UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND UNIVERSITY COLLEGE ‘THE GRADUATE SCHOOL PMAN635 Advanced Project Methods Course Description Formerly PMAN670. Prerequisite: PMAN 634. An overview of advanced methods of managing projects applying widely used software tools for project management and risk analysis. Topics include analytical approaches and quantitative methods in project management, such as earned value management and techniques for estimating project duration and cost, optimizing allocation of resources, expediting projects, and scheduling algorithms. Simulation tools and statistical techniques are used to analyze Uncertainty in project selection, budget allocation, and time estimation. Discussion covers project portfolio management and how multiple projects and programs fit into the strategic direction of an organization The processes, tools, and techniques of project management are applied to a team project with emphasis on quantitative and analytical methods, Note: Students taking this course must have access to a PC to install and use the required course software. This software does not run on a Mac. Course Outcomes Atthe end of this course, students should be able to 1. Understand and describe the differences between projects, programs, and portfolios, and demonstrate abilty to align projects with strategic direction of an organization 2. Assess project resource needs and allocation, and apply resource leveling and expediting techniques to optimize distribution of resources or reduce duration of projects 3. Identify and evaluate forecasting and estimating techniques and then apply these techniques to develop activity times, activity costs, and budget for a simulated project. 4. Estimate and evaluate the risk associated with project time, budget, resource allocation, and cash flow using simulation and statistical techniques. 5. Apply the concepts of earned value management and associated techniques to a team project to measure project performance against cost and schedule expectations defined in the project plan and interpret these result. 6. Apply quantitative and analytical methods in project management to manage a team project. Course Materials Required Texts and Materials Find this course in the Interactive Schedule of Classes to view the required and recommended course materials: hitp:/webapps,umuc.edu/soc/us.clm?{Acad=GRAD The following texts and materials must be ordered by students and serve as a basis for graded assignments: ‘American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Note: The first printing of the sixth edition of the Publication Manual contained errors; however, the APAfully corrected all errors in the second printing. In the textbook, the printing version is noted on the copyright page, opposite the Table of Contents. If it is a second printing, the second paragraph will read "Second printing: August 2009 (or more recent date).” If itis the first printing, that information will appear on the last line, near the bottom of the page. Mantel, S. J., Jr. (2011). Project Management in Practice 4e and Project 2010. NJ: Wiley. This is a bundled book, including the following two components. ISBN: 978-1-118-27207-7 1. Mantel, S.J.,Je., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., & Sutton, M. M. 2011). Project management in practice (4ed)).'Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. ISBN: 978-1-118-26749-3. eBook: 978-0-470-91363-5, 2. Microsoft Official Academic Course (MOAC). (2012). Microsoft Office Project 2010. Hoboken, NJ Wiley. ISBN: 978-1-118-25409-7. eBook: 978-0-470-63888-0. Recommended Texts and Materials To be provided by the faculty in the class, as necessary Additional Readings/Materials The following are provided in the classroom and serve as a basis for graded assignments: Instructor assigns additional articles and publications throughout the semester. Grading Information and Criteria Grading Criteria Note: For all graded assignments/projects including Class Participation, students will be provided with written feedback and a numeric grade. The final course grade is determined as follows: Oe Te Outcomes ee COS ea Individual Assignments 1A Individual No 15% | 2.3.4 Case Study Analysis CSA | Team Yes 8%) 1.2.3.4 Midterm Exam ME Individual No 12% | 1,2,3,4,5,6 Team Project Deliverables TPD Team Yes 20% | 2,3,4,5,6Team Member Contribution TMC Individual No 5% Reviews (Project & Case Study) RPC Individual Yes 10% | 2.3.4.5 Class Participation cp Individual Yes 10% | 1,2,3,4 Final Exam FE Individual No 20% | 1,2,3,4,5.6 Private Feedback FB Individual No 0% Total 100% The Abbreviation column identifies the corresponding assessment in the gradebook, and the Discussion column specifies if discussion activity is associated with an assessment. Where there is a discussion associated with an assignment, the assignment must be posted to the discussion area Course Specific Grading Policies All Individual Assignments (IA) and Case Study Analysis (CSA) will be identified in the weekly checklists for each session. Project deliverables (TPD and TMC) are discussed in detail in the Project Requirements Document. The instructor will provide rubrics for Individual Assignments (IA), Project and Case Study Analysis Reviews (RPC) and Class Participation (CP). The rubrics for Team Project (TPD) and Team Member Contribution (TMC) are specified in the Project Requirements Document All online assignments that require discussion participation must be posted in the online class. The class will be divided into project teams. If all expectations and standards are met, individual team members can expect to receive the same grade for their case study analyses (CSA) and project (TPO). However, the faculty member reserves the right to give team members who fail to actively and effectively contribute to team assignments a lower grade. Likewise, team