‘Brandeis GPS Faculty’ Articles at Brandeis GPS Blog

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Faculty Spotlight: Digital Marketing and Design

Faculty: Dr. Kyle Allison

Program: Digital Marketing and Design

Course: RDMD 110: Search Engine Marketing and Optimization

Education: California Intercontinental University, DBA; Amberton University, MBA; University of North Texas, BA

Bio: Dr. Kyle Allison is known as The Doctor of Digital Strategy. He is an author, business & marketing professor, and senior executive in the e-commerce & digital marketing industry. Having worked for some of the top retail organizations in the industry, from Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, & the Exchange, Dr. Allison has led high-impact digital strategies in technology, marketing campaigns, e-commerce experiences, and more. Focused on enthusiasm, education, and excellence, the core of the business strategy is in all pillars of his academic and professional work experience.

As a passionate professor with experience in a wide variety of digital marketing, analytics, management, and business subjects, Dr. Allison enjoys guiding the next generation of digital marketing professionals.

What can students expect to learn in this course?

Students will learn in SEM and SEO the framework, concepts and relevance of these disciplines. Students will learn and appreciate the knowledge they will gain on what keyword research is, and how to strengthen google search ranking based on SEO type strategies. In addition, students will learn about paid listings or paid search ads, that help generate brand awareness and website traffic. Also, sometimes individuals may think that SEO is just about the keywords, and it is, but in this class we will teach the importance of the entire website experience as well, and how that helps boost rankings of search results. There is a good amount of both analytics but creative elements of SEO and SEM so it serves a good balance for any learner type.

What do you enjoy about teaching this course?

I look forward to being able to tie the course content to real world application. SEO/SEM constantly changes in real time, so with this very real-time digital channel, I look forward to engaging the students on these concepts.

Anything else you would like to share with a prospective student?

If you love technology and solving puzzles, this class is for you!

For more information on the Digital Marketing and Design MS or other online master’s degrees available at GPS, please visit brandeis.edu/gps.

Faculty Spotlight: Bioinformatics

February 22, 2023 / epulizzi / 2 Comments

Faculty: Alexandra Maertens

Program: Bioinformatics

Spring-2 Course: RBIF 114: Molecular Profiling and Biomarker Discovery

Education: PhD in Toxicology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Bio: Alexandra Maertens is an Assistant Scientist at the Center for Alternatives in Animal Testing at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a consultant at the Consortium for Environmental Risk Assessment. Alexandra is interested in how many new mechanisms of genetic regulation are being uncovered – every day more is learned about the importance of DNA architecture, epigenetic mechanisms, non-coding RNA.

What can students expect to learn in this course?

In this course, students will learn basic bioinformatics analysis techniques to understand omics data and connect that data to biomarkers that can be used to predict relevant health outcomes, as well as some newer technologies such as proteomics and metabolomics.

What do you enjoy about teaching this course?

I enjoy the variety of students – ranging from MDs who are brushing up their -omics skills to bench scientists looking to explore bioinformatics.

Anything else you would like to share with a prospective student?

Don’t be intimidated by the coding – there is of course a bit of a learning curve, but it is not as steep as it appears!

For more information on the Bioinformatics MS or other online master’s degrees available at GPS, please visit brandeis.edu/gps.

Faculty Spotlight: Dave Lumerman

February 6, 2023 / epulizzi / 0 Comments

Dave Lumerman, User-Centered Design faculty, is Corporate Vice President of User Experience at New York Life Insurance, where he develops engaging interaction for New York Life websites, applications and interactive experiences, and has done so for over 20 years. Previously, he developed online games and game shows with Pearson Television and Uproar! Games, most notably “Family Feud” and “To Tell the Truth.” Dave earned his masters degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and undergraduate degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

What led you to the User Experience (UX) field?

I have been involved with user experience longer than people have used the term. As a game designer you become very interested in the mechanics of what motivates people to complete actions, this is something today we refer to as gamification.

But it wasn’t until my early days at my current company that we began referring to the field as it is today. That’s when I began to really focus on user experience, when I methodically started crafting designs and then testing them and seeing how the interaction I was designing affected (both positively and negatively) the experience.

What industry trend is currently exciting you?

The trend toward accessibility and beyond is exciting. Transitioning from creating an experience for a narrow set of special users, to taking the leap to inclusive design, which is considering the full range of human diversity to empower people – all people – to design products, sites and services is more beneficial.

What are your best hopes for students in your courses?

