PREREQUISITES:

        CSP 1-8; None

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

·        Digital Course packet available from XanEdu. To access your CoursePack, you will need to do the following:

1.   Open the XanEdu "Login/Register" page at: http://www.xanedu.com
2.   If you have previously registered at XanEdu, log in. If you are new to       XanEdu, click "Student Registration". Complete and submit the       registration form.
3.   Confirm your CoursePack Selection, and complete the purchase form.

Choose one of these options for your CoursePack delivery:

Option 1: Digital access plus packaged print copy (costlier of the 2 options) Price includes all printing, shipping and handling costs You will have immediate access to your Digital CoursePack Your personal print copy will be shipped to you within five business days from purchase of your CoursePack. Shipping of a print copy is for valid U.S. addresses only.

Option 2: Digital access with desktop printing You will have immediate access to your Digital CoursePack You will not receive a printed copy of the CoursePack You can print your CoursePack yourself, if your system hardware and connectivity supports downloading and printing very large files from the Internet. If you are not sure if your system supports this, we recommend that you select option #1 above.

4. After completing the purchase, you will be taken directly to "My XanEdu" where you can access your digital CoursePack.
Questions? Please contact XanEdu Customer Service at 1-800-218-5971.

·        Microsoft Project 2003. The best way to obtain access to MS Project is through the CIS Department and the Microsoft Developer's Network Academic Alliance. The CIS Department at GSU is now licensed under the MSDN Academic Alliance (MSDNAA) Program which enables every student and faculty member to access all of the software available under the Program. Microsoft's e-academy is responsible for making this software available to everyone for direct download over the Internet. The MSDNAA database of CIS courses registered students was compiled from those students who were registered as CIS Majors and were taking classes in the Fall Semester ONLY. If you have flagged your GSU Directory Information as "BLOCKED-CONFIDENTIAL", you will have to come to the Department and sign a release. This is done only ONCE per semester. To become an eligible user, you have to be a current CIS course student and the upload will automatically register you sending all the information to your student email account @ GSU. Please refer to MSDNAA Master End-User License Agreement. Students and faculty can access this software at http://msdn.e-academy.com/gsu_cis. Here you can download and access the complete suite of Microsoft developer tools, servers, and platforms. There is no charge to download the software as long as you are an eligible user in the System. There are some selected products that have the option of purchasing the media for a minimum charge.

DO NOT wait until the day before the assignment is due to make sure you can access the software. It can take several days to get your information into the system. If you are not a CIS major and have trouble accessing the software, contact the CIS department (Room 929) and explain why you need access to the MSDNAA site. They will add you to the system. The software packages on MSDNAA are not demos; they are full copies. You will need to invest significant time in downloading them if you only have access to a dial up connection.

Most students will want to take advantage of this. However, for those who do not, an alternative means of obtaining the MS Project software is to visit Microsoft’s website and obtain a 60-day trial CD of MS Project 2003. The cost on this last time I checked was $8.00 and the url is: http://www.microsoft.com/office/project/prodinfo/trial.mspx

Be forewarned that the MS Project software you will need for this course is not installed in the university computer labs. You will need access to both the software and a printer to complete certain assignments for the course.

·        The Deadline: A Novel About Project Management, by Tom DeMarco, published by Dorset House; ISBN: 0932633390, 1997. Available from the GSU bookstore (or from Amazon.com). Hereafter, this book is refered to as “DeMarco.”

OPTIONAL MATERIALS

·        A “how-to” guide for using MS Project 2003. There are many books out there--here are two recommendations. For beginners, there is: Microsoft Project Version 2003 Step By Step, by Carl S. Chatfield and Timothy D. Johnson, published by Microsoft Press, ISBN: 0735619557, 2003. Available from Amazon.com (and other sources) for $20.39. For a slightly more advanced user, there is: Microsoft Project Version 2003 Inside Out by Teresa S. Stover et al., published by Microsoft Press; ISBN: 0735619581, 2003. Available from Amazon.com (and other sources) for $33.99. If you have not ever used MS Project and want something beyond the tutorials and on-line documentation, you may wish to purchase one of these books.

·        “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge” published by the Project Management Institute. This book, often referred to as the “PMBOK” provides a useful framework for thinking about the various elements of project management, many of which will be discussed in this course. It serves as a guide to the domain of project management and contains definitions of key concepts and terms. Although it is not intended as a textbook, the PMBOK serves as useful reference. Excerpts from the 2000 edition of the PMBOK are available for free download from PMI (www.pmi.org) and the complete 2000 edition can be purchased in paperback form for $35.95 (there is a discount if you are a PMI member). If you are contemplating taking the PMI certification exam (either now or in the future) you will probably want to obtain a copy of the PMBOK.

