MS496 Project Management (3 CH)

Spring 2019
Pre-Requisite: None
Instructor: Mohammad Salman Khattak
Office # 7, BB, GIK Institute, Ext. 2278
Email: salmankhattak@giki.edu.pk
Office Hours: Monday 11:30am ~ 4:30 pm, Thursday 11:30 am ~ 3:30 pm, Friday 11:00am ~ 1.00 pm.

Course Introduction

This course develops the competencies and skills for planning and controlling projects and understanding interpersonal issues that drive
successful project outcomes. Focusing on the ten knowledge areas and five process groups, this course guides students through the
fundamental project management tools and behavioral skills necessary to successfully launch, lead, and realize benefits from projects.
Successful project managers possess This course will equip the students with the skills necessary to manage project teams, schedules,
risks, and resources to produce a desired outcome. Students explore project management with a practical, hands-on approach through
case studies and class exercises.
Course Contents

1. Fundamentals of Project Management; What Is a Project? The Project Life Cycle; The Project Manager, The Importance of
Project Management, Project Management Today—An Integrative Approach, Integration of Projects with Organizational
Strategy, Integration of Projects through Portfolio Management, Integration of the Process of Implementing Actual Projects.

2. Organization Strategy and Project Selection: The Strategic Management Process: An Overview; Four Activities of the
Strategic Management Process; The Need for an Effective Project Portfolio Management System; Problem 1: The
Implementation Gap, Problem 2: Organization Politics; Problem 3: Resource Conflicts and Multitasking. A Portfolio
Management System: Classification of the Project; Financial Criteria; Nonfinancial Criteria; Applying a Selection Model:
Sources and Solicitation of Project Proposals; Ranking Proposals and Selection of Projects. Managing the Portfolio System;
Balancing the Portfolio for Risks and Types of Projects.

3. Organization: Structure and Culture; Project Management Structures, Organizing Projects within the Functional
Organization; Organizing Projects as Dedicated Teams; Organizing Projects within a Matrix Arrangement; Different Matrix
Forms; What Is the Right Project Management Structure? Organization Considerations; Project Considerations; Organizational
Culture; What Is Organizational Culture? Identifying Cultural Characteristics; Implications of Organizational Culture for
Organizing Projects.

4. Defining the Project. Step 1: Defining the Project Scope; Employing a Project Scope Checklist; Step 2: Establishing Project
Priorities; Step 3: Creating the Work Breakdown Structure; Major Groupings Found in a WBS; How WBS Helps the Project
Manager; WBS Development; Step 4: Integrating the WBS with the Organization; Step 5: Coding the WBS for the Information
System; Responsibility Matrices; Project Communication Plan.

5. Estimating Project Times and Costs. Factors Influencing the Quality of Estimates; Estimating Guidelines for Times, Costs,
and Resources; Top-Down Versus Bottom-Up Estimating; Methods for Estimating Project Times and Costs; Top-Down
Approaches for Estimating Project Times and Costs; Bottom-Up Approaches for Estimating Project Times and Costs; A
Hybrid: Phase Estimating; Level of Detail; Types of Costs; Refining Estimates; Creating a Database for Estimating; Learning
Curves for Estimating.

6. Developing a Project Plan. Developing the Project Network; From Work Package to Network; Constructing a Project
Network; Terminology; Two Approaches; Basic Rules to Follow in Developing Project Networks;
Activity-on-Node (AON) Fundamentals; Network Computation Process: Forward Pass—Earliest Times, Backward Pass—
Latest Times, Determining Slack (or Float), Free Slack (Float)
Using the Forward and Backward Pass Information; Level of Detail for Activities; Practical Considerations: Network Logic
Errors, Activity Numbering, Use of Computers to Develop Networks, Calendar Dates, Multiple Starts and Multiple Projects
 Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality: Laddering, Use of Lags, An Example Using Lag Relationships—The
Forward and Backward Pass, Hammock Activities; Activity-on-Arrow Method

7. Managing Risk. Risk Management Process; Step 1: Risk Identification; Step 2: Risk Assessment: Probability Analysis; Step 3:
Risk Response Development: Mitigating Risk, Avoiding Risk, Transferring Risk, Retaining Risk.
Contingency Planning: Technical Risks, Schedule Risks, Cost Risks, Funding Risks.
Opportunity Management; Contingency Funding and Time Buffers: Budget Reserves, Management Reserves, Time Buffers.
Step 4: Risk Response Control; Change Control Management; PERT and PERT Simulation

8. Scheduling Resources and Costs. Overview of the Resource Scheduling Problem; Types of Resource Constraints;
Classification of a Scheduling Problem; Resource Allocation Methods: Assumptions, Time-Constrained Project: Smoothing
Resource Demand, Resource-Constrained Projects.
Computer Demonstration of Resource-Constrained Scheduling :The Impacts of Resource-Constrained Scheduling
Splitting Activities, Benefits of Scheduling Resources; Assigning Project Work; Multi-project Resource Schedules;
Using the Resource Schedule to Develop a Project Cost Baseline: Why a Time-Phased Budget Baseline Is Needed, Creating a
Time-Phased Budget. The Critical-Chain Approach.

