Amoako-Gyampah ISM/MBA 654-41 Summer 2011 Syllabus 1

Project Management

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Bryan School of Business & Economics
Department of Information Systems & Operations Management

Course Number: ISM/MBA 654.41

This is an online course so there is no specific meeting time

Course Name: Project Management

Instructor: Dr. Kwasi Amoako-Gyampah

Office: 479 Bryan Building, Telephone: 334-5739 (work)

Fax: 334-4083

E-mail: [email protected]

Office Hours: There are no scheduled office hours. However, you can always
contact me through email and I will do my best to respond to you
within 24 hours.

Required Materials:
Required Materials:
Project Management in Practice, 3rd Edition
Samuel J. Mantel, Jr., Univ. of Cincinnati
Jack R. Meredith, Univ. of Cincinnati
Scott M. Shafer, Wake Forest Univ.
Margaret M. Sutton, Project Management Consultant
ISBN: 978-0-470-12164-1
©2008
336 pages. Cover of textbook looks like this:
Amoako-Gyampah ISM/MBA 654-41 Summer 2011 Syllabus 2

*** A 4th edition has also been released so you may get the 4th edition if you choose. There
is not much difference in content. ****

Optional Materials: None

Prerequisites: Admission to either MSITM, MBA, or other approved graduate

program. Completion of MBA 607 or MBA 600 preferred. You
must have some knowledge of basic statistics such as standard
deviation, how to calculate Z values and read normal distribution
tables as well as knowledge in other decision making tools such as
decision trees and calculation of expected values.

Course Description: Modern methods of defining, planning and managing large IT and
other business projects. Computer software and network modeling
are used to support the efficient scheduling of interdependent
activities.

INTRODUCTION & RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER COURSEWORK

Project Management deals with seeking new methods of planning, organizing, and controlling
non-routine tasks. The management of a project differs in several ways from management of a
typical enterprise. The goal of a project team is to accomplish its prescribed mission and then
disband; though this is easier said than done. Project Management has been around for some
time, though it has recently become more important because of the shifting emphasis on teams in
accomplishing tasks. Some of the better known examples of tasks accomplished using project
management techniques are:

- The construction of the Egyptian pyramids

- The Building of the Boeing 787 airliner
- The UNCG Banner System
- The construction of the baseball stadium at Downtown Greensboro
Amoako-Gyampah ISM/MBA 654-41 Summer 2011 Syllabus 3

- ERP implementations at firms

- The Denver International Airport
- The Beijing Olympics
- The construction of the new School of Education Building at UNCG

This course covers some of the issues related to managing projects in organizations, and
students will be expected to draw on materials from other business courses.

GENERAL COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. To understand the concepts of project planning and organization, budgeting and control, and
project life cycles.

2. To learn concepts related to organizational workflow including the staffing process, project
planning elements, and the project plan contents and project communications.

3. To master several basic project scheduling techniques including WBS, CPM, PERT, GANTT
CHARTS, and resource constrained scheduling.

4. To understand the related concepts of organizational forms, conflict resolution, and issues
related to leadership and task management in a project environment.

5. To improve written and oral communication skills through formal writing assignments and
group discussions.

6. To become familiar with Microsoft Project in performing simple project management tasks

7. To support the following general academic goals of UNCG:

Oral & Written Communications Content: Oral and written communications for this
course are addressed through the threaded discussions, cases, and class discussions as
detailed above.

Technology Applications: This is addressed through the application of Microsoft Project in

helping to understand project scheduling and resource requirements. We will also be using
the Internet for our threaded discussions and rely on e-mail for extensive communications.
Students will be expected, whenever possible, to use appropriate information technology in
the completion of assignments.

Ethical Perspectives: Even though specific coverage of ethical issues will not be done in
this class, students will be made aware of the importance of ethical considerations in making
project management decisions, and in the completion of course requirements.

Global Perspectives: Discussion of global issues is limited in this course.

Amoako-Gyampah ISM/MBA 654-41 Summer 2011 Syllabus 4

Demographic Diversity Perspectives: This course will not specifically address this issue.

Political, Social, Legal, Regulatory & Environmental Perspectives: These will be

discussed as they apply to the justification procedures for project selection and the general
management of projects.

