MIS573 – Project Management
Credit Hours: 3
Term Year: Spring 2011
Sections A & B – Online, To Access the Course Web site visit bb.uis.edu
Office:
Dr. Dave Larson, CCP, PMP
Associate Professor of MIS
https://edocs.uis.edu/dlars1/www/
UHB 4030
Office Hours:
Phone:
By appointment (See Communicating with the Instructor section)
217-206-7919
Email:
Fax:
larson.david@uis.edu
217-206-7543
Instructor:
Course Description
Managing Information Technology projects within an organizational context, including the
processes related to initiating, planning, executing, controlling, reporting, and closing a project.
This course covers topics such as project integration, scope, time, cost, quality control, risk
management, and earned value management. (Open to non-MIS majors) Prerequisite: BUS322
(Operations Management) or equivalent or with permission of the instructor (WPI).
Course Objectives
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To introduce students to the fundamental knowledge required to manage Information
Technology projects.
To fulfill the Project Management course requirement for the Management Information
Systems Master’s degree.
To provide students with a portfolio of project management tools that can be used in
managing Information Technology projects.
To provide students with a real-world project management experience.
Prerequisites
Prerequisite: BUS 322, or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. Please notify the
instructor during the first week of class of any accommodations needed for the course. Late notification may
cause the requested accommodations to be unavailable. All accommodations must be approved through the
Office of Disability Services (ODS) in the Human Resources Building (HRB), Room 80, 217-206-6666.
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Learning Outcomes
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Demonstrate an understanding of projects, project management, and the role of the project
manager.
Demonstrate an understanding of the project management process groups.
Demonstrate an understanding of project integration management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project scope management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project time management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project cost management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project quality management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project human resource management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project communications management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project risk management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project procurement management.
Demonstrate and understanding of Microsoft Project 2007.
Course Content and Learning Outcomes
Chapter Assignments
Schwalbe Chapter 1 – Introduction to Project
Management
Schwalbe Chapter 2 – The Project
Management and Information Technology
Context
Schwalbe Chapter 3 – The Project
Management Process Groups: A Case Study
Schwalbe Chapter 4 – Project Integration
Management
Schwalbe Chapter 5 – Project Scope
Management
Schwalbe Chapter 6 – Project Time
Management
Schwalbe Chapter 7 – Project Cost
Management
Schwalbe Chapter 8 – Project Quality
Management
Schwalbe Chapter 9 – Project Human
Resources Management
Schwalbe Chapter 10 – Project
Communications Management
Schwalbe Chapter 11 – Project Risk
Management
Schwalbe Chapter 12 – Project Procurement
Management
Bunin and Schwalbe Tutorials 1 – 6 –
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Learning Outcome
 Demonstrate an understanding of projects,
project management, and the role of the
project manager.
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Demonstrate an understanding of the
project management process groups.
Demonstrate an understanding of project
integration management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project
scope management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project
time management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project
cost management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project
quality management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project
human resource management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project
communications management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project
risk management.
Demonstrate an understanding of project
procurement management.
Demonstrate an understanding of
Last Edited on March 9, 2016
Microsoft Project 2007
Microsoft Project 2007.
Class Schedule
The following is the tentative schedule for our class. Changes and additional assignments will
occur throughout the semester. It is your responsibility to make sure you are aware of the current
schedule and your assignment responsibilities. Current versions of the schedule are posted on
the class Blackboard website.
Only reading and Microsoft Project assignment due dates are listed below. Assignments for each
week must be obtained from the Assignments/Homework area of the class Blackboard website.
All assignments (except Online Discussions – see weekly homework assignments for dates) are
due at midnight on the date listed. On a weekly basis, Online Discussions Answers are due on
Saturday’s at midnight (end of the day) and all other assignments are due on Tuesday’s at
midnight (end of the day). For example the Online Discussion Answers for Session 1 will be
due on Saturday, January 22, 2011 at midnight (end of the day). All other Session 1
assignments are due on Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at midnight (end of the day).
