Project Management – Fall 2011
Description
Managing a project successfully requires multiple skills. Too often, these skills are learned only
through trial and error, at great cost to the project and the organization.
Based on the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Project Management Body of Knowledge
(PMBOK®) core knowledge areas, this course guides students through the application of the
Project Management Life Cycle (PMLC) processes. High-level, key topics include project
selection and scoping, schedule development using MS Project 2010, risk identification, quality
planning, team building and project communication.
More specifically, this course provides an overview of the project management process with
specific emphasis on project definition, identification of project scope, project lifecycle, and
project planning. Building on foundational skills, students will examine how project managers
often find themselves managing multiple projects that are sometimes inter-related and complex.
This is especially true in the specialized areas of IT and financial project management. In
addition, a well-thought-out and well-managed schedule is critical to successful project
management. Students will learn effective tools and techniques that allow project managers to
translate specifications to realistic project plans, plan for resource needs, analyze critical path,
and contingency planning strategies. Students will also learn cost estimation and budgeting
methods and how cost and budget management impacts the development and execution of the
project plan. Moreover, this course will focus on how risk and quality management can
positively or negatively impact project goals and outcomes. Quantitative techniques for risk and
quality assessment and decision making will be examined, as will the steps and elements of a
risk and quality management plan, including the ongoing monitoring of progress.
Suggested Text
 Title: Information Technology Project Management, Revised 6 edition (July 22, 2010)
 Paperback: 704 pages
 Publisher: Course Technology
 Language: English
 ISBN-10: 1111221758
 ISBN-13: 978-1111221751
In addition, we will be using an online Project Management simulation software program from
Harvard Business Publishing. The simulation can be accessed via this link:
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/access/6983396
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Unless you already have an account, you will have to click on the Register Now link to enable you to
register with the site, and purchase ($12.50) access to the online PM simulation software.
Software
 Microsoft Project 2010
Attendance
Attendance for the labs is required. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to make up the
work. Please make arrangements prior to any planned absences, and notification should be given
for prolonged illnesses. Extra handouts may be offered during the next class but, it is solely your
responsibility to obtain any materials that were distributed in prior classes.
If you have any special needs and/or a documented disability and need special accommodations
in this course, please discuss this with your professor as soon as possible. We want to make this a
great learning experience for all of our students.
Grading
For all assignments, the requirements, deliverable format, and evaluation criteria will be
precisely specified. All assignments must be submitted in no later than the due date specified in
our Course Schedule. Late work will not be accepted. Any incorrectly submitted work (wrong
assignment, wrong screen captures, name not present on assignment, etc.) will receive no credit
whatsoever. It is solely your responsibility to correctly submit the correct work, by the due date
and time.
400
400
200
1,000
points from homework assignments/cases
points from 2 exams (Mid-Term and Final)
points from attendance, preparation and participation
Total Points
Academic Dishonesty
The most important principle of this class is academic integrity. You are expected to do your
own work. Instances of academic dishonesty will result in a minimum penalty of a failing grade
for that exercise, a penalty of two to four times the point value of the assignment reduction in
your prior earned scores, and may also include a failing grade for the course, reporting of the
incident to OU’s Student Judiciaries Office and possible expulsion from the university.
Academic dishonesty includes sharing of the exam passwords, questions, and possible answers,
with any other student.
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Tentative Class Schedule with detailed chapter objectives)
(4 hours each class; 2 classes each week for 4 weeks; proposed total class hours is 32)
Class 1 (4 hours including two short breaks)
Class Introduction
 Syllabus
 Schedule
 Microsoft Project 2010 (Software)
 Harvard Business Publishing Simulation
 Team formation
 Misc. topics
Chapter 1: Introduction to Project Management
 Understand the growing need for better project management
 Explain what a project is, provide examples of projects, list various attributes of projects,
and describe the triple constraint of project management
 Describe project management and discuss key elements of the project management
framework, including project stakeholders, the project management knowledge areas,
common tools and techniques, and project success
 Discuss the relationship between project, program, and portfolio management and the
contributions they each make to enterprise success
 Understand the role of the project manager by describing what project managers do, what
skills they need, and what the career field is like for information technology project
managers
 Describe the project management profession, including its history, the role of
professional organizations like the Project Management Institute (PMI), the importance
of certification and ethics, and the advancement of project management software
Class 2 (4 hours including two short breaks)
Chapter 2: The Project Management and Information Technology Context
 Describe the systems view of project management and how it applies to information
technology projects
 Understand organizations, including the four frames, organizational structures, and
organizational culture
 Explain why stakeholder management and top management commitment are critical for a
project’s success
 Understand the concept of a project phase and the project life cycle and distinguish
between project development and product development
 Discuss the unique attributes and diverse nature of information technology projects
 Describe recent trends affecting IT project management, including globalization,
outsourcing, and virtual teams
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Chapter 3: Project Management Process Groups: A Case Study
 Describe the five project management process groups, the typical level of activity for
each, and the interactions among them
 Understand how the project management process groups relate to the project
management knowledge areas
 Discuss how organizations develop information technology project management
methodologies to meet their needs
 Review a case study of an organization applying the project management process groups
to manage an information technology project, describe outputs of each process group, and
understand the contribution that effective project initiating, planning, executing,
monitoring and controlling, and closing make to project success
Class 3 (4 hours including two short breaks)
Chapter 4: Project Integration Management
 Describe an overall framework for project integration management as it relates to the
other project management knowledge areas and the project life cycle
 Explain the strategic planning process and apply different project selection methods
 Explain the importance of creating a project charter to formally initiate projects
 Describe project management plan development, understand the content of these plans,
and review approaches for creating them
