THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES FACULTY OF ENGINEERING SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL AND MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING GSOE9820 - ENGINEERING PROJECT MANAGEMENT COURSE OUTLINE Session 2-2013

Table of Contents 1. STAFF CONTACT DETAILS... 3 2. COURSE DETAILS... 3 3. RATIONALE FOR INCLUSION OF CONTENT AND TEACHING APPROACH... 6 4. TEACHING STRATEGIES... 6 5. ASSESSMENT... 7 6. ACADEMIC HONESTY AND PLAGIARISM... 9 7. COURSE SCHEDULE *... 11 8. RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS... 12 9. COURSE EVALUATION AND DEVELOPMENT... 12 10. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS... 12 2

1. STAFF CONTACT DETAILS Contact details and consultation times for course conveners and additional lecturers A/Professor Berman Kayis and Dr Jason Held (Lectures and Tutorials) The School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, UNSW b.kayis@unsw.edu.au and j.held@unsw.edu.au The tutorials will be run together with expert team of lecturers comprised of academics, project managers, consultants and practitioners with relevant academic and professional backgrounds. Our Team comprises of: Dr Maria Anityasari, Ms Sandra Cowan and Mr Lars Moller All the Lecturers are provided with guidelines for teaching and student assessment and they construct a collective body of knowledge for the course. There is NO parallel teaching in this course. 2. COURSE DETAILS Units of credit This is a 6 unit-of-credit (UoC) course, and involves at least 3 hours per week (h/w) of face-to-face contact. The UNSW website states The normal workload expectations of a student are approximately 25 hours per semester for each UoC, including class contact hours, other learning activities, preparation and time spent on all assessable work. For a standard 24 UoC in the session, this means 600 hours, spread over an effective 15 weeks of the session (thirteen weeks plus stuvac plus one effective exam week), or 40 hours per week, for an average student aiming for a credit grade Various factors, such as your own ability, your target grade, etc., will influence the time needed in your case. Some students spend much more than 40 h/w, but you should aim for not less than 40 h/w on coursework for 24 UoC. This means that you should aim to spend not less than about 10 h/w on this course, i.e. an additional 7 h/w of your own time. This should be spent in making sure that you understand the lecture material, completing the assignments for tutorials, participation in Web-tutorial discussions, further reading about the course material, and revising and learning for the examination. Summary of the course The course will introduce you to the project management (PM) skills needed during the lifetime of any project whilst providing opportunities to apply your engineering knowledge. The same principles apply to any size and type of a project. Therefore the processes presented to you throughout the course aim to provide you with the essential knowledge and good understanding of the project life cycle and many multidisciplinary functions needed to be performed by a successful project manager. Aims of the course Project Management has become central to operations in every engineering and new product development as well as many other diverse applications. This course aims to simultaneously embrace the general principles, tools and methodologies of Project Management while addressing specific examples across the wide spectrum of its applications. 3

This course takes an integrated approach to managing projects, exploring both technical and managerial challenges. Therefore, it emphasises not only individual project implementation, but also provides a strategic perspective of how to manage projects at the program and portfolio levels. Also you will learn the mechanics of developing a detailed and comprehensive project plan, including scope, scheduling, risk assessment, budgeting, cost estimations, resource allocations, monitoring, information systems, auditing, termination and so forth. Because as a PM, you need to avoid all the following problems: Large cost or schedule overruns Unrealistic schedules Excessive changes to the scope or schedule Poor communications and increased conflict Running out of time and money at any stage of the project Unsatisfactory quality Low morale People on the team are unsure of what needs to be done etc Accordingly, the course blends project management within the context of engineering and managerial operations of any successful organisation, whether publicly held, private or non-profit. Several cases are used to illustrate this followed by integrated project exercises. Project Management Standards (eg:pmbok) are also integrated into the course in order to comprehensively identify the critical knowledge areas that project managers must understand if they are to become successful managers. The course is also a pathway for Project Management Institute (PMI) certification since both the contents of the course, terminologies used and exposure to several real world cases will support your preparations. Managers should be able to work effectively with others and adapt their skills to new and complex projects. To develop such project managers, the learning and assessment strategies have to be designed to develop critical thinking. Accordingly, six levels of cognition are targeted in this course which are: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. If one has to develop critical thinking, the learning and assessment strategies need to require students to demonstrate their skills at the higher levels of cognition. This means, for example, rather than asking you to demonstrate that you can select and use appropriate PM methodologies, they need to analyse new situations, synthesise all the relevant information, develop creative solutions and evaluate outcomes. Therefore, you will be interacting with other students in the lectures and tutorials, either online or face-to-face, sometimes in teams or individually. Several case discussions will take place in lectures and face-to-face tutorials as well as through supplementary tutorials organised online using UNSW Blackboard software. These aim to give several opportunities to each of you to interact, exchange ideas, knowledge and experiences with the facilitators and other students through: reading from a wide range of cases and synthesise a range of perspectives reflecting on your own work experience in the light of new learning exchanging views and challenge each other s thinking in structured learning analysing case studies and relate learnings to your own context working collaboratively on a hypothetical project 4