IT = Information Technology Project Management, Sixth Edition text
MP = Microsoft Project 2007 text
Session
0
1
Date
1/18
1/19 – 1/25
Topic
Introduction to Class
Introduction to Project Management
Reading
2
1/26 – 2/1
IT – Chapter 2
3
2/2 – 2/8
The Project Management and Information Technology
Context
The Project Management Process Groups: A Case Study
4
2/9 – 2/15
Project Integration Management
5
2/16 – 2/22
Project Scope Management
IT – Chapter 4
MP - Tutorial 1
IT – Chapter 5
6
2/23 – 3/1
Project Time Management
7
3/2 – 3/8
8
3/9 – 3/22
9
10
3/23 – 3/29
3/30 – 4/5
Exam 1 - Chapters 1 – 6
Tutorial 1,2
(Test date is March 8th)
Spring Recess – March 14 - 18
Project Cost Management
Human Resource Management
Project Quality Management
11
4/6 – 4/12
Project Communications Management
12
13
4/13 – 4/19
4/20 – 4/26
Project Risk Management
Project Procurement Management
14
15
4/27 – 5/3
5/4 – 5/10
Final Group Projects Due
Exam 2 - Chapters 7-12
Tutorial 3,4,5,6
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IT – Chapter 1
IT – Chapter 3
IT – Chapter 6
MP - Tutorial 2
IT – Chapter 7
MP - Tutorial 3
IT – Chapter 9
IT – Chapter 8
MP - Tutorial 4
IT – Chapter 10
MP - Tutorial 5
IT – Chapter 11
IT - Chapters 12
MP - Tutorial 6
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(Test date is May 10th)
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Required Texts
1. Kathy Schwalbe, Information Technology Project Management, Sixth Edition, Course
Technology, 2010, ISBN-10: 0324786921 ISBN-13: 9780324786927.
2. Rachel Biheller Bunin, New Perspectives on Microsoft Office Project 2007, Introductory,
Course Technology, 2008, ISBN: 9781435431270 (this ISBN includes the book and trial MS
Project 2007 - it is only available through the UIS Bookstore or from the publisher Course
Technology - www.course.com). To purchase the book without the trial software use the
following ISBN - 978-1-4239-0594-3).
Course Overview
This course is a graduate level course that focuses on the management of projects in an
Information Technology context. The Project Management Institute’s project management
methodology will be followed in the course. This methodology is a widely accepted as the
standard for project management worldwide. Students will be exposed to project management
concepts through readings in the text, outside article reviews and through various assignments.
Students will be applying these concepts to a real-world project throughout the semester.
Additionally, students will be completing various exercises using Microsoft Project 2007.
Course Requirements
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Students are required to use the class Blackboard website.
Students are advised to carefully prepare for each class meeting by reading the assigned text
and completing assignments on time. The evaluation of class participation will be the based
on the student’s contribution to class discussion both in class and via Blackboard discussion
assignments.
The grade will be based upon exams, homework assignments, class participation, group
participation, quizzes, and group project.
Exams are not comprehensive. Not all topics in the required textbook will be covered in
class. Since information technology changes rapidly, some topics discussed in class may not
be found in the textbook.
Students are expected to take each exam on the scheduled day and time. Any exception
requires the prior consent of the instructor and there must be significant circumstances to
warrant not taking the exam at the scheduled time.
Class participation is mandatory.
Students will be required to locate current articles concerning assigned Project Management
related topics and provide a summary of the articles as assigned.
Students will be required to develop presentations as part of the group project and/or to
develop presentations for article summaries.
Students are responsible for being aware of the due dates for all assignments and for
obtaining assignments, guidelines and rubrics for assignments, and other items as specified
by the instructor from the class Blackboard website.
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Course Delivery
Course materials will be delivered through the Blackboard learning management system. For
our class the Blackboard site will contain the sections described below:
Announcements - This is where I will post announcements relating to the entire class. You will
see this area when you log into Blackboard.
