FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

School of Information Technologies

INFO3402: MANAGEMENT OF IT PROJECTS AND SYSTEMS
Semester 1, 2014 | 6 Credit Points | Mode: Normal-Day
Sessions Valid: Semester 1
Coordinator(s): Christina Kirsch
WARNING: This unit version is currently under review and is subject to change!
1. INTRODUCTION
This course introduces the basic processes and techniques for managing IT projects, systems and services,
throughout the IT lifecycle. It addresses both the technical and behavioural aspects of IT management at the
enterprise level. Major topics include: IT planning, project planning and scheduling, project tracking, resource
estimation, team management, software testing, change and problem management, and quality assurance.
2. LEARNING OUTCOMES
Learning outcomes are the key abilities and knowledge that will be assessed in this unit. See assessment
summary table below for details of which outcomes are assessed where. Outcomes are listed according to the
course goals that they support.
Project Management and Team Skills (Level 3)
1. Becoming familiar with the PMBOK framework devised by Project Management Institute (PMI)
2. Hearing about, and reflecting on, the experiences of practitioners managing a range of projects
3. Acquiring skill with a range of tools and techniques useful for the management of projects and
undertaking exercises requiring the application of these tools
4. Working with a range of case studies illustrating good and bad practice in IT project management
For further details of course goals related to these learning outcomes, see online unit outline at
http://cusp.eng.usyd.edu.au/students/view-unit-page/alpha/INFO3402 .
3. ASSESSMENT TASKS
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
Assessment name Team-
based?
WeightDue Outcomes
Assessed
Group Assignment 1 - Project Charter and
WBS
No 10% Week 6 (Friday, 1 pm) 1, 2, 3, 4
Group Assignment 2 - Project Presentation Yes 10% Week 12 1, 2, 3, 4
Group Assignment 3 - Project Proposal Yes 20% Week 12 (Friday, 1
pm)
1, 2, 3, 4
Final Exam No 60% Exam Period 1, 2, 3, 4
ASSESSMENT DESCRIPTION
Project: Group project (project proposal for a small project)
Participation: Participation (reflection, homework, participation to class discussions)
Final Exam: Final Exam
ASSESSMENT GRADING
Final grades in this unit are awarded at levels of HD (High Distinction), D (Distinction), CR (Credit), P (Pass) and
F (Fail) as defined by University of Sydney Assessment Policy. Details of the Assessment Policy are available on
the Policies website at http://sydney.edu.au/policies . Standards for grades in individual assessment tasks and the
summative method for obtaining a final mark in the unit will be set out in a marking guide supplied by the unit
coordinator.
It is a policy of the School of Information Technologies that in order to pass this unit, a student must
achieve at least 40% in the written examination as well as in the other components of assessment
together. A student must also achieve an overall final mark of 50 or more. Any student not meeting these
requirements may be given a maximum final mark of no more than 45 regardless of their average.
INFO3402: Management of IT Projects and Systems (Semester 1, 2014)
IMPORTANT: POLICY RELATING TO ACADEMIC DISHONESTY AND PLAGIARISM.
All students must submit a cover sheet for all assessment work that declares that the work is original and not
plagiarised from the work of others.
In assessing a piece of submitted work, the School of IT may reproduce it entirely, may provide a copy to
another member of faculty, and/or to an external plagiarism checking service or in-house computer program
and may also maintain a copy of the assignment for future checking purposes and/or allow an external service
to do so.
See Policies section below for other policies relating to assessment and progression.
4. ATTRIBUTES DEVELOPED
Attributes listed here represent the course goals designated for this unit. The list below describes how these
attributes are developed through practice in the unit. See Learning Outcomes and Assessment sections above for
details of how these attributes are assessed.
Attribute Method
Engineering/IT Specialisation (Level
1)
Familiarity with PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge)
framework.
Information Seeking (Level 2) Investigation and research
Communication (Level 3) Written communication
Professional Conduct (Level 3) Exposure to experiences of industry practictioners
Project Management and Team Skills
(Level 3)
Tools and techniques used in managing teams and projects
For further details of course goals and professional attribute standards, see the online version of this outline at
http://cusp.eng.usyd.edu.au/students/view-unit-page/alpha/INFO3402 .
