Project Management Course Research Articles

Extending Sociotechnical Design to Project Conception

Project management processes offer specific sites for understanding the interplay of the social and the technical. This article focuses on the connection between knowledge and technology through knowledge communication processes, cultural & rhetorical contexts in projects, and the iterative process of project conception rooted in sense-making by designers. The data comes from a Project management course in which the students were asked to design and plan projects to situate a mobile phone game in a social context. The course was taught simultaneously at the Helsinki School of Economics in Finland and the Aarhus School of Business, University of Aarhus, Denmark. The analysis demonstrates the potential of knowledge communication concepts for social technical design and highlights the cultural context of the designers as a key factor to consider in socio-technical design.

Improving Soft Skills of University Students through Software Development Team Projects

The success of a software project depends on many factors. It requires project team members to be well-equipped with technical knowledge and good soft skills. Among the many soft skills, the two basic soft skills that all project team members should possess are communication and negotiation skills. Today, communication skills are found to be lacking among the university graduates. This situation has resulted in the unemployment of 3 942 information technology graduates in 2006. A study was initiated to incorporate the teaching of communication and negotiation skills in the Project Management (PM) course through team projects undertaken by members of multi-racial composition. This paper presents feedback from 67 students on the teaching of communication and negotiation skills, and project management concepts through team projects.

AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT COURSES IN IS PROGRAMS AT ACCREDITED BUSINESS SCHOOLS

Project Management is of great importance to the information systems (IS) profession, as systems are commonly developed in a team-based project environment that requires planning, coordination and control. It is not surprising therefore that the IS 2009 Model Curriculum identifies IS Project Management as one of seven core (required) courses for inclusion in an Information Systems program. Based on a literature review, no prior studies have examined the extent to which IS programs have implemented this recommendation. The focus of this study is to assess Project Management courses in the IS curriculum based on a website analysis of a sample of AACSB-accredited IS programs. The results raise questions about whether the current coverage of Project Management in the IS curriculum is adequate in light of the provisions of the IS 2009 Model Curriculum.

IT Systems Development: An IS Curricula Course that Combines Best Practices of Project Management and Software Engineering

Software Engineering in IS Curricula Software engineering course is taught to higher education students majoring in Computer Science (CS), Computer Engineering (CE), and Software Engineering (SE). Software engineering course is also taught in other disciplines, either as a mandatory or as an elective course, such as Information Systems (IS). IS is a broader field than CS and includes parts of CS. IS fie ld could be described as an interdisplinary field that studies the design and use of information systems in a social context. As noted in IS2002 model curricula (Gorgone et al., 2002) , IS as a fie ld of academic study exists under a variety of at least thirteen (13) different curricula, including Information Systems, Management Information Systems, Computer Information Systems, Information Management, Business Information Systems, Informatics, Information Resources Management, Information Technology, Information Technology Systems, Information Technology Resources Management, Accounting Information Systems, Information Science, and Information and Quantitative Science. The author's early experience was that teaching IS students a software engineering course in the same way as CS students was not successful. This is mainly because IS students have significantly less background in programming than CS students. This experience encouraged him to accommodate topics on project management and SE lab using Rational Suite Enterprise (Rational Suite Enterprise, 2008). This new approach was relevant to IS curricula and with accordance with IS2002.10 project management and course guidelines. Hilburn, Bagert, Mengel, & Oexmann (2008) proposed that several computing associations including the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), the IEEE Computer Society (IEEECS), and the Computer Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAB) have provided encouragement, support, and guidance in developing quality curricula that are viable and dynamic. However, most computing programs still devote little time to software life cycle development, software processes, quality issues, team skills, and other areas of software engineering essentials to effective commercial software development. Hence, new graduates know little about what are best practices in software engineering profession (e.g., related to use of software processes, team building, front-end development). Therefore, it is the role of faculty members teaching such courses to redesign and implement curricula that focus on practice of software engineering, and other related issues. This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 presents arguments for the alternative approach. Section 3 presents IS2002.10 course specifications. Section 4 presents IS software engineering body of knowledge. Section 5 presents the project component, Section 6 presents a mapping from IS2002.10 course specification onto the IS software engineering course. Section 7 presents evaluation of the proposed approach. Finally, conclusions are presented in Section 8. Why IT Systems Development Course? We have taught the IT Systems Development course to IS students for seven years, and we believe we hit upon an approach that works. Instead of trying to instruct students in theory of various techniques, we teach them what we believe of as software development. From the management side IS students are expected to deal with non-technical challenges arising from project situations, including understand project domain and requirements, how to be a team player, how to schedule work between team members, and how to cope with time pressures and hard deadlines. As indicated by (Weaver, 2004), students often have limited experience in projects management. They do not appreciate the need for planning and take more time than anticipated to complete tasks. We have developed the creation of a set of guidelines for accommodating topics on project management to help students deal with non-technical issues of software development. …

