Postgraduate Program Subject Outline

Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering

http://my.uowdubai.ac.ae

Subject Code: ENGG951

Session: Autumn

Subject Name: Project Management

Year: 2014

Section: All

LECTURE INFORMATION
Day:

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Time:

18:00 21:00

Location:

Lecturers Name:

DR KAMAL JAAFAR (SUN, MON), DR CATHERINE TODD (TUES, WEDS)

Building & Office No:

Block 15 Office 126 (Dr. Jaafar), Block 15 Office 2-06 (Dr. Todd)

E-mail Address:

kamaljaafar@uowdubai.ac.ae, catherinetodd@uowdubai.ac.ae

Consultation Days
and Times:

DR JAAFAR SUN 2-5PM, MON 2-5PM

DR TODD MON 3-5PM, TUES 1-5PM

Subject Coordinator:

DR KAMAL JAAFAR

Program Coordinator:

DR KAMAL JAAFAR

1 SUBJECT DESCRIPTION
All sectors of industry, including production or servicing as well as public sector organizations,
are increasingly applying the principles of Project Management. Add to this the international
factor and project Management can become challenging. In the global economy, more
educated, demanding and litigious customers are creating a strong need for flexible and quick
response capabilities in organizations together with strong accountability mechanisms.
Managers who are confident in conceiving, planning, implementing and managing
international projects are building organizational and personal capabilities which will enhance
their organizations - whether engineering, manufacturing, service or not for profit. This
course aims to provide graduates with direction in various project management issues,
assess related risks and formulate strategies and contingency plans.
The course covers topics such as Scope Management, Time Management, Human Resource
Management, Risk Management, Financial Management, Project Plans, Project Quality
Management and Procurement and Contract Management.

2 LEARNING OUTCOMES
A student who successfully completes this subject should be able to:
1. Explain the role of project management within the context of broader strategic plans in the
organization.
2. Apply appropriate techniques to manage various types of projects.
3. Evaluate the effective use of project management tools.
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4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Prepare a project feasibility study.

Develop a project plan including the risk management sub-plan.

Choose appropriate scheduling and cost control methodologies.
Organize appropriate project management information systems to track results.
Devise changes to a management plan and apply contingency plans when required.
Demonstrate in-depth knowledge about a particular area in project management, acquired
through a review of the research and professional literature.
10. Plan and undertake primary data collection through interviews or surveys.

3 SUBJECT SCHEDULE
Week

Lecture Topic(s)

Related
Text
Chapter(s)
[Schwalbe]

Tests/
Assignments Due

Introduction to PM
Topic: Why Project Management?
Group Formation and Topic Discussion;
Project and Case.

Chapter 1

Suggested readings
Group formation

Reflection: Case Discussion

2&3

Project Selection & Evaluation

Review: Case Discussion (from prior weeks
readings/case study)
Topic:
Project Feasibility; Selection Criteria & Models,
Portfolio Process,
Planning, Communication,
Creating a Project Charter.

Chapter 1, 2

Reflection: Case Discussion (from readings)

4&5

Time Management & Project

Scheduling
Review: Case Discussion (from readings)
Topic: Time Management and Scheduling
Review,
Network Techniques: PERT & CPM

Chapter 3&5

Start of Week 5: Project Charter

Submission (5%) 1st Report
and brief presentation.

Reflection: Case Discussion (from readings)

Delivery of Project Charter; brief presentation by
each group (10 minute limit) and report
submission.

6 &7

Project Scheduling /Human Resource

Management
Computer Lab

Review: Case Discussion (from readings)

CPM & Crashing a Project,
Resource Allocation,
Resource Loading & Levelling,
Constrained Resource Scheduling,
Multi-project Scheduling & Resource Allocation.

Chapter 3&5
(Computer lab CL126 Block 5);
Microsoft Project.

Reflection: Case Discussion (from readings)

UNIVERSITY BREAK 1 WEEK.

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Resource Planning & Financial

Management

Review: Case Discussion (from readings)

Start of Week 8: Updated

Charter and Planning
Documentation Submission
(10%) 2nd Report and brief
presentation.

Cost Estimation and Budgeting.

Reflection: Case Discussion (from readings)

Chapter 6

Delivery of Planning Documentation; brief

presentation by each group (15 minute limit) and
report submission.

Risk Management

Guest Lecture

Review: Case Discussion (from readings)

Risk Analysis (Identification and Assessment)
and Management Process
Planning Optimization

Case Study Presentations

(weeks 9, 10, 11) group
allocated/selects week to
present.

Chapter 4

Case Study Presentations (weeks 9, 10, 11)

10&11

Quality Planning
Project Evaluation and Control
Review: Case Discussion (from readings)
Quality Planning and Control; Process,
Techniques and Strategies

Case Study Presentations

(weeks 9, 10, 11) group
allocated/selects week to
present.

