INSTRUCTOR: Bob Futrell, PMP, Project+ 512-663-8285 rfutrell@austincc.edu OFFICE HOURS: Most evenings, 8-10pm; Weekends, 8am-12 noon COURSE DESCRIPTION: (modified from the ACC Catalog) This certificate course, taught by Bob Futrell online through recorded Vodcasts, webpage Highlights, and group project exercises, is a process-oriented, practical project management course emphasizing both knowledge and skill. IT Project Management builds on the Project Management Institute s Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) to provide a solid framework and context for managing IT projects. This course provides an excellent foundation for students who already have some exposure to managing projects, and are seeking to pass professional certification exams, but lack expertise and skill in all the knowledge areas covered in the current PMBOK Guide. It helps prepare students to earn and maintain the Project Management Professional (PMP ) and Certified Associate of Project Management (CAPM ) certifications from the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Project+ certification from CompTIA, which are based on PMI s PMBOK Guide. This course uses IT examples and background to explore the theory and practice of project management, and is offered both onsite and online supported by BlackBoard, ACC s online courseware environment. Prerequisite: At least 12 months experience working around (not necessarily for) an IT organization to understand the terms and context of project examples from the IT domain (websites, equipment rollouts, etc.). The follow-on course BMGT1040 PMP /CAPM Exam Prep is recommended prior to sitting for the certification exams. Students should see the specific professional certification examination requirements at www.pmi.org for PMP and CAPM, and www.comptia.org for Project+ for further details on professional certification. TEXTS: (NOTE: Get the CURRENT VERSION of this syllabus before buying textbooks for this course these are generic editions of the texts only!) Required: Kathy Schwalbe, Information Technology Project Management, <current edition>, Cenage Learning, <year>, ISBN <current edition ISBN>. Recommended: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, <current edition>, <current year>, ISBN <current edition ISBN>. OBJECTIVES: This course is an intermediate part of ACC s Project Management Program, and helps students prepare a foundation for PMI s Certified Associate of Project Management (CAPM) and Project Management Professional (PMP), and CompTIA s IT Project+ certification examinations. Successful completion of this course enables you to: Page 1 of 5
1. Summarize the genesis of project management and its importance to improving the success projects, especially for the information technology domain. 2. Explain and illustrate project management terms, techniques, and concepts such as: The constraints of project management The project management knowledge areas, process groups, and process flows The generic project life cycle, and some popular IT project life cycles The tools and techniques of project management, including: Project selection methods Work breakdown structures Network diagrams, critical path analysis, and critical chain scheduling Cost estimates and Earned Value Management Quality Management techniques Motivation theory, staffing, and team building Risk Management processes Procurement and Contracting 3. Plan an information technology project in group exercises online 4. Differentiate good and bad project management through: Sharing his/her own examples of good and bad project management Applying knowledge and skills developed in this class to other settings (e.g. workplace) EVALUATION: 1. Mid-Term Exam 30% 2. Final Exam 30% 3. Group Course Case Project Exercises 20% 4. Participation 20% A completion certificate worth 4.8 continuing education units (CEUs) will be awarded for a total course score of 70% or better. 4.8 CEU s are equivalent to 48 PMI Professional Development Units (PDU s). POLICIES: Blackboard Courseware Support: ACC offers the BlackBoard courseware tool on the web for online courses. After registration, you receive instruction in how to access this resource. The URL is http://acconline.austincc.edu. Instructions are posted for login and access to this course. Upon initial entry, students are responsible for completing their personal information sections in BlackBoard, so that basic contact information will be accurate. The primary communication path with students will be through the BlackBoard courseware email facility, so accuracy of information there is critical. Lessons, notes, vodcasts, templates, reference links, and other resources will be posted to BlackBoard for each lesson of the course. Students are expected to access BlackBoard frequently during each class week, and to fully participate in the online lessons, at their own pace, during the unit weeks. Additionally, all evaluation and course assignment performance will be posted individually through BlackBoard s personalized gradebook facility (My Grades, accessed through the Student Tools Area link). Page 2 of 5
