MGMT 4135 Project Management Spring Semester 2013

Syllabus

MGMT 4135 Project Management – Spring Semester 2013 Business Administration Department Southern Polytechnic State University

Course Description This course is a comprehensive study of project management concepts. Students will be introduced to the fundamental principles and technologies that are paramount to successful management of projects. This course also will survey the human and scientific elements in this management field of study.

In this course, students will learn project management through three approaches. First, students will read the textbook and participate in class discussion. Second, students will work on weekly assignments that reflect the knowledge learned from the text. Finally, students will form teams to work on a project that involves a start-up company called “Wed-Away.” This project focuses on management issues, people skills, proper planning, cost containment, and risk management.

Course Textbook Project Management, the Managerial Process, 5th edition, Erik W. Larson, Clifford F. Gray

Instructor Francine Warner, MS, PMP 770-307-7393 Email: [email protected] Website: http://educate.spsu.edu/fwarner

Course Objectives  Provide an understanding of the science and art of managing a project  Determine how projects are selected while supporting the strategic goals of the organization  Describe organizational structures and how they affect project implementation  Instruction on the importance of good project planning and the methodologies used  Examine the potential risks associated with the project  Learn strategies for keeping the project schedule on track, such as crashing and fast tracking  Understand the importance of stakeholder management  Review the required soft skills of a good project manager  Learn how Earned Value formulas provide succinct status on the current state of the project  Learn why proper closing of a project is so important to the performing organization  Examine the political, sociological, and multicultural aspects in today’s organizations  Learn project management by actually performing portions of a project

Measurable Learning Outcomes  Explain the role of project manager and project team  Explain project requirements and how to obtain them  Define clear scope and project objectives and outcomes  Identify risk factors and success factors Page 2 of 9  Prepare a risk management plan  Identify appropriate team organizational structures  Prove that the project management methodologies were learned through your completed team project plans

Technology Requirements Participation for this course will require computer technology. You should have Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010 (MS Word, MS PowerPoint), and MS Project installed on your computer. Your text book comes with a DVD containing a 60-day trial of MS Project 2010

Course Grading

Grade Weights Grading Scale Assignment Points Percent Course Grade Points Class Participation 10 10% A 90 – 100 Chapter Assignments 15 15% B 80 – 89 Mid-Term Exam 20 20% C 70 – 79 Final Project Content 25 25% D 60 – 69 Final Course Exam 25 25% F 0 – 59 Team Presentations 5 5% 100 100%

Class Participation Participation includes your attending a minimum of 80% or 12 scheduled classes. Your input during class discussions will also be noted. All students are expected to be fully engaged in this interactive course. I prefer our class sessions to be a dialog rather than a monologue.

Chapter Assignments See Course Schedule for assignments to be done at the end of each Chapter. You are to clearly identify the selected exercise followed by your solution statement as it pertains to the chapter text. All submissions are to be written in MS Word. Assignments are to be submitted (emailed) by Sunday mid- night of each week. Follow the format provided on last page of syllabus. Use correct punctuation and proper use of grammar.

Mid-Term Exam The mid-term exam will cover Chapters 1 through 7. These Chapters cover project management fundamentals, project planning, and project risk management. Chapter-7 marks the mid-point of your studies and will also equipment you with the necessary elements in order to complete your class team project plans.

Final Course Exam Page 3 of 9 The final exam will cover the entire course study and will be held the last evening of class.

Team Projects and Presentations The project charter will be distributed to each student during Week-2. All teams will be performing the same project (it’s a fun one). Because this project is quite complex, you will only be required to fully build out two legs of your parent WBS and build the rest of your plan based on those WBS elements. We will discuss this further during week-2.

Team project plans must be submitted no later than mid-night Sunday, April 21. Failure to submit the entire project plan by this deadline is an automatic fail grade for each project team member for this element of the course.  The base software for project plan will be MS Word. Diagrams and charts should be inserted as JPG images.  Project plans must contain an overall narrative that directs the reader to each component of the plan.  To make this project experience more realistic, each team will elect a project manager who will be responsible for the oversight the project team. This is not a dictatorship but is a relationship building role. The PM will hold group voting sessions to ensure everyone on the team is in agreement on what the plan will include and which team members will head-up certain project responsibilities.  Team project work is to be completed outside of class. The project manager will schedule team meetings and meeting location that is convenient for the majority of the team. Team members are asked to be as flexible as possible with your schedules. All team members and the project manager are to work together cohesively and professionally.  The Project Manager is to report any team member who is not contributing to the project.  Participation from each member must be evident.  Each student must be fully responsible for the final content of the entire project plan – again, group approval by vote.  Please feel free to discuss aspects of your project with the instructor after class if your team desires additional direction.

