TCMG-505-6T1 (5378) /MGMT-555-6T1 (6394) Prof: John JagtianiUpdated 12/22/2018

TCMG-505-6T1 (5378) Project Management

MGMT-555-6T1 (6394) Global Program & Proj Mgt

Semester: / Spring 2017 / Instructor: / John Jagtiani
Course Number: / TCMG-505-6T1 (5378)
MGMT-555-6T1 (6394) / Office: / By Appointment
Credit Hours: / 3.0 / E-mail: /
Class Location: / Mandville Hall, Room 320 / Phone: / 203-554-2027
Regular Class Time: / 6:15 PM to 8:45 PM / Office Hours: / By Appointment

1.Course Description:

The adoption of project and program management (PM) processes, techniques, tools and disciplines has expanded exponentially as global organizations have adopted PM to initiate, plan, manage, control and implement a broad range of strategic enterprise wide programs and targeted projects. Through effective PM techniques organizations increase their probability of project success via on time, on budget, on scope delivery with high quality and customer satisfaction. PM methods have improved new product development, IT application, network and e-commerce solution delivery, construction programs, mergers and acquisitions and a myriad of other activities. Effective PM also improves the management of people, resources, facilities, budgets, customers, sponsors and vendors. This is a practitioner’s course in PM. By immersing the student in PM concepts, cases, hands on projects and examples from industry students gain an understanding of project management in a real world context. This grounds them in concepts they can access later to increase their own project or program success. The teaching approach consists of on-campus lectures, expert videos, case studies, individual projects, class readings, and a team research paper.

2.Course Pre-requisites

This course is open to Graduate level students. Students are expected to be self-managed and come prepared to class. Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint will be extremely helpful as these tools are required to complete the required assignments for the course.

3.Course Learning Objectives:

  • Achieve an understanding of the concepts, processes and tools for managing projects and programs on time, on budget, within scope, with high quality and customer satisfaction.
  • Apply lessons learned to manage all types of projects.
  • Examine the role of the project manager as a leader and team builder.
  • Investigate and analyze effective techniques for planning and controlling budgets, costs and schedules.
  • Gain experience with organizational and managerial project and program contexts as well as project management tools and methods.
  • Improve analytical skills via synthesis and writing.
  • Achieve an understanding of self-directed, virtual team management.
  • Gain proficiency with the use of a major project management software package – Microsoft Project

4.Course Topics

Students taking this course can expect to substantially develop and improve their skills and knowledge base in the following areas:

  • Identifying and defining projects in the context of specific organization structures
  • Strategically manage projects based on objectives
  • Using common methods for project selection
  • Understanding the role of The Project Manager
  • Managing common project conflicts with apppropriate negotiation techniques
  • Managing and planning projects
  • Managing and planning for project risk
  • Creating Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) for projects
  • Estimating project costs
  • Project scheduling and resource allocation
  • Using monitoring techniques and project information systems
  • Excercising appropriate project controls during the project life cycle
  • Understanding project auditing principles and techniques
  • Successfully terminating projects
  • Managing for the nuiances associated with global / multi-cultural project teams

5.Teaching Methods:

The course will incorporate several learning techniques to help realize the learning objectives listed above:

  • Class room interaction – every class promises to be an interactive session – students should expect to participate regularly and very often in every class.
  • Course content lectures – standard topic lectures which follow the course outline will be delivered with ample discussion and Q&A opportunity for student during each lecture.
  • Current event discussions – each student will be responsible to review, discuss, and informally present one current event that highlights one or more project management principles that are being learnt in class.
  • Chapter readings – reading assignments are assigned in advance of each class and as preparation for the forementioned class lecture.
  • Classroom collaboration – throughout the semester we will be using using certain web-polling and interactive games to foster student collaboration, cross teaming, and the retention of knowledge being acquired as per the course objectives.
  • Two case studies – specifically designed project management case studies will be assigned as homework to provide students an opportunity to use key learnings from the course in a real world and relevant setting.
  • One team project assignment – one comprehensive team project will be assigned in the beginning of the course. Students will progress on the team project assignment related deliverable in an incremental fashion and throughout the course as more topics are covered during class. Students will learn how to utilize teams effectively to achieve successfulproject outcomes. Opporutnities to present key work deliverables will be provided.
  • One individual research paper – students will have a substantial self-directed opportunity to deeply explore areas of project management through independent research, introspection, and case reviews.
  • One mid-term examination – there will be an open book, open notes examination to help re-enforce the learnings from the course.

