Introduction to Project Management

Fall 2011

Instructor: E-mail: Class Hours: Class Room: Office hours:

Laurie Schatzberg, Ph.D. Office: ASM 2148 laurie@mgt.unm.edu VoiceMail: 277-4961 Thursday 4 6:30pm GA: Alicja Spaulding (AlicjaSpaulding@yahoo.com) ASM 1070 Open door, email 9am 7pm weekdays, by appointment

Our Commitment to Academic Honesty Anderson School of Management faculty, staff and students commit to values of trust, honesty, integrity, and accountability. We will not tolerate academic dishonesty. For full text of the AH code, visit www.mgt.unm.edu/honesty. Course Description This course focuses on managing in a variety of settings and organizations; most of which will impact or are affected by information systems. Topics include planning, organizational and political environment, personnel, scheduling, budget, tracking, and automated project management tools. Required Materials 1. The Fast-Forward MBA in Project Management (Third Edition), Erik Verzuh, Wiley, 2008, ISBN 978-0-470-24789-1 (e-version available) 2. Microsoft Project 2010 Step by Step, Carl Chatfield & Timothy Johnson, Microsoft Press, 2010, ISBN 0-7356-2695-2 (e-version available) 3. Project Management simulation software: SimProject The Alliance Prototype Gain access only from the publishers website www.fissure.com We will have accounts set up that associate you with my class (deeply discounted pricing). Stay tuned for more information. http://fissure001.simulationpoweredlearning.com/Client/SimProject.html#Home 4. MS-Project10 software Students in MIS and IA courses may download course-related software at no cost through Andersons Microsoft licensing agreement: http://averia.unm.edu/MsdnAA 5. TurnItin.com At no cost to students, our class will participate in a pilot test of UNM Andersons use of TurnItIn.com, an authenticity checking resource that reduces plagiarism and improves students critical thinking, research, and writing skills. More information will be forthcoming this term. For a quick look, visit http://www.turnitin.com and watch the Demo video, or check out the training videos https://www.turnitin.com/static/training/student.php . Once we have our TurnItIn.com accounts, students will submit all written work with it.

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Recommended 1. Project Management from Simple to Complex, Darnall & Preston. Flatworldknowledge, 2010. No-cost online edition available from: https://www.flatworldknowledge.com/lschatzberg/project-management a. (pls register for this course there). ISBN 13: 978-0-9823618-8-7 & ISBN 13 (Color): 978-1-936126-22-4 2. I recommend that students join PMI (www.pmi.org $30/year for students +$10 onetime application fee) and then join our local Rio Grande chapter (http://www.onepmi.info/PMIWeb02/default.aspx?compid=1002). During the course, we will have a few opportunities to participate in PMIRG meetings and to network with professional members. Collaboration Site As of this writing, I am evaluating Dropbox, PBworks & Yahoo Groups as a possible collaboration site to extend the functionality of WebCT. Stay tuned for more information. Course Objectives: Recognize projects and their distinguishing characteristics. Recognize processes and skills needed to manage a project. Identify stakeholder needs and meet their expectations. Identify sources of uncertainty and risk and demonstrate how to mitigate them. Demonstrate the appropriate use project management software. Nature of Course In an age of constant and rapid change, managers who understand and practice project management are better positioned to succeed and advance in their careers. When organizations innovate, downsize, re-engineer and expand their scope, management relies on projects to effect those changes. Moreover, regardless of their major thrust, most strategically important initiatives involve projects. Why is that many projects do not succeed in terms of coming in on time, and within budget and meeting expectations? Success demands discipline on the part of all participants and also leadership on the part of managers and executives. Success necessitates not only understanding and applying project management tools and techniques, but also recognizing the requirements of stakeholders, and understanding how the project fits into the organizations overall portfolio of work. For real-world projects, simulations, and hypothetical cases, well consider questions such as these 1. Which organizational goals drive this (proposed) project? 2. How well does the project fit within the organizations portfolio? 3. How well do we understand and define the requirements? 4. How well is the project planned? 5. How explicit and effective are the leaders, sponsors, and champions? 6. What is going/went right? Why? 7. What is going/went wrong? Why? 8. What lessons can we transfer to the next project? Students with Disabilities If you are a qualified person with disabilities who might need reasonable accommodations in academic settings, please communicate with me as soon as possible so that we may make appropriate arrangements to meet your needs. Frequently, we will need to coordinate
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accommodating activities with other offices on campus. Course materials can be made available in alternative formats.

