Faculty of Science

Week 9
ITECH
3203-7203
Professionalism
& Project
Professional
Development
Management
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ITECH 3203-7203 PD

Assignment 2

Faculty of Science

Assignment 2 must be completed by week 11

You must attend the appropriate tutorial session in week
11 to make your presentation with your group
If you are not yet in a group please let me know
immediately
You must contribute to the groups work to get a good
mark for this assignment

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Course Objectives

Faculty of Science

This topic relates to the following course objectives:

understand the nexus between business knowledge
and IT professional practice at operational and
strategic levels within a global context
be able to develop and apply common business skills
in an IT context

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Your Reading & Research

Faculty of Science

Required reading
McDermid, 2008, Ch 11,
pp. 277-285
Thompson, 2005
Hiner, 2012
Murch, 2000
PMI, 2011

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McDermid Ch 11

Summary

Faculty of Science

IT Profession
IT Careers
Project management recap
The project manager

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McDermid Ch 11

Faculty of Science

IT Profession and Careers

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McDermid Ch 11

IT Profession

Faculty of Science

Characteristics of a Professional
What is a profession?
occupation which requires special knowledge and skills,
usually obtained through a formal education process,
and which provides service to the community (McDermid,
2008, p.278)

Who is a professional?
provides a services in exchange for payment in
accordance with established protocols for licensing,
ethics, procedures, standards of service and
training/certification (McDermid, 2008, p.279)
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McDermid Ch 11

IT Profession

Faculty of Science

continued
established professions have an infrastructure that
define membership requirements
characteristics include (Ford & Biggs, 1996)

core body of knowledge

accreditation
skills development
certification
licensing
professional society

code of ethics
professional development
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McDermid Ch 11

Faculty of Science

Is IT a profession?
licensingx
professional society
code of ethics
professional development

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McDermid Ch 11

IT Profession

Faculty of Science

continued
Vision of the Profession
facilitates exploitation of IT resource
part of business
includes non-technical skills
greater responsibility
attracts wider participation e.g. women
(Thompson, 2005)

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McDermid Ch 11

Professional Relationships

Faculty of Science

A professional needs to foster relationships with many

other people (both professional and non-professional)
Professional Employer
Professional Client
Professional User
Professional Supplier
Professional other professionals
Professional - Society
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McDermid Ch 11

Professional - Employer

Faculty of Science

Professional have an agreement with the employer at the

beginning of employment
Salary, working conditions.
However, they also have a responsibility to the profession
What happens when the expectations of the employer
conflict with the requirements of the profession?
Areas such as piracy and trade secrets might be relevant

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McDermid Ch 11

Professional - Client

Faculty of Science

Professional works together with client

Client makes decisions but is guided by the professional
Professional should work in the best interests of the client
However, must not contradict the ethical considerations of
the profession

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McDermid Ch 11

Professional - User

Faculty of Science

Relationship with end-user (not necessarily the client)

System should be developed with the user in mind
User friendly
Accurate
Increase productivity
Should be designed so as not to promote unethical
behaviour by users
Eg software piracy
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McDermid Ch 11

Professional Supplier

Faculty of Science

Need good relations in a changing environment

Emphasis on fairness
Not attempting to force down prices by unethical means

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McDermid Ch 11

Professional - Professional

Faculty of Science

Loyalty to fellow professionals

Ensure fellow professionals behave ethically
Otherwise it reflects badly on the profession
Professionals sometimes mentor other professionals
Novices in the field
Ensure you present a fair summary of skills at job
interviews
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McDermid Ch 11

Professional - Society

Faculty of Science

Have a responsibility to ensure products of high quality

Foresee problems (that might not be clear to others)
Belong to a professional organisation

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McDermid Ch 11

How to approach your

profession?

Faculty of Science

Jack of all trades?

Become competent in a wide range of skills
Specialise?
Become expert in one particular skill
A niche area that is highly sought after
Still need to be competent in other areas

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McDermid Ch 11

IT Careers

Faculty of Science

Mobile application development (PHP, Python & Ruby)

Database administrator
Software engineer
Video game designer
Network administrator
IT Security specialist
Computer systems analyst
Web developer
Health information technician
Technology management

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McDermid Ch 11

Hot IT skills for future...

