Project Management Curriculum Research Articles

Applying Agile Business Solutions as a Graduate Capstone Project

A graduate course was implemented to teach the fundamentals of Agile project management as part of the MS Technical Project Management curriculum. The course was designed to provide a solid foundation in Agile methodologies for project management practice to enable graduates to execute appropriate Agile techniques to plan, and deliver quality results that frequently deliver value to customers. During the course students are introduced to Agile processes which include developing user stories and story maps, estimate and plan for sprints, track project execution and releases using burn-down charts and conduct retrospective sessions. This paper discusses how a graduate student was able to successfully apply the Agile principles and processes learned in the graduate program to an Independent Study project designed to provide students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and experience gained during the curriculum to addressing and solving a real business problem. The student chose to develop and implement an Agile framework solution to a software implementation and performance problem his business organization was facing.

Students’ Workplace Readiness: Assessment and Skill-Building for Graduate Employability

This study introduces a new approach for the competence development of the socio-technical aspect. The curriculum of the Project Management (PM) course taught in degree programs concentrates largely on imparting technical knowledge. Current research seeks to direct the attention of the PM curriculum towards Personal Competencies as well. PM studies not only require a project to be carried out successfully but also expect students to demonstrate certain personal competencies, behaviors, and traits to effectively lead the project team. This research seeks to inform action and yield pertinent knowledge and instructional material around the desired personal competence. This study adopts an exploratory and (educational) action research approach with a quantitative mode of inquiry. The first of the four phases of this study comprises an action-based approach to find out which Personal Competence is essential for PM students. The second phase is of further follow-ups with the research subjects that indicate their lack of understanding of the PM personal competencies. The next phase employs a second survey showing that the Communication Skills of research subjects need work. The last phase offers a comprehensive training plan around the required competence, a training evaluation tool, a competence assessment exam, and tools for training and trainer feedback. The findings of this research bear immense implications for PM competence building and curriculum. The practical contribution of the study offers a way to prepare the graduates for ready employability.

Sustainable Smart Cities Challenges in Project Management Curriculum

Business schools aim to educate and train tomorrow’s managers, who will be responsible to lead their organizations towards success. Since businesses use projects as the main means to implement innovative strategy in all industry domains, it is the responsibility of project management instructors not only to explain relevant concepts and introduce tools and techniques, but also to raise students’ awareness to current and future social and environmental challenges and to offer methods to face those challenges. The paper presents case studies analysis to identify good practices for integrating challenges of sustainable cities and communities into the curriculum of project management courses.

The role of industry and academia partnership in improving project management curriculum and competencies

PurposeAlthough project management (PM) continues to rise in popularity, there is still a significant PM talent deficit, leading to more challenged or failing projects. To lower the PM talent deficit and mitigate the higher project failure rates, academic institutions have been developing PM curriculums aimed at inculcating a repertoire of competencies to the potential project managers. In developing an ideal well-rounded PM curriculum, academic institutions occasionally engage the input of industry partners and governing entities. The study aims to (1) compare the competencies in one of the leading industry competency model and framework (PMI Talent Triangle) to the competencies in the PM course syllabi learning outcomes, (2) determine the extent to which these two sets of PM competencies are aligned and (3) and explore avenues for improvements.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a purposeful sampling method to gather PM course syllabi. The PM competencies data are gleaned from the syllabi using the content analysis method. Thereafter, QSR NVivo qualitative statistical software is used to summarize and analyze the competency data from the learning outcomes.FindingsThe results reveal that most of the PM competencies in the course syllabi fall under the technical PM domain. Specifically, the top three competency elements in each domain are technical PM domain (PM skills, tools and techniques, schedule management and cost estimation/budget), leadership domain (team-building, verbal/written communication and problem-solving) and strategic and business management domain (strategic planning, analysis and alignment, benefits management and realization, customer relationship and satisfaction).Research limitations/implicationsThe study investigates the alignment of the PM course competencies with competency domains in the PMI Talent Triangle, a global competence model that is well aligned with other global competence models such as the APM Competence Framework, the ICB4 Individual Competence Baseline and the PROMA3.Practical implicationsThe results from this study provide guidelines useful in informing PM curricula re/design, as well as the inculcation of knowledge, skills, tools, techniques and behaviors needed for effective PM.Social implicationsThe PM curriculum can be improved by partnering with PM industry leaders who can serve as advisors to the academy on industry needs, direction and emerging innovations that can inform PM learning outcomes, PM curricular design and the development of quality PM talent. The academy and the industry are encouraged to actively strive for mutual partnerships where PM professionals and academicians serve on each other's advisory boards. Also, the academy can partner with the industry professionals by developing curriculum resources such as case studies that bring the real-life PM applications to the classroom.Originality/valueThis study is motivated by the call for research studies that provide a holistic picture of the desired PM competencies and an exploration and definition of the educational needs in the PM curriculum.

