MGS 425: Management of IT Projects

Spring 2012
 

Instructor:

Susan Elliott Sim

Email:


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Office hours:

325P Jacobs Management Center
Tuesday 1-3pm
Other times by Appointment

Lectures:

Tuesday 5:00-7:50pm, Jacobs 122

Web site: http://www.drsusansim.org/teaching/mgs425/
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisite: MGS 314 and senior standing in the School of Management, MGS405 (co-requisite); or Permissions of Instructor

Description - Schedule - Grading - Materials - Policies


Description

The majority of IT projects are unsuccessful not on account of poor technology; they do not succeed as a consequence of bad managerial habits. With the disciplined project management methods, you will become acquainted with established techniques to make sure that your IT projects are on time, on budget, and meet the client's requirements. IT project management includes the information, methods, and tools essential for the managing of IT products or systems development. This syllabus talks about material that managers require in order to generate a plan for IT product or systems development, by effective assessment of size and effort, and to carry out that plan while concentrating on productivity and quality. In that background, subjects such as risk management, different life-cycle models, development team organization, and supervision of technical people are discussed as well.

This course covers the factors necessary for successful management of information systems development or enhancement projects. Both technical and behavioral aspects of project management are applied within the context of an information systems development project. Various topics will be covered and will include: Managing the system life cycle, system and database integration issues, network management, project tracking, metrics, system performance evaluation, managing expectations of managers, clients, team members, and others, determining skill requirements and staffing, cost-effectiveness analysis, reporting and presentation techniques, risk management, management of behavioral and technical aspects of the project, change management, software tools for project tracking and monitoring and team collaboration techniques and tools.


Textbooks

Information Technology Project Management: Providing Measurable Organizational Value; by Jack T. Marchewka; ISBN-13 978-0470371930; John Wiley, 2009, 3rd edition.


Schedule

Week Date Topic
1 January 17 Chapter 1. The Nature of IT Projects
2 January 24 Chapter 2. Conceptualizing and Initializing the IT Project
3 January 31 Chapter 3. Developing the Project Charter and Baseline Project Plan
4 February 7 Chapter 4. The Human Side of Project Management
Chapter 5. Defining and Managing Project Scope
5 February 14 Guest Lecture
Exam 1
6 February 21 Chapter 6. The Work Breakdown Structure and Project Estimation
7 February 28 Chapter 7. The Project Schedule and Budget
8 March 6 Chapter 8. Managing Project Risk
  March 13 Spring Recess
9 March 20 Chapter 9. Project Communication, Tracking, and Reporting
10 March 27 Chapter 10. IT Project Quality Management
Exam 2
11 April 3 Chapter 11. Managing Organizational Change, Resistance, and Conflict
12 April 10 Chapter 12. Project Procurement Management and Outsourcing
13 April 17 Chapter 13. Leadership and Ethics
14 April 24 Chapter 14. Project Implementation, Closure, and Evaluation
Project Presentations
  TBA Final Exam


Grading and Evaluations

Grading.
Exam 1 20%
Exam 2 20%
Final Exam 20%
Group Project 30%
Individual Class Participation 10%

Group Project.
Each project team will consist of 4 to 5 team members. Each team will pick a specific IT project to be implemented in a fictitious company. Go ahead – be creative with the name and the product that this company sells or the service that it provides! But be sure to pick a realistic IT project. For the IT project, do the following:

Midterm and final Exams
The exams will be closed-book and closed-note. Exam may likely include a mixture of multiple choice questions, problem-solving exercises, and either short-answer or essay-type questions. No make-up exams will be presented apart from well-documented cases of absence due to sickness or a family emergency.

Class Attendance and Participation
Frequent absences will harm your participation score for the class. Having said that, merely showing up for class, even though it is vital, is not to be likened with participation. Students should try to add to every class discussion. Students should anticipate being "cold called" all through the course and should therefore be ready. Throughout the semester, I will observe each student's participation in class. If you would like some pointers concerning your class participation, please make an appointment with me and I will be pleased to meet with you separately out of class.
I will have periodic guest lecturers from the local industry. Attendance will be taken in those classes and will count towards class participation. Any student not in his/her seat by 5:00 PM will not receive credit for attending the guest lecture. No exceptions. It is important that you pay attention to this; in the event of tardiness, the guest lecturers then walk away with a very bad overall impression of the students. On those days, especially, it is your responsibility to allow yourself enough time to make it to class by 5:00 PM, taking into account weather, traffic, etc.


Policies