While tools and technique are a natural part of all the courses I teach, the greatest thing I can impart to my students is the ability to think independently, and form their own conclusions and analysis. It’s the independent thought, the ability to “show their work” intellectually that is key. This idea is my north star for my students, and will hopefully take them through successful careers to places they couldn’t even imagine today.

Any advice for students or alumni who are job searching or preparing for a UX job search in the near future?

My advice aligns with drawing conclusions and creating thoughtful analysis. Anyone with enough time and patience can create a portfolio of work, but what sets you apart is the ability to explain the choices you made, and reasoning behind the pictures.

Having artifacts that are done well and explained well – in human terms, not pseudo analytical terms – can get your foot in the door. Once you are in, being thoughtful, with the ability to present your ideas and conclusions effectively will help you excel.

What is a fun fact about you that the Brandeis GPS community members may not already know?

Most folks don’t know that I am a serial cast iron collector. I love cooking using cast iron, dutch ovens, and cast iron pans, in the oven, the stovetop or over a campfire. I own so many cast iron pieces that I have a five-foot stand in my dining room dedicated to holding it all – much to my wife’s chagrin.

For more information on the User-Centered Design MS or other online master’s degrees available at GPS, please visit brandeis.edu/gps.

Faculty Spotlight: Ross Morrone

January 9, 2023 / epulizzi / 0 Comments

a family of five huddle together and smile at the camera Faculty member Ross Morrone teaches courses in both the Strategic Analytics and Digital Marketing and Design MS programs. Ross is passionate about sharing his professional experience with students to give them a unique perspective on marketing, analytics, and more. He earned his MS in Computer Information Systems from Youngstown University. Ross has personal marketing ventures that include his podcast This is Marketing and a YouTube channel to document his family’s summer camping adventures.

What led you to the marketing field?

I started my career in 2006 as a web developer at Youngstown State in Ohio. It might be surprising, but I have no formal education in marketing. At that time the Internet was moving faster than any marketing office could keep up with and I saw opportunities to immerse myself into new trends and technologies that were keeping pace. I wouldn’t say I led myself into the marketing field as much as I would say that it grabbed ahold of me. I fell in love with the idea that through design, marketing, advertising and branding I could help connect customers in a meaningful way to whatever any business was selling.

What industry trend is currently exciting you?

The focus on data! Data rules the world and I’m excited that there is this trend in higher education that is focused on programming around helping to create professionals that understand how that data impacts everything from marketing to business operations. The challenge is creating teams that can share that data between one another to help improve those operations in a strategic way.

What are your best hopes for the students in your courses?

My hope when I started teaching was to bring my own professional experiences to my courses and give students a practical understanding of how marketing works. Over the years, I got to see those ah-ha moments in the discussions where I knew they were taking my lessons and applying them to their own careers. At the end of the day, I teach because I believe through my own career wins and losses that I have experience that will help others. I want every student to walk away after 10 weeks with ideas that will help them in their own careers – the best part is I get to see this all the time. It’s really rewarding!

Any advice for students or alumni who are job searching or preparing for a marketing job search in the near future?

Do not settle on one idea of what marketing is. Marketing is 1,000 different things that make up the whole. Read about new trends, think innovatively and try everything you can. I’ve failed over and over with marketing ideas, not landing a client I wanted to or investing in a campaign that did not turn out well – and I still do all the time. It’s through that process I have a better understanding of why and what needs to be done differently to be successful for whatever business I am working with. It’s easy to feel like you have imposter syndrome in marketing when a marketing strategy doesn’t pan out the way you thought it would, but if you are willing to learn from it you will continue to flourish in your career.

What is a fun fact about you that Brandeis GPS community members may not already know?

My wife, Steph, and I manage a YouTube channel (@smorervfun) that focuses on following us around when we camp with our kids in the summer. It’s our second YouTube channel that we have (the other is @RandomReviewsHowTos) that we are hoping to monetize next year. Is this a cheap marketing plug? You betcha! But it’s a great way for us to capture those moments with our kids and have others follow along, plus, we have those videos to watch forever. We’ve also made a lot of friends that we get to regularly see at campgrounds that have found us through YouTube and it’s awesome to have that community on the trails!

For more information on the Strategic Analytics MS, the Digital Marketing and Design MS, or other online master’s degrees available at GPS, please visit brandeis.edu/gps.

