Why Your Students Need a Project Management Course

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Why Your Students Need a Project Management Course

• Dr. Michael Moorman
• Saint Leo University

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For our graduates to be successful in the 21st
Century, it is essential to give them the
knowledge and skills they need to face the
challenges of the century.
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Once it was enough to give our computer program
graduates technical skills.
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But the successful graduate can expect to serve
in more and more responsible positions as they
progress in their careers.
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Many of the responsible positions will involve
projects and, with time, our graduates may well
be involved in more and more complicated
projects, possibly becoming a project manager.
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To that end, we would be remiss not to consider
Project Management as a part of our computer
curriculum.
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So What Makes Project Management Important?
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Statistics

• In 2005 U.S. spent almost 700 billion on IT and
  a large part of that was on projects.
• This increased through 2007.
• With economy slowing down, it means that more
  care has to be taken in spending, putting more
  emphasis on project management to ensure success.
• Salaries are still high for project managers.

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IT projects have had a terrible success rate

• 1995 study -16 percent of IT projects were
  successful in meeting goals.
• More recent study (2006) showed better results
• But success still less than 50

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Project Management Important to Organizations

• Improved capability to successfully manage
  projects has resulted in more successful
  projects.
• Improvements in computer hardware and software
  have enhanced ability to manage projects.
• Use of the Internet in business requires better
  planning and coordination

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How would our computer graduates become involved
in project management?
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The typical graduate could be expected to become
involved at some level in a systems analysis and
design.
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So how does participating in a systems analysis
and design process result in being involved with
project management?
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• Projects are usually the implementation of a
  systems analysis and design.

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How to integrate a project management course into
your curriculum.
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The ideal place to put a project management
course in your curriculum would be as a follow-on
to your systems analysis and design course, with
the systems analysis and design course as a
prerequisite.
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The systems analysis and design course provides
the foundation material for the project
management course, making the concepts in the
project management course more easily understood.
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Programming Course
Systems Analysis Design Course
Project Management Course
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A typical project management course would cover
the following material. (Data from Schwalbe, K.
(2007). Information Technology Project
Management, 5th Ed. Cambridge, MA Cengage Course
Technology.)
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• Introduction to Project Management
• Project Management and Information Technology
  Context
• Project Management Process Groups

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• Project Integration Management
• Project Scope Management
• Project Time Management

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• Project Cost Management
• Project Quality Management
• Project Human Resource Management

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• Project Communications Management
• Project Risk Management
• Project Procurement Management

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In addition, the Schwalbe book includes an
extensive appendix on Microsoft Project 2007 and
the capability of downloading a free trial copy
of MS Project 2007.
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The appendix is organized into sections that
mirror the chapters in the book from Scope
Management through Communications Management.
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The integration of MS Project with the course can
be done by various methods, but from my personal
experience the best time to start is immediately
after the Project Integration Management chapter.
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At this point you should have the students run
through the Introduction and Overview of Project,
using the example in the appendix.
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There is a Running Case that can be used for a
student assignment that is placed at the end of
each chapter, covering the material in that
chapter and continuing with each subsequent
chapter.
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There is an additional case in Appendix C at the
end of the text, and two more cases are available
at the book Web site online.
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These cases can be assigned to individuals or
teams in your class to accomplish their major
assignment for the class.
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As you go through each chapter in the text, have
the students do their assigned project using
Project, following the instructions in the
applicable section in the appendix.
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New Edition Coming Soon

• The 6th edition of Schwalbes book is coming
  later this year. You can get a copy by logging on
  to the course.com site and searching for the book.

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Questions?