6.Required Text Books & Materials:

Meredith, J. R., Mantel, S. J. & Shafer, S.M. (2015). Project management: A managerial approach (9th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN: 978-1-119-03197-0

7.Recommended References:

Each current event discussion and reference can serve as a potential case study to advance the learning of one or more key topics. The list of current events will be dynamic and will depend on the contribution of every actively engaged student in the class. Chapter summary notes will be made available as a resourcesin Canvas. The required case studies for the course will be made available in Canvas. A MS Project tutorial will be made available in Canvas. Students are encouraged to use other reliable sources including academic journals and PMI-based internet resources as supplimentary material to extend the course learning objectives.

8.Important Dates

Refer to the UB Academic Calendar for important dates:

First day for this classTuesday, January 17th 2017, 6:15 PM

Chapter and article readingsTuesday, before start of each class, 6:15 PM

Current eventTuesday, January 24th, 2017, 6:15 PM

Team project – Part 1Tuesday, January 31st 2017, 6:15 PM

Team project – Part 2Tuesday, February 7th 2017, 6:15 PM

Team project – Part 3Tuesday, February 21st 2017, 6:15 PM

Midterm examTuesday, March 7th 2017, 6:15 PM

No class (Spring Break)Tuesday, March 14th, 2017, 6:15 PM

Case study 1Tuesday, February 21st 2017, 6:15 PM

Case study 2Tuesday, March 28th 2017, 6:15 PM

Team project– Part 4 and Part 4Tuesday, April 18th 2017, 6:15 PM

Last day of classesTuesday, April 25th 2017, 6:15 PM

Individual research paperTuesday, May 2nd 2017, 6:15 PM

Final grades dueMonday, May 8th 2017

9.Course Requirements:

Attendance, participation, current events20%

Case study analyses20%

Mid-term exam20%

Team project and presentation20%

Individual research paper20%

Total100%

9.1Attendance, Participation, Current Events –20%

Attendance at each class session is expected. Students must be on time for class. Students must actively participate in class discussion, as required. Each week students will be evaluated accordingly on these dimensions.

Current Events: At the beginning of the term, each student will find, print out and bring a current events news article related to projects and project management topics to class. Throughout the semester, students will be called at random to orally review their news articles. All students should “hold onto” their news articles, keeping them until called upon. When called upon, students should go to the front of the classroom, quickly summarize their current event and then discuss any successes, challenges, or lessons learned from a project management perspective for their current events. Students must then successfully field questions from the instructor and other students in the class. Students (in the audience) are also responsible for asking relevant questions to [peer] challenge project management aspects of the current events of other students when they are presenting in front of the class. No physical submission of hardcopy or Canvas upload is required for the current event assignment. No other preparation or materials are requried.

9.2Case Study Analyses – 20%

There are two case study assignments for the course. Each case study will be worth 10% of the students total grade. Students are responsible for reading the case study much in advance of the assignment due date. If there are any questions, they should be brought up during the start of the the class so that everyone may benefit from the discussion. A thorough case study analysis will be expected from each student. This is an individual assignment and each student must work on the case studies independently. The case assignment submission should be 3 to 4 pages (max 6 pages) in length and it must include the following sections:Summary, Required Questions and Answers for the Case, Recommendations, and Lessons Learned. Submission for case assignments is to be done via the Canvas system only. No hardcopies or email submissions will be accepted.

9.3Mid-term Examination – 20%

The mid-term exam will help reinforce the material and topics covered during the course of the semester and to ensure that the material and discussions have been absorbed and mastered by the students. The test will entail an open book / open notes test in which students will be required to answer multiple choice and short answer questions to help reinforce and test their knowledge of Project Management. Use of internet and phoneswill not be permitted during administration of test.

