Career Development and Lifestyle Planning
|[pic] |Managing Complex Projects |
| |2 Credits |
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| |300.620.xx |
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Instructor
Full Name
Contact Information
Phone Number: (###) ###-####
E-mail Address
Office Hours
Day/s Times
Required Text and Learning Materials
Students will need to obtain the text and a Harvard Business School Publishing coursepack (for the cases and simulation). Students will be provided information about how to order the coursepack.
Text
Verzuh, E. (2012). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. (4th ed.) John Wiley & Sons: New York. ISBN-10: 1118073770; ISBN-13: 978-1118073773 Optional support: the author’s web site has downloadable forms and MS Project tutorials ---
Readings
The readings are listed below according to class session. All readings are available on the course Blackboard site under eReserve or Course Documents, or online from the JHU library.
Cases
• Teradyne Corporation: The Jaguar Project (2006). Harvard Business School Publishing, Product 9-606-042.
• Delphi Printers & Peripherals (Harvard Business School Publishing, case and simulation, Product 4700-HTM-ENG)
• Sensor Select LLC (provided by instructor)
• STEM Ware Inc. (provided by instructor)
Project Management Simulation
Delphi Printers & Peripherals (Harvard Business School Publishing, case and simulation, Product 4700-HTM-ENG)
Blackboard Site
A Blackboard course site is set up for this course. Each student is expected to check the site throughout the semester as Blackboard will be the primary venue for outside classroom communications between the instructors and the students. Students can access the course site at . Support for Blackboard is available at 1-866-669-6138.
Course Evaluation
As a research and learning community, the Carey Business School is committed to continuous improvement. The faculty strongly encourages students to provide complete and honest feedback for this course. Please take this activity seriously because we depend on your feedback to help us improve so you and your colleagues will benefit. Information on how to complete the evaluation will be provided towards the end of the course.
Disability Services
Johns Hopkins University and the Carey Business School are committed to making all academic programs, support services, and facilities accessible. To determine eligibility for accommodations, please contact the Carey Disability Services Office at time of admission and allow at least four weeks prior to the beginning of the first class meeting. Students should contact Rachel Pickett in the Disability Services office by phone at 410-234-9243, by fax at 443-529-1552, or email: carey.disability@jhu.edu.
Important Academic Policies and Services
• Honor Code
• Statement of Diversity and Inclusion
• Student Success Center
• Inclement Weather Policy
Students are strongly encouraged to consult the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School Student Handbook and Academic Catalog and the School website for detailed information regarding the above items.
Course Description
This course aims to equip you with effective techniques, methods, and practices for defining, scoping, and planning a project, and then managing it to successful completion. Special areas of emphasis in the course are driven by practical experiences with large and complex projects frequently being late, over budget, and failing to meet specifications. We will pay particular attention to understanding project complexity, risk, and uncertainty so that you are prepared to address these challenges to success. You will gain experience using a leading project management software package.
Prerequisite(s): None
Course Overview
You have undoubtedly worked on a project or led one, whether in professional, community, or personal activities. A project may be to launch a new product or service, implement a new operational process, introduce a new technology into a workplace, organize a community yard sale, put in a patio or vegetable garden in your backyard, or plan a wedding or family reunion. While each project is unique, there is much that has been learned (and re-learned) over time about effective techniques, methods, and practices that can be used across different kinds of projects to help ensure success. This course aims to equip you with these techniques so you can be successful in leading a project.
It is very likely that a business professional’s first opportunity to show leadership abilities is to lead a project. Even if you have already led projects, given that projects are unique, there is always room for new insights and improvement in PM skills and abilities. We want you to be successful. This course can help you.
There are no prerequisites for this course. While we will not count on prior PM knowledge, we will work briskly through the PM learning resources and will draw upon the collective project experiences of the students in the class.
This course has some special areas of emphasis. We will pay particular attention to project complexity and risk/uncertainty so that you are prepared to address these challenges to success. We will also discuss the relationship of PM to entrepreneurship: how PM skills can help the entrepreneur and how thinking like an entrepreneur can help any project manager.
While practiced since antiquity, project management is trending up in the 21st century. Organizations want to take best advantage of the latest technologies to improve efficiency and provide strategic advantage. You cannot simply make a major change to an operation with a hard cut-over from one day to the next. Invariably, a project is launched to explore all of the implications of the new technologies and new processes before they are transitioned into routine operational use. So, projects provide a valuable bridge from current to improved operations.