Student learning outcomes When you have completed this course, you should be able to: 1. Understand the several functions of project management. 2. Develop the role and responsibilities of a project manager. 3. Develop and analyse organisational types and structures for projects. 4. Critically analyse the dynamics of project charter. 5. Understand the essential strategies for collaborative projects to enhance competitiveness. 6. Identify, analyse and evaluate risks in projects. 7. Detail the various performance measures appropriate for the projects and understand budget estimating techniques. 8. Detail project plan, scheduling and resource management. 9. Understand project evaluation and control. 10. Understand project closeout and termination. 11. Creation of lessons learned from previous projects. 12. Understand a step-by-step process for managing projects and why each step is necessary. Graduate attributes A statement of broad graduate attributes has meaning when expressed in the context of the discipline. The graduate attributes contextualised for engineering are shown at www.ltu.unsw.edu.au/content/userdocs/gradattreng.pdf. UNSW s graduate attributes are the following: 1. * the skills involved in scholarly enquiry; 2. * an in-depth engagement with the relevant disciplinary knowledge in its interdisciplinary context; 3. * the capacity for analytical and critical thinking and for creative problem solving; 4. * the ability to engage in independent and reflective learning; 5. * information literacy the skills to locate, evaluate and use relevant information; 6. * the capacity for enterprise, initiative and creativity; 7. * an appreciation of, and respect for, diversity; 8. * a capacity to contribute to, and work within, the international community; 9. * the skills required for collaborative and multidisciplinary work; 10. * an appreciation of, and a responsiveness to, change; 11. * a respect for ethical practice and social responsibility; and 12. * the skills of effective communication. In this course, you will be encouraged to develop Graduate Attributes 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 and 12 by undertaking the selected activities and knowledge content. These attributes will be assessed within the prescribed assessment tasks, as shown in the assessment tables on page 6 and 7. 5

3. RATIONALE FOR INCLUSION OF CONTENT AND TEACHING APPROACH This course is included to give you the skills to introduce you to Project Management knowledge areas. It aims also to enhance your skills which are helpful in other courses and programs you are enrolled in. It will also assist you in professional settings, since many areas of managing technology and business issues require managing projects of different size and type. Effective learning is supported when you are actively engaged in the learning process and by a climate of enquiry, and these are both an integral part of the lectures and tutorials.you become more engaged in the learning process if you can see the relevance of your studies to professional, disciplinary and/or personal contexts, and the relevance is shown in the lectures, face-to-face and web-based tutorials by way of examples drawn from different industries. All tutorial classes use the same learning resources and have the same assessment requirements. The course coordinator is responsible for coordinating the different classes and for assuring quality in teaching and assessment across classes. Dialogue and acknowledgement of diversity of experiences is encouraged between you, others in the class, team members, and the lecturers. It is expected that exams will be marked within two weeks. You will have continuous feedback from your Web lecturers and discussions throughout the tutorials, all aiming to improve your learning experience. 4. TEACHING STRATEGIES Lectures and tutorials in the course are designed to cover the core knowledge areas in Project Management to help you develop a range of skills such as managing project teams, project schedules, budgets as well as being aware of strategic topics, different environments, cultures and ethics of projects and community issues. They do not simply reiterate the texts, but build on the lecture topics using examples and cases taken directly from industry to show how the theory is applied in practice and the details of when, where and how it should be applied. Lectures and Tutorials are designed to develop several graduate attributes by creating an environment where information sharing, discussions, group work, communication, task completions and project role playing will take place. Since each of you may have come from a different professional and academic background, your experiences are drawn on to illustrate various aspects of cases covered, and this helps to increase motivation and engagement. Lecturers will provide you with feedback and discussion on the assignments, and to understand the concepts and problems in greater depth. Every week, the answers of selected exercises/cases/discussions from the Textbook will be released immediately after the lectures. This aims to support you to understand the concepts and problems covered in the lectures, textbook in greater depth. 6