Students will complete a variety of assignments aimed at developing and then strengthening project management skills and abilities. Many assignments are best suited for small teams, working as if in a project with clear deliverables and a timetable. Project Management Skills Development A. Project Planning using MS-Project (MSP) (1) Work through the assignments in the Chatfield & Johnson text to demonstrate mastery of basic MSP functionality. This is an individual assignment. Collaboration is allowed; however, I expect each student to do, submit, and reflect upon his/her own work. (2) Teams of 3-5 students will create a project plan for a small project using MS-Project. The plan can be for an upcoming project, or for part of a large project. Alternatively, students may complete project plan for a hypothetical project taken from a case study or other public source. One such example is the Landscaping Project in our Verzuh text. While hypothetical project planning will satisfy course requirement, the most useful work on this assignment is to start from scratch and to observe progress against the plan whereby the plan is used and updated during the semester. This way, team members receive realworld feedback and experience the unanticipated events that thwart even the best plans. The intent of this assignment is to strengthen your project planning skills and your ability to use MS-Project. This work naturally overlaps with actual Project Work noted below. B. SimProject Alliance Prototype project simulation Early in the term, teams of 3-5 students will work through the Alliance Prototype simulated project by planning for project work weeks and then responding to the events occurring during that work week. This immersion will familiarize you with many of the issues and concepts in the field of Project Management. Your team will be evaluated on your analysis of your teams results and mistakes. While Ive been using the simulation for quite some time, in August they released a major upgrade to an online, Silverlight-enabled version. Expect some hiccups as we will be among the first users. Our ongoing feedback will get directly to the company owner and the development team. Project Work and Analysis Once approved by the instructor, students/teams are to add a synopsis of their planned project work to our wiki. Option A: In teams of 3-5, students will participate in an actual project, as participant observers with dual responsibilities (1) to complete deliverables for the project as requested by the real project manager and (2) to analyze, assess and report upon the project processes s/he uses to manage the project. Project opportunities will become available through the Rio Grande Chapter of PMI. Students may also seek out projects through their employer or other willing host organizations. To qualify for this course component, projects must be managed by a PMP or proven, seasoned project manager. This option is wellsuited to overlap with the MS-Project planning work specified in the Skills Development section above. This work will result in an individual journal of the process (in WebCT), a paper and, in most cases, teams will present their work to the class and host project managers. Note: all projects must be approved in advance by the instructor.

Course Deliverables

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Option B: In teams of 3-5, students select and research a topic covering one facet of project management. This research will result in a research paper & (in most cases) a presentation covering the topic in greater depth and/or breadth than has been possible during class time. Note: all projects of this type must be approved in advance by the instructor. Option C: In teams of 3-5, students select a completed or ongoing project in which they have participated and complete a detailed project case study and analysis. This research will result in a written case study & (in most cases) a class presentation. The best case studies report on actual events and typically require host-organization permission and access to detailed project planning and management records. In some cases, host organizations will only approve such work if identifying information is redacted. Note: all projects of this type must be approved in advance by the instructor. Insights from Beyond the Texts (BTT) Beginning in mid-October, each student is responsible to find, read and discuss with the class a current project management-related article or case or event. You might get inspiration from the assigned weekly videos, news articles, or major projects from history. In leading your class discussion, you will cite your source article, briefly summarize the main points, and focus on analyzing its significance in light of how the material illustrates or challenges concepts were covering in class. Plan to use ~15 minutes of class time and to engage your classmates in the discussion. Provide a 1-2 page summary plus your references using the class collaboration site. You will sign up for a BTT week. While multiple students may present in a given week, each student is responsible for choosing their own topic. Class Preparation and Participation Class Participation In a graduate class such as Mgmt631, I expect active class participation by all students. Active participation includes contributing to class discussions with questions, answers, attention to other speakers, and timely contributions to online, email and wiki discussions. There is no grade impact for students who meet these standards, and most graduate students do. Students who contribute consistently and exceptionally positive (or negative) ways to a vibrant and enjoyable class will receive up to grade adjustment up (or down). If you are eager to earn a particular grade for this course, do not rely on participation points, since very few students will earn any points in this category. Instead, focus on completing excellent graded work. Assignments All assignments should be submitted electronically as instructed, normally through TurnItIn or WebCT. Ensure the files are labeled clearly to indicate the assignment and your name(s). Virus-check each submission. If you submit a file containing a virus that your virus-checker should have detected, you/your team will get an "F" grade for that assignment. 25% 25% 40% 10% 0/+/Grading MS-Project planning Assignments SimProject Assignments Project Participation & Presentation including journal & assignment submission Beyond the Text Class participation, Peer Assessments

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Tentativ Course Outline and Schedule (Note date & topics s ve O e es subject to c change)

Week ks/ Date es k Week 1 8/25/11

To opics & Rea adings

Oth her

Cour overview ice-break rse w, king activity Intro oduce Justin Johnson n essing class resources Acce WebCT & collaboration site (TBD D) ct MSProjec 2010 FWK ect SimProje m Potential PMP mentors utube.com/w watch?v=-eb b7http://www.you 3W4npM&NR=1 (Jeffrey Minder: Truth about Proje Failures) ect )

