Main Objectives
- o Initiate projects by defining clear objectives, scopes, and deliverables.
- o Develop comprehensive project plans considering scheduling, resource allocation, and budgeting.
- o Identify potential risks, assess their impact, and implement mitigation strategies to ensure project success.
- o Facilitate effective communication and stakeholder engagement to foster collaboration and alignment within project teams.
- o Establish robust quality assurance processes and conduct thorough testing to deliver high-quality software products.
- o Manage changes within the project environment, including scope changes and organizational changes, to minimize disruptions.
- o Monitor project progress, track key performance indicators, and implement corrective actions as needed to keep projects on track.
- o Conduct comprehensive project evaluations, document lessons learned, and celebrate project successes to promote continuous improvement.
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Project Management Software used in this course
Project Plan 365 application offers us planning and scheduling capabilities, intuitive Gantt-Chart visualization and much more, during Project Management courses! Our students gain hands-on experience with Project Plan 365, preparing them for real-world project management!
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Course Plan
| Part 1: Setting the baseline |
| Chapter 1: Introduction to Project Management (PM) |
| A/ Content of lecture and Teaching methods: |
| – Content of lecture: |
| + What is project, project management? |
| + What are project attributes? |
| + Triple constraint of projects. |
| + Describe project management and discuss key elements of the project management framework, including project stakeholders, the project management knowledge areas, common tools and techniques, and project success |
| + Understand the role of the project manager by describing what project managers do, what skills they need, and what the career field is like for information technology project managers |
| + Describe the project management profession. |
| – Teaching approaches: |
| + Lecture |
| + Powerpoint presentation |
| + Group discussion |
| + Interactive Q & A with students. |
| B/Tasks for students at home: |
| + Do exercises in chapter 1. |
| Part 1: Setting the baseline |
| Chapter 2: The Project Management and Information Technology Context |
| A/Content of lecture and Teaching methods: (2) |
| – Content of lecture: |
| + Describe context of projects |
| + Understand organization such as the four frames of organization, organizational structures, and organizational culture. |
| + Explain why stakeholder management and top management commitment are critical for a project’s success |
| + Discuss the unique attributes and diverse nature of information technology projects |
| – Teaching approaches: |
| + Lecture |
| + Powerpoint presentation |
| + Group discussion |
| + Interactive Q & A with students. |
| B/Tasks for students at home: |
| + Do exercises in chapter 2. |
| Part 2: Develop a basic project plan |
| Chapter 3: Project Scope Management |
| A/ Content of lecture and Teaching methods: (4) |
| – Content of lecture: |
| + Understand the importance of good project scope management |
| + Discuss methods for collecting and documenting requirements in order to meet stakeholder needs and expectations |
| + Explain the scope definition process and describe the contents of a project scope statement |
| + Discuss the process for creating a work breakdown structure using the analogy, top-down, bottom-up, and mind-mapping approaches |
| + Explain the importance of verifying scope and how it relates to defining and controlling scope |
| – Teaching approaches: |
| + Lecture |
| + Powerpoint presentation |
| + Group discussion |
| + Interactive Q & A with students. |
| B/Tasks for students at home: |
| + Do exercises in chapter 3. |
| Part 2: Develop a basic project plan |
| Chapter 4: Project Time Management |
| A/ Content of lecture and Teaching methods: (2) |
| – Content of lecture: |
| + Define activities as the basis for developing project schedules |
| + Understand the relationship between estimating resources and project schedules |
| + Use a Gantt chart for planning and tracking schedule information, find the critical path for a project |
| + Describe how critical chain scheduling and the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) affect schedule development. |
| + Discuss how reality checks and people issues are involved in controlling and managing changes to the project schedule. |
| + Describe how project management software can assist in project time management and review words of caution before using this software |
| – Teaching approaches: |
| + Lecture |
| + Powerpoint presentation |
| + Group discussion |
| + Interactive Q & A with students. |
| B/Tasks for students at home: |
| + Do exercises in chapter 4. |
| Basic Review – Midterm Exam |
| A/ Content of lecture and Teaching methods: (4) |
| – Content of lecture |
| + Review the knowledge learned in the weeks 1-7 |
| + Students will make summary reports |
| + Comments, Q & A and process assessment. |
| – Teaching approaches: |
| + Lecture |
| + Powerpoint presentation |
| + Group discussion |