Factors affecting academic performance of international students in project management courses: A case study from a British Post 92 University

The aim of study is to investigate the factors affecting the academic performance of international students in project management courses. To achieve this aim, a conceptual framework including three categories of factors: (i) Teaching Style, (ii) English Language and Communication and (iii) Assessment Methods was developed and empirically tested on a sample of international students from a British Post 92 University.The results suggest that the factors: level of details given in lectures, speed of lectures, academic internet sources, English Language skills, group or individual assessment, the qualitative/quantitative content of assessment are important drivers of the academic performance of international students in project management.

ONLINE WEB DELIVERY OF A GRADUATE PROJECT MANAGEMENT COURSE: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

In addition to in-class delivery of project management courses, many institutions have already started or are beginning to plan the delivery of these courses online. The challenge of offering a course online, especially courses with a heavy emphasis on student interaction and team projects, is well documented in the literature. Therefore, we propose a framework is needed to design and plan an online graduate Project Management course to overcome some of the problems and limitations of online delivery and to take advantage of opportunities online technology can provide. The purpose of this research is to identify components of a framework for online web delivery of a graduate Project Management course by investigating the issues and factors that should be considered in making an online Project Management course effective. The suggested components are based on the literature (which identifies some suggested best practices) and experience presenting an online project management course. Further, a survey was conducted to measure and compare student’s perceptions of online courses in general and project management online courses in particular to traditional in-class courses. Assessment of student work indicates little difference in educational outcomes and the survey results do indicate students had an overall positive experience with online courses. However completing team based projects successfully was somewhat more difficult in the online course

ASSESSING STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT BEFORE AND AFTER COMPLETION OF A PROJECT MANAGEMENT COURSE

Project management (PM) is increasingly important in both corporate and academic venues. Its importance has been recognized for several decades, but has recently received more attention because effective project managers are in high demand and short supply. University computing and engineering programs are being pressured by employers to better prepare students for project management positions and this has often resulted in student exposure to project management concepts in one or more courses. More graduate and undergraduate courses in project management are also being offered at colleges and universities because Information Systems (IS) curricula models specify exposure to project management. The present investigation focuses on how exposure to a project management course affects student perceptions of the overall importance of project management and the subject areas that project management subsumes. Student perceptions were assessed by surveying undergraduate students at a regional institution in the southeast U.S. at the beginning and end of a Project Management course. The results suggest that students exit the project management courses thinking that the subject matter is important and will contribute to career success. The results also suggest that the project management course has an especially strong impact on the perceptions of female students and that the course and that it significantly increases the perceived importance of multiple ”hard” and “soft” course-related topics.