Chapter 7

Case Study Presentations (weeks 9, 10, 11)

12&13

Project Close-out and Termination

Revision
Review: Case Discussion (from readings)
Project Closure; Processes and Documentation
Reflection: Case Discussion (from readings)

Chapter 8

Delivery of Final Documentation; brief

presentation by each group (15 minute limit) and
report submission; Week 13.

Final Project Due: Updated

Documentation, with Cost, Risk
and Quality Planning and Control
(20%) - 3rd Report and brief
presentation.

4 TEXTS
4.1

REQUIRED TEXTS

Any text book on project management can be used as a reference

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: The University of Wollongong in Dubai complies with UAE Federal Law No. (7)
of 2002 pertaining to Copyrights and Neighboring Rights. Severe penalties apply for copyright
violations. No copied materials will be allowed on campus, except where permitted as per UAE Federal
Law No. (7) of 2002. Any copied materials that violate UAE Laws or UOWD Policies will be
confiscated in the first instance and disciplinary actions may be taken against the person(s) involved.

4.2

RECOMMENDED READINGS

KATHY SCHWALBE, INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT, THOMSON TECHNOLOGY, 2006.

1. Jeffrey Pinto, Project Management Achieving Competitive Advantage and MS
Project Pearson Education, 2007
2. Damuel J. Mantel Jr., Jak R. Meredith Project Management in Practice, Wiley 2005
3. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 2000, Project Management
Institute, Upper Darby, PA.
4. Kathy Schwalbe, Information Technology Project management, Fourth Edition,
Thomson technology, 2006.
5. Sebastian Nokes, Ian Major, Alan Greenwood, and Mark Goodman, The Definitive
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Guide to Project Management, Pearson Education, 2003.

6. Lock, D, Project Management, 6th Ed, 1996, Gower Publishing, Aldershot or Gray, CF
& Larsen, EW, Project Management, 2000, McGraw Hill, Singapore.
7. Scott Berkun, The Art of Project Management, O'Reilly, 2005.
8. Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister, Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams, 1999,
Dorset House Publishing Co.
Other additional materials if any will be announced during lectures/tutorials. Students are also
encouraged to use the library catalogue and databases to locate additional readings.
All of the recommended readings above are available at the UOWD Library located on the
first floor in Block 14.

5 ASSESSMENT
5.1

5.2

ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING OUTCOMES

Learning Outcome

Measures (Elements of Assessment)

Project/ Presentation/Final Exam

Project/ Final Exam

Project/Final Exam

Project

Project

Project/ Final Exam

Project

Project

Project/ Presentation

10

Project

ASSESSMENT TASKS

Assessment Task:

Group Presentation (Assessed Individually)

Type:
Description:

Case Analysis; Individual Assessment

Presentation and seminar paper

Learning Outcome Measured:

1&9

Total Marks:

20

Weighting:

20%

Due Date:

As scheduled in class: weeks 9, 10, 11.

Word Length (if applicable):

1000 - 1500

Hand in to:

Lecturer

TurnItIn submission required

by:

Close of business, due date of assessment.

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OUTLINE AND REQUIREMENTS

To enhance lectures, students will prepare a seminar paper and presentation (group of 3)
on a real case study. The seminar will help the student to analyze the application/ practice
of various tools/methodologies/processes related to project management issues in real life.
Students need to analyze the selected case thoroughly and provide the following key
issues in both their presentation and their one - two pages summary:
1. A short summary about the case
2. Major issues discussed in the case that are related to project management
3. The solution provided in the case. Note: if solutions are not provided then make
your own recommendations
4. Key lessons learned

Students can either get their own case or use the following links for case resources:
http://www.pmi.org/Business-Solutions/OPM3-Case-Study-Library.aspx
http://learninglegacy.independent.gov.uk/themes/programme-organisation-and-projectmanagement/case-studies.php

Content & Analysis 25%

Research (literature review, critique and gap analysis) 25%

Presentation 50%
Assessment Task:

Project

Type:

Group

Learning Outcome Measured: All of them

Total Marks:

20

Weighting:

35%; comprising:
5% Project Charter (1st Report, due week 5),
10% Updated Charter and Planning
Documentation (2nd Report, due week 8),
20% Final Documentation (updated, and
including Cost, Risk and Quality Assessments)
(3rd Report, due week 13).

