Project Management

Course Overview

Welcome to INF 151: Project Management. Here you will find all learning materials for the course including: assignment descriptions, lecture recordings, lecture notes, references to external material, and other information that we do not need to keep behind UCI authentication.

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We will be updating this website frequently as we work our way through the class, so be sure to check back at least once a week. Most updates will take place within the weekly notes page for each week of the quarter. If any major updates to course structure or assignments occur, an announcement will be sent to the class mailing list via Canvas.

Course Description

From the catalog:

[INF 151] Introduces theoretical and practical aspects of project management. Topics include organizational theory, group behavior, project management skills, case studies, personal and group productivity tools, management of distributed work, stakeholders, consultants, and knowledge management. Students do a project exercise.

In practice, every instructor takes a slightly different bend to these topics. For this course, we will cover theoretical and practical aspects of project management. Topics include project integration management, organizational theory, group behavior, project management skills such as scope, time, and cost management, criteria for project success and reasons for failure, human resource management of individuals and teams, and communication. The class will work in teams to accomplish a real project utilizing the skills of project management.

Course Content

Assignments

There will be a total of 8 assignments this quarter. Each assignment will be completed and submitted as a group. Individual scores for assignments will be adjusted as necessary if the course staff determines that a group member did not pull their weight on a particular assignment.

Assignments will build upon each other as the quarter progresses, culminating in a final project with presentations spread throughout the quarter.

Assignment Summary (% of grade)

Assignment 1 (1)

Meet your team, setup your tools, and create a Communication Covenant

Assignment 2 (2)

Description of your planned work for the quarter, cost estimates, and team member roles

Assignment 3 (3)

Get to know your team and write your project description

Assignment 4 (6)

Write a business case for your project

Assignment 5 (6)

Identify project scope and work requirements

Assignment 6 (6)

Create a project schedule in Gantt format

Assignment 7 (6)

Identify project costs and risks

Assignment 8 (10)

Final project report

Attendance and Participation

Individual Participation

We realize that there will be a variety of circumstances that prevent you from attending a few classes this quarter. If and when that happens, just let your course staff know and your absence will be excused. Otherwise, you are expected to attend all classes. We will use some class time for group work, it is not fair to your project team to be absent from these opportunities.

Team Participation

Participation in the project is essential. Team success depends on everyone in the team giving it their best. We will be checking your team participation through your work in Google docs, and other means. A significant portion of your grade is based on group work. This means attending meetings, communicating between meetings, and working on and contributing to the project. If you do not participate and your team colleagues do the work for you, then this means you are what is called a free rider (benefiting from others’ work). Therefore, if it turns out that you have not participated sufficiently in your team project, your grade will be lowered. Be a team player.

Exams

Your understanding of the topics covered throughout this quarter will be evaluated through examinations. There will be a live quiz in nearly every class. Quizzes will be derived from the readings due for class. Quizzes will be timed and instructor paced. You will be allowed to use course materials during the quiz.

There will also be a midterm and final exam. The final exam is cumulative and will test on all material covered in class.

Exam Summary (% of grade)

Quizzes (10)

Conducted during each live class. The only way to take quiz is to attend class. Quiz completion will also contribute to your attendance score.

Midterm (20)

Format will be announced in class

Final (20)

Format will be announced in class

Quarter at a Glance

Note

The following schedule is tentative. Readings and topics may change. You will be notified in advance of any changes.

Week 1

Course Introduction

Team Assignments

Readings: Schwalbe Ch. 1

Week 2

Selecting a Project

Gantt Charts

Readings: Schwalbe Ch. 2 & 3

Week 3

Project Integration Management

Readings: Schwalbe Ch. 4

Quiz 1 & 2

Week 4

Project Team Management

Readings: Schwalbe Ch. 5 & 6, additional readings

Quiz 3 & 4

Week 5

Project Time Management

Readings: Schwalbe Ch. 7 & 8

Quiz 5 & 6

Week 6

The Differences of Individuals

Readings: Additional readings

Midterm

Week 7

Managing Teams

Readings: Additional readings

Quiz 7 & 8

Week 8

Human Resource Management

Readings: Schwalbe Ch. 9, additional readings

No classes

Week 9

Communications Management

Readings: Schwalbe Ch. 10, additional readings

Quiz 9 & 10

Week 10

Final Presentations

Final Report

Finals Week

Final Exam