Oregon Health & Science University
Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology
Project Management, BMI 518, Spring 2011
COURSE DESCRIPTION
"Students learn and use the basic tools and strategies necessary to manage biomedical
informatics projects. This course is appropriate for biomedical informatics students who intend
to work as project managers or on project teams. It is also appropriate for students who plan to
assume responsibility for the oversight, selection or funding of projects."
COURSE SUBJECT MATTER
It is estimated that 31% of IT projects are cancelled before they are completed; only 16.2% of IT
projects are completed on time and on budget1. The discipline of project management attempts to
address the high cost of project failure by studying the knowledge, processes and strategies
required to improve project outcomes.
This course consists of complementary approaches to learning project management. These
include: assigned readings, lectures and case study based exercises. The use of project
management software and other project management tools are integrated into assignments and
lectures. Competency is evaluated by a final exam and a final project.
COURSE MATERIALS
Textbooks:
Verzuh, E. (2008). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management (3rd Edition). Hobken, New
Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Available in Kindle and paperback formats
# ISBN-10: 0470247894
# ISBN-13: 978-0470247891
Harvard Business School (2005) Harvard Business Review on Managing Projects. Boston,
Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Publishing.
Available in paperback format
# ISBN-13: 978-1591396390
Wysocki, R.K (2009). Effective Project Management Traditional, Agile, Extreme (5th Edition).
Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc.
Available in paperback format (Also available in web format from OHSU library 24x7 book
collection.)
# ISBN-10: 0470423676
# ISBN-13: 978-0470423677
Project Management Software
Student must acquire and install one of the following project management software products:

Open WorkBench - http://www.openworkbench.org/ (Free but only works with Windows
OS)

Shared Plan - http://www.sharedplan.com/buy.html/ ($99 Mac OS X and Windows)

OmniPlan - http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omniplan ($149 Mac OS)

Microsoft Project 2010 http://www1.buyoffice.microsoft.com/usa/product.aspx?sku=10234594&cache=208318299&culture=en-US (Free trial) or
http://www.academicsuperstore.com/products/Microsoft/Project/ (Academic Pro Edition
$199.95)
INSTRUCTOR’S EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS
Students are expected to keep up with weekly reading assignments, lectures, and moderated or
assigned discussions. Each week, students work together on practical exercises. Class
participation is required and constitutes a substantial part of your course grade.
Civility and respect for others are expected from students and the instructor. Students are also
expected to abide by the DMICE Professional Code of Conduct. In an effort to uphold the
principles and practice of academic honesty, faculty members at OHSU may use originality
checking systems such as Turnitin to compare a student’s submitted work against multiple
sources.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
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Learn an approach to managing projects that includes both the technical and sociocultural
aspects of project management.
Learn to use tools and methods for defining, planning, budgeting, scheduling, staffing,
controlling and documenting projects.
Apply the tools and methods to case studies and other assignments.
Reinforce and extend knowledge and skills by actively engaging in the class activities
and discussions.
FORMAL COURSE REQUIREMENTS
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Chapters of the required textbooks are assigned each week. Occasionally, supplementary
case studies, research papers or published articles are also assigned. Students are
expected to complete the reading assignments within the allotted time.
Students are expected to participate in class discussions of the reading assignments.
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Case studies are integrated into written assignments. These assignments require students
to apply information contained in textbooks and lectures to concrete problems.
Assignments are graded on a pass/fail scale. Students are expected to complete
assignments within the allotted time.
Weekly narrated lectures add the instructor’s perspective to the course. Students are
expected to review the lectures within the allotted time.
Team projects are used to evaluate students’ ability to apply the principles, methods and
tools of project management. Projects topics are proposed by students and approved by
course instructors. Most often, team projects are detailed project plans for a biomedical
informatics project.
A final exam of both essay and objective questions tests students’ comprehension and
retention of the principles, methods and tools of project management. The final exam is
an open book exam.
GRADING
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Class participation - 10 points
Written assignments (pass/fail) – 20 points
Team Project - 35 points
Final exam - 35 points
COURSE SCHEDULE
The course schedule is available on the first day of class.
Our program is committed to all students achieving their potential. If you have a disability or
think you may have a disability (physical, learning, hearing, vision, psychological) which may
need a reasonable accommodation please contact Student Access at (503) 494-0082 or e-mail at
orchards@ohsu.edu to discuss your needs. You can also find more information at
http://www.ohsu.edu/student-access. Because accommodations can take time to implement, it is
important to have this discussion as soon as possible. All information regarding a student’s
disability is kept in accordance with relevant state and federal laws.
1. Chaos Report (1995) The Standish Group International, Inc.