5. ASSESSMENT General You will be assessed through continuous tutorial activities which involve calculations, descriptive material and discussions as well as Final examination. Tutorial Participation (throughout the session) 40% Final Examination 60% Participation marks will be assessed on your contributions to tutorial discussions, exercises and other learning activities. These activities will be facilitated and assessed through either individual, team discussions. Therefore you are strongly advised to cover lecture/tutorial materials regularly every week of the session. You will be assessed through continuous tutorial activities which involve calculations, descriptive material and discussions as well as Final examination. There will be several Web-based tutorial groups. Each of you will be randomly assigned to one of these tutorial groups by the end of Week 3. You will be notified of your tutorial Lecturer s name and contact details through UNSW Moodle. The role of your Lecturer is to support the learning/teaching process through Web-based discussions carried out in teams and individually as well as providing direction in further understanding of the course material and assessing your participation and progress in these discussions. In order to achieve a Satisfactory performance in this course, you may need to both achieve a composite mark of at least 50 and a satisfactory level of performance in all assessments. Submission of Web Based Assessments Web-based tutorial assignments are due on the Sunday midnight in the week nominated which will be posted on UNSW Blackboard. You can NOT submit late since new assignments are released immediately after the completion of previous assignment. The release and closure of Web-based assignments are on the dates indicated in Table 1. Criteria for Web based tutorial assignments In general, the following criteria will be used to grade Web based tutorial assignments: Identification of key facts and the integration of those facts in a logical development. Clarity of communication this includes development of a clear and orderly structure and the highlighting of core arguments in a timely manner. Interaction between your team members as a project manager and a team member Analysis and Evaluation of assignments by integrating knowledge gathered in lectures, tutorials and textbook. Sentences in clear and plain English this includes correct grammar, spelling and punctuation. TABLE 1: WEB BASED TUTORIAL ACTIVITIES* 7

ACTIVITIES DURATION (weeks) RELEASE CLOSE ACTIVITY 1: Introduction: Facilitators/Students and Group interaction Week 3 Week 4 ACTIVITY 2: Question/Answer session 25 August 1 September (chapters 1 and 4) 1 ACTIVITY 3: ORION Systems (Part A) 1 1 September 8 September (page 87-90) ACTIVITY 4: ORION Systems (Part B) 1 8 September 15 September (page 90-91) ACTIVITY 5: Exercise 3 (chapter 7) 1 15 September 22 September (page 230) ACTIVITY 6: Kerzner Office Equipment 2 6 October 20 October (page 374-376) ACTIVITY 7: MAXIMUM MEGAHERTZ 1 20 October 27 October (page 486-487) (*) Please refer to Textbook for the above activities 8

Final Examination There will be a three hour Final Examination at the end of the session. Exam will cover all materials of the whole session. You will need to provide your own calculator, of a make and model approved by UNSW, for the examination. The list of approved calculators is shown at https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/academiclife/assessment/examinations/calculator.html It is your responsibility to ensure that your calculator is of an approved make and model, and to obtain an Approved sticker for it from the School Office or the Engineering Student Centre prior to the examination. Calculators not bearing an Approved sticker will not be allowed into the examination room. Special Consideration and Supplementary Assessment For details of applying for special consideration and conditions for the award of supplementary assessment, see Administrative Matters for All Courses, available from the School website. 6. ACADEMIC HONESTY AND PLAGIARISM What is Plagiarism? Plagiarism is the presentation of the thoughts or work of another as one s own.* Examples include: direct duplication of the thoughts or work of another, including by copying material, ideas or concepts from a book, article, report or other written document (whether published or unpublished), composition, artwork, design, drawing, circuitry, computer program or software, web site, Internet, other electronic resource, or another person s assignment without appropriate acknowledgement; paraphrasing another person s work with very minor changes keeping the meaning, form and/or progression of ideas of the original; piecing together sections of the work of others into a new whole; presenting an assessment item as independent work when it has been produced in whole or part in collusion with other people, for example, another student or a tutor; and claiming credit for a proportion a work contributed to a group assessment item that is greater than that actually contributed. For the purposes of this policy, submitting an assessment item that has already been submitted for academic credit elsewhere may be considered plagiarism. Knowingly permitting your work to be copied by another student may also be considered to be plagiarism. Note that an assessment item produced in oral, not written, form, or involving live presentation, may similarly contain plagiarised material. The inclusion of the thoughts or work of another with attribution appropriate to the academic discipline does not amount to plagiarism. The Learning Centre website is main repository for resources for staff and students on plagiarism and academic honesty. These resources can be located via: www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism 9