9.4Team Project – 20%

During the early part of the semester, teams will be formed. Each team will be responsible for planning a project chosen by the team and obtaining approval from the instructor. This team project entails developing a project description and scope, a project plan, work breakdown structure (WBS), budget and schedule. Teams will present their projects to the class. Projects may be related to your academic program, personal or work experience or an area of interest related to engineering or technology projects. Focused projects of limited scope tend to be more manageable and result in higher grades.

Team Project Assignment Parts 1 to 5 (as per class schedule below).

Max Total Points For Team Project – 200 Points

Part 1 (10 Points):A brief proposal describing the project the team will focus on for the semester. This submission should include a list of all team members. Each team member will submit a copy of this assignment via Canvas. (1 -2 paragraphs).

Part 2 (20 Points):A detailed description of team’s project objectives, scope of work and assumptions. Each team member will submit a copy of this assignment via Canvas. (1–2 pages).

Part 3 (30 Points):A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with two tabs, the first tab containing the project’s work breakdown structure (WBS) activities list, estimated durations and predecessors (20–40 tasks) and the second tab containing a budget cost sheet covering labor and raw materials.Each team member will submit a copy of their Microsoft Excel spreadsheet via Canvas.

Parts 4 and 5 will be submitted via Canvas on the night of the team project presentation and will receive separate grades for each part. Be sure to read the descriptions in the Canvas assignments prior to submitting:

Part 4 (40 Points):A Microsoft Project plan containing the project’s schedule and network diagram. Each team member will submit a copy of this assignment via Canvas.

Part 5 (100 Points): A Microsoft PowerPoint presentation that includes slides covering: Project Proposal, Objectives, Scope, Assumptions, Costs, Risk PlanTeam Member Assignments, Lessons Learned. If research is conducted, a Reference List in APA 6 format should be included.

Each team will submit their PowerPoint and Microsoft Project files via Canvas before their team presentations and the instructor will download them and have them available for presentation.

Team presentations will be graded for their quality and the active involvement of every team member. Contributions and submissions from individuals on teams who are not participating fairly and sufficiently will be graded accordingly.

9.5Individual Research Paper – 20%

The purpose of assigning individual term papers in project management is to focus on project management topics. Papers must explicitly reference project management concepts to receive full credit. The goal is to conduct a deeper study in the topic area of the students’ choice. Specifically, students are expected to conduct research to advance their understanding of the chosen topic. By writing the research paper, students are expected to demonstrate deepened understanding of the topic, share one or more applications of the concept(s), and/or sharing of best practices and lessons learned.

Submission for the individual paper assignment is to be done via the Canvas system only. No hardcopies submissions will be accepted. The paper must be at-least fifteen (15) pages in length but no more than (20) pages.The paper must incorporate ten (10) or more reference citations. All citations must be in the APA 6th format.The paper must include the following sections: Introduction, Findings, Conclusions, Recommendations, and Lessons Learned.

Students are strongly encouraged to start to develop their individual research paper topic during the early part of the semester. During the course of the semester, all students will be required to present an informal summary of his/her term paper in class where they will answer these questions: How would you summarize the topic of your individual research paper?What specific project management lessons might you learn from researching and writing your individual research paper based on your proposed topic. The summary must be approximately 5 minutes in duration.Verbal narration of the summary will suffice. No PowerPoints are required for the informal summary.