Of reasonable security and other mythical creatures

October 14, 2022 / epulizzi / 0 Comments

The blue light from the screen of a half-open laptop lights up the keyboard

Written by: Alain Marcuse, Brandeis GPS Faculty

Imagine you are responsible for cybersecurity at your company. Your mission is to support the business, but you’re among the 90% of security leaders who believe they are falling short in addressing cyber risk, according to the 2021 Security Priorities study by Foundry. You are well aware that threats continue to evolve faster than your budget and/or resources; according to the same study, 54% of CISOs expect no increase at all in their budget next year.

Against this backdrop, cybersecurity threats are certainly not standing still. According to PwC’s 2022 Global Digital Trust Insights report, more than 50% of organizations expect a surge in reportable incidents, over the 2021 rate. In short, the threat landscape continues to grow more rapidly than the resources available to you.

But the challenge is not only a “simple” matter of balancing resources against threats. Cybersecurity is an increasingly regulated field, governed by sectoral laws such as HIPAA or industry standards such as PCI DSS, state laws such as in Massachusetts or New York, and even extra-territorial laws such as the European Union’s GDPR. Insurance companies are increasingly imposing their own requirements as well, in order to better manage underwriting risk.

In short, you need to make sure security doesn’t interfere with the business, or slow it down; but your primary responsibility is to maintain the organization’s security, in a context where the threats keep increasing, regulations keep multiplying, but the budget made available to you remains flat.

You are expected to maintain “reasonable security”, but how do you define that, let alone achieve it? What’s deemed reasonable can well be in the eye of the beholder, and also changes over time. Technology evolution also requires updating the concept of what’s reasonable; what made sense in 2012 does not necessarily make sense in 2022. Consider something as simple as password length. PCI DSS 3.2.1, a standard released in 2018 and which still governs security requirements at merchants that use credit cards, requires passwords to be 7 characters long. In 2022, it is estimated that such weak passwords can be cracked within 7 seconds. Is this “reasonable?” If a breach happens, how will you answer “how could you let this happen?”

The key to resolving this challenge is to regularly take the time to take stock of the threat landscape, and the security program’s ability to confront it, by means of a formal risk assessment – whether conducted internally or by an external party. While most security teams are often stretched simply keeping up with day-to-day challenges, it is important to take the time to look at the broad picture and ensure security strategy and tactics are still aligned to the threats, regulations, and business requirements at hand. A risk assessment will also help with prioritizing what initiatives will be undertaken and why, and what risks will be deemed acceptable, making the program more defensible when discussing it with other executives, the Board, or regulators.

While regular risk assessments provide a frame of reference to enable an answer to the “reasonableness” question, it is important to remember that the reality is that all security programs will fail, in one way or another, sooner or later. Cybersecurity is a form of asymmetric warfare where the enemy is typically better equipped and less constrained than the defenders. As a result, two key elements must be prioritized: defense in depth, and incident response.

If you have received a breach notification from a company you work with, you will undoubtedly have noticed that the breach was always the result of a “sophisticated” attack, possibly leveraging a “zero-day” vulnerability. By definition, a “zero-day” vulnerability is one for which no patch currently exists. As of mid-2022, 18 such vulnerabilities came to light just this year. Given the near-certainty that some attack vectors will succeed, implementing a defense-in-depth strategy will help minimize the damage, in a cybersecurity version of James Reason’s “Swiss cheese model” metaphor in describing failure of complex systems.

While a defense-in-depth strategy can help minimize the damage, damage will almost certainly happen at some point; it is here that a well-developed incident response program matters most. This is really not dissimilar to good crisis management practice in any other discipline; a well-prepared, well-rehearsed plan for managing and communicating about a cybersecurity incident will go a long way towards mitigating damage, including reputational damage.

The concept of “reasonable security” may well be an elusive beast, given it can be subjective and/or defined differently depending on the entity or circumstances in which the reasonableness question is answered. But a security program structured on the foundation of regular risk assessments, deploying a well-considered strategy of defense in depth, and supported by a properly-rehearsed incident response plan, will be more likely to be perceived as meeting a “reasonableness” standard.

Alain Marcuse teaches Cloud Security at Brandeis University, and is the Chief Information Security Officer at Validity Inc.

For more information about online master’s degrees available at GPS, please visit brandeis.edu/gps.

Q&A with Elizabeth Rosenzweig

October 12, 2022 / mtswanson / 0 Comments

Faculty: Elizabeth Rosenzweig

Program: User-Centered Design

Education: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, SM and Goddard College, B.A.