This course will address the challenges of defining, scoping, and planning a project, and then managing it to successful completion. In the global, technology-rich environment of today, skillful project management is ever more challenging, so the experience of this course will help to prepare you to be successful.
Student Learning Objectives for This Course
All Carey graduates are expected to demonstrate competence on four Learning Goals, operationalized in eight Learning Objectives. These learning goals and objectives are supported by the courses Carey offers. For a complete list of Carey learning goals and objectives, please refer to the website .
The learning objectives for this course are such that at the successful conclusion of this course, you should be able to ---
1. Define and scope a project
2. Break down the work required to execute a project
3. Develop a project plan
4. Apply metrics and reporting techniques to monitor and control a project
5. Apply methods to address the complexity and risk in projects
6. Work effectively in a team environment to apply project management techniques and practices in an organizational context
Attendance Policy
Attendance and participation are part of your course grade. You are expected to attend all scheduled class sessions. If you need to miss a class, please let the instructor know as soon as possible. You are responsible for all information covered in class, both substantive and administrative, by obtaining that information from a classmate. Classes will include opportunities for you to participate in discussions and for your teams to work together. Failure to attend class will result in an inability to achieve the objectives of the course. Absences may result in loss of points for class participation. Full attendance and active participation are required for you to succeed in this course.
Assignments
All students are expected to view the Carey Business School Honor Code/Code of Conduct tutorial and submit their pledge online. Students who fail to complete and submit the pledge will have a registrar’s hold on their account. Please contact the student services office via email carey.students@jhu.edu if you have any questions.
Students are not allowed to use any electronic devices during in-class tests. Calculators will be provided if the instructor requires them for test taking. Students must seek permission from the instructor to leave the classroom during an in-class test. Test scripts must not be removed from the classroom during the test.
Submit assignments and presentations in MS-Office format (Word or PowerPoint), unless otherwise approved in advance in writing. Unless otherwise indicated, each assignment will be posted in the ‘Assignments’ section of our Blackboard site. Submit your response via Blackboard (not email) by the starting time of the class when the assignment is due using the file naming convention: lastname-assignment, where assignment is the name of the assignment. All submitted work must be completed on time. If you will not be present for a class, you must submit the assignment before the beginning of the scheduled class. Assignments submitted late or not following the file naming convention will be marked down.
Individual Assignments
These will provide opportunities for you to demonstrate an understanding of the course material and apply it to new situations. Assignments may include submitting answers to specific questions, case analyses, article critiques, research reports, etc.
Individual Exams
These will provide opportunities for you to demonstrate an understanding of the course material by applying what you have learned to questions posed in examinations or briefer unscheduled quizzes.
Project Management Simulation
This will provide an opportunity for you to make a series of simulated weekly decisions as a project manager to control a project over multiple simulated months. You will need to respond to the outcomes of your decisions and to any external events that may occur. You will be able to see the effect of your decisions on the success of the project: At what rate are tasks being completed? Within budget? Staying on schedule? Quality of the work? Impact on your team?
Team Project
This will provide opportunities for you to work as part of a team to apply course material to the challenge of project management for a case study. Your team may also be given other assignments on which to develop solutions and submit them as a team.
Evaluation and Grading
|Assessment Element |Learning Objectives |Weight |
|Attendance and Class Participation |1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |10%* |
|Individual Assignments |1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |15% |
|PM Simulation |4, 5, 6 |15% |
|Individual Exams |1, 2, 3, 5 |30% |
|Team Assignments and Project |1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |30% |
|Total | |100% |
* Refer to the section below on course delivery and assessment methodology for information on how class participation will be graded
Course Delivery and Assessment Methodology
This course will be delivered with in-class sessions, supplemented by the Internet technology provided by Blackboard. A variety of methods will be used to evaluate each of the learning objectives above. These methods include grading of individual assignments and assessments and team assignments and project. While a portion of the course will involve classroom lecture, the class is run in an interactive style, with classroom discussion on course material, cases, and current events related to the subject. Specific textbook and outside readings will provide the foundation for discussions. Consequently, extensive class participation is required. The activities below are the basis for grading class participation:
• Attending class
• Being prepared each class by having completed assignments and readings
• Participating in group discussions
• Asking and answering questions
• Completing assignments on time
• Sharing experiences, knowledge, and opinions
• Taking on action items to investigate a topic outside of class and report back
• Paying attention and engaging with the class activities, which means, as professionals, that you don’t engage in phone calls, texting, email, non-class Internet use, or related activities during class sessions
You are expected to participate in discussions. In assessing your oral comments, quality is more important than quantity. A quality contribution is concise. For example, it may bring out a new aspect of the topic being discussed, contribute to an idea introduced by a classmate, provide a useful alternative perspective on a subject, helpfully summarize previous comments to support the learning, introduce highly original thinking on an issue or problem, identify linkages and relationships to other knowledge or events, demonstrate deep understanding of a critical point, present an analysis of the facts of a case, guide the discussion in a more fruitful direction, provide a reasoned argument based on evidence from the case or readings, or offer an observation from your experience when it adds to the discussion and learning.