| + Interactive Q & A with students. |
| B/Tasks for students at home: |
| + Perform process assignments with lecturer. |
| + Team work. |
| Part 3: Develop a comprehensive project plan |
| Chapter 5:Project Cost Management |
| A/ Content of lecture and Teaching methods: (2) |
| – Content of lecture: |
| + Explain basic project cost management principles, concepts, and terms |
| + Discuss different types of cost estimates and methods for preparing them |
| + Understand the processes involved in cost budgeting and preparing a cost estimate and budget for an information technology project |
| + Understand the benefits of earned value management and project portfolio management to assist in cost control |
| + Describe how project management software can assist in project cost management |
| – Teaching approaches: |
| + Lecture |
| + Powerpoint presentation |
| + Group discussion |
| + Interactive Q & A with students. |
| B/Tasks for students at home: |
| + Do exercises in chapter 5. |
| Part 3: Develop a comprehensive project plan |
| Chapter 6: Project Quality Management |
| A/ Content of lecture and Teaching methods: (2) |
| – Content of lecture: |
| + Define project quality management and understand how quality relates to various aspects of information technology projects |
| + Describe quality planning and its relationship to project scope management |
| + Discuss the importance of quality assurance |
| + Explain the main outputs of the quality control process |
| + Understand the tools and techniques for quality control, such as the Seven Basic Tools of Quality, statistical sampling, Six Sigma, and testing |
| + Discuss how software can assist in project quality management |
| – Teaching approaches: |
| + Lecture |
| + Powerpoint presentation |
| + Group discussion |
| + Interactive Q & A with students. |
| B/Tasks for students at home: |
| + Do exercises in chapter 6. |
| Part 3: Develop a comprehensive project plan |
| Chapter 7: Project Human Resource Management |
| A/ Content of lecture and Teaching methods: (2) |
| – Content of lecture: |
| + Define project human resource management and understand its processes |
| + Summarize key concepts for managing people by understanding the theories on how people and teams can become more effective |
| + Discuss human resource planning and be able to create a human resource plan, project organizational chart, responsibility assignment matrix, and resource histogram |
| + Understand important issues involved in project staff acquisition and explain the concepts of resource assignments, resource loading, and resource leveling |
| + Explain and apply several tools and techniques to help manage a project team and summarize general advice on managing teams |
| + Describe how project management software can assist in project human resource management. |
| – Teaching approaches: |
| + Lecture |
| + Powerpoint presentation |
| + Group discussion |
| + Interactive Q & A with students. |
| B/Tasks for students at home: |
| + Do exercises in chapter 7. |
| Part 3: Develop a comprehensive project plan |
| Chapter 8: Project Communications Management (2/2/8) |
| A/ Content of lecture and Teaching methods: (2) |
| – Content of lecture |
| + Discuss the process of identifying stakeholders and how to create a stakeholder register and stakeholder management strategy |
| + Explain the elements of project communications planning and how to create a communications management plan. |
| + Describe various methods for distributing project information. |
| + Recognize the importance of managing stakeholder expectations |
| + List various methods for improving project communications, such as managing conflicts, running effective meetings, using e-mail and other technologies effectively, and using templates |
| + Describe how software can enhance project communications management. |
| – Teaching approaches: |
| + Lecture |
| + Powerpoint presentation |
| + Group discussion |
| Interactive Q & A with students. |
| B/Tasks for students at home: |
| + Do exercises in chapter 8. |
| Part 3: Develop a comprehensive project plan |
| Chapter 9:Project Risk Management |
| A/ Content of lecture and Teaching methods: (2) |
| – Content of lecture |
| + Discuss the elements involved in risk management planning and the contents of a risk management plan |
| + List common sources of risks in information technology projects |
| + Describe the process of identifying risks and be able to create a risk register |
| + Discuss the qualitative risk analysis process and explain how to calculate risk factors, create probability/impact matrixes, and apply the Top Ten Risk Item Tracking technique to rank risks |
| + Risk response planning strategies to address both negative and positive risks |
| + Discuss what is involved in monitoring and controlling risks |
| – Teaching approaches: |
| + Lecture |
| + Powerpoint presentation |
| + Group discussion |
| + Interactive Q & A with students. |
| B/Tasks for students at home: |
| + Do exercises in chapter 9. |
| Review the course – Final Examination |
| A/ Content of lecture and Teaching methods: (4) |
| – Content of lecture |
| + Review the knowledge learned in the weeks 1-14 |
| + Students will make summary reports |
| + Comments, Q & A and process assessment. |