10.Final Course Grade

Letter Grade / Range (%)
A / 94.9 – 100.0
A- / 90 – 94.8
B+ / 87 – 89.9
B / 83 – 86.9
B- / 80 – 82.9
C+ / 77 – 79.9
C / 73 – 76.9
C- / 70 – 72.9
D+ / 67 – 69.9
D / 63 – 66.9
D- / 60 – 62.9
F / Below 60

11.Schedule & Assignments

Week / Date / Time / Topic & Assignments
1 / 1/17/17 / 6:15 PM / Introductions and syllabus review
Lecture: Project Management Defined & Projects in Contemporary Organizations
During this class, team assignments will be formed for the team project
Homework Due: Read Meredith and Mantel (M&M) Chapter 1
2 / 1/24/17 / 6:15 PM / Lecture: Strategic Management and Project Selection
Homework Due: Read Meredith and Mantel (M&M) Chapter 2, be ready to participate in a current event discussion
3 / 1/31/17 / 6:15 PM / Lecture: The Project Manager, Managing Conflict and the Art of Negotiation
Homework Due: Read M&M Chapter 3 and 4, be ready to participate in a current event discussion, Part 1 of team project due
4 / 2/7/17 / 6:15 PM / Lecture: The Project in the Organizational Structure, Project Activity and Risk Planning
Homework Due: Read M&M Chapter 5 and 6. Work on individual and team projects, be ready to participate in a current event discussion, Part 2 of team project due
5 / 2/14/17 / 6:15 PM / Lecture: Budgeting: Estimating Costs and Risks, Scheduling
Homework Due: Read M&M Chapter 7 and 8, submit case 1, be prepared to provide informal summary of individual research paper, and continue to and work on individual and team projects, be ready to participate in a current event discussion,
6 / 2/21/17 / 6:15 PM / Lecture: Resource Allocation, Monitoring and Information Systems
Homework Due: Read M&M Chapter 9 and 10, continue to work on team projects, be ready to participate in a current event discussion, case study 1 due before start of class, Part 3 of team project due
7 / 2/28/17 / 6:15 PM / Mid-Term Review / Team Event
8 / 3/7/17 / 6:15 PM / Mid-Term Examination
9 / 3/14/17 / No Class – Spring Break
10 / 3/21/17 / 6:15 PM / Case Study 2 – Discussion & Workshop. Hands-on class. No lecture
11 / 3/28/17 / 6:15 PM / Team Project – Discussion & Workkshop. Hands-on class. No lecture
Homework Due: Case study 2due before start of class
12 / 4/4/17 / 6:15 PM / Lecture: Project Control, Project Auditing, Project Termination
Homework Due: Read M&M Chapter 11, 12, and 13, submit case 3, and continue to work on team projects, be ready to participate in a current event discussion
13 / 4/11/17 / 6:15 PM / Lecture: Global / Multi-cultural Project Management
Homework Due: Read articles 1, 2, and 3 (Canvas) on global project and team management, and continue to work on team projects, be ready to participate in a current event discussion.
14 / 4/18/17 / 6:15 PM / Team presentations begin during this class.
Homework Due: Part 4 and part 5 of team project due. Team presentations must be completed, all deliverables submitted in Canvas before the start of this class. Teams must be ready to present in front of the class by this date.
15 / 4/25/17 / 6:15 PM / Team presentations continue during this class. Last class of the semester.
Homework Due: On-line UB course evaluations. Individual researh paper due by Tuesday 5/2/17, 6:15PM
There will be no final examination for this course.

12.General Policies for the Course

12.1Academic Honesty:

  • It is the student's responsibility to familiarize himself or herself with and adhere to the standards set forth in the policies on cheating and plagiarism as defined in Chapters 2 and 5 of the Key to UB or the appropriate graduate program handbook.
  • If you are caught cheating or plagiarizing, you will be warned once and you will receive a zero (0) grade for that assignment. A second offense will result in an F grade for the course.

12.2Attendance:

  • For on-campus classes, the fourth unexcused absense will result in a failure of the class.

12.3Work Effort:

  • As a UB policy, for a three credit course, it is expected that each student that attends one hour of classroom instruction will require a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester in compliance with the Carnegie Unit of Credit.

12.4Assignment Content Expectations and Evaluation:

  • All homework assignments are to be typed and submitted via Canvas.
  • The following rubric will be used for evalutation of written submissions:

Grade Criteria / A Exemplary / B Adequate / C Poor
Content / The content was clear and useful. The writer gave specific answers relevant to the topic. / The content was generally relevant, but was somewhat unclear or confusing at times. / It was unclear as to how the content related to the field being considered.