Schedule

8/27, 8/29,  8/31 

Course introduction (day 1)

Class Discussion (day 2 & 3)
– Biafore Introduction
– Biafore Chapter 1
– Biafore Chapter 2

Videos (day 2 & 3) – Project Management Foundations
– Introduction
– Getting to Know Project Management
– Exploring Project Management Knowledge Areas

Web Research (day 2 & 3)
– What percentage of IT projects are successful?
– What are some of the most important attributes of a successful project manager?
– What is the triple constraint?
– Who is the PMI, what is a PMP and what is PMBOK?
– What is an “alpha” project manager?
– What is a “kick-off meeting” for a project?

9/5,    9/7,   9/10

 Studio (day 1)
– Read Biafore Chapters 3, and 4.  Come to class prepared to work your way through the creation of the project plan outlined in the textbook.

Class Discussion (day 2)
– Biafore Chapter 6

Videos (day 2)– Project Management Foundations
– First Things First
– Developing a Project Plan

Web Research (day 2)
– What is the “project scope”?
– What is “scope creep”?
– What is “change control”?
– What is a “deliverable”?
– What is “project scope management”?
– What is “scope verification”?

Change Leadership (day 3)
– After reading the introduction chapter, The Heart of Change, come to class prepared to compare and contrast the difference in the techniques and the relative strengths/weaknesses of See-Feel-Change vs. Analysis-Think-Change.
– Come to class prepared to discuss at a very high level the eight steps of successful large-scale change.

Class Discussion (day 1)
– Biafore Chapter 7

Studio (day 2)
– Bring to class a first draft of the problem statement and project charter for your project.

Change Leadership (day 3)
Kotter – Chapter 1 : Increase Urgency
– Getting the Boss’ Approval
– The Videotape of the Angry Customer
– When Alligators are Nipping at Your Heels
– Gloves on the Boardroom Table
– The CEO Portrait Gallery

• Prepare a brief PowerPoint presentation (2-5 slides) for your 3 favorite short stories. The first slide will “tell the story”. The following slide(s) will include key lessons learned the reader should take away from the case and how it relates to your current project.
• Students will be selected at random to lead the class discussion on one of these short stories and will use this slide deck to add structure to their discussion.

Class Discussion (day 1)
– Biafore Chapter 5

Videos (day 1)- Project Management Foundations
– Building a Project Schedule
– While You Run the Project

Web Research (day 1)
– What is “sequencing activities”?
– What are “dependencies” between activities?
– What is “critical path analysis”?
– What is a “project milestone”?
– What is a “buffer”?
– What is “Murphy’s Law”?
– What is “Parkinson’s Law”?
– What is “critical chain scheduling”?

Studio (day 2)
– Bring your first draft of the risk management plan, communications plan, quality management plan and change management plan to class.

Change Leadership (day 3)
Kotter – Chapter 2 : Build the Guiding Team
– The Blues versus the Greens
– The New and More Diverse Team
– General Mollo and I were Floating in the Water
– Meetings Down Under

Weekly progress reports begin week-ending September 23

Studio (day 1)
– Bring your first draft of the scope document and WBS to class.

Class Discussion (day 1)
– Review for Exam

Class cancelled on 9/28 (day 2)

First Assignment due : Building a budget on September 28 (day 2)

Exam 1 (day 3) : October 1

10/3, 10/5, 10/8

Video (day 1)– Project Management Foundations
– Working with Teams

Class Discussion (day 1)
– Biafore Chapter 8

Web Research (day 1)
– What is the difference between “intrinsic” and “extrinsic” motivation?
– What is Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs?
– What are Herzberg’s “hygiene factors” and “motivators”?
– What does it mean to be an “empathetic listener”?
– What is the “Tuckman model of team development”?  What are the phases teams go through?
– What is “over allocation”?

Studio (day 2)
– Please come to class prepared to present your Draft Budget.

Change Leadership: (day 3)
Kotter – Chapter 3 : Get the Vision Right
– Painting Pictures of the Future
– Cost Versus Service
– The Plane Will Not Move!
– The Body in the Living Room

Studio (day 1)
– Please come to class prepared to give the class an update on the current status of your project.

Change Leadership (day 2)
– Kotter – Chapter 4 : Communicate for Buy-In
– Preparing for Q&A
– My Portal
– Nuking the Executive Floor
– The Screen Saver

Studio (day 3)
– Please come to class with a well-organized list of your stakeholders, an org chart of your team and a RACI chart showing roles and responsibilities.