Actualización de Métodos de Enseñanza-Aprendizaje en Asignaturas de Dirección de Proyectos de Ingeniería

The implementation of the PBL methodology (Problem or Project Based Learning) in Project Management courses in an engineering degree is analyzed. The PBL methodology that includes new information and communication technologies (ICT), allows updating the learning of the students approaching them to their future professional work. The study-case analyzed is the course “Projects” given for the Industrial Engineering degree of the Higher Polytechnic School of Engineering of Gijon (EPSIG), which belongs to the University of Oviedo in Spain. The results obtained are analyzed according to contributions by both the teaching staff and the students. The PBL methodology is found to be very appropriate for the learning of engineering competences, but it demands a precise definition of objectives and a detailed planning, as well as continuous monitoring and evaluation by the lecturer.

Project execution game (PEG): training towards managing unexpected events

PurposeGames are an effective teaching and classroom training tool, since they allow students to practise real‐life events. In the area of project management, most games focus on the planning phase of a project. The current paper aims to describe a new game, called PEG – Project Execution Game. The uniqueness of this game is its focus on real world problems during the project's execution.Design/methodology/approachThe Project Execution Game provides the “players” with a set of realistic, but unexpected events that occur during a project, in order to enhance their problem‐coping capabilities and decision‐making skills as well as hone their general reactions. The game is designed for either one or several teams competing among themselves. The game's validity was tested on 185 undergraduate students in their advanced project management course. Statistical results about the simulation's contributions are presented in relation to several aspects of project management.FindingsThe conclusion from the study is that a game is an effective tool for teaching the unstructured area of project execution, and gives the student a taste of real‐life experience.Practical implicationsThe Project Execution Game can be implemented with students in project management training sessions. With this game, the students gain more practical relevant experience, as compared to alternative teaching techniques. Furthermore, the game can be used in organizational training to improve project managers' techniques and experience in reacting to unexpected events. Finally, it can also be used with project managers practising before the actual execution of a big project.Originality/valueThis paper suggests effective and interesting ways of teaching project management in order to better train project managers. By simulating realistic competitive conditions, the concepts learned and solutions generated in the classroom can be transferred to the outside business environment.

3D navigation of Olympic Games venues: a term project for a project management course

Project management skills are in high demand in all types of business, industry, as well as government and non-profit organisations. At the undergraduate or MBA level, it is important that a course in this topic provides a stimulating, challenging, and comprehensive learning experience, in contrast to professional training and certification programs that focus on procedural templates. While a term-wide project calling for all aspects of the syllabus is obviously desirable, it must not be overly involved to become a 'projects course' rather than a course in project management. The intricate issue is then to design such assignments as meaningful and interesting projects, without their actual implementation. A case in 3D navigation of Olympic Games venues is presented. It fits the academic requirements and is well received and appreciated by students.

PREDICTORS OF STUDENT SUCCESS IN A PROJECT MANAGEMENT COURSE

The importance of project management is increasing in Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) education. The IS model curriculum includes a course on project management, while the recently promulgated ABET CAC accreditation criteria for programs in IT state that graduates from IT programs must have the ability to assist in the creation of an effective project plan. Moreover, this interest in project management is partly driven by industry. For example, in its recurrent interviews with CIOs, the Standish group found that having an experienced project manager is now seen as one of the main factors for success in IT projects. In a preliminary study reported last year, we found that having a project management course early in the program of study seemed to help students in subsequent heavily project-based courses. This was especially true in regard to students with a lower GPA. Given the importance of project management for student success, both after graduation and in their program of study, it is important to try to determine what factors are likely to increase student success in a project management course. In this research, we examine a number of factors, including performance in prior courses such as management and organizational behavior, statistics, and mathematics. We also examine whether there is a relationship between student success in a project management course and when students take the course in their academic programs.

THE EFFECT OF PRIOR EXPOSURE TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES IN PROJECT-BASED COURSES

Project Management (PM) is an important component of baccalaureate programs in both Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT). Many institutions offer a PM course in the curriculum, which students typically take in their last semester. However, other courses in IS and IT are often taught with a heavy emphasis on individual and group projects, and therefore it seems reasonable to expect that students would perform better in such courses if they had received formal instruction in PM earlier in their program of study. This paper is a pilot study to determine whether this is indeed the case. It compares the performance of students who had previously completed a PM course and students who had not in a heavily project-based database course.