Academic Honesty: All UNCG students are expected to conduct themselves with the
highest standards of academic honesty. Academic misconduct, including cheating, forgery
and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students are required to pledge their assignments and
examinations using the UNCG honor code.

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY

The methods employed to achieve course objectives will include:

1. Lecture materials highlighting critical course material made available in the Learning
Area in Blackboard
2. Textbook reading
3. Threaded discussions on the Web.
4. Cases selected to bring out important concepts and familiarity with tools
5. Some reading assignments from sources other than the textbook

GRADING & PERFORMANCE EVALUATION, and EXPECTATIONS FOR

ASSIGNMENTS

1. GRADES

The course grade will be based on the following point distribution:

Film Prioritization 30 Due 5/22/11

Construction Company Case 30 Due 5/29/2011
DU Singer analysis 55 Due 6/12/2011
Threaded Discussions 55 all completed by 6/19/2011
Final Exam 100 June 24, 2011
Total 220

Grade Assignment: A: 199-220, A-: 195-198; B+: 191-194; B: 180-190; B-: 174-179;
C: 164-173 F: Below 164
Amoako-Gyampah ISM/MBA 654-41 Summer 2011 Syllabus 5

All submitted assignments must have your signature pledging that you have abided by the
UNCG Academic Honor code.

2. CLASS POLICIES

1. Attendance - You are responsible for all course information and announcements that are
posted online or sent through email. All email communication will be sent through the
UNCG email system only.

2. Reading Assignments for each week are given on the syllabus. You are expected to
complete the readings before the end of the week.

3. Threaded Discussions: You are expected to participate in threaded discussions through

the web. You will be assigned a discussion question each week covering material from
different components of the course each chapter. You are expected to respond to both the
instructor-assigned questions as well as responses from your colleagues. Threaded
Discussion questions will form part of the final exam questions (See section under
Threaded Discussions below for details).

3. THEMES

The following themes will be emphasized in the course through the use of the cases and mini-
cases.

Case/Assignment Theme
Film Prioritization Project selection & justification
Construction Company Case Risk analysis/Contingency planning
DU Singer Project Planning & Managing resource
requirements

4. THREADED DISCUSSIONS

Each student is required to participate in the threaded discussions. The goal of the threaded
discussions is for us to learn from each other in an effective and efficient manner. Students are
encouraged to participate in all the web discussions. We will use BlackBoard for all web
discussions and postings. In addition to the required postings, participation in the web
discussions will help you prepare for the final exam. Two levels of participation are required.

1. There is a list of 19 “Threaded Discussion” questions listed at the end of this syllabus. Three
(and sometimes more) of these discussion questions are listed for each week on Blackboard.
Each student will be assigned one question per week (five in total for each student for the
whole semester) and is required to post a response to the assigned questions. You will be
assigned your questions by the instructor. All responses for that week must be posted by 10
Amoako-Gyampah ISM/MBA 654-41 Summer 2011 Syllabus 6

p.m. the Wednesday of that week. Each posting should be a meaningful discussion of the
original question and should be at least 2 paragraphs long. One sentence paragraphs do not
count. You may draw on any references to provide justification for your posting. Each
posting is worth 6 points. Grading will be based on depth of posting, ability to integrate
concepts and the extent to which the posting goes beyond the obvious.

2. The second level of discussion is for you to provide additional comments on any discussion
question (a question not previously assigned to you), or provide a counterargument to a
previous posting or provide some personal experiences with regard to a given posting or
topic. You will be expected to make five of such postings (one per week) to fulfill this part of
the assignment. Each such posting is worth 5 points. For this part of the discussion you
cannot contribute to a discussion if there are already 4 previous contributions to that
particular discussion. We don’t want to be reading the same things over and over. You
cannot contribute to a posting from a previous week’s discussions. In other words, we
want the discussions to be current with the topics under discussion so everyone will
follow along. This posting is due by 10 p.m. Saturday.

TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE

Session # Week of 5/16 Topics and Assignments

1A. Introduction- Projects & Project Management
1B. Project Selection & Justification
1C. Project Scheduling

Assignments
i. Be prepared to share with the rest of the class any roles, and
responsibilities you have had in your organization as a project leader,
team member etc.

ii. Read Text Chapter 1 pages 1-18, pages 27-38

iii. You should also have visited Blackboard to preview all the course
materials, the Discussion Questions and familiarized yourself with the
materials on the Learning Area in Blackboard (sections A1-A3)
iv. Read Units 1 and 2 in the Learning Area
v. Install MS Project on your computer from the CD that was included with
your textbook. You can obtain a free trial version online if you don’t have
the CD. Run the Project program browse through the Help section
vi. View the short Camtasia video on how to determine project schedules
vii. View the short Camatasia video on preparing project schedules using MS
Project.

Study Guide
Amoako-Gyampah ISM/MBA 654-41 Summer 2011 Syllabus 7

Identify answers to the following questions in your readings.

1A. Introduction- Projects & Project Management
i. What is a Project?
ii. What makes projects different from day to day operations in
organizations?
iii. What is Project Management?
iv. Why and when do organizations need to use Project Management?
v. What is the project management life cycle and the major decisions over
the life cycle?

1B. Project Selection & Justification

vi. What factors are important in selecting projects?

vii. What are the different types of models for selecting projects, why are they
useful and what are their limitations?
viii. Identify and describe the components of the project portfolio process
ix. What are the components of the project maturity model?
x. What is a scope statement?
xi. Why is project risk assessment in project management
xii. What are the different approaches for assessing project risks?
Note:
Under normal class schedules we will follow the project management life cycle in discussing
the topics for the class. However, because of the short nature of the course and the time
needed to complete the assignments we have to deviate and mix up the topics. So, we are
covering scheduling next so you will be able to do the assignments due in the next few days.

1C. Project Scheduling

Assignments
i. Read Chapter 5 of textbook pages 145-154
ii Read the material in Unit 6 (Scheduling) in the Learning Area

Study Guide
i. What does Project Scheduling entail?
ii. How can Network Techniques - CPM and PERT be used to facilitate
project scheduling?
iii. What is a Critical Path and what role does it play?
iv. What role do Gantt Charts play in project scheduling?

**Film prioritization assignment due by the end of the week**

Session # Week of 5/23 Topics and Assignments

2A. Project Crashing
2B. Project Scheduling with Uncertainty.
Amoako-Gyampah ISM/MBA 654-41 Summer 2011 Syllabus 8

2C Project Resources

Assignments
i. Review examples on project scheduling techniques provided to you in the
Learning Area (Unit #6).
ii. Review the document on using Microsoft Project to prepare project
schedules
iii. Read Chapter 5 pages 155-167; pages 173-188
iv. Read Chapter 6 pages 190-202
v. Read Chapter 6, pages 202-237
vi. Read Unit 7 in the Learning Area

Study Guide
A. Critical Path Analysis - Monitoring schedules
i. Why is it necessary to sometimes crash projects
ii. What are the steps involved in project crashing
iii. Project crashing tradeoffs

B. PERT Scheduling
i. How can you enhance project completion information
ii. How do you determine project completion probabilities
iii. How can you use activity duration variances in project mgt?

C. Managing Project Resources

i. What is Resource Loading?
ii. How do you manage variability in resource requirements and insufficient
resources?
iii. What is the “Critical Chain” and how does it aid project management?

**Construction Company assignment due by the end of the week**

Session # Week of 5/30 Topics and Assignments

3A Project Manager, Organization, Project Team
3B Project Planning

Assignments
i. Read Chapter 2, pages 40-71
ii. Read Chapter 3 – Project Planning, pages 72-106 of textbook
iii. Read Unit 3 in the Learning Area
iv. Read Unit 4 in the Learning Area
Amoako-Gyampah ISM/MBA 654-41 Summer 2011 Syllabus 9

Study Guide
A. Project Manager & Project Team
i. What are the roles and responsibilities of the project manager?
ii. What are the skills and characteristics required for a successful project
manager?
iii. What types of problems does a project manager typically face and how do
these problems arise?
iv. Design a matrix of problems/challenges and skill requirements
v. Who should be on a project team
vi. How do you manage team members who do not report to you?
vii. How do you manage project team meetings?

B. Project Planning
i. What is the purpose of project planning?
ii. What are the main project planning activities?
iii. What is a work breakdown structure, Can you develop one for a given
project?
iv. What are linear responsibility charts?