Team Project Contents The team project plan must include (at a minimum) the following project elements:  Project Requirements document (template provided)  Project Scope statement (template provided)  WBS and WBS Dictionary  Responsibility Matrix  Communications Plan  Project Schedule (MS Project software)  Risk management plan  Stakeholder register  Stakeholder management plan  Project Budget Team Project Grading Your team project plan will be graded on comprehension of each content element. The plan will also be judged on style, correct use of grammar, and intuitive navigation through the plan. Page 4 of 9

Team Project Presentations During weeks 14 and 15, each project team will present their projects to the class. Your presentations will be done in MS PowerPoint. Teams may also distribute hard copies of some project elements that may not lend itself well to PowerPoint.

Presentation Boundaries 1. Do not read verbatim from your PowerPoint slides. 2. Presentations will be timed. They must not exceed 20 minutes. Teams should practice ahead of time to ensure you will not lose points for exceeding the time limit. Practicing ahead of time will also ensure that technical glitches have been worked out, which will chip away from your allotted 15 minute slot.

Presentation Execution 1. (5 minutes) Each presentation should begin with the name of the project manager and names of each project team member. All project team members should have been assigned a specific project role and those members should explain how they performed their role. 2. (15 minutes) Actual presentation. Teams can elect one or more members to address the class on any portion of the presentation.

Student Responsibilities All individual work you submit is expected to be your own work. Cut and Paste is not acceptable nor is it ethical. Read University Policy on plagiarism at http://www.spsu.edu/arts/conduct.htm

Discussing this course material and its concepts with other class members outside of class can be very helpful and is even encouraged. It is not permissible, however, to work with another class member when working on your individual homework assignments. Students who cheat will be dropped from the course and given a failing grade.

Changes to Course Schedule The instructor reserves the right to make changes to the course schedule as necessary. Any changes that need to be made will be discussed with the class.

Disabilities Student with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations for this class are encouraged to contact a counselor at 678-915-7226 as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Classroom Etiquette

Cell Phones: Cell phone use is not permitted during class. If you are expecting an emergency call, please inform me before class begins. Silence all phones before class begins. Page 5 of 9

Laptops/Tablets: Students may use laptops or tablets for taking notes during class. This is a privilege. No student should be surfing the Internet during class lecture and discussion. Please do not make this an issue.

Attendance: You must attend at least 80% of all class hours in order to pass this course. All students are expected to be in class and settled by 5:55 PM. Class will start promptly at 6:00PM and is scheduled to end at 8:45PM. Any student who is not present by 6:00PM will be marked as late. Three ”lates” equals one absence. Any student not present by 6:20PM will be marked absent (circumstances negotiable). The good news: most evenings, you will be given a 15-20 minute break.

Ground rules for class discussion: One person at a time should be talking. Please do not have sidebar conversations while someone else is speaking. Listening intently and waiting your turn to express your own ideas is acceptable and honorable conduct.

Respect: Please respect the student or team that is presenting material to the class by not leaving the classroom and by not engaging in conversation while the presentation is in progress. Page 6 of 9 Course Schedule