You are encouraged to volunteer to answer questions and also to be prepared because, at times, the instructor will call on you to answer questions even when you have not volunteered.
In consideration of environmental concerns, there will be a minimum of hard-copy handouts. You will find resources on Blackboard and may want to bring a laptop to class if you want electronic, in-class access to Powerpoint slides and other resources.
Important notes about grading policy:
The grade of A is reserved for those who demonstrate extraordinarily excellent performance. The grade of A- is awarded only for excellent performance. The grade for good performance in this course is a B+/B. The grades of D+, D, and D- are not awarded at the graduate level.
Please refer to the Carey Business School Student Handbook for grade appeal information
Plans for the Class Sessions
Note: The instructor reserves the right to alter course plans and content and/or adjust the pace to accommodate class progress. Students are responsible for keeping up with all adjustments to the course calendar.
“Required Readings” should be completed before class. “Recommended Further Readings” are intended to provide greater depth and breadth to the topics.
Session 1 Foundations of Project Management
This session will introduce PM and the organizational context for projects. We will discuss sources of information and insight about PM, including the PM Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®), and the roles for its five processes and ten knowledge areas.
The course will proceed on two streams: one will take us from the origin of a project to the point of having a realistic schedule, accomplished through class sessions and the team project using the STEM Ware Inc. case. In parallel, we will start with a defined set of tasks for a project and introduce the Delphi Printers & Peripherals case and simulation. We will discuss the “triple constraint” of making decisions that affect scope, resources, and schedule -- -and the quality of the products and morale of your team! You will be acting as the project manager for Delphi, making decisions for each week of simulated time and observing the effects of your decisions. So, the second concurrent stream is to manage the existing Delphi project through to completion.
Required Readings:
1. Verzuh, Ch. 1, 2
2. Klein, G. (2007). Performing a project premortem. Harvard Business Review 85,9: 18-19.
Case and Simulation: Delphi Printers & Peripherals
Recommended Further Readings:
1. Pinto, J., & Kharabanda, O. (1995). Lessons for an accidental profession. Business Horizons 38, 2: 41-50.
Session 2 Mastering the “Fuzzy Front End” of Projects: Getting to an SOW
This session examines the circumstances for starting a project, the motivation and goals. The emphasis is on what you can do to bring clarity to the definition of the project: identifying stakeholders, soliciting requirements, framing the work, and understanding the roles of sponsors, champions, and customers. We will discuss various early documents, like the project charter, that can help you. Your efforts are pointed toward coming up with a Statement of Work (SOW) that is realistic and puts you on a path to succeed.
In this session, you will be assigned to teams to work on a project for the STEM Ware Inc. case. We will discuss the case project and the team deliverables.
Required Readings:
1. Verzuh, Ch. 3, 4, 15, 16
2. DeMeyer, A., Loch, C. & Pich, M. (2002, Winter). Managing project uncertainty: From variation to chaos. MIT Sloan Management Review 44: 60-67.
Case: STEM Ware, Inc.
Recommended Further Readings:
1. Rice, M., O’Connor, G., & Pierantozzi (2008, Winter). Implementing a learning plan to counter project uncertainty. MIT Sloan Management Review 49: 54-62.
Session 3 Project Complexity and Risk: From SOW to WBS
In this session, we will explore variations in projects with respect to complexity and risk -- and the decidedly less glamorous “uncertainty” that surrounds most projects of any consequence. We want to attain some understanding of these various conditions and their implications for project success. “Complexity” is often used as a more socially acceptable and less career-threatening term for a project that is ill-defined, under-resourced, poorly planned, mismanaged, or poorly executed. If “complexity” is mentioned sufficiently often, it may temper expectations that a project will be successful: yes, it failed, but remember that it was “complex.” We will probe into more legitimate notions of complexity and how they relate to these other conditions. Risk management for a project needs to begin as soon as a new project is being considered and discussed. We will investigate approaches to identify and address project risks.