Faculty of Science

Programming & application development

Project management
Help desk & technical support
Security
Business intelligence
Cloud & SaaS
Virtualization
Networking
Mobile applications & device management
Data centre
(Pratt, 2012)

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McDermid Ch 11

Faculty of Science

Skills inventory assessment

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2007/jan/08soft.htm

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McDermid Ch 11

How to get that job

Faculty of Science

Develop a resume (curriculum vitae)

What should go on a resume?

Apply for positions that might provide challenges in the

area that youre interested in
Where might you look for such positions?

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McDermid Ch 11

IT Career

Faculty of Science

continued
IT Professional Resume Guide

(Hiner, 2012)

list accomplishments not responsibilities

hone job objective statement
keep it short
proofread
remove useless words
dont over format
dont misrepresent your skills
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McDermid Ch 11

Faculty of Science

How to make your resume more

effective

http://www.itbusinessedge.com/slideshows/how-to
-make-your-resume-more-effective.html

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McDermid Ch 11

Faculty of Science

Resume review

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McDermid Ch 11

IT Career

Faculty of Science

continued

Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA )

SFIA is a system for IT Professionals to match the
skills of the workforce to requirements of the business
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skills_Framework_for_the_Information_Age)

logical two-dimensional skills framework defined by

areas of work on one axis and levels of responsibility
on the other

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McDermid Ch 11

SFIA continued

Faculty of Science

90 skills are organised into six categories:

strategy & architecture
business change
solution development & implementation
service management
procurement & management support
client interface

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McDermid Ch 11

Seven levels of responsibility

Faculty of Science

7 set strategy, inspire, mobilise

6 initiate/influence
5 ensure/advise
4 enable
3 apply
2 assist
1 follow

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McDermid Ch 11

SFIA A3 chart

Faculty of Science

https://www.sfia-online.org/files/7113/5264/4479/A3chart_SFIA_5_en.pdf

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McDermid Ch 11

IT Career

Faculty of Science

continued
Using LinkedIn (Wolff, 2012)
your LinkedIn profile should complement your
resume, not mirror it
create a strong profile that provides more depth about
your unique skills and experiences to reach a broader
audience
if both of these are the same, you lose your ability to
communicate your unique selling proposition (USP)

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McDermid Ch 11

IT Career

Faculty of Science

continued
Using Social Networking continued
a resume is outbound career marketing, LinkedIn is
inbound marketingattracting employers to you
to optimise LinkedIn

importance of summary section

emphasise your value add
include a professional highlights section
follow companies youd like to target as employers

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McDermid Ch 11

IT Career

Faculty of Science

continued
Using Social Networking continued
LinkedIn connections (Burnham, 2012)
Nicole Williams LinkedIn Connection Director says
> "LinkedIn is about relationships that reflect who you are as
a professional
> "You have to be discerning about who's in your Rolodex.
You should be able to call any one of them for an
opportunity, ask them legitimate career questions, and
have some semblance of a relationship with them

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McDermid Ch 11

Faculty of Science

Project Management Career

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McDermid Ch 11

Project Management

Faculty of Science

Recap

the application of knowledge, skills, and techniques to

execute projects effectively and efficiently (PMI, 2012)
processes fall into five groups
initiating
planning
executing
monitoring and controlling
closing

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McDermid Ch 11

Project Management

Faculty of Science

Recap

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McDermid Ch 11

The Project Manager

Faculty of Science

What is a Project Manager?

the person responsible for working with the project
sponsor, the project team, and the other people
involved in a project to meet project goals (Schwalbe, 2010)
the person responsible for leading a project from its
inception to execution. This includes planning,
execution and managing the people, resources and
scope of the project (Janssen, 2010)

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McDermid Ch 11

The Project Manager

Faculty of Science

continued
Role of a Project Manager
knowledge
refers to what the PM knows about project management

performance
what the PM is able to do or accomplish while applying their
project management knowledge

personal
how the PM behaves when performing project activity, their
personal effectiveness (PMI, 2008, p.13)

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McDermid Ch 11

Project Managers Job

Description

baseline plan
contracts
integrate & coordinate
issue instructions
convene meetings
procurement
resources
lead the team

Faculty of Science

manage stakeholders
manage expeditor
control progress
NCRs
quality
scope changes
invoice
reports
alert

(Burke & Barron, 2007)

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McDermid Ch 11

ITECH 3203-7203 PD
(Burke & Barron, 2007, p.25)

McDermid Ch 11

The Project Manager

Faculty of Science

continued
Ethical Considerations
Ethical frameworks (Cadle & Yates, 2008)
unquestionable rights and wrongs
consequences