Class Agenda Assignments Email NLT Mid-night  Getting to know each other  Read Chapters 1-2-3 Submit 3 exercises by  Expectations and 16 Sunday, Jan 13. Week-1  Syllabus review  Perform 2 exercises Jan 9, 10  Overview of the course from Chapter-2  Perform 1 exercise from Chapter-3  Lecture and class discussion on  Form Project Teams Submit exercises by the highlights of Chapters 1-2-3  Review project Sunday, Jan 20 Week-2 and 16 expectations Jan 16, 17  Team project – Review the project  Read Chapter 4 charter  Perform exercises #1 and #3  Lecture and class discussion on  Team Project Submit review Chapter-4 development based questions and exercises o WBS development on this week’s topics by Sunday, Jan 27 Week-3 o Responsibility Matrix  Read Chapters 5 Jan 23, 24 o Communications Plan  Answer all 4 review questions and perform exercises #1 and #2  Lecture and class discussion on  Read Chapter-6 Submit AON drawings Week-4 chapter 5  Perform Exercise #1 by Sunday, Feb 3 Jan 30, 31  Introduction on Network and #5 Diagramming (Chapter-6).  Lecture on Chapter-6 and class  Re-read Chapter-6 Submit AON drawings participation on network  Perform Exercises #8 and Chapt-7 Exercise #3 Week-5 diagramming forward and and #20 by Sunday, Feb 10 Feb 6, 7 backward passes.  Read Chapter-7  Perform exercise #3  In-class exercise of the Greendale  Review chapter-7 Submit review Stadium Case, pg. 198  Answer Review questions and exercise Week-6  Introduction and class discussion Questions #3 by Sunday, Feb 17 Feb 13, 14 on Chapter-7  Perform exercise #3. Be sure to justify Start preparing for your response. Mid-Term exam.

Week-7  Conclude Chapter-7 (if necessary)  Re-read Chapters 1 Prepare for Mid-Term Feb 20, 21  Mid-term review thru 7 exam. Page 7 of 9 Week-8 Mid-Term Exam – FEB 27, FEB 28 35 Questions Read Chapter-8 Feb 27, 28 SPRING BREAK March 3 thru March 9

Daylight Savings time begins 2AM Sunday, Mar 10th. Spring forward!

 Lecture and class discussion on  Perform Chapter-8 Submit time-phased Chapter-8 exercise #12 budget and Mini-case  Read Chapters 9 and by mid-night week of Week-9 10 Mar-11 Mar 13, 14  Chapter-10 Perform all 6 mini-case Mid-term exam scores scenarios in Exercise distributed and #6 reviewed  Survey of Chapter-9  Read Chapter-11 Submit Chapter-11  Lecture and class discussion on  Perform Exercise #1 exercises by mid-night Week-10 Chapter-10 and #3 based on the week of Mar-18 Mar 20, 21 synergies of your current project team  Lecture and class discussion on  Read Case Franklin Submit case study Chapter-11 Equipment, Ltd. Pg. answers, Chapter-12  Class team exercise on quality, 413. Answer and questions, and communication, risk, and justify your response Appendix 12.1 answers planning to the 4 case by mid-night week of  Team mini-presentations questions that Mar-18 Week-11 follow. Mar 27, 28  Read Chapter-12  Answer Chapter-12 review questions pg. 439  Read Appendix 12.1 and answer review questions on pg. 451  Lecture and class discussion on  Read Chapter-13 Submit your answers by Chapter-12  Answer review mid-night week of Mar- Week-12  In-class demonstration of questions 25 Apr 3, 4 gathering requirements and working with the customer. Page 8 of 9  Lecture and class discussion on  Complete Chapter-13 Submit Chapter-13 Chapter-13 Exercises #1 thru #3 exercises and case  Concentration on Earned Value  Read Chapters 14 answers by mid-night Week-13 formulas and 15 week of Apr-1 Apr 10, 11  Read and submit answers to case AMEX, Hungary pg. 560-562  Lecture and class discussion on  Finish team project Team project plans are Week-14 Chapters 14 and 15. plans to be submitted by mid- Apr 17, 18  Begin Team Project presentations night week of Apr-8 NO LATER THAN Get your projects in midnight Apr 21. Any Week-15 early, before Sunday projects not received Sunday  TEAM PROJECTS ARE DUE NOW Apr 21, just to be by midnight tonight Apr 21 safe. will be an automatic FAILURE.  Conclude Team Project  Prepare for Final presentations Exam  Discuss elements of the Final  Exam covers all Week-15 Exam chapters except 15 & Apr 24, 25 17  Hint: Review “Key terms” at the end of each chapter Week-16 Graded Team Projects Final Course Exam 50 Questions May 1, 2 returned

See following page for the cover page format to be used on ALL ASSIGNMENTS that are submitted via email. MGMT 4135 Project Management – Spring Semester 2013 Business Administration Department Southern Polytechnic State University

(Student Name)

Description of Submission (e.g. Chapter-17, Exercise #4 and #5)

(Date of Submission)

This template is to be used as the cover page for all chapter assignments. The actual text of your assignment begins on the next page.

Remember: Content, spelling, and good use of grammar are part of your grade for this assignment.