The discussion of complexity and risk will support our continuation of the project life cycle: taking an SOW and developing a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that is feasible in light of project uncertainty and can serve as a basis for creating a project schedule.
Required Readings:
1. Verzuh, Ch. 5, 6
2. Hass, K. (2008). Introducing the new project complexity model: Part 1. Project Times (online).
Recommended Further Readings:
1. Baccarini, D. (1996). The concept of project complexity - a review. International Journal of Project Management 14,4: 201-204.
2. Maylor, H., Vidgen, R., & Carver, S. (2008). Managerial complexity in project-based operations: A grounded model and its implications for practice. Project Management Journal 39 Supplement: S15-S26.
3. Vidal, L. & Marle, F. (2008). Understanding project complexity: Implications on project management. Kybernetes 37: 1094-1110.
Session 4 Project Scheduling and Critical Path Analysis: From WBS to a Schedule
Project scheduling is such a critical element of PM that it is sometimes (incorrectly) believed to be all that a project manager does. The schedule is important. It requires attention to budget, staffing, skill-mix, project risk, and resource estimation. Based on the WBS, what staff skills and talent are needed for the team? What external providers will be used? How much effort will it take to meet the project objectives? An effective and realistic schedule can make the difference in a project being successful or not. We will look at canonical project life-cycle models, from linear to agile to serve as reference structures. We will discuss ways to design schedules to accommodate uncertainty that is always present.
Project scheduling is among the most analytically rigorous of PM topics. We will discuss the critical path through the schedule and what it means in initial planning and when actual resources are consumed as the project unfolds. Critical path analysis and “crashing” a project can be formulated as optimization problems.
Required Readings:
1. Verzuh, Ch. 7, 8
Recommended Further Readings:
1. Lenfle, S., & Loch, C. (2010, Fall) Lost Roots: How Project Management Came to Emphasize Control Over Flexibility and Novelty, California Management Review 53,1: 32-55.
Session 5 Managing an Ongoing Project with MS Project
We will discuss a key concern for any project: are we making progress? It has become common PM folklore to say that a project is “90% complete,” only to spend another 90% of the budget on what was thought to be the remaining 10%. In fact, getting an accurate account of the percent complete of a project is an important responsibility of a project manager. We will discuss variance-analysis methods to assess project completeness, so your team can know how to mark progress and your management can better understand the true status of the project.
Part of this session is conducted as a lab session in which you will gain hands-on experience with the most widely used PM software tool, Microsoft Project. This is very comprehensive tool that will introduce you to the features of such products. As projects involve even relatively modest size, in terms of number of work packages and their relationships, you will likely want to use a tool like this to manage ongoing activities.
Required Readings:
1. Verzuh, Ch. 9, 20
Recommended Further Readings:
1. Flyvbjerg, B., Garbuio, M., & Lovallo, D. (2009). Delusion and deception in large infrastructure projects: Two models for explaining and preventing executive disaster. California Management Review 51,2: 169-194.
2. Keil, M., & Mahring, M. (2010, Fall) Is Your Project Turning into a Black Hole? California Management Review 53,1: 6-31.
Session 6 Leading Your Project Team to Success
This session will provide increased attention to the critical non-technical elements of successful project management. We will discuss the vital role of the project manager as a leader of the team, attentive to the performance of the individuals, what skill sets they bring, and also how this project will contribute to their professional development.
We will discuss the Sensor Select LLC case as a way to understand more about the group dynamics in a team as a project unfolds.
The required and recommended readings for this session will provide multiple perspectives on the nature of success and why some projects fail.
We will consider the role of the project executive who leads multiple projects. We will discuss the extent to which various organizations use projects; e.g., they may be the primary means of doing work and accomplishing the mission of the organization, as is typical in construction and consulting. So, an executive may be responsible for a work program consisting of multiple projects that may have a customer or industry or technology in common.
Required Readings:
1. Verzuh, Ch. 10, 11, 12
2. Dvir, D. & Shenhar, A. (2011, Spring). What great projects have in common. MIT Sloan Management Review 52: 19-21.
3. Kloppenborg, T., & Laning, L. (2012). Leading project managers: The project executive role. Chapter 4 in Strategic Leadership of Portfolio and Project Management. Business Expert Press: Boston.
Case: Sensor Select LLC
Recommended Further Readings:
1. Cummings, J. & Pletcher, C. (2011, Spring) Why project networks beat project teams. MIT Sloan Management Review 52: 75-80.