CATALOG DESCRIPTION

This course examines the defining characteristics of IT projects and introduces the student to a variety of project management techniques that can be applied in an IT project context.  Managing scope, time, cost, and quality will be explored.  The course will cover management issues associated with packaged software implementation (e.g., ERP systems), in-house developed systems, and outsourced projects.

DETAILED COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course focuses on information technology project management. The reported statistics on information technology (IT) projects are bleak: by most accounts at least one in four projects ends in failure. Entire books are now available filled with cases of IT project failure. Several years ago, the Standish Group reported the results of a study of over 8,000 software development projects, revealing that only 16 percent were completed on time and on budget. Most of the remaining projects, if they were completed at all, came in over-budget and behind schedule, with fewer functions and features than originally specified. Cost overruns for these projects averaged nearly 200 percent. Cases in which software projects go wildly over budget or drag on long past their originally scheduled completion date have been labeled "runaway systems" in the trade press. Like a runaway train, these are projects that are hurtling out of control; difficult to stop, yet in need of redirection or termination. In this course, we shall examine a range of IT projects, some of which could be classified as runaways. Our objective will be to learn from these projects and the challenges that were encountered. In doing so, this course will give you the tools to avoid IT project failures. Through readings, cases, and discussions, you will learn to recognize the warning signs associated with failing projects. In addition, you will be exposed to project management tools and associated software that can help you to better plan and manage IT projects.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

While IT projects are similar in some ways to other types of projects, they pose unique challenges for the managers and organizations that undertake them. IT project management is particularly challenging because of several factors including: (1) the rapid pace of technological changes occurring in the IT field, (2) the invisible nature of software, (3) the ever-present pressure to add new features and functionality to systems, and (4) the difficulty of managing the organizational changes that accompany most IT implementations.

Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:

·        Articulate similarities and differences between IT projects and other types of projects.

·        Justify an IT project by establishing a business case

·        Develop a project charter

·        Develop a work breakdown structure for an IT project

·        Estimate task durations and assign resources

·        Establish task interdependencies

·        Draw and analyze a network diagram

·        Identify IT project risks and develop risk mitigation strategies

·        Perform a post-project audit

·        Identify and avoid IT project escalation

·        De-escalate troubled IT projects

EVALUATION

Students are evaluated on their participation in class, their performance on two exams, and one exercise involving project management software.  Performance in these areas is weighted equally toward the final grade in the course:

Individual Classroom Participation                             80 points (20%)

Individual Assignments using MS Project                  100 points (25%)

     Assignment 1 (WBS and Activity Duration Estimates)         20 points

     Assignment 2 (CPM and Time/Cost Tradeoff Analysis)        20 points

     Assignment 3 (Resource Loading and Leveling)                  20 points

     Assignment 4 (Risk Analysis and Project Reports)             20 points

     Assignment 5 (Project Plan Update and EVA)                    20 points

Group Assignments                                                 20 points (5%)

     Assignment 1 (Timberjack)                                               10 points

     Assignment 2 (California DMV)                                         10 points

First exam                                                            100 points (25%)

Second exam                                                        100 points (25%)

TOTAL                                                                 400 points (100%)

Participation.  The course is designed primarily around case discussions, which cannot succeed without extensive preparation and participation.  More details on my expectations regarding attendance and participation are given below.

Individual Assignments  There will be 5 individual exercises that will be assigned and graded, which together, will comprise 25% of the final course grade. The web-ct release dates and the due dates for these assignments are shown in the class schedule and assignments section below. These assignments are designed to reinforce project management concepts and techniques covered in the course and to give you hands-on experience using Microsoft Project, which is the most widely used software package for project management.

Group Assignments  There will be 2 group assignments that will be geared around two of the cases on the syllabus (Timberjack and California DMV), which will comprise 5% of the final course grade. The group assignments involve case analysis and graded presentations that will be given in class. Every group member is expected to participate in the analysis, presentation preparation, and presentation delivery. Each group member will evaluate the contribution level of other members in their group. The group will be graded as a group, but the instructor reserves the right to adjust an individual member’s grade based on the peer evaluation of contribution level given to the assignment.

Exams.  The exams will be open-book and open-note. Exams may be expected to involve a combination of multiple choice, problem-solving exercises (e.g., network calculations or time cost trade-off analysis), and mini-cases that provide the basis for either short-answer or essay-oriented questions. No make-up exams will be offered except in the case of absence excused due to illness or a family crisis.

Because this course proceeds without a standard text and employs the case method, it does not involve a Final Exam as defined by GSU Policy. Accordingly, the second exam in the course should not be considered a “Final Exam,” and it is scheduled well in advance of finals week, in accordance with University policy.

