SYST4820 – Special Topics in Systems

Fall 2005

CLASS LEADER: / James R. Marlatt (Jim)
Resume: James Marlatt
E-mail:
Phone: 303-492-0497
Office: Business 311 / Home Page:
Office Hours: BUS 311 / August 23 to December 8 (excluding breaks)
Tuesdays from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Wednesdays from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Thursdays from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Or by appointment
Note: I may make changes to this schedule and will notify you via e-mail or during class regarding these changes.
Classroom Location/Date/Time / Room 201 Wednesday 3:30 pm to 6:15 pm

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

As organizations are expecting more and more from their resources, the growth and acceptance of structured project management methodologies is gaining widespread acceptance. In fact many organizations will not even consider someone for a project management position unless they are a certified professional project manager.

This course will serve four important objectives:

  • Explain structured project management approaches,
  • Provide students with a hands-on, real-life project where they can apply what they are learning in class,
  • Provide real-time feedback to students regarding their project approach, opportunities for improvement and to celebrate project successes,
  • Describe a project manager’s social and professional responsibilities.

COURSE MATERIALS:

Gido & Clements, Successful Project Management, third edition, 2006

COURSE CONDUCT:

We will spend time at the beginning of the semester reviewing the syllabus, the learning environment and getting to know each other. Based on this information, I may make some changes to maximize our learning potential. These changes will be communicated in class or via e-mail

The class time during each week will be organized as follows:

  • Review concepts from previous class by discussing how teams have applied these on their projects and what they have learned
  • Review new concepts assigned for the day’s class,
  • Break out into teams to discuss new concepts,
  • Discuss how teams plan on applying these concepts to their projects,
  • Review assignments for the next class.

All reading assignments are to be read prior to the day for which they are assigned. All written assignments are to be turned in at the beginning of class on the day they are due. Because assignments may be discussed in class when due, no late assignments will be accepted without written approval one week in advance. Any assignments turned in after the due date/time will receive an automatic zero.

Exams must be taken when scheduled, per the syllabus, unless written approval is received at least one week in advance. Any missed exams will receive an automatic zero.

Disabilities:

If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit a
letter to me from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may
be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on
documented disabilities. Contact: 303-492-8671, Willard 322, or

Religious Observances:
Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every
effort to reasonably and fairly deal with all students who, because of
religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or
required attendance. In this class, please inform me of any conflicts during the first week of the semester for written approval of assignment/exam due date changes.
See policy details at

Learning Environment:
Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate
learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to behavioral standards may
be subject to discipline. Faculty have the professional responsibility to treat
students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion
and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which students express opinions.
See policies at
and at

Honor Code:
All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for
knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution.
Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic
dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All
incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council
(; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation
of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions
from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited
to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Additional information on
the Honor Code can be found at

COURSE COMMUNICATIONS:

You will be responsible for any information I communicate to you during class or via e-mail. I expect you to check for messages at least once every 24 hours M-F. You are responsible for all messages sent after the second class period. Go to for more details on the campus e-mail policy.

I will communicate any clarifications, changes and/or additions during class or via the class e-mail list.

To Dos:

To subscribe to the email list, send mail to ,leave the subject line blank and placesubscribe syst4820 your-full-namein the first line of the message body. I expect you to subscribe to the email list immediately, and to check for messages at least once every 24 hours M-F before class.

COURSE PERFORMANCE MEASURES / Points
Class Project:
First Deliverable(October 12)
Final Deliverable(November 30) / 250
350
Class Participation / 200
Final Exam (take home final due in class on December 8) / 200
Total / 1000

The following percentages define the course grading scale. If you miss an assignment, there will be no opportunity to make it up.

Grades: Points are converted to grades according to the following:
866 <= 895 B+ 766 <= 795 C+666 <= 695 D+ 0 <= 595 F
926 <= 1000 A 826 <= 865 B 726 <= 765 C626 <= 665 D
896 <= 925 A- 796 <= 825 B- 696 <= 725 C-596 <= 625 D-

Group project:

You will break into teams of from 4 to 5 studentsduring the first week of class to work on a project with a local company that I will help you find. The project will utilize many of the concepts we will be learning in class to model a current business process, make recommendations for improvements and model the new process which reflects the improvements.

