives across the organization.

I am a senior project manager managing three projects at a international fortune 500 company. The first project is a network infrastructure implementation located in Moscow, Russia. The Moscow Russia project has unique challenges that I have had to manage and overcome by using outsourced intelligence firms and Russia native suppliers to understand and navigate strict Russian laws surrounding encryption and customs. I am managing a team of network and IT security, local hands and feet provided by Russian IT supplier, This a 9 month implementation project.

The second is an enterprise level JDE Tools Upgrade project. This project requires the coordination of multiple CNC analysts, Business Analysts, Server and Network resources to accomplish the the planning, implementation and testing of a software upgrade in production and non-production environments while ensuring the implementation of the project falls between company wide fiscal quarter freezes. This project has several dependencies that must be considered and multiple phase gates to get through for executive management approval. I am using the Active Risk Management tool to manage project risks at every level documenting risk in a risk register, providing risk planning and responses.

The third and final project I am managing is for the implementation of an enterprise wide contract management system (CMS). I am implementing the contract management system will across the organization which requires the identification of stakeholders at multiple levels including executive, management, and the end users. I have had to document a large communication plan to address the multiple communication points that exist to ensure the organization’s stakeholders are aware of the project and can provide requirements as they are gathered.

I am an experienced PMP certified project manager with 12 years of experience in IT project management. My experience includes the management of large cross-functional teams implementing small to large network infrastructure, server infrastructure, and application development projects on a global and national scale. Project budgets sizes I have managed ranged from projects with multiple sub-projects of $150,000 to multiple $650,000 budgets. I am adept at communicating and translating technical information to executive level stakeholders and project sponsors. A large part of my project management experience has been managing full lifecycle projects; developing the list of stakeholders, collecting requirements, business process mapping, the design and technical architecture through to the execution of the solution, providing closure and client deliverables sign-off.

My project management portfolio of experience includes such projects as: co-leading a DeVry University campus wide network domain conversion from Novell to Windows affecting 2200+ students, IT Systems integration across 68 locations in seven states and international implementations for Sykes in Australia, implementing network and server infrastructure projects of IBM’s multi-national clients such as DOW Chemical, WellPoint, and managing government grant funded projects for the state of Wisconsin that affected statewide law enforcement data real time including the FBI.

I am formally trained in project management methodologies and practices. My education includes a Master Degree in Project Management, M.B.A., Graduate Certificate in Project Management, and Bachelor of Science in Network and Communications Management. I am enrolled at Capella University’s PHD in Post Secondary and Adult Education program.

I hope to gain a deeper understanding of project management best practices from the Stanford Advanced Project Management Certificate Program that I can start applying as I learn. I also would like to develop advanced skills in risk management with readily applicable techniques and tools. It is important for me to learn how risks are not only identified, but how to you document and communicate those risks to executive leadership without technical language in the IT industry.

I have managed many global business initiatives through project management and continue to learn that I must keep learning. There are many nuances in terms of cultural differences that must be understood to build business relationships and cooperation. I find that identifying the legal-regulatory systems of other nations is an important step in any international project and this begins with learning to ask the right questions. I would like to learn more about how cultural dynamics impact project management in communication, risk management, and quality control.

One of the other areas of focus I would like to gain more exposure to is the different project management methodologies such as waterfall, agile, and lean. I haven’t had much experience with these methodologies and any further formal exposure I could gain would be helpful.

Getting Approved

Once you have submitted your application you will receive approval via email like the one below:

Enrolling In Classes

You can enroll yourself in class after making payment or you can have an Enrollment Advisor enroll you into the first course and then have 30 days to make payment of the first course plus the $75 fee. From there you can get started in the online course.

Selecting Your Courses

There are 3 courses that are mandatory as part of the program:

Converting Strategy Into Action
Executing Complex Programs
Leadership for Strategic Execution

Then you can select 3 elective courses from the following courses:

Adaptive Execution of Strategy
Designing the Organization for Execution
Financial Mastery for Projects
Leading Change from the Middle
Leading Effective Teams
Leveraging the Customer Relationship
Managing Global Initiatives
Managing Without Authority
Mastering the Project Portfolio
Project Innovation through Design Thinking
Project Risk Management
The Strategic PMO: Projects to Enterprise

The courses in bold above are the courses I plan to take from the electives available. I selected these three courses for the following reasons:

Adaptive Execution of Strategy builds

I’m hoping to learn and apply a wide array of tools and techniques for project planning, execution and control, derived from traditional “waterfall”, agile, and lean methodologies.

Managing Global Initiatives

I’ve been working on global IT projects since 2007 and have managed resources on every continent except Antarctica. This is one my strengths as a project manager and I want to continue to build upon it.

Project Risk Management

Risk is an area I believe you can only improve upon. No matter how good you are there are will always be new challenges (notice I didn’t say problems) to be overcome. As project managers like any professional occupation we should be progressing and growing. With growth and increased responsibilities you should face new challenges that you haven’t before. These challenges should cause you to utilize everything you have learned prior and to translate that knowledge into practical application.

In Conclusion

I believe Stanford University’s SCPM certification program is going to be beneficial because it will help me to further develop and provide education that will be easily transferable to practical application in the work place. I hope this information has been helpful in providing insight to the process of application, approval, and selection of courses. I enjoy learning and sharing that experience with others.

Note: I also found out I was accepted to Capella University for their PhD in Education concentrating on Postsecondary and Adult Education. My road to becoming a professor at the post graduate level of studies.

If you liked this post connect with me on www.linkedin.com/in/JahquayHyles.

Jahquay Hyles, PMP

Leave a Reply Cancel reply