R Review sylla abus, n noting assignments a and expecta ations. D Due next we eek, d download & activate M MSP10 softw ware (see U URL above). . C Complete re eadings for n next week.

k Week 2 9/1/1 11

zuh 1-2 (In ntro) Verz Darn & Presto 1- 3 (Intr Project P nall on ro, Profiling and Organization) Preview of MSP work m s MP Form teams of students (PM mentor, SimP Project work k). utube.com/w watch?v=Gc cRhttp://www.you wpSz zr4Y (5 st teps to Proje Success) ect

D Due next we eek: C C&J: ch. 1-3 (submit 3 individual as ssignment)

k Week 3 9/8/1 11

zuh 3, 4 (S Stakeholde & Rules ers s) Verz Darn & Presto 4 + 5 (Ex nall on xpectations & Peop ple) Selec cted MSP to opics utube.com/w watch?v=m2 2Vbc7AS http://www.you r80& &NR=1 (PM in 60 seconds)

D Due next we eek: C C&J: ch 4-6 (submit a assignment) )

k Week 4 9/15/11

Verz zuh 6 (WBS + 19 (M S) MSP) Darn & Presto 8 (Time Managemen nell on M nt) Selec cted MSP to opics utube.com/w watch?v=JW WymXNP http://www.you aU7g g&NR=1 Final lize project teams m 00-8pm PMI possible meeting 6:0

D Due next we eek: C C&J: ch 7 10

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Week ks/ Date es k Week 5 9/22/11

To opics & Rea adings

Oth her

zuh 5 (Risk Managem k ment) Verz Darn & Presto 11 (Proje Risk) nall on ect Selec cted MSP to opics utube.com/w watch?v=fEp pqTijxl-s http://www.you (Lazy PM) y

D Due next we eek: C C&J: ch 11-13 + P Purchase/register S SimProject s software

k Week 6 9/29/11

Rosh Hashanah 2011 (Suns 9/28 S h set Sunset 9/30 0)

D Due next we eek: S SimProject W Weeks 1-4

k Week 7 10/6/11

zuh 7 (Scheduling) Verz Darn & Presto 8 (Time Managemen nell on M nt) Selec cted SimPro oject topics http://www.you utube.com/w watch?v=5D DyjLFVM Vso (Creating a WBS)

D Due on 10/2 20: S SimProject W Weeks 5e end

k Week 8 10/13/ /11

Fall Break

k Week 9 10/20/ /11

BTT: Verz zuh 8 (Estimating) Darn & Presto 9 (Estima nell on ating) Selec cted SimPro oject Topics m 00-8pm PMI possible meeting 6:0

P Project tea miniam m meetings w with Prof. s starting at 3:30pm

Week 10 10/27/ /11

BTT: zuh 9 (The Tradeoff) e ) Verz Darn & Presto 7 + 8 (Pla nell on anning & Ti me Mana agement)

P Project tea miniam m meetings w with Prof. s starting at 3:30pm

Week 11 11/3/11

BTT: zuh 10 (Hi igh Perform ming Team ms) Verz Darn & Presto 10 (Mana nell on aging Quality y)

P Project tea miniam m meetings w with Prof. s starting at 3:30pm

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Week ks/ Date es Week 12 11/10/ /11

To opics & Rea adings

Oth her

BTT: zuh 11, 13 (Communication + S Solving Verz Com mmon Problems) Darn & Presto 6 (Comm nell on munication) utube.com/w watch?v=gO OX3GoID http://www.you kFw (10 Signs of Pro S oject Failure)

P Project tea miniam m meetings w with Prof. s starting at 3:30pm

Week 13 11/17/ /11

BTT: Verz zuh 12 (Me easuring Pr rogress) http://www.you utube.com/w watch?v=ud IIfNudK 7o (Part 1 ESI/PM Skills Tren for 2011 t M nds 1)

P Project tea miniam m meetings w with Prof. s starting at 3:30pm

Week 14 11/24/ /11

Than nksgiving

Week 15 12/1/11

BTT: zuh 14 + 15 (EPM + Portfolios) P ) Verz Darn & Presto 12 (Procu nell on urement & C Closure) utube.com/w watch?v=fyj jry5USV http://www.you 44 (How to Avoid Project Chao w P os)

P Project tea miniam m meetings w with Prof. s starting at 3:30pm

Week 16 12/8/11

utube.com/w watch?v=BR RMDCRP http://www.you GYBE E (Crit tical Chain PM Overview P w) IDEA Course Evaluations A Team Project(s) & Prese m entation(s) )

P Project tea miniam m meetings w with Prof. s starting at 3:30pm

ls Final Week /11 12/15/

5:30 7:3 30pm

ect ations Proje Presenta m entation(s) ) Team Project(s) & Prese PMI possible meeting 6-8pm m

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