members who contribute superior work may receive a higher grade for team assignments. Teams must maintain a current and complete set of documentation about projects in the team Groups area and these will serve as the only records that will be examined in the event of a dispute requiring faculty intervention. Personal emails, reports of telephone conversations, and communication outside of the Groups area will not be considered ITS DEPARTMENT POLICIES ITS policy on use of previous work You are encouraged to refer to and build upon the concepts, techniques, and ideas explored in previous coursework. However, everything you submit must be original work written by you specifically for this course. Resubmission of coursework from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially orin its entirety, is unacceptable unless prior approval is obtained from the instructor for the specific assignment. Using coursework from a previous class, partially or in ts entirety, without explicit approval of your instructor will result in a grade of zero for the assignment aITS policy on submission of late assignments Timely completion of all assignments is critical to student success in the graduate school. Students should take assignment deadlines seriously and plan in advance to allocate sufficient time to meet deadlines Instructors may at his or her sole discretion grant limited extensions of time for unexpected business, health or personal emergencies beyond the student's control. In order to be granted such an extension, the student must make the request in advance of the due date and support the request by a compelling rationale that would be fair to others in the class. The instructor may request documentation. Any such extension will be for a specific period, not to exceed one week. For late submissions that have not been approved by the instructor the penalty will be a 10 percent reduction in the grade (on the hundred percent scale) for that assignment for each day that the assignment is late. No submissions will be accepted after grades have been posted for the class as a whole. An assignment that is submitted three or more days late, without prior approval of the instructor, will receive a grade of zero. ITS policy on peer evaluation Inthe case of team assignments, the instructor may require each team member to evaluate the contribution of the other members to the assignment. The instructor may then award each team member a grade based on the member's contribution to the work of the team, In assessing this grade the instructor will also rely on his/her evaluation of the contribution of each student to the work of the team. ‘The peer evaluation grade may not exceed 5% of the total assignment grade Project Descri The assignments will cover material up to and including the week posted. They will include problem solving and essay-type questions. These assignments are to be addressed by students individually and submitted to the instructor for grading 2. Case Study Analyses Case studies will be assigned from the cases at the end of book chapters by Mantel or other material identified by the instructor. The purpose of these case studies is to apply fundamental concepts and techniques covered in this course. The cases studies are assigned to student teams. The same case study may be assigned to multiple teams. Teams will post their resulting analyses of the cases to discussion areas. 3. Midterm and inal Exams The midterm and final exams will be based on the course material covered up to the point of the exam. ‘The exams, accompanying instructions, and due date will be available in the content area. These exams are to be addressed by students individually and submitted to the instructor for grading. 4, Team Project This is a team effort, where each team will develop an integrated project plan to organize and track the project throughout its life cycle. Detailed requirements, schedule, deliverables, and evaluation criteria for the Team Project are specified in a separate document, Team Project Requirements document, which is posted to the course web site 45, Project Progress Reports and Case Study Analysis (CSA) Reviews Each team will post their project progress reports and completed CSA to the course discussion area as indicated in the weekly checklist. Individually, students are required to review and provide substantive comments on these analyses posted by other teams. 6. Class Partici Students are required to participate in weekly class discussions, in both online and face-to-face formats of this course. Student-to-student interaction is a key factor in understanding and absorbing the knowledge contents of this course and applying this knowledge to organizational performance problems. The discussion topics will be based on weekly readings. Responses to the topics should be substantive and based on the student's own experience, a comprehensive understanding of the assigned readings, and individual research. Student's responses should reflect the student's depth of understanding of the issues and should be clear, succinct, to the point, and reflect critical thinking on the topic of the discussion. In online classes, the weekly discussion will be posted in the Discussions area of the classroom. Students are requited to provide individual responses to the questions posted by the instructor, as well as to submissions by other students. In face-to-face classes, the instructor will raise the discussion topics in the classroom, or post them in advance to the online class supplement. The instructor may form the students into teams to analyze and discuss the topics. Students are encouraged to consult additional online resources, such as databases, current news articles, or publications, for weekly discussion. Additional Information To be provided by the faculty in the class, as necessary ‘Academic Policies - The Graduate School See the Academic Policies and Guidelines section of the syllabus for University and Graduate School policy information, Course Schedule Session Contents Session 1 Topics to cover: Course Overview Review of Project Management Concepts and Tools Probabilty and Statistics Overview Team Project Requirements© Project Portfolio Management Materials to read: © Mantel: Appendix A Reserved Readings: Levine, H. A (2005). Why do we need project portfolio management? In Project portfolio management, a practical guide to selecting projects, managing portfolios, and maximizing benefits (p. 1-28). San Francisco, CA’ Jossey-Bass. © Reserved Readings: Suhov,Y.M. & Melbert.M. Probability and Statistics by Example, Volume |, Basic Probability and Statistics (Chapters 1 and 2). Things to do: Get to know your team members Submit your Team Management Plan Discuss your team project with fellow team members Install CB Participate in Session 1 discussions Session 2 Topic to cover: ‘© Quantitative Approaches to Project Selection © Financial Aspects of Project Selection © Uncertainty in Project Selection Materials to read: © Mantel: Chapter 1 «Reserved Readings: Posner, B. Z. (2006). What it takes to be a good project manager. In J. R. Meredith & S. J. Mantel, Jr. (Eds.), Project management: A ‘managerial approach (p. 178-182). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. «Reserved Readings: Basic Finance, Finance and Accounting Desktop Guide: Accounting Literacy for the Non-financial Manager. 2d ed. (Chapter 7) Things to do: © Post your Project Progress Report with your project's statement of work © Install MS Project © Submit your individual assignment, 1A-2 © Participate in Session 2 discussions Session 3 Topics to cover: © Developing Project Charters © Managing Project Teams Materials to read: © Mantel: Chapter 2 © Reserved Readings: Adams, J. R., & Adams, L. L. (2006). The virtual project Managing tomorrow's team today. In J. R. Meredith & S. J. Mantel, Jr. Eds.)Project management: A managerial approach (p. 229-234). Hoboken, NJ John Wiley & Sons, Ine. © Reserved Readings: Heldman, K. (2007). Project management professional exam study guide (6th ed.) (Chapter 2, Creating the Project Charter). NJ Wiley 1s to do: Post your Project Progress Report with your project charter © Participate in Session 3 discussions Session 4 Topics to cover: © Project Planning © The Planning Process © The Work Breakdown Structure Materials to read: © Mantel: Chapter 3 © MOAC: Lessons 1 and 4 © Reserved Readings: Mallak, L_M., Kurstedt, Jr., H. A. & Patzak, G. A. (2006). Planning for crises in project management. In J. R. Meredith & S. J Mantel, Jr. (Eds), Project management: A managerial approach (p. 282-289). Hoboken, NU: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Things to do: Post your preliminary MS Project based team project plan © Submit CSA-4 Participate in Session 4 discussions Session 5 Topics to cover: © Resource allocation © Methods of Budgeting © Cost Estimating © Improving Cost Estimates Materials to read: © Mantel: Chapter 4 MOAC: Lesson 2 and Lesson 3 © Reserved Readings: Hamburger, D. H. (2006). Three perceptions of project cost. InJ. R. Meredith & S. J. Mantel, Jr. (Eds}), Project management: A ‘managerial approach (p. 364-370). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Things to do: © Submit your Individual Assignment IAS © Post your Project Progress Report with your project budget © Participate in Session 5 discussionsSession 6 Topics to cover: © Scheduling Algorithms Materials to read: © Mantel: Chapter 5 Things to do: © Apply probabilistic calculations to project actwvity duration © Patticipate in Session 6 discussions Session 7 Topics to cover: © Review all material to date Materials to read: © None Things to do: © Submit your Midterm Exam Session 8 Topics to cover: Expediting Projects © Resource Leveling © Critical Chain Materials to read: © Mantel: Chapter 6 © MOAC: Lesson 6 Things to do: © Apply resource leveling to your project © Participate in Session 8 discussions Session 9 Topics to cover: © Risk ManagementMaterials to read: © Mantel: © Chapter‘ (p. 21-30) © Chapter 4 (p. 133-144) © Chapters (p. 173-178) © Chapter 6 (p. 226-228) gs to do: ‘Submit your Individual Assignment 1A.9 Submit your Team Progress Report with your final isk adjusted project plan Participate in Session 9 discussions Session 10 Topics to cover: Monitoring and Controlling Projects Earned Value Analysis ls to read: Mantel: Chapter 7 MOAC: Lesson 10 and 11 Reserved Readings: Fox,T. L., & Spence, J. W. (2006). Survey of project, management tools. in J. R. Meredith & S. J. Mantel, Jr. (Eds.), Project management: A managerial approach (p. 534-540). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Ine Reserved Readings: Thamhain, H. J., & Wilemon, D. L. (2006). Controlling projects according to plan. InJ.R. Meredith & S. J. Mantel, J. (Eds), Project ‘management: A managerial approach (p. 586-593). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Ine 1s to do: Post your Team Progress Report with your project monitoring and control plan Apply earned value analysis to your project Participate in Session 10 discussionsSession 11 Topics to cover: © Advanced Project Reporting and Communication Materials to read: © Mantel: Chapter 8 © MOAC: Lesson 9 and 14 © Reserved Readings: Busby, J. S. (2006). An assessment of post project reviews. In J. R. Meredith & S.J. Mantel, Jr. (Eds.), Project management: A ‘managerial approach (p. 616-623). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Things to do: © Post your Project Presentation © Submit your Individual Assignment 1A-11 © Participate in Session 11 discussions Session 12 Final Exam Things to do: © Submit your Final Exam © Submit your Team Member Contribution form © Submit your Team Project Deliverables © Participate in Session 12 discussions