Course Information - here you will find the syllabus for the class, guidelines and rubrics for all
assignments, information about computer health, and reference links.
Course Documents - here you will find information pertaining to each chapter in the Laudon
text. This includes lecture notes for the chapter along with the chapter Powerpoint presentation.
Assignments - here you will find three sections. Homework, which contains homework
assignments for each week. Quizzes which contains quizzes for each chapter (see text at the
quizzes entry for details). Practice Quizzes which contains quizzes you can take for practice
prior to the test.
Discussion Board - this is where you will find various discuss forums. The first forum is Ask
Dave, this forum is available for you to ask me a question that you feel would be of interest to
the entire class. The remainder of the discussion forums in this area will relate to discussion
about assigned chapters. We will be using the discussion area extensively during our class.
Group Pages - this area will contain a private group for each student in the class as well as a
private area for each project group. You will use your private group for submitting homework as
directed in the homework assignments. The project groups area will be used for project related
discussions and posting for group deliverables.
Grade Center – Access to your gradebook. I will post assignment scores to the Blackboard
gradebook and you will be able to access those scores here. Raw scores only – see below for
details.
Contacts - this contains information about me.
Tools – this area contains the tools available in Blackboard. Of most interest in this class would
be the Collaboration (Chat) area and email features. Also this area provides another means to
access some of the areas described above.
Grading
Individual Assignments and Quizzes
Group Project
Mid-Term
Final
Total
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15%
20%
32.5%
32.5%
100.00%
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Assignment grades will be posted in the Blackboard grade book. However, scores will not be
weighted as described above – they will be raw scores only. You will not be able to simply add
up your scores and divide by the total number of available points to determine your final grade.
You will have to add your scores up in each category, divide by the total points available for that
category and then multiply the weight against your percentage to determine the weighted
percentage for that category. You would then add up the weighted percentages for each category
to determine your final grade percentage. Although you will see a weight entry in the
Blackboard grade book, it is set to 0%, meaning no weight is applied to the score. While
Blackboard provides for weighting, it is limited and does not support the grading method I use in
the class.
Grade Scale:
Grade
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DU
Range
Greater than or equal to 93
Greater than or equal 90 and less than 93
Greater than or equal 87 and less than 90
Greater than or equal 83 and less than 87
Greater than or equal 80 and less than 83
Greater than or equal 77 and less than 80
Greater than or equal 73 and less than 77
Greater than or equal 70 and less than 73
Greater than or equal 67 and less than 70
Greater than or equal 63 and less than 67
Greater than or equal 60 and less than 63
Less than 60
Final grades when calculated are not rounded to the highest whole number.
Assignments
Group Project:
The purpose of the group project is to use a structured approach to project management, in a
team setting, to execute an information technology project selected by the group. Each group
(up to 5 students per group) will prepare a variety of project documentation including; project
charter, a WBS, a Gantt chart in Project 2007, project status reports, final group project report,
presentation, and other deliverables provided in the group project guidelines. The group grade
will consist of two parts. The first is the grade assigned to the group as a whole for deliverables
submitted by the group. The second part is based on each individual’s contribution to the team
and project deliverables.
Individual Assignments:
Lessons Learned Report and Team/Self Assessment:
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Students will make private learning journal entries to help them reflect on their learning and
prepare for exams. This journal should be a dated record of each student’s learning related to
project management, and working in groups. Additionally, throughout the duration of the class
project students will provide self and team assessments.
Reading and Weekly Assignments:
On a weekly basis reading, written, and/or Microsoft Project 2007 tutorials will be assigned.
Students are advised to complete each assignment by its due date.
Quizzes
Quizzes will be given on the assigned reading material from the Schwalbe and Bunin texts.