2. Grenny, J., Maxfield, D., & Shimberg, A. (2007, Summer). How project leaders can overcome the crisis of silence. MIT Sloan Management Review 48: 46-52.
3. Matta, N. & Ashkenas, R. (2003). Why good projects fail anyway. Harvard Business Review 81,9: 109-114.
4. Royer, I. (2003). Why bad projects are so hard to kill. Harvard Business Review 81,2: 49-56
Session 7 PM and Entrepreneurship
This session will relate PM to entrepreneurial activities. We will discuss how various elements of PM are relevant to the work of an entrepreneur. At its most obvious, launching a new company is a project! The flip side is also notable: how thinking like an entrepreneur can help any project manager.
In our continuing discussion of the evolution of the project life cycle, we will turn to critical closing activities that you will want to carefully manage so as not to have your till-now successful project have its legacy ruined by a late mistake. We will discuss effective methods for project closing and alternative models for transitioning from the project to the modified operational processes.
We will discuss a comprehensive Teradyne Corp. case for its Jaguar Project, which will pull together key issues affecting project success.
Required Readings:
1. Verzuh, Ch. 13
2. Ajam, M. (2011). Entrepreneurship and project management. Executive News Wire (online).
Case: Teradyne Corporation: The Jaguar Project
Recommended Further Readings:
1. Schlesinger, L, Kiefer, C., & Brown, P. (2012). New project? Don’t analyze - Act. Harvard Business Review 90,3: 154-158.
5. Brown, K, Ettenson, R., & Hyer, N. (2011, Summer) Why every project needs a brand. MIT Sloan Management Review 52: 61-68.
Session 8 Team Briefings: Project Schedules and Critical Path
This session is the set of final executive briefings from the project teams on their plan of a schedule and critical path for the STEM Ware Inc. case.
Case: STEM Ware Inc. Briefings on Project Schedule
General Project Management References:
These supplementary resources are available online without cost and may provide further breadth and depth to your study of project management.
• Agresti, W. W., and Feist, T. (2010). Introduction to Project Management. Online course developed through a grant from the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator, Health Information Technology. Login at You will have access to 20 components (courses) developed as curricular material for the introduction and use of electronic health records and health IT. “Introduction to Project Management” is #19 on the list of components. The PM component has 11 units, each with Powerpoints, audio files, and self-assessments. This material is not required; it is an additional resource that may be of help.
• MS Project Online Help Facility:
• Saylor Academy. Project Management: From Simple to Complex. Available free online at
The following books are available free online through JHU library, Safari Books Online:
• Cooke, J. (2012). Everything You Want to Know About Agile. IT Governance Ltd.:Cambridgeshire, UK.
• Heldman, K., & Mangano, V. (2011). PMP®: Project Management Professional Exam: Review Guide (2nd Ed.). John Wiley - Sybex: Indianapolis, IN.
• Heldman, K. (2011). Project Management JumpStart (3rd Ed.). John Wiley - Sybex: Indianapolis, IN.
• Kerzner, H. (2009). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (10th Ed.). John Wiley & Sons: New York.
• Project Management Institute, Inc. (2013). Project Management Body of Knowledge: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (5th ed.) Project Management Institute, Inc.: Newtown Square, PA.
Tentative Course Calendar*
* The instructor reserves the right to alter course content and/or adjust the pace to accommodate class progress. Students are responsible for keeping up with all adjustments to the course calendar.
NOTE: See elsewhere in this syllabus for topic descriptions and readings for each session
|Session |Date |Topic |Major Milestones |
|1 | |Foundations of Project Management |Launch PM Simulation |
|2 | |Mastering the “Fuzzy Front End” of Projects: | |
| | |Getting to an SOW | |
|3 | |Project Complexity and Risk: From SOW to WBS |Team Project: SOW due |
|4 | |Project Scheduling and Critical Path Analysis: From| |
| | |WBS to a Schedule | |
|5 | |Managing an Ongoing Project with MS Project |Lab: MS Project |
|6 | |Leading Your Project Team |Team Project: WBS due |
|7 | |PM and Entrepreneurship |Teradyne Corp. case |
|8 | |Team Project: Schedule and Critical Path |Team Project: Schedule due |
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Copyright Statement
Unless explicitly allowed by the instructor, course materials, class discussions, and examinations are created for and expected to be used by class participants only. The recording and rebroadcasting of such material, by any means, is forbidden. Violations are subject to sanctions under the Honor Code.
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