Online Course Syllabus CS448 Information Technology Project Management. Important Notes:

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1 Online Course Syllabus CS448 Information Technology Project Management Important Notes: This document provides an overview of expectations for this online course and is subject to change prior to the term start. Changes may also occur during the term due to faculty or SPS Distance Learning course updates. Some links may only be active once the term starts. For this course you must check the Regis Bookstore: for the most current online course material information. Course Description Course Description Prerequisites Course Outcomes Required Course Materials Course Outline Grading Criteria Workload Participation Assignments This course provides the necessary information for students to understand and experience the critical success factors for Information System Project Management. The entire project management life cycle is illustrated through exercises and discussion. Students will become familiar with the general concepts of Project Management as well as specific concepts and challenges with Information Systems Project Management. Students will be project managers during their time in this course. Prerequisites None Course Outcomes Upon completion of this course you should be able to: Define the key differentiating characteristics of Information Systems Project Management. Demonstrate understanding of the process of initiating, selection and definition of a project. Prepare and implement a planned approach to establishing organizational relationships. Formulate a detailed list of activities to be performed on a project. Flow the accepted project activities with considerations of costs, schedules and risks. Define estimating techniques for resource needs of each activity. Evaluate candidate configurations and select one as a baseline. Estimate costs of activities and resources and formulate needed budgets. Integrate task deadlines, budget considerations, resource availability, technological requirements, precedent relationships and schedules to provide project execution and initial control.

2 Use control systems to detect current deviations, forecast future deviations between actual progress and project plans, trace the source of deviations, make decisions to put the project back on course. Identify the economic aspects of projects. Implement an integrative notion of the organizational breakdown structure and the work breakdown structure with detailed planning and control. Analyze relationships between resources, their costs and the project schedule. Define and implement techniques for handling risk. Demonstrate knowledge and use of software with practical exercises using MS Project. Analyze projects after completion of technical objectives are met. Required Course Materials Information Technology Project Management w/cd by Kathy Schwalbe, (4th edition, 2006), Thompson Course Technology. Optional Resource The Project Management Body of Knowledge or PMBOK (2004 ed.). You may download pdf file excerpts of the PMBOK, or order a hardcopy from or by selecting the link to the title. Course Outline Week Reading Assignment Graded Assignments 1 Chapter 1, 2 and Appendix A Written homework #1 / Forum participation 2 Chapter 3, 4, 5 Written homework #2 / Forum participation 3 Chapter 6, 7, 10 Written homework #3 / Forum participation 4 Chapter 8, 9 Written homework #4 / Forum participation 5 Chapter 11, 12 Written homework #5 / Forum participation 6 None Written homework #6 / Forum participation 7 None Written homework #7 / Forum participation 8 None Forum participation Final Project Grading Policy

3 There will be a total of 7 written assignments worth 40 points each, for a total of 280 points, or 28% of your grade. There will be 8 weekly discussion topics, worth 40 points each (28 points for response and 12 points for participation) for a total of 320 points, or 32% of your grade. The final project will be worth 400 points, or 40% of your grade. The course points will be awarded as follows: Grading Criteria Written exercises 28% of final grade Final Project Forum Participation 40% of final grade 32% of final grade Grading Ranges A 100% - 93% C 76.9% - 73% A- 92.9% - 90% C- 72.9% - 70% B+ 89.9% - 87% D+ 69.9% - 67% B 86.9% - 83% D 66.9% - 63% B- 82.9% - 80% D- 62.9% - 60 % C+ 79.9% - 77% F below 60% Note: Homework is due when posted, unless PRIOR arrangements have been made with the facilitator. If turned in later, a 10 % late fee will be assessed. Incomplete Grade A grade of Incomplete or I denotes that the required work for the course is incomplete due to unforeseen circumstances. This grade is awarded at the discretion of the instructor and is submitted with an alternate grade of I/F. A student must submit a written request to the instructor requesting that an incomplete grade be assigned prior to the end of the term in which the course is taken. The length of time and the remaining requirements to complete the course are determined by the instructor; however the maximum time for completion is the end of the following semester. Faculty will notify students in writing of the approval/denial of their request and provide instructions and guidelines required to resolve the incomplete grade. If the course work is not completed by the end of the next applicable semester and a grade change form submitted by the instructor, the incomplete grade reverts to the alternate grade assigned by the instructor and is calculated in the grade point average. Academic Dishonesty

4 Regis University is committed to intellectual integrity in its academic pursuits. Therefore, students accused of academic dishonesty may have sanctions imposed by the School for Professional Studies Undergraduate faculty, departments, or programs for cheating (defined as using inappropriate sources of information on a test) or plagiarism (defined as presenting as one s own, the ideas, words, or products of another). Such sanctions may include a failing grade on the assignment, failure of the course, or expulsion of the student from the course or the department. Work Load This course is at a highly accelerated pace, and requires students to take a great deal of responsibility for their own learning outcomes. Students are expected to actively participate in the discussion forum, and should expect a minimum of 15 hours per week of study. Participation This is an online course, so by its nature, it is flexible. However, that does not mean the course is self-paced. Assignments are to be turned in on time (unless prior arrangements have been made), and students are expected to actively participate in the course forum. Assignments are due by midnight each Wednesday of the term. Because we won t have any face-to-face interaction, the course forum is a key factor to your learning this term. Please: Use proper spelling and grammar in your posts Be respectful to other students postings, and make sure your replies are appropriate. Make sure to post a REPLY to a discussion question rather than to COMPOSE a new one. You will be graded both on your topic response and at LEAST two responses to posts from other students. Your responses are due by midnight Saturday of the discussion week. Note: Students using online formats for study at Regis University do so in a protected environment. However, these learning environments may at times be viewed by faculty (both current and those learning to become online facilitators), distance learning staff, and other experts who are working with Regis to maintain the highest quality online courses. We use to communicate regarding levels of performance and grades. Understand that this is not a secure environment. Online Course Assignments CS448 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 1