Quizzes will be available on the class Blackboard website one week in advance of when the
chapter is due. Quizzes will become unavailable at midnight on the day the chapter is due. In
that the quizzes will be available for one week, no make up quizzes will be provided under any
circumstances. Students must complete the quiz by its’ due date. The objective of the quiz is to
encourage class participation and reading of assigned text material. Since technical problems
may occur which might require me to reset a quiz you started but could not finish, I highly
suggest you take the quiz at least 24 to 36 hours prior to its due date. In most cases this should
provide adequate time for me to reset the quiz - however, I do not guarantee that I will be able to
respond to your request within this time frame. It is your responsibility for ensuring you have
adequate time to complete the quiz before the due date.
Online Discussions
Students will be required to participate in weekly online discussions. Discussion assignments
will include answering one or more questions and responding to other student’s answers.
Article Summaries
Students will be required to summarize articles related to project management.
Exams
This class requires 2 proctored exams. Acceptable proctor locations are colleges, universities,
libraries, and military installations. The proctor location must provide for checking of photo
ID’s and have dependable Internet access as the exam will be administered online through
Blackboard. Please note it will be your responsibility to set up an appointment with the proctor
location prior to each exam. I will U.S. mail instructions to the proctor approximately one week
ahead of the exam date. I will provide more detailed instructions in the Weekly Homework
assignments closer to the exam date.
Incomplete Grades
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Incomplete grades will not be given unless an extraordinary circumstance arises that would keep
a student, who is caught up in class at the time of the circumstance, from successfully completing
class requirements.
Late Assignments
Since meeting deadlines is an important aspect of project management, penalties for late
assignments will be assessed. The point value for assignments will be reduced 20% per day the
assignment is late. After being 5 days late no points will be given for the assignment. You can
still turn in the assignment for grading to make sure you did it properly but, no points will be
given.
Extra Credit
No extra credit assignments will be provided.
Assignment Revision Policy
For individual assignments, the first assignment of each type (article summary, lessons learned,
memoranda, MS Project Tutorials, and exercise assignments) may be revised for an improved
grade provided the following conditions are met; the assignment was turned in on time and the
attempt at the assignment was a reasonable attempt at meeting the assignment requirements. The
revised assignment must be submitted within seven days of the student receiving the graded
original. Revised assignments received after the 7th day will not be accepted.
For group assignments, group deliverables can be revised one time for an improved grade. The
revised assignment must be submitted within seven days of the group receiving the graded
original. Revised assignments received after the 7th day will not be accepted.
Plagiarism/Academic Integrity
I support the UIS policy on Academic Integrity, which states, in part: “Academic integrity is at
the heart of the University's commitment to academic excellence. The UIS community strives to
communicate and support clear standards of integrity, so that undergraduate and graduate
students can internalize those standards and carry them forward in their personal and
professional lives. Living a life with integrity prepares students to assume leadership roles in
their communities as well as in their chosen profession. Alumni can be proud of their education
and the larger society will benefit from the University's contribution to the development of
ethical leaders. Violations of academic integrity demean the violator, degrade the learning
process, deflate the meaning of grades, discredit the accomplishments of past and present
students, and tarnish the reputation of the University for all its members.”
Academic sanctions range from a warning to expulsion from the university, depending on the
severity of your violation and your history of violations. Whatever the sanction, I will file a
report of academic dishonesty to the Office of the Provost.
You are responsible for understanding and complying with the UIS Academic Integrity Policy
http://www.uis.edu/academicintegrity/policy/index.html.
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Communicating with the Instructor
Email (preferred – will most likely result in quickest response) – I will normally try to respond
to emails within 24 hours but often in less than 24 hours. However, I do not check my email on
Sunday. If you have not heard back from me in 24 hours, feel free to send me a reminder.
Please use email especially for questions relating to your work or that pertain to you alone.
Ask Dave – I have provided a discussion area on Blackboard where you can ask questions that
you feel would be of interest to others in the class. Questions can pertain to the class or MIS in
general.
Telephone – you may call me at my office anytime. If I am not in, please leave a message and I
will attempt to get back to you in a reasonable time frame.
In Person – If you would like to meet with me in person, please contact me to arrange a meeting
time. Generally, I can meet anytime Monday through Friday.
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