The Learning Centre also provides substantial educational written materials, workshops, and tutorials to aid students, for example, in: correct referencing practices; paraphrasing, summarising, essay writing, and time management; appropriate use of, and attribution for, a range of materials including text, images, formulae and concepts. Individual assistance is available on request from The Learning Centre. Students are also reminded that careful time management is an important part of study and one of the identified causes of plagiarism is poor time management. Students should allow sufficient time for research, drafting, and the proper referencing of sources in preparing all assessment items. * Based on that proposed to the University of Newcastle by the St James Ethics Centre. Used with kind permission from the University of Newcastle Adapted with kind permission from the University of Melbourne. Further information on School policy and procedures in the event of plagiarism is presented in a School handout, Administrative Matters for All Courses, available from the School website. 10

7. COURSE SCHEDULE * TOPICS (chapters from the textbook, version 5) WEEK(S) Introduction and Projects in Organisations (1) 1 Strategic Management and Project Selection and the Project Manager (2) 2 Projects and Organisational structures (3) 2 Defining Projects ( 4) 3 Budgeting and Cost Estimation (5) 4 Project Plan (6) 5 Managing Risk (7) 6 Scheduling resources and Costs (8) 7 Project Crashing (9) 8 Leadership, Team management (10,11) 9,10 Outsourcing (12) Progress and Performance Measurement and Evaluation (13) Project Audit and Closure (14) 10 10,11 12 REVISION 13 *The schedule shown may be subject to change at short notice to suit exigencies. 11

8. RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS Prescribed textbook Gray C.F. and Larson E.W. Project Management, 5 th edition, McGraw Hill International edition, 2010. ISBN:9780071289290 Additional materials provided in UNSW Moodle This course uses UNSW Moodle which list of assignments, answers to the numerical questions, suggested answers to case studies and assignments and weekly discussion forum. 9. COURSE EVALUATION AND DEVELOPMENT Periodically student evaluative feedback on the course is gathered, using among other means, UNSW's Course and Teaching Evaluation and Improvement (CATEI) process. Student feedback is taken seriously, and continual improvements are made to the course based in part on such feedback. Please let me know your suggestions and comments throughout and even after the semester. In this course, recent improvements resulting from student feedback include the changes in the duration and number of Web based activities where you are provided with a structured guidance and regular feedback on individual and team performances. 10. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Information about each of the following matters is presented in a School handout, Administrative Matters for All Courses, available from the School website. It is essential that you obtain a copy, read it carefully and become familiar with the information, as it applies to this course and to each of the other courses in which you are enrolled. Expectations of students (including attendance at lectures and tutorials/laboratory classes/seminars; and computer use, for example, in the use of email and online discussion forums), Procedures for submission of assignments and the School s policy concerning late submission, Information on relevant Occupational Health and Safety policies and expectations: www.hr.unsw.edu.au/ohswc/ohs/ohs_policies.html Examination procedures and advice concerning illness or misadventure. Equity and disability Students who have a disability that requires some adjustment in their teaching or learning environment are encouraged to discuss their study needs with the course convenor prior to, or at the commencement of, their course, or with the Equity Officer (Disability) in the Student Equity and Disability Unit (SEADU) by phone on 9385 4734, email seadu@unsw.edu.au or via the website www.studentequity.unsw.edu.au/disabil.html The office is located on the Ground Floor of the Goodsell building (F20). 12