Taking this course helped me put a real framework around things I’ve already been doing in school and at work, instead of just “trying to get everything done on time.” I learned how to think about a project in terms of clear goals, scope, constraints, and success measures, and then turn that into a plan with specific tasks, owners, deadlines, and dependencies. The parts on stakeholders and communication stood out the most because they showed how easy it is for a project to drift off track when people aren’t aligned or when changes aren’t managed intentionally. I also liked seeing the differences between more traditional, plan-heavy approaches and agile methods, and when each one actually makes sense in real life. I can use these ideas immediately for my coursework by planning group projects like mini-projects—with timelines, check-ins, and risk lists—rather than waiting until the last week. Long term, in an IT and data-focused career, this mindset will help me manage rollouts, upgrades, and longer-term initiatives more professionally, rather than treating them as random piles of tasks.