  1. First Deliverable 250 points (Due October 12)

Your deliverable must include at a minimum:

  • Project plan,
  • Work breakdown structure,
  • Requirements,
  • Meeting notes,
  • Lessons learned,
  • Status reports (bi-weekly),
  • Presentation deck,
  • Attention to detail, creativity, organization, consistency among the parts, spelling, grammar and presentation,
  • Feedback form for project team members (each team member completes this form for all of their teammates).
  1. Final Deliverable 350 points (Due November 30)

Your deliverable must include at a minimum:

  • Deliverables as defined in your project plan,
  • Meeting notes,
  • Lessons learned,
  • Status reports (bi-weekly),
  • Presentation deck,
  • Attention to detail, creativity, how well recommendations address the real problem(s), organization, consistency among the parts, spelling, grammar and presentation,
  • Feedback form for project team members (each team member completes this form for all of their teammates).

Please bind your deliverables in a 3-ring binder, including the current and all prior deliverables each time with your team member names and contact information noted on the cover. Please also turn in a CD with each deliverable with all of your deliverables saved to it (using file names that are easy to understand), and your project name and team member names noted on it. Documents turned in after class time on the assigned date will not be accepted. You will receive a zero for any missing documents or sections. No exceptions.

Team Organization-As part of this project, you must produce two distinct deliverables (see project deliverables above) through active participation of all team members, your client and your client’s customers if appropriate.

The team will be responsible for organizing and managing itself, including allocating work within the team. Each deliverable must be divided up among the team members, where each member participates materially in each deliverable.

A project team can fire an individual from the team at any point during the project. The group must first issue a written warning to the person describing the issue(s) and give the person one week to correct the issue(s). I must be copied on this correspondence. If the issue(s) are not corrected, the group can then vote the person off the team. I must be presented with evidence of the vote. This vote must be at least three fifths in favor of firing the individual (evidence must include signatures on a document explaining the reasons the person was fired). Any person fired from a group will be responsible for completing a project on their own.

Project Grading - The group project represents 60% of your grade in this course. Your individual project score will be based on the group's score for the project. If I feel it is appropriate, I can adjust an individual’s project score by as much as one letter grade to reflect their lack of participation.

Confidential Peer Review Form

CLASS PARTICIPATION:

Attendance and contribution to class discussion

Students are expected to attend every class and to participate in the class discussions. Class participation grades are based on two aspects: your attendance in class and your contributions to the class discussions. Contributions to discussions will focus on the quality, not the quantity of the contribution; therefore students who participate often will not necessarily receive a better grade than those who participate less often. One must recognize, however, that there is an art to quality participation that is only learned by trial and error. Therefore, students are encouraged to begin contributing to the discussions early in the semester.

As the value of this course stems from class discussion and participation, your attendance at class sessions is critical to learning the material and to enhancing the discussions. Therefore, your participation grade will include your class attendance. If you never speak out in class or if you miss several classes, you will receive a participation grade of D. If you speak out occasionally, bur rarely say anything inspired, and you attend virtually all the sessions, your participation will be a C+. The best grades will be given to students who make contributions to the discussions. These involve applying conceptual material from the readings or lectures, doing some outside readings and applying them to the discussion, integrating comments from previous classes into the current discussion, taking issues (in a constructive manner) with a classmate's or instructor’s analysis and/or pulling together material from several different sources.

The instructor reserves the right to cold-call on students, particularly on students who have not participated in a while. Students who are shy or uncomfortable with participation are encouraged to make an appointment with the instructor. This discussion should take place early in the semester to minimize the impact on the student's participation grade.

ACCT4540/5540 Class SCHEDULE & ASSIGNMENTS:

Week 1: Review Course Syllabus, get to know one another, review projects and form project teams, review chapters 1, 2 and 4

Week 2: Hitachi Meeting (Denver 4 pm to 8 pm) Project planning, effective meetings and status reporting

Week 3:Chapter 5 - Project planning (charter, authority, work breakdown structure)

Week 4:Chapter 10 – project manager role and responsibilities, success factors, skills, managing change

Week 5: Hitachi Meeting (Denver 4 pm to 8 pm) Asking effective questions and root cause analysis

Week 6:Chapter 11 – the project team development and effectiveness, project requirements

Week 7:Chapter 12 – project communication and documentation

Week 8:First deliverable due (project presentations)

Week 9:Risk management and lessons learned

Week 10:Time management

Week 11:Hitachi Meeting (Denver 4 pm to 8 pm) Creating quality deliverables and presenting to executives

Week 12:Cost management

Week 13:Procurement

Week 14:Project review session

Week 15: Final deliverable due and project presentations

Week 16:Final Exam

Other Resources:

37signals - design firm

Agile Software Manifesto

Project Management Institute

Hitachi Training Session I Presentation

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