PMI code of ethics

responsibility
respect
fairness
honesty (PMI, 2012)

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McDermid Ch 11

The Project Manager

Faculty of Science

continued
Trends in Project Management Jobs
matured profession with distinct career
high demand due macro-economic factors
trends

rapid growth
globalisation e.g. off-shoring
fast development e.g. agile
talent development
certification (Larson, 2012)

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McDermid Ch 11

Certifications

Faculty of Science

Why get Certified?

flexibility
keep up-to-date
encourage professional growth
help you get ahead
world renowned

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McDermid Ch 11

Certifications

Faculty of Science

continued
Types of Certifications
http://www.pmi.org/Certification/Which-PMI-Certification-is-Right
-for-You.aspx
http://www.aipm.com.au/3G/R/regpm.aspx
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Program Management Professional (PgMP)
PMI Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP)SM
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)
PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)
PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)
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McDermid Ch 11

Faculty of Science

Is a Project Management Career for you?

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/take-a-quick-test-todetermine-if-youre-a-strong-project-manager/1053160

A list of about 10 true or false statements. For example,

You dont plan well because you consider yourself
a doer rather than a planner

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McDermid Ch 11

Summary

Faculty of Science

A profession requires special knowledge, and skills obtained

through formal education. A professional provides services for
payment in accordance with protocols, licensing, ethics,
procedures, standards and training
IT jobs and skills for the future lie in online mobile application
development, security and cloud computing
Keep your resume simple and provide a unique review of you
and your accomplishments. Categorise using SFIA. Add value
with your social networking profiles

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McDermid Ch 11

Summary

Faculty of Science

continued...
Project management application of knowledge, skills &
techniques to execute projects using 5 process groups
Project manager's skills can be divided into technical
management, project management, project leadership, and
project entrepreneur
Project managers are guided by the PMIs code of ethics which
includes the values of responsibility, respect, fairness, and
honesty
Certification provides flexibility, up-to-date skills, professional
growth, >$, and world recognised
ITECH 3203-7203 PD

McDermid Ch 11

References

Faculty of Science

Burke, R. & Barron, S. (2007). Project management leadership. Everbest, China: Burke

Burnham, K. (2012). LinkedIn connections: When to accept or reject. Retrieved October 6, 2012,
from
http://blogs.cio.com/linkedin/17323/linkedin-connections-when-accept-or-reject?source=CIONLE
_nlt_blogsd_2012-08-21

Cadle, J., & Yeates, D. (2008). Project management for information systems (5th ed.). Harlow,
England: Pearson

ITCareerFinder Inc. (2012). Best computer jobs for the future. Retrieved October 6, 2012, from
http://www.itcareerfinder.com/brain-food/blog/entry/best-computer-jobs-for-the-future.html

Larson, M. (2011). Five trends in project management jobs. Retrieved October 6, 2012, from
http://www.recruiter.com/i/project-management-jobs/

Murch, R. (2000). Project management: Best practices for IT professionals. Upper Saddle River:
Prentice Hall.

Hiner, J. (2011). IT professionals resume makeover guide. Retrieved October 6, 2012, from
http://www.techrepublic.com/downloads/it-professionals-resume-makeover-guide/3499799/post?
promo=107&tag=nl.e107

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McDermid Ch 11

References

Faculty of Science

continued...

Pratt, M. (2012). 10 hot IT skills for 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2012, from
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9231486/10_hot_IT_skills_for_2013?
taxonomyId=14&pageNumber=1

Project Management Institute. (2008). A guide to the project management body of knowledge
(PMBOK guide) (4th ed.). Penn., USA: PMI

Project Management Institute. (2012). What is project management? Retrieved October 6, 2012,
from http://www.pmi.org/About-Us/About-Us-What-is-Project-Management.aspx

Project Management Institute. (2013). Why choose a PMI certification? Retrieved September 14,
2013, from http://www.pmi.org/Certification/Why-Choose-a-PMI-Certification.aspx

Thompson, C. (2005). What is an IT professional? ITNOW, 47(3), 8-9.

Wolff, T. (2012). Your resume vs. your LinkedIn profile. Retrieved October 6, from
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/career/your-resume-vs-your-linkedin-profile/4603?
tag=nl.e124&s_cid=e124

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McDermid Ch 11

Next Week

Faculty of Science

Topic:

Leadership, Management and

Change

Reading:

Goleman, 1998
Kotter, 2008

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McDermid Ch 11