Bio: Elizabeth Rosenzweig is a design researcher whose mission is to use technology to make the world a better place. She believes that the best design comes from good research. This all starts with a user-centered design. From volunteer events, design challenges, and research projects. Elizabeth has been able to push the bounds of the current status quo and innovate. Examples include founding running World Usability Day, producing 4 Patents on intelligent design for image management and organizations, long-term impact on Medicare.gov, yearlong study on body-worn cameras, and other projects. Rosenzweig’s work can be seen at designresearchforgood.org.

How did your career journey lead you to User-Centered Design? What has the path been to becoming a design researcher?

I started my career as a photographer and a graphic designer. I thought that visual art/design was going to be my career journey. But an unexpected development happened when I applied to graduate school and ended up at the MIT Media Lab. There I had a front row seat to the development of user centered design, human-computer interaction and UX. My volunteer work at various organizations has confirmed how important our field really is. It has been an honor and a privilege to be part of this developing field.

What design and/or technology trends are currently exciting you?

Intelligent user interfaces (IUI) have been something that has always interested me. In fact I did quite a lot of research on it. Using IUI to help put humans first, through the field of human-centered artificial intelligence(HCAI). HCAI is very exciting to me and has the potential to change the world in a positive way because it includes not only UCD but ethics and goals,

What are your best hopes for the students in your courses?

I hope my students come to know how important our work is to our society. UCD is our hope for the future, by putting the human at the center of design can ensure we create products and services that help solve our biggest problems.

Do you have any advice for Brandeis GPS community members planning a job search in UX?

We can use our UX skills in every aspect of our lives including our job search. Define your own persona, what are your goals, do you want to do UX design or UX research? In the interviews, what is the persona of the people interviewing you, what are their goals and challenges. Ask thoughtful questions. Know your strengths and be honest about the areas you need to develop. Finally, when you’re starting out. It is important to have a portfolio to show people what you’ve done. In the portfolio it’s very important to describe what you did, the use case, and what your role was and how it impacted the project.

What is a fun fact about you that Brandeis GPS community members may not already know?

When I was in college I took a job teaching blind people to ski, the training included a full day skiing blindfold. Before that training, I had imagined what it would be like if I were blind, but living a day without seeing made me realize that experience was not one I could even imagine, it was so different then my own experience. That is when I learned the true importance of empathy and how important it is to understand a person’s experience, to put yourself in their shoes so you can develop a product or service that helps them make their lives better.

For more information on the User-Centered Design program or any other GPS programs, visit our website.

Faculty Spotlight: Annie Shebanow

August 5, 2022 / mtswanson / 0 Comments

What led you to the business and technology fields? Growing up, I loved science technology, and I was fascinated by computers. After finishing high school in Iran, I immigrated to the United States to attend U.C. Berkeley’s Computer Science program. I wanted to be at the forefront of inventing new technologies that could help every person and connect them together like never before.

After I graduated college, I worked for different Silicon Valley tech companies. As my career progressed, I wanted to do something beyond working for large companies. I wanted to focus on specific areas that I was deeply passionate about, one being agriculture.

Over time, I started multiple companies, each using some form of computer technology and software to solve problems. Each endeavor was as exciting as the one before it. It wasn’t long before I realized that I loved entrepreneurship. I loved that I could blend my love for business and technology together and see it succeed.

My hope is others can fall in love with the two like I have. It’s really something else!

What industry trend is currently exciting you? I’m immensely excited by the space industry. We are seeing a space race amongst private companies all the while countries like the United States and China are working to send people back to the moon. NASA’s James Webb Telescope left me in awe by how far it could peer into the cosmos, and I remain on the edge of my seat by what it could potentially discover about life on other planets. I cannot wait for what is to come in space discovery over the next two decades.

What are your best hopes for Strategic Analytics students who take your courses? My hope is that all my students leave my class wanting to be lifelong learners in this field. Strategic analytics is such an exciting journey. We can sift through enormous amounts of data and information in ways that can solve the world’s biggest problems. This is a lifelong exploration that you can never stop learning from, and my hope is my class helps in this adventure.

What is a fun fact that the Brandeis GPS community may not know about you? Hmm… a couple fun facts:

I love Ted Talk videos! My YouTube suggestions are filled with various talks and I often find myself watching multiple videos a week.
My first name is Anna but somewhere somehow in my legal documents it got switched to Annie. Someday it will switch back.
I’ve grown deeply passionate about global warming issues and its impact on agriculture. I’m now exploring ways data analytics can help coffee bean research and production!
I have a small cat that frequently interrupts my Zoom calls.

For more information on the Strategic Analytics MS or other online master’s degrees available at GPS, please visit brandeis.edu/gps.