Empathy of Project Management Students and Why It Matters

Abstract Empathy’s role in developing relationships suggests its potential as a key skill for project managers leading teams and managing stakeholders. What is perhaps less well recognized in project management is the role empathy can play in ensuring sustainability within a competitive work market and in ensuring resilience and wellbeing. The Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), which measures self-reported empathy against four dimensions including perspective taking (PT), empathic concern (EC), personal distress (PD) and fantasy scale (FS), was used to measure empathy levels of Australian Master of Project Management students. Students subsequently shared their views of empathy in project management. The empathy scores were compared to those of students from other disciplines reported in the literature including health professions of medical, nursing and midwifery, animal science, and criminal justice students. The results suggest that relative to other student cohorts, project management students score lowest in all dimensions of empathy except for perspective taking where they are second lowest to medical students. Implications are discussed including calls for project management curriculum to focus on empathy-based skills, as well as possible considerations for project managers to consider empathy in their practice to improve project manager wellbeing.

The Reform of Blended Courses for Software Project Management

Blended teaching is a teaching method integrating classroom teaching and online learning. Based on OBE (Outcome-based education), this paper proposes some reform ideas for blended teaching by software project management curriculum. Project driven, flipped classroom, vivid animations, MOOC video and cases study etc. are adopted to improve the self-study ability and team work of students. Although it takes more time to study, it gain high praise and enhance the teaching quality.

Improving project management curriculum by aligning course learning outcomes with Bloom’s taxonomy framework

Purpose This study aims to investigate how to improve the project management (PM) curriculum by evaluating the nature and alignment of learning outcomes in the PM course syllabi with Bloom’s Taxonomy framework. Design/methodology/approach The research methodology for this study is an integrative approach that uses document analysis and content analysis. The data set was selected based on a purposeful sampling method and came from PM course syllabi for classes that were taught during the 2016–2018 academic years. Findings Results revealed that most of the reviewed PM course syllabi contained learning outcomes although they were written and assessed at the lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy and knowledge dimensions. The study calls for the academy and industry to partner in improving the PM curriculum to lower the PM talent deficit and increase project success rates. Research limitations/implications The absence of PM learning outcomes or the presence of poorly written PM learning outcomes in a course implies that the academy should provide professional development programs to help professors learn how to formulate and write specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely learning outcomes. The professors should also ensure that the learning outcomes use a type of cognitive taxonomy that is aligned with the appropriate assessments to measure, monitor and guarantee assurance of learning. Practical implications Academy and industry partners can work collaboratively to provide students with opportunities that expose them to real-world experiential projects, internships and job opportunities while concurrently giving them hands-on practical applications of learned PM knowledge and skills. The society will be well served when the academy is able to produce well-qualified PM personnel capable of successfully carrying out PM activities and lowering the project’s failure rates. Social implications The society will be well served when the academy is able to produce well-qualified PM personnel capable of successfully carrying out PM activities and lowering the project’s failure rates. Originality/value To the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first study to specifically investigate the presence and nature of PM learning outcomes in course syllabi. By evaluating the alignment between PM learning outcomes and Bloom’s Taxonomy action verbs and cognitive processes, the study provides some exemplars of well-written and measurable learning outcomes that professors can use to inform their PM curriculum through course design or redesign.

Perception of University Graduates about the Project Management Education in Pakistan “Professional Perspective”

This study examines the views of project management professionals (university graduates) about the Project Management education in Pakistan. It investigates current situation, problems, its causes, and suggestions for future improvements in the project management curriculum of Pakistan. The analysis is done through thematic analysis based on semi-structured interviews with 50 project management professionals in various sectors of Pakistan’s labour market. Interview method is employed to have detailed and in-depth discussion with practitioners about the subject matter. The research identified three major problems of project management education in Pakistan i.e., deficiency of skills, gap between theory and practice, and students’ interest during their study. Furthermore, the respondents provided suggestions to fix these problems through different means such as the revision of curriculum, provision of internships for students in national and international NGO’s, arrangement of training workshops for teachers as well as students, and a robust supervision from Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan.