10/17, 10/19, 10/22

Class Discussion (day 1 & 2)
– Biafore Chapter 9
– Biafore Chapter 10

Web Research (day 1 & 2)
– What is “effort-driven” scheduling?
– What is a “cost” and how is it typically measured?
– What is the difference between “capital” and “expense”?  Can I convert one to another?
– What are “tangible costs/benefits” vs. “intangible costs/benefits”?
– What is “procurement”?
– What is “outsourcing”?  Why do people do it?  What are the pros/cons?
– What is a “contract”?
– What is an “SLA”?
– What is the difference between a fixed price contract and a time and materials contract?
– What is a “statement of work” (SOW)?
– What is an RFP?
– What is an RFQ?

Change Leadership (day 3)
Kotter – Chapter 5 : Empower Action
– Retooling the Boss
– The Worldwide Competition
– I Survived, So You Can To-
– Making Movies on the Factory Floor
– Harold and Lidia

10/24, 10/26, 10/29

Studio (day 1)
– Please come to class prepared to present your revised budget.

Class Discussion (day 2, 3)
– Biafore Chapter 11
– Biafore Chapter 12
– Biafore Chapter 13
– Biafore Chapter 14

10/31, 11/2,   11/5

Studio (day 1)
Come to class prepared to present and discuss the following :

• Your final WBS
• Analyze the critical path of your project and be ready to present it. In addition, discuss any tasks that could influence the critical path if they run long or are completed earlier than expected. Discuss the use of schedule compression techniques should any of the tasks on your critical path run long. Provide specific examples from your project plan.

Second Assignment due : Build versus Buy decision on November 2

Class Discussion (day 2)
– Review for Exam #2

Exam #2 (day 3) : November 5

11/7,  11/9, 

11/12 – no class

Class Discussion (day 1)
– Quality and Risk Management.  No assigned reading, just web research.

Web Research (day 1)
– What is “project quality management”?
– What is the purpose of and who performs the following type of testing:
– Unit testing
– Integration testing
– System testing
– User acceptance testing
– What is “project risk management”?
– What are “known risks” vs. “unknown risks”?
– What are “contingencies”, “fallback plans”, and “contingency reserves”?
– Where are most of the risks associated with IT projects?
– What is a “risk register” and what does it contain?
– What is “qualitative risk assessment”?
– What is “quantitative risk assessment”?
– What are the four major risk response strategies?

Studio Day – CANCELLED
– Please come to class prepared to give the class an update on the current status of your project and discuss key items left to do to complete your project

Change Leadership now on day 2 / November 9

Kotter – Chapter 6 : Create Short-Term Wins
– The List on the Bulletin Boards
– Creating the New Navy
– The Senator Owned a Trucking Company
– Hoopla

Assignment:
– FoxNet Research Assignment – Due : November 9 (Day 2)

Studio (day 1)
– Come to class with a revised risk management plan.

Class Discussion (day 2)
– Biafore Chapter 15
– Biafore Chapter 16

Videos (day 2)- Project Management Foundations
– Monitoring and Controlling Progress and Performance

Web Research (day 2)
– Is conflict within your project a good thing or a bad thing?
– What are the pros/cons of the following 5 conflict handling modes:
   1 – Compromise
   2 – Smoothing
   3 – Forcing
   4 – Withdrawal
   5- Collaboration
– What is a “stakeholder”?
– What is a “stakeholder register”?
– What is a “stakeholder management strategy”?
– What is a “communications management plan” and what would you expect to find in it?
– What are some of the different methods of communicating the status of a project?  Are some better/worse than others?

Change Leadership (day 3)

Kotter – Chapter 7 : Don’t Let Up
– PE Ratios
– The Merchant of Fear
– Reducing Twenty-Five Pages to Two
– The Street

Studio (day 1)
– Come to class with revised versions of your change management and communications management plan.

Class Discussion (day 2)
– Biafore Chapter 17

Video (day 2)– Project Management Foundations
– Closing a Project
– Conclusion

Change Leadership (day 3)

Kotter – Chapter 8 : Make Change Stick
– The Boss Went to Switzerland
– The Path to the Patient
– Promoting the Thirty-Something
– The Home Mortgage

Studio (day 1)
– Final project review (bring your team binder).

Class Discussion (day 2)
– Review for exam #3

Exam #3 and Hand In Project (day 3) : December 10