Date, Time and Location:

Week 4 (1st), Week 9 (2nd), Week 13 (3rd)

OUTLINE AND REQUIREMENTS

Groups of 3 students are to be formed during week 1. Each group needs to present a
proposal of a project, related to real life situation, to the lecturer on week 3. An example of
a project could be construction of building, opening a sales outlet, developing a product/
service, etc.
In the assignment the group would study the selected project to develop the project scope
and plan, identify tasks and develop the project schedule, estimate resource requirement
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and costs, assess related risk, identify mechanisms to ensure project quality and
monitoring. This would require the students to collect information from real life contexts and
apply in the selected project. Students should undertake some form of primary data
collection (e.g. surveys or interviews) to gather information about the project. Secondary
sources (including industry publications) should also be used. The outcome of the
assignment will be a project document covering various aspects of project management
that needs to be considered so as to deliver the outcome desired in the project.
Note: Each member of the group should show his individual contribution in the
report (More clarifications will be given inside the class)

MARKING CRITERIA
Presentation and Report for each submission:
Content and Structure (charter, project plan, task schedule, resource estimation, etc.)
50%
Application of relevant concepts & tools 30%
Extent of research/information search 20%

Assessment Task:

Final Exam

Learning Outcome Measured: 1,2,3 &6

Total Marks:

100

Weighting:

45%
To be held during the official examination period.

Date:

Please refer to the Exam Timetable available on the

Student Online Resources website
(http://my.uowdubai.ac.ae) closer to the exam period.

5.3

GRADES AWARDED

The approved grades of performance and associated ranges of marks for postgraduate subjects
are:
85 100%
High Distinction (HD)
75 84%
Distinction (D)
65 74%
Credit (C)
50 64%
Pass (P)
0 49%
Fail (F)
Technical Fail (TF)
- Not meeting the final exam passing requirements

5.4

SATISFACTORY COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS

In order to gain a grade of Pass (P) or better in this subject, students must pass the Final
Examination with a mark of at least 40%. This is irrespective of a student's other marks
during the session. Students who obtain a composite mark of greater than 50% but do not
satisfy the Final Examination pass requirements will be awarded a Technical Fail (i.e. 49%).
Students must reasonably complete all assessment tasks (other than the Final Examination,
which requires a mark of 40% of above) and submit these by the final week of session or by
the Final Examination date (whichever is earlier) in order to pass the subject. Reasonable
completion of an assessment task will be determined based on the instructions given to the
student including: word length, demonstration of research and analysis where required, the
Plagiarism Policy, and completion of each section/component of the assessment. Failure to
reasonably complete any assessment tasks to the standard specified above may result in a
Fail grade awarded for the subject.

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6 RELEVANT POLICIES AND DOCUMENTS

All students must read and be familiar with the following UOWD policies and documents,
which are available on the Student Online Resources (http://my.uowdubai.ac.ae) website by
following the Policies link:
Academic Grievance Students
Assessment Policy
Code of Conduct Library Users
Code of Practice Students
Copyright Policy
Information Literacies Rule
Library Regulations
Music, Video and Software Piracy
Plagiarism Policy
Plagiarism Acknowledgement Practice
Rules Campus Access and Order
Rules for Student Conduct and Discipline
Rules for use of ITTS Facilities
Special Consideration Policy
Tertiary Literacies

7 SASS
Student Academic Support Services (SASS) is a program committed to assisting students
in developing their academic skills and getting the most out of their studies. As part of their
services, SASS provides Peer Tutoring Program and Academic Workshops.
For further information contact, please contact:
SASS Admin Assistant
Room 019, Block 5.
Sass@uowdubai.ac.ae
Ph: + 971 4 390 060

8 PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is a serious offense that can lead to expulsion from the university. Students must
be familiar with the Plagiarism policy which outlines the procedure that will be followed in case
of plagiarism. For more information please refer to the Plagiarism policy available on the
Student Online Resources website (http://my.uowdubai.ac.ae follow the Policies link).

8.1

TURNITIN

In addition to a hard copy, students are required to submit all written assignments in soft
copy through the TurnItIn system which is available online at www.turnitin.com. Every student
must have a TurnItIn account. Failure to submit an assignment through TurnItIn will result in
marks for that assignment being withheld. Students do NOT need to hand in a printed
copy of the TurnItIn Originality Report! More information about TurnItIn (including how to
create an account and add a class) will be provided in the first lecture. Students can
download Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about TurnItIn from the SASS section of the
website (http://www.uowdubai.ac.ae/ss).

TurnItIn information required to add this subject:

Class ID:

8662752

Password: project
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8.2

REFERENCING & IN-TEXT CITATION & UOWD RULES & POLICIES

For information about Referencing and In-Text Citation, as well as a guide to some of the
UOWD Rules and Policies, please go to the Student Online Resources website
(http://my.uowdubai.ac.ae) and click on the POLICIES link. You will find the required
information under the letter S for Subject Outline Information.

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