Case-teaching Problem of Project Management: Study for Undergraduate Business Major at Research-oriented Universities

The knowledge and competency of Project Management (PM) have become one of major common capability of employees while facing the huge change of competitive environment, that lets the curriculum and major of PM gain high attention from universities. Case teaching in PM courses is an important and highly applicable teaching method. Undergraduates program for business major at research-oriented universities start up to open the courses involving more and more PM. While, case teaching of PM has its unique challenges due to discrepancies of different training purpose and learners characteristics. Based on PM feature, case-teaching theory, instructional design theory and learner characteristics, this article studies and summarizes the following idea, case teaching theory and strategic feature of case teaching associated with PM curriculum for undergraduates of business school at research-oriented universities, including case features, value orientation and coordination process of case teaching etc.

Status and scope of project management in the hospitality industry

Status and scope of project management in the hospitality industry

Complexity Framework for the Project Management Curriculum

Universities' core project management courses address the key principles and best practices of project management methodologies, while elective courses are utilized to introduce alternative project frameworks. The concept of project complexity can be taught to strengthen competency in project managers and enhance the success of the projects they manage. Previous instruction methods were evaluated to determine the key concepts that pertain to project complexity. This article proposes a preliminary framework for the development of an elective course on project complexity.

Developing the resilient project professional: examining the student experience

PurposeResilience development during university can increase the likelihood of positive employment outcomes for project management graduates in what is known as a stressful profession where the prevalence of project failure, job insecurity, and burnout is high. However, a focus on student resilience in project management education is scarce. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by establishing a baseline profile of resilience for project management students, identifying priority areas of resilience development and exploring the relationship between resilience and well-being.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 292 Australian students undertaking project management studies completed a survey comprising of the Resilience at University scale, the Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale and an item assessing sleep adequacy.FindingsA resilience profile for undergraduate, postgraduate, male and female project management students was calculated. The resilience profile identified differences according to gender, and between undergraduate and postgraduate students. Mental well-being and adequate sleep were found to be significantly related to resilience.Practical implicationsFindings support the call for a greater emphasis on resilience development in the project management curriculum for undergraduates and postgraduates. One priority area likely to facilitate resilience is the ability to maintain perspective. As well as supporting academic achievement, it will assist graduates to navigate through complex, uncertain and challenging project environments.Originality/valueThis is the first known study of resilience for students undertaking project management studies in higher education.

Infusing African management philosophy into project management

Orientation: The project management field of study is investigated in the context of the current debate on decolonisation of the university curriculum.Research purpose: Current project management theories and curriculum are based on Western management philosophy (WMP). This creates tension on the African continent where the debate is currently about the revival of African management philosophy (AMP) and how it should form part of management theories and the discourse in general.Motivation for the study: The problem currently is that AMP is not incorporated or even discussed within project management literature. The aim of this article is to create discussion around AMP and how it can be infused into project management theories and ultimately the curriculum. The AMP and WMP are discussed through the lens of project management, specifically the Project Management Body of Knowledge.Research design, approach and method: Philosophical discussion was employed to facilitate the discussion of infusing AMP into project management. Various historical concepts and practices were explored to provide perspective concerning management philosophies and theories.Main findings: Infusing AMP into the curriculum must be a conscientious effort from the academic staff who teach project management. Moreover, true infusion of AMP is best facilitated through the interaction between academics, students and stakeholders. There are, however, certain processes that are principle agnostic and are independent of either AMP or WMP.Practical/managerial implications: We should philosophise more on infusing AMP into project management, creating new theories, and that the curriculum should be adjusted to incorporate AMP.Contribution/value-add: This paper stimulates discussion around AMP and project management.