5 Information Technology Project Management Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Appendix A Self-Monitored Homework Review online information technology journals like, Information Week, Computer World, ACM and Information World, find an article relevant to information technology project management and write a one- to two- page paper answering the following questions. You can find articles online through the Regis Library Web Site, What is the main message in the article? Do you agree with what the article discusses? Explain why or why not. How are project managers portrayed in this article? Do you agree or disagree with the portrayal, why? Begin the process of developing your own project idea, one you will be responsible for managing. Brainstorm a bit to come up with a viable project idea. Once you have an idea identified, post preliminary goals and objectives and a project management statement (one paragraph stating what the project is, why it's important, and when it will be completed) to the Week 1 Forum. Forum Activity 1.1 Introduce yourself in the Forum. In the Introduction topic, post a reply message to the facilitator's introduction. Include answers to the following questions in your introduction: What is your contact information ( address)? What is your education level and course background at Regis? Have you taken any Distance Learning courses at Regis before? What is your professional experience? What motivated you to take this course and what do you hope to take away? Post your introduction no later than midnight (MT) Wednesday, Week 1. Forum Activity 1.2 1: Discuss the unique attributes and diverse nature of information technology projects List the skills and attributes of a good project manager in general and in the information technology field.

6 Due by Midnight Saturday of Week 1: Write a 2-3 page paper describing a project that the student was (or is) involved with that did not succeed. Briefly describe the project and its expected outcome. Analyze who the key stakeholders were, and why the project was (or is) doomed to fail. Students can draw on a work project, school project, or even a home improvement project in which they have in-depth knowledge. Students should begin thinking of a project topic and general outline. Week 2 Information Technology Project Management Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Forum Activity 2.1 Post your responses to the following questions to the forum by midnight (Mountain Time) Wednesday, Week 2: Describe, in your own words, what the key functions are in each of the five project management processes; initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing. Due by Midnight Saturday of Week 2 Exercise #3, p. 195 from text. Write a 2-3 page paper defining scope creep, how it can be prevented, and how it can be mitigated if it happens. Use examples if necessary. No activity this week.

7 Week 3 Information Technology Project Management Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 10 Forum Activity 3.1 3: Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different ways of distributing project information. What's your preferred way of sending or receiving project information? Due by Midnight Saturday of Week 3: Exercise #1, p. 240 from text. Exercise #2, p. 282 from text. Write a 1-2 page paper defining what a critical path is, and why it is important to project planning. Use examples if necessary. No activity this week. Week 4 Information Technology Project Management Chapter 8 Chapter 9

8 Forum Activity 4.1 Post your responses to the following questions to the forum by midnight(mountain Time) Wednesday, Week 4: What are the key resources that must be allocated over the life of a project? Due by Midnight Saturday of Week 4: Exercise #5, p. 380 from text. Write a 2-3 page paper discussing the main processes of project quality management. Write a 1-2 page paper on Discussion Topic #5 p Use examples if necessary. Optional: turn in a project proposal and outline of final project. Week 5 Information Technology Project Management Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Forum Activity 5.1 5: What are some of the questions that should be addressed in a risk management plan for your particular project? Due by Midnight Saturday of Week 5: Exercise #1, p. 460 from text. Exercise #6, p. 493 from text. Write a 2-3 page paper about discussion question #3 p Use examples if necessary.

9 No activity this week. Week 6 None Forum Activity 6.1 6: What documents do you consider to be critical to a project's success? Why? Due by Midnight Saturday of Week 6: Write a 2-3 page paper discussing how today's technologies/software/economics has forced project managers to modify the traditional software development lifecycle. (An example of this is the spiral method as a modification of the waterfall.) No activity this week. Week 7 None Forum Activity 7.1 7:

10 What do you think are the most critical tasks to track throughout a project? Due by Midnight Saturday of Week 7: Write a 2-3 page paper defining open source development, its methodologies related to project management, and any pros/cons. Use examples if necessary. No activity this week. Week 8 None Forum Activity 8.1 8: What have you learned in this class? In hindsight, what do you think were the key elements of project management you learned? What do think were the most helpful, useful parts of this class? No activity this week Final project due. Each student needs to select an IT related project that they have been involved with or researched (on the Internet, trade journals, interviews, etc.) The text may have some ideas as well. Each student's deliverables will include: 1. Project description, reason for choosing, expected outcomes, key stakeholders, risk assessment, etc.

11 2. Communication plan 3. Deliverable/Responsibility matrix 4. Microsoft Project plan with WBS for each phase, task start/stop dates, critical path, resources, etc. 5. A project quality control/roll out plan Evaluation Complete online evaluation located at the bottom of the content in the Week by Week. Please contact techsupport@regis.edu if you need assistance or to report any problems Regis University. All Rights Reserved.