Students who would prefer to undertake a substantial term project in lieu of the exams should consult with the instructor. The term project would involve researching and writing up an original Harvard Business School style case study and accompanying analysis focusing on the management issues associated with an actual IT project.

Late assignments will be marked down 20%. Late assignments will not be accepted after assignment grades have been posted to web-ct.

EXPECTATIONS REGARDING ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION

Since this is a case-based discussion-oriented course, regular attendance and participation is required.  In evaluating your class participation in discussions of cases and articles, both the quantity and quality of participation is taken into account.  As a wise professor once said:  “You can’t have any quality if you don’t have any quantity and you can’t have any quantity if you aren’t in class.”  Absences will have an adverse effect on your participation score for the course.  Students are therefore expected to attend all classes, except when precluded by emergencies, religious holidays, or other extenuating circumstances.  If you will be absent from class for any reason, please notify me in advance if possible. 

Showing up for class, important as it may be, is not to be equated with participation. Students should make an effort to contribute to each and every class discussion.  Before coming to class, thorough preparation of each case (and associated articles) is essential.  The case method of teaching is only effective when participants have extensively analyzed each case and are prepared to contribute to the case discussion.  Students should expect to be "cold called" throughout the course and should be prepared accordingly—this is a normal part of case method teaching.

The quality of your contributions to case discussions will be evaluated using the following criteria:

• Does the contribution represent a solid analysis and some insight into the case or is it just a reiteration of case facts?

•  Does the contribution demonstrate an ability to listen to and build from what others have said?

• Does the contribution move the discussion to an important area or does it just rephrase what has already been said?

• If "cold called," was the student prepared? 

During the quarter, I keep notes regarding each student's participation in class.  If you would like feedback regarding your class participation, please make an appointment with me and I will be happy to meet with you individually outside of class.

GENERAL CLASS POLICIES

Academic Honest  (Abstracted from GSU’s Student Handbook Student Code of Conduct “Policy on Academic Honesty and Procedures for Resolving Matters of Academic Honesty” - http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwcam/academichonesty.html)

As members of the academic community, students are expected to recognize and uphold standards of intellectual and academic integrity. The University assumes as a basic and minimum standard of conduct in academic matters that students be honest and that they submit for credit only the products of their own efforts. Both the ideals of scholarship and the need for fairness require that all dishonest work be rejected as a basis for academic credit. They also require that students refrain from any and all forms of dishonorable or unethical conduct related to their academic work.

Students who would prefer to undertake a substantial term project in lieu of the exams should consult with the instructor. The term project would involve researching and writing up an original Harvard Business School style case study and accompanying analysis focusing on the management issues associated with an actual IT project.

Students are expected to discuss with faculty the expectations regarding course assignments and standards of conduct. Here are some examples and definitions that clarify the standards by which academic honesty and academically honorable conduct are judged at GSU.

Plagiarism.Plagiarism is presenting another person’s work as one’s own. Plagiarism includes any paraphrasing or summarizing of the works of another person without acknowledgment, including the submitting of another student’s work as one’s own. Plagiarism frequently involves a failure to acknowledge in the text, notes, or footnotes the quotation of the paragraphs, sentences, or even a few phrases written or spoken by someone else. The submission of research or completed papers or projects by someone else is plagiarism, as is the unacknowledged use of research sources gathered by someone else when that use is specifically forbidden by the faculty member. Failure to indicate the extent and nature of one’s reliance on other sources is also a form of plagiarism. Failure to indicate the extent and nature of one’s reliance on other sources is also a form of plagiarism. Any work, in whole or part, taken from the internet or other computer based resource without properly referencing the source (for example, the URL) is considered plagiarism. A complete reference is required in order that all parties may locate and view the original source. Finally, there may be forms of plagiarism that are unique to an individual discipline or course, examples of which should be provided in advance by the faculty member. The student is responsible for understanding the legitimate use of sources, the appropriate ways of acknowledging academic, scholarly or creative indebtedness, and the consequences of violating this responsibility.

Cheating on Examinations. Cheating on examinations involves giving or receiving unauthorized help before, during, or after an examination. Examples of unauthorized help include the use of notes, texts, or “crib sheets” during an examination (unless specifically approved by the faculty member), or sharing information with another student during an examination (unless specifically approved by the faculty member). Other examples include intentionally allowing another student to view one’s own examination and collaboration before or after an examination if such collaboration is specifically forbidden by the faculty member.

Unauthorized Collaboration.Submission for academic credit of a work product, or a part thereof, represented as its being one’s own effort, which has been developed in substantial collaboration with assistance from another person or source, or computer honesty. It is also a violation of academic honesty knowingly to provide such assistance. Collaborative work specifically authorized by a faculty member is allowed.