Study on Curriculum Resources Development for Project Management

Project management is the research object of the professional compulsory course of the full-time Science degree graduate students. The paper put forward a simple study on the management curriculum resources. First, we analyze the actual condition of the Project Management course of Wuhan University. And then, we propose some suggestions to develop some new curriculum resources. For example, we try to carry out practice-teaching, establish information databases of studying resources and add more academic discussions. Finally, we should manage to explore curriculum resources to provide better education that matches every individual characteristic. Connotation of Project Management Course Resources The meaning of management curriculum resources is divided into narrow sense and broad sense. And its broad sense is generally defined as the source and the necessary and direct implementation conditions of the factors that form the management Many researchers discuss the connotation and the extension of the curriculum resources from different aspects. Some think that curriculum resources refer to the summation of human, material resources and natural resources all of which can be exploited in the process of curriculum development through each link of the curriculum design, implementation and evaluation. Specifically, it includes teaching materials, all kinds of teaching facilities and practice base, etc. We can also summarize management curriculum resources from a macro point of view, namely project management curriculum resources is referred to the sum of all sorts of conditions which are of rich education value and able to be transformed for the school course or service for the school curriculum. Synthesis of all kinds of definitions about the curriculum resources, we can see the core of curriculum resources is the usefulness, and all conditions and environment that in favour of curriculum implementation and the realization of curriculum objectives can be viewed as curriculum resources. In our country, the course resources of different subjects are different, and we take the management course as an example to carry on the classification to the related curriculum resources. Project management course is a required course of management science and engineering, and it is a comprehensive discipline of management science, engineering technology, engineering economy, construction regulation and so on. As the main purpose of this course is to achieve the maximum comprehensive benefits of the project, so it attracts people's general attention in real life with a strong application and comprehensive. Combined with the existing form of curriculum resources, we divide management curriculum resources into human resources, material resources, and environmental resources. Human resources take teacher resources in management disciplines as the core and other managers with actual combat experience and the foreign scholars from outside as a complementary resource. At the same time, learners are an important part of the learning process, and therefore can be classified as part of the curriculum resources. Material resources, as the name suggests, are the physical form of resources, including the management materials, audio and video materials, tools, newspapers, magazines, television broadcasting, network, library, etc. Environmental resources in the management course mainly refer to the opportunities and places where students are able to carry out the management practice, which can also be included in the material resources from a broad perspective.

Editorial

The main purpose of this special issue is to provide a forum to explore how the possibility for online delivery of education was being embraced by the project management community. I was interested in the answers to several questions. How were online delivery opportunities being explored by project management educators? Was the design of the project management curriculum being affected by the possibilities for online delivery? What was the actual impact of online delivery for the development of project managers’ skills and knowledge?

Developing and teaching of a world-class online project management curriculum

The evolution of the internet and collaboration tools have made it possible to enhance the range of online education, and make it universally accessible and eminently affordable. Around 2000, the faculty at Boston University’s Metropolitan College proposed an online master’s degree in project management, using the emerging learning management systems. The program grew quickly from 40 to 200 students, and was one of the first in the United States to be accredited by the Project Management Institute’s Global Accreditation Committee. This academic model has now been extended to other disciplines and programs.It was expected from the outset that the BU online and classroom academic experiences would be completely equivalent. This presented several challenges, the first of which was developing online equivalents for the face-to-face pedagogical course components. Second, writing online courses, recording videos and developing innovative discussion topics is time-consuming, and we quickly realised that only fulltime faculty had the commitment and motivation to devote the required effort to produce quality courses. Finally, the technological resources associated with course development and course operation required significant investment, beyond the faculty time, currently estimated at around $60,000 per course.We surveyed our students and alumni every two years and now have enough data to describe accurately the evolution in attitudes to online education.As one of the earlier and premier adopters of a rigorous academic online education model, BU has a vested interest to contribute to the growing debate about the academic quality and rigour of online education, the application of high pedagogical standards, and the innovative use of online teaching frameworks and tools. This paper will address and document these issues and assist in raising awareness of emerging “best practice” in the online education domain.

Trade‐Offs, Biases, and Uncertainty in Project Planning and Execution: A Problem‐Based Simulation Exercise

ABSTRACTThe ability to plan and execute projects is a fundamental skill required among managers and business school graduates. In the opening phase of a project, the project team makes decisions about the relative priority of project time, cost, and performance objectives, oftentimes without complete information about customer and stakeholder requirements. Existing project management curriculum assists in developing skills to decide among these priorities in the abstract through paradigms such as the time–cost–performance triangle, with limited attention to the improvement of skills required to develop solutions to these trade‐offs, particularly in uncertain and ambiguous project environments. Further, there is often an underlying bias in project teams toward consideration of the project task and project deliverables and reduced attention to time and cost objectives. This study demonstrates the benefits of a balanced approach to setting project time, cost, and performance objectives using a goal‐based simulation exercise entitled “The Bridge to Project Leadership.” Results for 124 project teams illustrate the tendency to ignore this balanced approach, resulting in reduced project performance, even among experienced project managers.