Raising the Tide through the NOVA INITIATIVE

July 12, 2022 / mtswanson / 0 Comments

We are living in interesting times where it is the individuals like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, and not countries, that are reaching for the stars. When new technologies like cell phones are taking a few years to adopt when compared with multiple decades for telephones in prior times. These historically improbable events are happening because of the perfect storm due to our deeper understanding of manipulating life using CRISPR, fashioning of nano machines, exploitation of globally connected data capture, use of cloud based deep learning, to name a few. While all this progress is exciting, it is increasing the disparity between those who have the capabilities and those who don’t. The impact can be seen in the growing economic backwater in middle America when compared with the coasts, where most of the investments and innovation is happening. This is also true of most developing countries that are unable to get on to the technology adoption curve.

At the same time another major shift has occurred that creates room for hope. For the first time in the history of mankind we can now access the raw material, talent and resources needed to create new products. With global supply chains and marketing channels, anyone connected through the internet can develop, market, deliver and support their products and services. The ability to harness the global market brings the economy of scale as well a bigger variation in price point and features.

Navigating through the myriad aspects of a globally competitive new product development is a complex endeavor. Large companies educate their employees through a large number of special courses, internships and external programs. These learning facilities are not available to the vast majority of people not having access to such nurturing eco-systems. Based on first hand experience of leading development across continents for industry, I am convinced that this lack of education in the “Practice of Engineering” is what is holding many of the less developed regions back from being able to participate in the global economy. Some of this practice of engineering is formally being taught in a peripheral sense in an MBA and a myriad of specialized courses in marketing, supply chain, project management etc.

In response, I founded the Nova Initiative which aims to provide structured education focused on teaching how to approach the complex task of developing and executing all the different phases of developing a globally competitive new product. The hope is that this will allow regions, people and companies all across the planet, create value and ensure a lack of extreme disparity.

Written by: Imran Khan, Faculty Robotic Software Engineering

For more information on the Software Engineering program or other online master’s degrees available at GPS, please visit brandeis.edu/gps.

UX is my superpower

May 6, 2022 / angelaself / 1 Comment

Photo of David Lumerman. User experience is all about solving problems, and having a deep understanding of mechanics behind the actions people take gives a UX practitioner more tools to solve these problems.

Like Batman, the world’s greatest detective, you use a combination of the clues found in our surroundings, in user norms like heuristics, and active listening to users, and even the needs and goals of stakeholders to solve the problems, combat evil (or at least bad UX) ands save Gotham City.

This all begins with asking the right question.

As an adjunct professor at Brandeis the “Why” is something I explore with all the students in the program. The “Why” becomes the caped crusader’s utility belt, and all the tools fit into the various compartments. Understanding the “Why” is key to being able to deliver good UX and improvement for the people we are trying to help. Making things better, more efficient and easier to use is the key.

The most successful students in the program can not only relay the information but use this utility belt to extrapolate and apply the lessons to the work they produce.

By building a foundation of heuristics, applying critical thinking and good observation you can successfully tackle any UX task. The tools may evolve, the user’s gulf of understanding may be increased, but the fundamentals of what makes for good UX and good design form the bedrock of the user experience discipline

A good superhero is empathetic.

If you have ever observed participants in a one-on-one usability test you immediately begin to empathize with the people performing the actions. It’s actually one of the hardest things to do when running sessions, to not interject and alleviate the discomfort you are observing. When counseling students it is something I emphasize that you need to be comfortable with their discomfort for the greater good. The greater good of the project, the design and the user experience.

I see this struggle as a good thing. If UX folks are not bothered by the discomfort they are inflicting, maybe they are not empathizing enough.

UX is hard. It’s a relatively new field that fights to gain a seat at the table. I equate it sometimes as running head long into a brick wall, checking the wall for cracks, and shaking it off and doing it again.

The best of us have a passion for running into that wall. If given a choice, be Batman. Always be Batman.

Bio

David Lumerman, M.S., has been an Adjunct Professor at Brandeis University since 2017 conducting courses in including User Interface design, User Experience Design, Cognitive and Social Psychology of User-Centered Design, Design Operation and Leadership, and the Capstone in User-Centered Design. During this time he has redeveloped both the User Interface Design and Design Operation and Leadership courses.