Participation: The online courseware is designed so that there are no requirements to be online or inperson on any given day or time (unless student groups choose to do so amongst themselves for group assignments), but rather so that students can interact with the courseware, other students, and the instructor in an asynchronous manner, during each unit week, when students have the available time to be online. Of course, the earlier and more frequently during the unit week that participation occurs, the more enhanced information sharing and the learning experience will be. Waiting until the last day or two of a unit week to participate online and complete all assignments usually results in a poorer learning experience. Disappearing: Students are expected to log into the BlackBoard courseware environment frequently (several times per unit week), and actively participate in class activities by asking questions and sharing personal experiences through the electronic media and sharing features of BlackBoard. No BlackBoard activity or other communication from a student for two weeks for whatever reason means that the student will not receive a course completion certificate (since there are attendance requirements for college accreditation), and that the instructor may initiate an administrative withdrawal. The instructor may inquire about the student s status prior to this action to explore unusual circumstances. The student, however, can contact the instructor via the channels indicated through the Instructor Bio link, or the program coordinator, Maria Coleman, at the ACC Administration office at (512) 223-7662, at any time to explain unusual circumstances, and are encouraged to do so as soon as the circumstances are realized. Courtesy Code: You are expected to follow the rules for common courtesy and good netiquette in all your messages and communications. If the instructor deems any to be inappropriate or offensive, the instructor will forward the message or communication to the ACC Dean s office for appropriate action, up to and including expulsion from the course. Quizzes, Unit Assignments, and Exams: Each Unit chapter will offer a short 10-question self-quiz for the student to test their learning of the topic material. Scores for Self-quizzes are not counted, but completion of them during the unit week is counted towards course participation and achievement. Unit assignments include both individual and group exercises from the textbook, plus a few web-based homework assignments. Scores are not computed for each, but participation and completion is counted towards course participation and achievement. A Mid-Term and a Final Exam of 50-questions each will assess mastery of the topics to date for each exam. All quizzes and Exams will be done online, through BlackBoard during designated time periods. In most units of this course, we'll cover two chapters of the main textbook each week. It's a lot of reading, so be sure to jump on it right away so you won't fall behind. The learning objectives for each chapter in a unit are repeated (in blue) in the lesson topic coverage, where that objective is discussed. All assignments are due as stated in the assignments' Page 3 of 5
web page. Any additional assignments, or due date adjustments will be posted to the Announcements and/or in a whole-class email, with current due dates noted within. Deadlines: Odd things can happen in cyberspace: emails get lost; servers disconnect temporarily; logins become impossible. Don't wait until the last minute to get things done (the old "student syndrome" of cramming the night before a due date). Allow time to meet deadlines. Reply and check for replies on every email or message sent or received. Set up an email filter and a separate folder for each class you take, if your email software permits, to keep things from getting lost on your computer system. You are responsible for getting the work to the instructor, on time. Late work: Each unit week's work must be completed by the end of that week. The dates of each unit week are defined in the Course Outline section of the syllabus. Unless otherwise noted, a "day" is the 24 hour period between midnights (U.S. Central time, where the ACC BlackBoard system is located). Once a unit is opened to you (by date) it remains open through the end of the course (for review, study, and make-up). Obviously, keeping up with the work week-by-week is best, but understandably, sometimes student travel, or illness, or other unexpected events prevents keeping up. If you have extenuating circumstances, email notification to the instructor prior to the event may result in a grant of extra time to complete assignments. Safeguards: Back up every piece of work you do on disk, and make a hard copy (printout). If you experience computer difficulties, you are responsible for solving your own technical problems. Help can be found through the links in the ACC course's home page. You are encouraged to print out all of this course information and keep it in a notebook should your computer or internet access become unusable for any reason. Also, the heaviest times for internet usage are typically 8-10 PM. You might want to consider arranging your schedule to do on-line coursework at other times, if possible. Academic Dishonesty: This course follows the same academic honesty policies as any on-campus live class. Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses and may be punished by failure on an exam or assignment, failure in the course, and or expulsion from the college. For more information refer to the "Academic Honesty" policy in the student catalog for details. CLASS SCHEDULE: The table below shows the planned class meeting schedule, reading assignments, and potential group exercises. Page 4 of 5
Section: Generic version - Typical yyyyy <Start date> - <End date> Units Start on Mondays Read (Scan) Chaps Week Unit Start End # Days Topic Schwalbe PMBOK Presentation Coverage Exercises & Activities 1 0,1 dd-mm dd-mm 7 IT Project Mgmt Intro & Context 1, 2 1, 2, Glossary Intro, Ch 1, 2 Highlights Student Bios, PMP Criteria 2 2 dd-mm dd-mm 7 PM Process Grps & Integration Mgmt 3, 4 3, 4 Chap 3, 4 Highlights Form Teams, Running Case Tasks 3 3 dd-mm dd-mm 7 Scope & Time Mgmt 5, 6 5, 6 Chap 5, 6 Highlights Running Case Tasks 4 4 dd-mm dd-mm 7 Cost Mgmt 7 7 Chap 7 Highlights Running Case Tasks M dd-mm dd-mm 4 Mid-Term Exam Exam Chap 1-7 Exam 5 5 dd-mm dd-mm 7 Quality & Human Resource Mgmt 8, 9 8, 9 Chap 8, 9 Highlights Running Case Tasks 6 6 dd-mm dd-mm 7 Communications & Risk Mgmt 10, 11 10, 11 Chap 10, 11 Highlights Running Case Tasks 7 7 dd-mm dd-mm 7 Procurement & Stakeholder Mgmt 12, 13 12, 13 Chap 12, 13 Highlights Running Case Tasks 8 F dd-mm dd-mm 7 Final Exam, Evaluations Exam Chap 1-13 Exam, Evaluations Page 5 of 5