 Explain project execution, its relationship to project planning, the factors related to
successful results, and tools and techniques to assist in project execution
 Describe the process of monitoring and controlling project work
 Understand the integrated change control process, planning for and managing changes on
information technology projects, and developing and using a change control system
 Explain the importance of developing and following good procedures for closing projects
 Describe how software can assist in project integration management
Chapter 5: Project Scope Management
 Understand the importance of good project scope management
 Discuss methods for collecting and documenting requirements in order to meet
stakeholder needs and expectations
 Explain the scope definition process and describe the contents of a project scope
statement
 Discuss the process for creating a work breakdown structure using the analogy, topdown, bottom-up, and mind-mapping approaches
 Explain the importance of verifying scope and how it relates to defining and controlling
scope
 Understand the importance of controlling scope and approaches for preventing scoperelated problems on information technology projects
 Describe how software can assist in project scope management
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Class 4 (4 hours including two short breaks)
Chapter 6: Project Time Management
 Understand the importance of project schedules and good project time management
 Define activities as the basis for developing project schedules
 Describe how project managers use network diagrams and dependencies to assist in
activity sequencing
 Understand the relationship between estimating resources and project schedules
 Explain how various tools and techniques help project managers perform activity
duration estimating
 Use a Gantt chart for planning and tracking schedule information, find the critical path
for a project, and describe how critical chain scheduling and the Program Evaluation and
Review Technique (PERT) affect schedule development
 Discuss how reality checks and discipline are involved in controlling and managing
changes to the project schedule
 Describe how project management software can assist in project time management and
review words of caution before using this software
Midterm Exam – 2 hours
Class 5 (4 hours including two short breaks)
Chapter 7: Project Cost Management
 Understand the importance of project cost management
 Explain basic project cost management principles, concepts, and terms
 Discuss different types of cost estimates and methods for preparing them
 Understand the processes involved in cost budgeting and preparing a cost estimate and
budget for an information technology project
 Understand the benefits of earned value management and project portfolio management to
assist in cost control
 Describe how project management software can assist in project cost management
Chapter 8: Project Quality Management
 Understand the importance of project quality management for information technology
products and services
 Define project quality management and understand how quality relates to various aspects of
information technology projects
 Describe quality planning and its relationship to project scope management
 Discuss the importance of quality assurance
 Explain the main outputs of the quality control process
 Understand the tools and techniques for quality control, such as the Seven Basic Tools of
Quality, statistical sampling, Six Sigma, and testing
 Summarize the contributions of noteworthy quality experts to modern quality management
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Describe how leadership, the cost of quality, organizational influences, expectations, cultural
differences, standards, and maturity models relate to improving quality in information
technology projects
Discuss how software can assist in project quality management
Class 6 (4 hours including two short breaks)
Chapter 9: Project Human Resource Management
 Explain the importance of good human resource management in projects, including the
current state and future implications of the global IT workforce
 Define project human resource management and understand its processes
 Summarize key concepts for managing people by understanding the theories of Abraham
Maslow, Frederick Herzberg, David McClelland, and Douglas McGregor on motivation,
H. J. Thamhain and D. L. Wilemon on influencing workers, and Stephen Covey on how
people and teams can become more effective
 Discuss human resource planning and be able to create a human resource plan, project
organizational chart, responsibility assignment matrix, and resource histogram
 Understand important issues involved in project staff acquisition and explain the concepts
of resource assignments, resource loading, and resource leveling
 Assist in team development with training, team-building activities, and reward systems
 Explain and apply several tools and techniques to help manage a project team and
summarize general advice on managing teams
 Describe how project management software can assist in project human resource
management
Chapter 10: Project Communications Management
 Understand the importance of good communications on projects.
 Discuss the process of identifying stakeholders and how to create a stakeholder register
and stakeholder management strategy
 Explain the elements of project communications planning and how to create a
communications management plan
 Describe various methods for distributing project information and the advantages and
disadvantages of each, discuss the importance of addressing individual communication
needs, and calculate the number of communications channels in a project
 Recognize the importance of managing stakeholder expectations
 Understand how reporting performance helps stakeholders stay informed about project
progress
 List various methods for improving project communications, such as managing conflicts,
running effective meetings, using e-mail and other technologies effectively, and using
templates
 Describe how software can enhance project communications management
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Class 7 (4 hours including two short breaks)
Chapter 11: Project Risk Management
 Understand what risk is and the importance of good project risk management
 Discuss the elements involved in risk management planning and the contents of a risk
management plan
 List common sources of risks in information technology projects
 Describe the process of identifying risks and be able to create a risk register
 Discuss the qualitative risk analysis process and explain how to calculate risk factors,
create probability/impact matrixes, and apply the Top Ten Risk Item Tracking technique
to rank risks
 Explain the quantitative risk analysis process and how to apply decision trees, simulation,
and sensitivity analysis to quantify risks
 Provide examples of using different risk response planning strategies to address both
negative and positive risks
 Discuss what is involved in monitoring and controlling risks
 Describe how software can assist in project risk management
Chapter 12: Project Procurement Management
 Understand the importance of project procurement management and the increasing use of
outsourcing for information technology projects.
 Describe the work involved in planning procurements for projects, including determining
the proper type of contract to use and preparing a procurement management plan,
statement of work, source selection criteria, and make-or-buy analysis
 Discuss what is involved in conducting procurements and strategies for obtaining seller
responses, selecting sellers, and awarding contracts
 Understand the process of administering procurements by managing procurement
relationships and monitoring contract performance
 Describe the process of closing procurements
 Discuss types of software available to assist in project procurement management.
Class 8 (2 hours)
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Final Examination (2 hours)