Great question! I think many of the skills presented in this class carry through in terms of being a good team member. Learning how to listen to other people on your team, thanking them for helping you, and communicating with other departments respectfully are all critical for project managers but would also just make you a better team member. I also think that as you move on through your career you will move up in terms of responsibility within your company. This means you could have smaller teams under you, or many people come to you for advice. That is when the technical knowledge of this class comes into play, and you can help solve problems for your company. We learned a lot about planning projects and real-world situations where problems occurred and not just the project manager will play a role in solving it, you could play a part to help as well. I think overall, this class had something to offer anyone that is looking to become a leader and the soft skills could be taken anywhere.

While everyone may not become a project manager, most people will play a role in the project management process through their specific tasks assigned to them by the project manager. As a result, the knowledge gained from this class gives a person more insight as to how their task directly affects the project as a whole. Knowing this, they can perform better overall as they can be more independent and use their knowledge of what they are dependent on for their tasks and what tasks are dependent on them to reach out to the appropriate people without needing their managers guidance and be more efficient with their work. This increase in performance, over time, can help them find themselves in a project manager position down the road as well if they so desire.

Whether your role is as a project manager, in research and development, marketing, or risk management - everyone on the team is working cohesively towards the same goal. Therefore, even for someone who does not plan to assume a managerial role the biggest takeaways from this class are communication and understanding the cross functional teams involved in bringing a new product to market. This is valuable as it provides clarity to the job titles we sometimes apply for and do not truly understand what they entail but also provides a glimpse into others who you will interact with. Furthermore, this class exposed us all to the types of medical devices being developed, their classifications, and the ISO, CFR, and other regulations/standards we all would have to abide by. Additionally, we broke down major factors through this course such as cost, time, and scope which influence whatever aspect of the overall project you are involved in.

Project management knowledge helps all team members in a project for several reasons, not just the project manager. One of these is that it helps people understand the importance of their role in the team that they normally would not. Personally for me this class has really opened my eyes and I will definitely think differently about the projects that I am a part of and consider things like the timeline, costs, and scope more than I have in the past. Another reason is that it gives them more respect and appreciation for the project and the manager since they know all of what it takes to be able to get a project from start to finish. Finally it just gives more knowledge about the process that may one day be useful in case some of us want to become a project manager one day.

It is true that not everyone will become a project manager in their career. However, I think this class not only teaches me project management knowledge but also teaches me other skills including communication, troubleshooting etc.  Currently, I'm a PhD student and I usually have to work with the whole team for some research projects. By taking this course, I have learned some very useful skills of working in a team. I have learned how to communicate with other team members and how to plan the work. I have already applied these helpful skills into my daily work and these skills help me a lot.  In my opinion, these project management skills are helpful whether we are going to be a project manager or not.

While it is true that not everyone will become a project manager, some of the skills used in that role can also be applied in a team member role. For example, skills such as communicating, problem solving, compromising, planning a schedule, and utilizing resources appropriately can be just as useful in a team member role as they would be in a manager role. Furthermore, by knowing the different aspects of project management, team members can better understand the though process of their managers and understand the reasoning behind their decisions. This can allow them to be more efficient members and enable the project to run smoothly. 

Understanding project management is crucial for all fields whether the field requires working with a team or not. It provides vital insight on time management, team work, and resource management. After understanding how project managers think and act, individuals may now use this to their advantage and properly execute projects within a certain deadline. Additionally, team members, employees, or independent contractors may also learn how to deal with setbacks or roadblocks, and how to effectively tackle these situations in order to properly execute certain tasks. 

Being able to know project management is I believe an essential need for all engineers and project managers alike. Being able to know how decisions are made and how much time is needed for a deadline and what goes on in the backend is just as important as what is done in the front end. With that being said, if everyone knows what the function of the project manager is and how they operate, there will not be a stark disconnect between the manager and employee and will be a more interactive and productive environment where everyone is transparent on what goes on in the company. By understanding how a project manager thinks, and acts, individuals can take advantage of this and execute projects as efficiently and smoothly as possible and be able to foresee any humps well before they are encountered. 

