49002 Managing Projects
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular semester, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
UTS: Engineering: Systems, Management and LeadershipCredit points: 6 cp
Subject level:
Postgraduate
Result type: Grade and marksThere are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 48260 Ver 4 Engineering Project Management
Handbook description
This subject introduces project management principles and tools. Students develop an understanding of the importance of sound management practices and their application to the successful performance of engineering projects and works. What students learn in this subject enhances their ability to make and implement decisions for strategic and operational management within an engineering setting.
This subject is offered in two modes: standard and distance.
- In standard mode, students are expected to attend lectures and participate in class and group activities. Classes are three hours per week for one semester. Students are expected to enrol and remain in a particular session all semester.
- In distance mode, students undertake the subject without attending classes thus enabling those who would have difficulty attending, for geographic or other reasons, to undertake the study of the subject.
The subject's learning objectives and content are the same for both modes. There are differences in emphasis for some of the assignments because of teamwork and presentations to staff and peers. While these aspects are mandatory for students participating in standard mode, they are not required for distance mode students.
Subject objectives/outcomes
The objective of this subject is to provide students with the knowledge to:
- Emphasise the roles of management in engineering projects
- Realise and use effective management techniques
- Realise the ethical responsibilities of engineers and managers
- Realise the importance of quality and safety in construction
- Develop skills in collaborative communication and team work
- Develop competence in presenting concepts through constructive oral and written communications
- Appreciate the role of people in management and engineering
- Develop Problem solving techniques
- Understand and evaluate the impact of their decisions on interrelated systems
Upon completion of this subject, students are expected to be able to:
- Discuss and debate definitions of project management
- Dicuss the role of project mangers in contributing to the effectiveness of their organisations
- Uderstand the nature of projects and how they differ from processes and operations
- Uderstand and use project management tools such as Work Breakdown Structure, Gantt chart and CPM or network charts
- Uderstand and appreciate the role of ethics in engineering
- Apreciate key aspects of project management including quality, scope, time, cost and risk
- Aalyse problems involving people management and consider alternative ways of dealing with them
- Consider different ways by which people can be motivated
- Understand the role of organisational structure and its interaction with information technology in managing technical knowledge and task interdependence.
Teaching and learning strategies
To achieve the objectives of this course, a combination of lecture presentations, tutorials and assessment exercises are used. Theses methods introduce general management principles to students to enable them to critically reflect on how these principles are employed in the real world. Students’ experiences and readings should be reflected through active contributions to class and tutorial discussion to facilitate learning from each other.
By their nature, most management practices are not rigid and are not solved by mathematical equations. The teaching and learning methods listed below, together with the assessment items , are designed to allow students to reflect on the management topics covered in this course, and encourage brainstorming and investigation.
Lecture notes, and suggested references, tutorial material and other resources are provided to assist you in this endeavour.
The fundamental approach to learning in this course can be summarised as follows:
•Understand rather than memorise
•Take responsibility for your own learning
•Explore and test ideas, without limiting yourself to textbook situations
•Work collaboratively with others
•Above all, enjoy the experience
Content
Teaching and Learning Strategies:
1. Lectures
• Find out what you must learn
• Follow worked examples
• Hear announcements on course changes
2. Tutorials
• Be guided by the tutor
•Practice principles and theories learnt in lectures
•Practice solving set problems
•Ask questions
3. Private Study For each hour of contact it is expected that you will dedicate at least 1.5 hours to private study
• Students are expected to prepare for the lectures by reading the designated chapters of the textbooks and/or the material
suggested by the lecturer
• Review lecture material, textbook and references
• Do set exercises and assignments
•Join in discussions
• Reflect on class and tutorial material
• Keep up with notices and find out marks
4. Assessment
• Demonstrate your knowledge and skills
•Demonstrate higher understanding and problem solving
Assessment
Assessment Item 1: Assignment 1 - Individual Research
| Weighting: | 20% |
Assessment Item 2: Assignment 2-Report
| Weighting: | 30% |
Assessment Item 4: Final Exam
| Weighting: | 50% |
Minimum requirements
Students are advised that a 50% pass in the Final Examination is a mandatory requirement for passing this subject. Students who fail the Final Examination will be given a mark of 44Z or their total mark whichever is the lesser.
Recommended texts
Gray, C. F. & Larson E. W. 2009. Project Management: the Management Process, 4th ed., McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York.
References
Carbone, T.A. 2004. ‘Project Risk Management Using the Project Risk FMEA’, Engineering Management Journal, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 28–35.
Crawford, J. 2002. Project Management Maturity Model: Providing a Proven Path to Project Management Excellence, Marcel Dekker, New York.
Fleming, Q. & Koppelman, J. 2006. Earned Value Management, Project Management Institute, 3rd ed., Project Management Institute; 3rd edition (February 2006).
Flyvbjerg, B. 2006. ‘From Nobel Prize to Project Management: Getting Risks Right’, Project Management Journal, Research Quarterly, vol. 37, no. 3, Special PMI Research Conference Edition, August 2006.
Gonçalves, M. 2005. Managing Virtual Projects, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Grant, K. & Pennypacker, S. 2006. ‘Project Management Maturity: An Assessment of Project Management Capabilities Among and Between Selected Industries’, IEEE Transactions On Engineering Management, vol. 53, no. 1.
Gray, C. F. & Larson E. W. 2006. Project Management: the Management Process, 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York.
Kerzner, H. 2005. Project Management, A systems approach to planning, scheduling and controlling, 9th ed., Wiley.
Kerzner, H. 2006. Project Management Case Studies, McGraw-Hill.
Kwak,Y. & Ibbs, C. 2000. ‘Calculating project management’s return on investment’, Project Management Journal, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 38–47.
Leach, L. 2004. Critical Chain Project Management, 2nd ed., Artech House Publishers.
Leach, L. 2006. Lean Project Management: Eight Principles for Success, BookSurge Publishing, New York.
Lewis, J. 2005. Fundamentals of Project Management, 3rd ed., AMACOM/American Management Association.
Lloyd, S. & Simpson, A. 2005. ‘Project Management in Multi-Disciplinary Collaborative Research’, 2005 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference Proceedings.
Loch, C., Meyer, A. & Pich, M. 2006. Managing the Unknown: a New Approach to Managing High Uncertainty and Risk in Projects, Wiley, New York.
Lock, D. 2003. Project Management, 8th edition, Gower, Vermont.
Loosemore, M. 2006. Risk management in projects, 2nd ed., Taylor and Francis, London.
Meredith, J. & Mantel, S. 2005. Project Management: A Managerial Approach, 6th ed., Wiley.
Pollock, S. 2005. ‘Create a Simple Framework to Validate FMEA Performance,’ Six Sigma Forum Magazine, August 2005.
Project Management Institute 2004. Project Management Body of Knowledge, 3rd ed.
Rad, P. & Levin, G. 2003. Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams, J. Ross, Publishing.
Regev, S. Shtub, A. & Ben-Haim, Y. 2006. ‘Managing Project Risks as Knowledge Gaps’, Project Management Journal, Research Quarterly, vol. 37, no. 5.
Rozenes, S., Vitner, G. & Spraggett S. 2006. ‘Project Control: Literature Review’, Project Management Journal, Research Quarterly, vol. 37, no. 4.
Taylor, H. 2006. ‘Risk Management and Problem Resolution Strategies for IT Projects: Prescription and Practice’, Project Management Journal, Research Quarterly, vol. 37, no. 5.
Wysocki, R. F. 2006. Effective Project Management: Traditional, Adaptive, Extreme, 4th ed., Wiley.