Session # Week of 6/6 Topics and Assignments

4A Project Budgeting
4B Project Monitoring & Control

Assignments
i. Read Chapter 4 Budgeting, pages 107-132; 137-144 of textbook.
ii. Read Unit 5 in the Learning Area
iii. Read Chapter 7 of Textbook – Project monitoring & control, pages 238-
271
iv. Read Unit 8 in the Learning Area

Study Guide
i. Different ways of developing budgets - managerial issues
ii. How do you link project schedules with budgets
iii. Why should projects be monitored?
iv. What should you look for when monitoring projects?
v. Monitoring schedules - do you need to crash project?
vi. What is an earned value chart? How is it useful?
vii. Be prepared to do simple calculations on Earned Value Management

**DU Singer Assignment Due by the end of the week**

Amoako-Gyampah ISM/MBA 654-41 Summer 2011 Syllabus 10

Session # Week of 6/13 Topics and Assignments

5A Project Communications
5B Managing Conflicts in Project Environments
5C Project Termination

Assignments

i. Read Chapter 8- Project termination, pages 272-290

ii. Read Unit 9 in the Learning Area
iii. Read Unit 10 in the Learning Area
iv. Read Unit 11 in the Learning Area

Study Guide
i. What should be the key goals and components of a communication plan
for a project
ii. What are the mechanisms for improving project communication?
iii. What are the different types of conflict over the project life cycle?
iv. For each stage what are the main types of conflicts and why do they occur?
v. How can you resolve these conflicts?
vi. What are the main reasons why projects are terminated?
vii. How should you organize the project termination/closeout process
viii. What types of lessons are worth learning at the conclusion of a project?

Session # Week of 6/20 Topics and Assignments

6 No assignments due this week.

Review course material and prepare for final exam.

Review final exam study guide

Final Exam - The Final exam will be a closed book, closed notes examination. The exam will
consist of short problems, short essays, and mini-cases. The content will be based
on material drawn from our class lectures and handouts, textbook readings and
cases, and the threaded discussions.

Final Exam scheduled for June 24, 2011.

______________________________________________________________________________
Threaded Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think so many projects are unsuccessful?

Amoako-Gyampah ISM/MBA 654-41 Summer 2011 Syllabus 11

2. What are the shortcomings of using financial measures to justify project selection and what
suggestions can you offer to address these shortcomings?
3. Are project risks relatively uniform (do they change) over the project life cycle? What is the
significance of this phenomenon to a project manager?
4. Are project task times typically under- or overestimated? Or, they are pretty accurate? How
does an organization’s culture influence task duration estimates?
5. What is safety time with regard to project scheduling? Is safety time necessary for projects?
What types of safety times are most appropriate?
6. The three main project management goals are on time, within budget and achieving
performance specifications. Should a project manager give up some functionality (e.g.
technical requirements) in order to meet schedule milestones and when is this appropriate or
inappropriate?
7. What do you think accounts for the need for project expediting (or crashing) in project
environments. How can an organization minimize the need for project crashing?
8. Although some studies recommend that personnel be assigned full time to projects, very few
companies assign employees full time to projects? Why do you think this occurs?
9. Why is that sometimes adding more human resources to a project that is already late causes
that project to become even further delayed? So, when is it more appropriate to add more
human resources to a project?
10. What skills are needed by a project manager in order to be successful? Can these skills be
learned or do you think some are innate?
11. What tools or mechanisms can a project manager use to motivate people on a project who do
not report directly to him or her?
12. Most managers agree that planning is critical to achieving project management goals, yet
managers don’t pay adequate attention to project planning. Why does this happen and what
measures should project sponsors use to ensure that planning is prioritized?
13. Several projects typically exceed the budget. What accounts for this? Is it because of poor
estimates, the justification process, poor project execution, economic influences, or other
reasons?
14. What is scope creep? How does it occur and how can it be avoided?
15. A colleague argues that project meetings are a complete waste of time. Do you agree? If so
why, if not why not? What should be the purpose of project meetings?
16. What are the merits and demerits of using various communication formats (e-mail, face-to-
face meetings, intranets etc. in project communications)?.
17. Why do you think scheduling issues cause the most conflicts on projects? What techniques
would you suggest for addressing scheduling issues?
18. Now that you have been exposed to some of the important aspects of managing projects,
what do you think accounts for the differences in companies’ abilities to manage projects?
19. Why do you think companies and organizations hang on to failing projects?