One point worth taking seriously from this discussion is that project management thinking is not something that only applies to whoever holds the official title. People in purely technical roles carry that perspective into their work too, and it changes the quality of what they contribute. An engineer who understands how projects are structured tends to stop thinking about tasks in isolation and starts thinking about where each piece fits relative to everything else moving at the same time.

Someone in a design or testing role, for instance, handles their time differently when they have a real grasp of how timelines connect and where dependencies exist. The focus shifts from hitting a personal deadline to understanding what a delay or a change actually does to the people working downstream. That shift in awareness tends to produce better planning habits and fewer situations where problems surface too late to address cleanly.

Decision-making is another area where that background pays off. Engineering work regularly involves choosing between options that each carry different implications for cost, time, and performance. Someone without project management context tends to optimize for the technical outcome. Someone with it tends to weigh all three and land on something that holds up better once the broader project constraints come into view.

Communication tends to get cleaner as well. When someone understands how a project is organized and where it currently stands, they give updates that are actually useful, covering what has moved forward, what is at risk, and what needs to happen next. That makes working across teams considerably less friction-heavy.

A useful parallel is a mechanic working on an engine. Focusing only on one component without understanding how the rest of the system behaves leads to fixes that create problems somewhere else. Timing, fuel flow, air intake, and ignition all influence each other, and a mechanic who understands those relationships diagnoses and adjusts differently than one who does not. An engineer with project management awareness operates the same way, treating their work as one part of a connected system rather than a standalone task.

A question that follows from this is how organizations actually get engineers in non-manager roles to apply that kind of thinking day to day, rather than treating it as something that belongs to a different job description entirely.

For non-PMs, the understanding of project management concepts strengthens one's risk ownership, even without formal authorization. In engineering roles, small decisions such as selecting certain materials or sizes, adjusting tolerances, or delaying tests can create downstream risks that aren't immediately obvious. Individuals with project management knowledge are more aware and likely to act proactively to the risks early, and document and consider strategies for mitigation instead of assuming someone else will cover the situation. Instead of teams being reactive, it allows them to do preventative problem-solving, which can reduce rework or compliance concerns. Over time individuals are able to mitigate risks without being a PM. In this case, how can an organization encourage non-managers to take more ownership without overstepping formal roles or creating confusion over decision-making, and what are the boundaries?

Understanding project management is useful even if you’re not the one leading the project. Engineers are still involved with working with timelines, budgets, and project goals. Having this knowledge allows you to see how your role as a team member fits into the bigger picture and helps you with staying better aligned with the project manager. One advantage of understanding how projects are managed is being able to use better communication. Engineers with prior PM knowledge are more likely to flag potential issues early and work more effectively with other teams such as quality or manufacturing. It also helps you understand why timelines may change or why a project manager might need to reallocate resources or shift tasks around. This can make these changes feel more logical instead of frustrating. Overall, I think understanding project management makes you more adaptable and receptive to change.

Even if you are not utilizing project management knowledge to become a PM, the concepts and techniques taught in this course can be applied to other roles and positions. There will be points in other roles where understanding project management pipelines can better prepare you for the project ahead in terms of timelines and deliverables. For example, you may be an engineer in a validation phase of a project, and because you have familiarity with the deliverables at this point in the project, you will have a better understanding of what your PM is expecting from you. PM knowledge may also be useful in cases where you have to coordinate or lead team efforts. Project management involves a lot of technical skills, but it also is fundamentally a people skills job where you have to coordinate and motivate team members to complete a project. Having knowledge of how to best coordinate, manage, and motivate team members within your department can be very beneficial for completion of deliverables. While all the skills learned in this course will not be 100% translatable to non PM position, general knowledge of these topics can better your performance in your role and make you a more knowledgeable and flexible individual within your department.