Mr. Lumerman is the Corporate Vice President of User Experience at New York Life Insurance, where he develops engaging interaction for New York Life websites, applications and interactive experiences, and has done so for over 20 years. Previously, David developed online games and game shows with Pearson Television and Uproar! Games, most notably the interactive versions of “Family Feud” and “To Tell the Truth.” He earned his Masters degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and undergraduate degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

An avid outdoorsman, David is proficient in Dutch Oven Cooking and is actively involved in running outdoor programs through the Boy Scouts of America. He has been married for over 30 years to his wife Dvorah, and has two sons, Sam and Henry, who are both Eagle Scouts.

Dave is the recipient of the 2022 “Rabb School Outstanding Teacher Award”.

For more information on the User-Centered Design MS or other online master’s degrees available at GPS, please visit brandeis.edu/gps.

How to Turn Managing Projects into a Career in Project Management

March 26, 2019 / kaplane / 0 Comments

By Leanne Bateman

By the time we reach adulthood, we have already managed many projects in our lives, whether or not we called it project management. We have completed school projects, participated in musical or theatrical productions, played a season or more of a certain sport, and/or completed any number of endeavors that were temporary in nature and resulted in a unique product or service. That’s all a project actually is, though the purpose, complexity and level of effort vary from project to project.

Following this simple theme, we enter the professional working world that will define our effort between (roughly) 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. over several decades until we retire. For many of us, much of our professional work will consist of some level of project management, whether we are directly managing projects or overseeing those who do. The longer we work, the more projects we will encounter since projects are the building blocks of a company’s capability and achievement. For those of us who are naturally inclined toward the organizational aspect of project management, we will enjoy the many benefits of dedicating our time and effort to work on a team focused on delivering a new product or service for the greater good of our company. This is the reward in itself.

Image source: OnlyEngineerJobs.be

For myself, I started my career in information technology. After a few years as an HR Information Systems (HRIS) Manager, I found that the work I most enjoyed was managing HRIS system implementations and other related technology projects, so I decided to focus solely on project management in the next phase of my career. That was several years ago, and I have not looked back.

If you find this is also true for you—that the work you most enjoy is managing or overseeing projects—then there are no rules that say you can’t become a full-time project manager. The best way to do this is to keep managing projects whenever you can, since experience is by far the most important asset in our skill set. You can volunteer for projects at work while approaching your home projects in the same way, since all projects (professional or personal), require a phased approach of initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing. Both the hard skills and soft skills required in project management get sharper with each project, as long as we continue to focus on continuous improvement of these skills and learn from past lessons. Also, the variety of projects we manage only serves to sharpen our project management skills more while also keeping us interested and learning. At least, this has been true for me.

In addition to gaining experience, I would also recommend the following steps to transition from managing projects to a career (or next phase of your career) in project management:

Read the job postings for a Jr. Project Manager, Project Manager, Sr. Project Manager, PMO Lead, PMO Director and VP of Project Management. These job postings will give you insight into the daily responsibilities and qualifications of project management professionals. This is also a common professional path, though many professionals work as a Project Manager for their entire careers.
Take a class! If you don’t yet have formal training in project management, it is definitely a good idea so you can fully understand and apply project management principles wherever appropriate. Check out Brandeis’s graduate program in Project & Program Management—you don’t need previous project management experience to take a course at Brandeis, just a bachelor’s degree.
If you have a good amount of experience in managing projects, consider professional certification. The Project Management Institute (PMI) is the global governing authority in professional project management. They offer several levels of project management certification, including the industry standard Project Management Professional (PMP).
Continue to hone your soft skills. The skill of communication in particular—verbal and written—is the most important and most commonly used skill in project management. Other soft skills such as leadership, team building, influence, negotiation, and emotional intelligence are critical, and there are endless opportunities to strengthen these skills daily in our personal and professional lives.
Learn, learn, learn! As project managers we never stop learning.

I recommend the steps above because those are exactly what I did. And because my 9-to-5 time is valuable to me, I want to be sure to spend it doing what I most enjoy and what best utilizes and continues to develop my interests, skills and expertise. Transitioning to a career in project management is not for everyone, but it certainly was the best career move I ever made.

Leanne Bateman, MA, PMP, CSM, Six Sigma Green Belt, CIP is the program chair of the Project and Program Management program at Brandeis University Graduate Professional Studies, and the Principal Consultant with Beacon Strategy Group, a Boston-based management firm specializing in project management services. Leanne has 20+ years of project management experience across the areas of health care, biotech/pharmaceuticals, information technology, high-tech manufacturing, human resources, construction, housing/real estate, government, and higher education.

Faces of GPS is an occasional series that profiles Brandeis University Graduate Professional Studies students, faculty and staff. Find more Faces of GPS stories here.

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