Project Management in Local Nonprofit Organizations: Engaging Students in Problem-Based Learning

This article describes problem-based learning (PBL) at the subsystem level, namely, the application of PBL in a project management course that empowers student teams to solve problems in nonprofit organizations. Faculty members teaching in project-based disciplines can employ the authors’ approach to introduce PBL and document its effectiveness, possibly using this to move their university toward system-wide PBL. Faculty members teaching in other disciplines can adapt portions of the authors’approach to their courses. This article explains the course objectives, the project selection, the deliverables, and how students direct their own learning. The authors describe their assessment process in which expert judges evaluate completed projects and award a prize to the best team project.

PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING: TEACHING PROJECT MANAGEMENT WHILE SOLVING REAL ORGANIZATIONAL PROBLEMS.

This article focuses on problem-based learning (PBL). The overall purpose of the project management course involves preparing students to plan, organize, lead, participate in, control and improve p...

Assessing the value of a project management simulation training exercise

This research addresses an important question: to what extent is project management training actually improving the project management knowledge and skills of participants. This question is examined through use of a team-based simulated project exercise as part of a graduate level course in project management. Findings indicate that the simulation exercise improves participant knowledge levels as well as the ability of participants to apply that knowledge. The educational benefits to participants are not dependent upon team performance or team dynamics in the exercise, but are contingent upon the amount of participant project work experience. Suggestions for future research are offered.

Integrating Project Management and Change Management in an IS Curriculum

Because many new information systems (IS) projects involve business process reengineering, project managers need the necessary skills to manage development projects and organizational change. These concepts are inter-related. The MIS 2000 curriculum calls for them to be taught as a single course. The purpose of this paper is review the fundamental principles of project management and change management and show how these concepts can be integrated and taught in this IS course. The paper first presents a broad overview of current project management and change management trends and practices and then provides guidance for developing an integrated IS project and change management course.

Engineering Students Using Project Management to Manage Learning

Effective project managers require skills and knowledge that must be applied to “one-off” projects. Traditional methods of teaching do not always provide the depth of learning to apply knowledge to such unique situations. This paper describes a course in project management in which students use project management skills and tools to manage their learning. Starting by describing the motivation for the course design, the paper goes on to discuss some key features in the operation of the course. Elements of the organization of this course could be successfully used as a method of delivery in other project management courses.

Effectiveness of the MCAA's Project Management Course

This study was conducted on current practicing construction industry employees who were volunteer students in the Mechanical Contractors Association of America's Institute for Project Management's Managing for Profit two-week intensive project management course. The goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Institute for Project Management course and to determine the usefulness and value of an actual ongoing construction continuing education course for practicing construction industry employees. Since there are no published papers on construction continuing education, hopefully, this paper will serve to initiate more studies. Administrators of the Institute for Project Management course extrapolated data on the students' opinion of this construction continuing education program. The results indicated that the students were satisfied with the course and would attend an advanced project management course, if one were offered.

Learning project management skills online

Project management, once the preserve of the construction industry, is now increasingly sought after by all types of business worldwide. Construction training organisations are thus looking at how they can deliver their services to this much wider market and, not surprisingly, the internet looks set to play a major role. This paper reports on a small pilot study to investigate student perceptions of traditional and online learning as part of the University of Ulster's plans to develop a new distance-education master's course in project management for overseas students. It concludes that online education can be just as effective as traditional teaching but that stimulating course material and high-quality software are critical to success.

Why Is Software Project Management Difficult? And What That Implies for Teaching Software Project Management

The discipline of project management has been available for almost 40 years. This paper examines several factors that make the management of software development projects more difficult than the management of many other kinds of projects. These factors negatively impact the software project managers' success in estimation and scheduling, planning, responding to schedule and budget pressures, monitoring project status and managing the integration, and testing phases of the project. Techniques for addressing each of these difficulties are described, and topics that need to be incorporated into software project management courses to address these issues are outlined.