5. STUDY COMMITMENT
Tutorial: Tutorial
Project Work - own time: Work on Group Project
Independent Study: Homework, readings
Activity Hours per Week Sessions per Week Weeks per Semester
Lecture 2.00 1 13
Tutorial 1.00 1 13
Project Work - own time 2.00 1 3
Independent Study 6.00 13
Standard unit of study workload at this university should be from 1.5 to 2 hours per credit point which means 9-
12 hours for a normal 6 credit point unit of study. For units that are based on research or practical experience,
hours may vary. For lecture and tutorial timetable, see University timetable site at:
web.timetable.usyd.edu.au/calendar.jsp
6. TEACHING STAFF AND CONTACT DETAILS
COORDINATOR(S)
Name Room Phone Email Contact note
Ms Kirsch, Christina ckirsch@optusnet.com.a
LECTURERS
Name Room Phone Email Contact note
Ms Kirsch, Christina ckirsch@optusnet.com.a
TUTORS
Dorothy Luther
Corinne Boursault
7. RESOURCES
PRESCRIBED TEXTBOOK(S)
Schwalbe, K. (2013), Information Technology Project Management, (7th ). Cengage, 2013. 1285847091.
INFO3402: Management of IT Projects and Systems (Semester 1, 2014)
RECOMMENDED REFERENCES
Rosen, Anita, Effective IT project management. AMACOM, 2004.
Garton, Colleen, Fundamentals of technology project management. MC Press, 2004.
Schwalbe, Kathy, Information technology project management (5th). Thomson Course Technology, 2007.
Marchewka, Jack, Information Technology Project Management: Providing measurable Organizational Value.
John Wiley, 2008.
Bainey, Kenneth, Integrated IT project management: a model-centric approach. Artech House, 2004.
Phillips, Joseph, IT project management: on track from start to finish (2nd). McGraw-Hill, 2004.
Murch, Richard, Project management: best practices for IT professionals. Prentice Hall, 2001.
Brandon, Dan, Project management for modern information systems. IRM Press, 2006.
COURSE WEBSITE(S)
http://www.ug.it.usyd.edu.au/~info3402
8. ENROLMENT REQUIREMENTS
ASSUMED KNOWLEDGE
INFO (2000 or 2110 or 2810 or 2900)
PREREQUISITES
None.
9. POLICIES
IMPORTANT: School policy relating to Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism.
In assessing a piece of submitted work, the School of IT may reproduce it entirely, may provide a copy to another
member of faculty, and/or to an external plagiarism checking service or in-house computer program and may
also maintain a copy of the assignment for future checking purposes and/or allow an external service to do so.
Other policies
See the policies page of the faculty website at http://sydney.edu.au/engineering/student-policies/ for information
regarding university policies and local provisions and procedures within the Faculty of Engineering and
Information Technologies.
10. WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Note that the "Weeks" referred to in this Schedule are those of the official university semester calendar
https://web.timetable.usyd.edu.au/calendar.jsp
Week Topics/Activities
Week 1 Course overview and Introduction to Project Management.
Week 2 Project Mngmt Process, Frameworks
Week 3 Project Integration Management
Week 4 Practitioner Lecture: Project planning and estimating
Week 5 Stakeholder Engagement
Week 6 Practitioner Lecture: Project Planning and Scheduling
Assessment Due: Group Assignment 1 - Project Charter and WBS
Week 7 Public Holiday
Week 8 Public Holiday
Week 9 Issues and Risk Management
Week 10 Cost Management
Project Management and Outsourcing
Week 11 Quality Management
Test Management
Week 12 Human resource management and Project Team Management
HRM and Human Capital Strategy
INFO3402: Management of IT Projects and Systems (Semester 1, 2014)
Assessment Due: Group Assignment 2 - Project Presentation
Assessment Due: Group Assignment 3 - Project Proposal
Week 13 Project Management in the 21st Century - Managing fuzzy projects
Agile Development
Course review
STUVAC (Week
14)
N/A
Exam Period Final exam
Assessment Due: Final Exam
INFO3402: Management of IT Projects and Systems (Semester 1, 2014)