Teaching Project
Management
Kathy Schwalbe, Ph.D., PMP
March 17, 2005
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
My Danny boy!
My son, my sister,
and me at a ND
vs. Stanford game
in 1999.
GO IRISH!
Presentation Outline
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What is project management?
Why should students interested in
technical fields learn about it?
Suggestions for structuring a project
management course
Methods for engaging students and
having them help you and others
Using project management and other
software
Lots of resources
What Is Project Management?
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Project management is “the
application of knowledge, skills,
tools and techniques to project
activities to meet project
requirements” (PMBOK ® Guide
2004, p. 8)
Project Management
Framework*
*This figure and others are from my book, Information
Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition
Benefits of Good Project
Management
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Better control of financial, physical,
and human resources
Improved customer relations
Shorter development times
Lower costs, higher profit margins
Higher quality and increased reliability
Improved productivity
Better internal coordination
Higher worker morale (less stress)
Results of Poor Project
Management
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Getting “FIRED” on The
Apprentice
Billions of dollars wasted on
cancelled and challenged
projects
Standish Group Statistics*
Measure
Successful projects
Failed projects
Money wasted on
challenged and
failed projects
1994 Data
16%
31%
$140 B out
of $250 B
2002 Data
34%
15%
$55 B out of
$255 B
Result
Doubled
Halved
More than
halved
*The Standish Group, “Latest Standish Group
CHAOS Report Shows Project Success Rates Have
Improved by 50%,” (March 25, 2003).
Why Should IT Students Study
Project Management?
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Even if they have no desire to
lead teams, they’ll probably be on
them
Understanding project
management will help them
perform on project teams
Project management continues to
be an important career field
Project management can help
anyone in daily life challenges
Some Interesting Statistics
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The U.S. spends $2.3 trillion on projects
every year, or one-quarter its gross
domestic product, and the world as a whole
spends nearly $10 trillion of its $40.7 gross
product on projects of all kinds
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Worldwide IT spending continues to grow,
and Forrester Research predicts that U.S.
IT spending will grow by another 5.7% in
2005, to reach $795 billion
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In 2003, the average senior project
manager in the U.S. earned almost
$90,000 per year, and the average Project
Manage Office (PMO) Director earned
more than the average Chief Information
Officer ($118,633 vs. $103,925)
Top Ten Most in
Demand IT Skills
Rank
IT Skill/Job
Average Annual Salary
1
SQL Database Analyst
$80,664
2
Oracle Database Analyst
$87,144
3
C/C++ Programmer
$95,829
4
Visual Basic Programmer
$76,903
5
E-commerce/Java Developer
$89,163
6
Windows NT/2000 Expert
$80,639
7
Windows/Java Developert
$93,785
8
Security Architect
$86,881
9
Project Manager
$95,719
10
Network Engineer
$82,906
Paul Ziv, “The Top 10 IT Skills in Demand,” Global Knowledge Webcast
(www.globalknowledge.com) (11/20/2002).
Top Information Technology Skills
70%
60%
60%
Percentage of
Respondents
58%
50%
42%
41%
Database
management
Networking
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Application
development
Project management
Information Technology (IT) Skill
Cosgrove, Lorraine. “January 2004 IT Staffing Update,” CIO Research
Reports, (February 3, 2004).
Growth in PMP Certification,
1993-2004
102,047
100,000
# PMPs
80,000
76,550
60,000
52,443
40,343
40,000
27,052
20,000
-
18,184
1,000
1993
1,900
1994
2,800
1995
4,400
1996
6,415
1997
10,086
1998
1999
Year
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Suggestions for Structuring a
Course in Project Management
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Know your audience and their
needs and abilities
Know your time constraints
Plan your course well and follow
your plan, yet…
Be flexible to meet student
needs
Sample Syllabi
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Examples available in the IM and on
my site and other instructor sites
Can cover entire text in one
semester course (about 36 contact
hours), but decide which areas to
emphasize
Use a structured approach to team
projects
Can use case studies for team
projects or HW, can be difficult for
some students
Strategies for Team Projects –
Help Engage Students and
“Practice What You Teach”
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Make sure projects fit with the
nature of your course
Let students be involved in
finding and selecting projects
Give students guidance in the
process for doing team projects
Provide samples and templates
Let students help grade projects
and each other
Tailor Projects to Help You
and Others
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Experiment with team projects and
homework assignments, and don’t
be afraid to have the students help
you in teaching your course
Have students evaluate
software/tools, interview PMs, set up
events, help neighborhood
organizations, etc.
