UC Irvine Extension Project Management Curriculum Addresses Growing Employer Demand

IRVINE, Calif., March 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the Education Advisory Board (EAB), a Washington, D.C. based research consortium, employer demand for certified project management professionals continues to grow. Per EAB's findings, the number of national job postings seeking a project management certification grew 3.6 percent from 2012 to 2013, including 15,472 job postings in California specifically seeking the Project Management Professional (PMP^®) certification.

The University of California, Irvine Extension is addressing the continued demand for project managers with new courses in its project management continuing education programs, including building further bridges between Project Management and Agile development. As a Registered Education Provider (REP ^®) with the Project Management Institute (PMI ^®), UC Irvine Extension's programs cover the body of knowledge deemed necessary for project success, as well as prepare professionals to sit for PMI's industry-recognized project management certifications.

Agile Project Management success is defined by maintaining projects on budget, on time and with minimal interference and disruption to other entities within the business. Catering to this need, UC Irvine Extension is offering a new online course in Test Driven Development (TDD), a foundational practice utilized by most Agile methods. The course provides an understanding of how to apply refactoring techniques to improve code quality with examples that include design principles, patterns and testability. Course content also includes the justification and practice of TDD, in addition to covering issues dealing with class, object clusters, external dependencies and legacy code. The course will run from April 14 through June 8.

"Over the past few years, the use of Agile technologies in project management has increased tremendously, particularly in large, company-wide projects in software development, internal IT, and hardware project development," said Dave Dimas, Ph.D., director of engineering, sciences and information technology programs at UC Irvine Extension. "Project management professionals who can bring Agile skills to projects, while successfully managing and motivating operational and cultural change, will be well positioned in their field and among their peers."

Additionally, UC Irvine Extension will host four free webinars to help individuals understand the field of Project Management, and to support professional advancement. The webinars are:

• The Inside Scoop on What It Takes to Be an Outstanding Project Manager (March 19 - 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PDT): This webinar will be hosted by Laszlo A Retfalvi, principal of Retfalvi and Associates, course instructor at UC Irvine Extension, and author of the upcoming book "The Power of Project Management Leadership." Retfalvi will share insight on what it takes to be a successful project management leader.
• Test Driven Development (TDD): Information Session (March 20 - 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PDT): For those interested in learning more about the project management programs, this webinar will explain the benefits of certification and detailed information about the course.
• Why Agile Coaching Matters (April 2 - 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PDT): Together with Agile expert Horia Slusanschi, participants will explore the eight dimensions that contribute to a well-rounded Agile Coaching practice and learn techniques on how to be a leader in the practice.
• The Diamond Principle: Five Simple Rules to Achieve Your Company Goals (April 9 - 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PDT): Via discussion with the book's author, Dave Bartholomew, the webinar will review 'Five Simple Rules' for business success and how individuals can apply them in an organization, how professionals achieve outstanding measurable value and results, and how to make can't-miss decisions.

For more information about the TDD course or for registration visit: http://unex.uci.edu/courses/sectiondetail.aspx?year=2014&term=Spring&sid=00152.Those interested in the webinars can register at http://unex.uci.edu/services/events/.

About UC Irvine Extension: University of California, Irvine Extension is the continuing education arm of UC Irvine, serving nearly 40,000 students globally and offering more than 3,200 classes annually on the UC Irvine campus, online and at employer sites throughout California and worldwide. Since 1962, UC Irvine Extension has served Orange County with programs and classes to help adult learners reach their career advancement and personal enrichment goals, and remains dedicated to providing broad access to the resources of the University for the benefit of the public, both through University Extension certificate and specialized studies programs and a broad range of free and open educational resources including UC Irvine OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.uci.edu). Learn more at http://extension.uci.edu, or join us on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/ucirvineextension) or Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/uciextension).

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UC Irvine is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff. Orange County's largest employer, UC Irvine contributes an annual economic impact of $4.2 billion. For more UC Irvine news, visit today.uci.edu. 

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SOURCE UC Irvine Extension