Personal examples: Blackboard eval,
new case studies, creating review
games, new SW eval, conference
planning, etc. (show Jeopardy game)
Follow the Project Management
Process for Team Projects
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Project selection
Initiating
Planning
Executing
Monitoring and Controlling
Closing
Project Selection for My
Project Management Classes
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Each students gets to propose a real
project ( using a template for HW1)
Each student must give a “sales pitch”
for his/her project and think through
what’s required to do the project
The class as a whole selects projects,
teams, and project managers
Specific tools for project and team
selection: student survey form, HW
template, weighted scoring model or
simple Excel file to help select projects
Student Survey Form
Name: _________________________
E-mail: __________________
Major: _________________________
Minor: __________________
Daytime Phone: _________________
Employer: _______________
Brief job description, if currently working full- or part-time:
1. In this class, all students are resources. What are some of your
abilities/strengths as they might relate to this class?
2. What are some of your weaknesses or areas you would like to improve?
3. What are you most interested in learning from this class?
4. Are you currently working on a project or have you recently completed
one? Please describe the project below.
5. For the group project, team members will need skills in several areas.
Please rank yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best) on each of the
skills listed below.
 Real project experience
 Customer interaction
 Research skills
 Writing skills
 Presentation skills
 PM software skills
 Web site creation
 Leadership
 Teamwork facilitation
6. List any questions or concerns on the back of this page. Thanks!
HW1 Template to Propose a
Team Project
Student Name:
Date:
Potential Project Name:
Project Sponsor’s Name and Organization:
Need for the Project:
Main Project Deliverables:
Required Team Skills:
Main Team Tasks/Roles:
My Desired Role and Why:
Project Sales Pitch:
Weighted Scoring Model for
Project Selection
Weighted Scoring Model for Project Name
Created by:
Criteria
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Weighted Project Scores
Date:
Weight Project 1 Project 2 Project 3 Project 4
25%
90
90
50
20
15%
70
90
50
20
15%
50
90
50
20
10%
25
90
50
70
5%
20
20
50
90
20%
50
70
50
50
10%
20
50
50
90
100%
56
78.5
50
41.5
Weighted Score by Project
Project 4
Project 3
Project 2
Project 1
0
20
40
60
80
100
Initiating Projects
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Form teams based on projects
selected
Have each team select a project
manager
Specify what each team must
produce for the project and when
Focus on clarifying roles and
responsibilities for each team
member (require students to show
who will do what)
Tools to Enhance Team
Building Early in the Project
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MBTI assignment – have each
student take an online MBTI test and
write a paper about it for HW, also
send MBTI to their project manager
Each team must prepare
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a team contract
a project Web site
a project charter
Each team member
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must give at least one presentation
gets to assess project and each team
member’s performance
Myers-Briggs Temperament
Indicator (MBTI)
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Many organizations use MBTI as
part of team building
Few students know their profile or
how it affects communications and
teams
Several good sites to take the test
for free
List sites and assignment in course
syllabus
Have a team give a presentation on
MBTI
Project Planning Tools
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Require students to prepare several
planning documents
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Scope statement (includes descriptions
of all project deliverables and criteria for
project success)
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and
Gantt chart
Communications Plan (can be in team
contract)
Responsibility Assignment Matrix
Decide what your students need to
do to plan their projects
Project Execution and Control
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Using progress review presentations
and checking the team Web sites
really helps the students focus on
getting work done throughout the
term
Have the first progress review focus
on teams showing their detailed
project plan – have a signed charter
Have the second/third reviews focus
on showing what work has been
accomplished (“show me” review)
Rotate who presents review info
Closing Projects
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Have each team prepare
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a final team presentation, focusing on
what they prepared for their customer,
what went right and wrong on the
project, and what they learned
a project notebook that includes all
project materials
Have each individual prepare
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a personal lessons learned
a project and team grade assessment
Advice for Instructors: Have a
Detailed Syllabus and Class
Web Site
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Most students are “S” or
sensing types, so they like
detailed, step-by-step
instructions on what to do for
assignments, presentations, and
team projects
Students love it when you have
the syllabus, templates, and
other info on a class Web site
Sample of My Site
Project Team Web Sites
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Require each project team to post all
of their information on a team Web
site – let them create it any way they
please
Use that Web site for progress
review presentations and make it
part of the project grade
Link to all sites from your class Web
page - peer pressure works!
Include final exam questions related
to all the team projects so they learn
from each other
Sample Team Web Site (I was
the sponsor)
The student project manager for this project gave a conference
presentation with me on the results of this project.
Another Sample Team Web Site
(a student org. sponsored it)
This project helped a student organization
plan an important function.
And Another Sample (done for
a non-profit group)
Let the students be creative. Most of the webmasters
are very proud of their work and keep the sites up
for a while. Some refer to them for job interviews.
Sample Templates Students
Could Use for their Projects
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My text and Web site include
many templates and examples
students can use for their
projects
Create your own templates to
meet your class and project
needs (feel free to download
and modify any of mine)
Make sure students use
templates wisely/properly
Team Contract
Project Name:
Project Team Members Names and Sign-off:
Name
Sign-off on Team Contract
Code of Conduct: As a project team, we will:
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Participation: We will:
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Communication: We will:
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Problem Solving: We will:
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Meeting Guidelines: We will:
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Project Charter
Project Title:
Project Start Date:
Budget Information:
Projected Finish Date:
Project Manager: Name, phone, e-mail
Project Objectives:
Approach:
Roles and Responsibilities
Role
Name
Organization/
Position
Contact
Information
Sign-off: (Signatures of all above stakeholders. Can sign by their names in table above.)
Comments: (Handwritten or typed comments from above stakeholders, if applicable)
Gantt Chart Template
Work Breakdown Structure
Schedule
You can also enter resource information on the Gantt chart.
Sample Responsibility Assignment
Matrix – A Product of This Project
Progress Report Information
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Have periodic reviews with team
member “showing” project progress
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Work completed this period
Work to complete next period
What’s going well and why
What’s not going well and why
Suggestions/Issues
Project changes
Amazing how well reviews keep
teams on track and help them “get it”
Using Project Management
and Other Software
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Microsoft Project most popular tool
I have students go through Appendix
A (~100 pages) as a HW assignment
and use software for planning team
projects
4th edition also includes access to
VPMi, online PM tool
Need to understand PM basics to
use software well!
Using Project Management
and Other Software (cont’d)
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4th edition comes with Fissure
simulation software (quick demo)
Can assign for HW, do in teams, or
use in class
Students should use other software
(Internet, applications SW, etc.) to do
assignments and projects
Templates provided in various
software applications (Word, Excel,
PowerPoint, Project)
Lots of Resources
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Information Technology Project
Management, Fourth Edition
includes hundreds of references
Companion Web site
(www.course.com/schwalbe4e)
includes lecture notes, links to
references, templates, review
questions, etc.
Evaluation versions of Project 2003
and VPMi provided with text
Lots of info on my Web site
(www.kathyschwalbe.com), including
many sample documents, articles,
information from my classes, etc.
Questions?
Feel free to use templates, syllabus ideas, etc.
from my Web site at www.kathyschwalbe.com.
Contact me at schwalbe@augsburg.edu.