9. Reducing Project Duration. Rationale for Reducing Project Duration, Options for Accelerating Project Completion: Options
When Resources Are Not Constrained, Options When Resources Are Constrained
Project Cost–Duration Graph: Explanation of Project Costs; Constructing a Project Cost–Duration Graph: Determining the
Activities to Shorten, A Simplified Example
Practical Considerations: Using the Project Cost–Duration Graph, Crash Times, Linearity Assumption, Choice of Activities to
Crash Revisited, Time Reduction Decisions and Sensitivity.
What if Cost, Not Time, Is the Issue?

10. Leadership: Being an Effective Project Manager. Managing versus Leading a Project; Managing Project Stakeholders;
Influence as Exchange: Task-Related Currencies, Position-Related Currencies, Inspiration-Related Currencies, Relationship-
Related Currencies, Personal-Related Currencies.
Social Network Building: Mapping Dependencies, Management by Wandering Around (MBWA), Managing Upward
Relations, Leading by Example
Ethics and Project Management; Building Trust: The Key to Exercising; Influence; Qualities of an Effective Project Manager.

11. Managing Project Teams. The Five-Stage Team Development Model, Situational Factors Affecting Team Development;
Building High-Performance Project Teams: Recruiting Project Members, Conducting Project Meetings, Establishing a Team
Identity, Creating a Shared Vision, Managing Project Reward Systems, Orchestrating the Decision-Making Process, Managing
Conflict within the Project, Rejuvenating the Project Team.
Managing Virtual Project Teams; Project Team Pitfalls: Groupthink, Bureaucratic Bypass Syndrome, Team Spirit Becomes
Team Infatuation, Going Native.

12. Progress and Performance Measurement and Evaluation. Structure of a Project Monitoring Information
System; The Project Control Process; Monitoring Time Performance; Development of an Earned Value Cost/Schedule System:
What Costs Are Included in Baselines? Methods of Variance Analysis.
Developing a Status Report: A Hypothetical Example: Assumptions, Baseline Development, Development of the Status Report.
Indexes to Monitor Progress: Performance Indexes, Project Percent Complete Index, Technical Performance Measurement,
Software for Project Cost/Schedule Systems, Additional Earned Value Rules.
Forecasting Final Project Cost; Other Control Issues: Scope Creep, Baseline Changes, The Costs and Problems of Data
Acquisition. Obtaining Project Performance Information from MS Project

Mapping of CLOs and PLOs

Sr. No Course Learning Outcomes PLOs Blooms Taxonomy

CLO_1 Be able to quantitatively analyze projects. PLO11 C4

 Be able to make work breakdown structure and
CLO_2 networking diagrams. Also, be able to allocate cost to PLO11 C3
the activities on the network
CLO_3 Be able to integrate Project Management concepts PLO11 C3
Be able to understand issues in real world projects.
CLO_4 PLO11 C2
Also, be able to build and manage project teams.

CLO Assessment Mechanism

Assessment tools CLO_1 CLO_2 CLO_3 CLO_4
Quizzes 30% 20% 10% 10%
Assignments 5% 20% 10% 10%
Midterm Exam 30% 30% 10% 20%
Final Exam 30% 30% 20% 10%
Overall Grading Policy
Assessment Items Percentage
Un-announced Quizzes 10%
Assignments 10%
Projects 20%
Midterm Exam 25%
Final Exam 35%
Text and Reference Books
Text books:
 Project management: the managerial process / Erik W. Larson, Clifford F. Gray. —5th ed.
Reference books:
 Project management by Dennis Lock. -- 9th ed.
 Articles from: The Economist, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times and Washington Post.

Administrative Instruction

 For queries, kindly follow the office hours in order to avoid any inconvenience.
 According to institute policy, 80% attendance is mandatory to appear in the final examination.
 Assignments must be submitted as per instructions mentioned in the assignments.
 In any case, there will be no retake of (scheduled/surprise) quizzes.

Computer Usage
 Students are encouraged to solve some assigned homework problems using available software.
Lecture Breakdown
 Week 01. Introduction to Modern Project Management Concepts.
 Week 02. Introduction to Corporate Strategy and its role in project selection
 Week 03. Organization and culture of Project Management Offices and teams.
 Week 04. Defining a project; its scope; preparing Work Breakdown structure
 Week 04. Using Work Breakdown structure in project development and layout.
 Week 05. Guidelines for Cost and time estimates
 Week 06. Approaches for estimating project times and costs
 Week 08. Phase estimating, level of details, types of costs; refining cost estimates..
 Week 09. Developing and constructing a project network.
 Week 10. Activity on node fundamentals, Network computation processes
 Week 11. Practical considerations, Network logic error; Extended Network techniques to come closer to reality
 Week 12.Risk Management process and the steps involved. Contingency planning.
 Week 13. Scheduling resources and costs. Reducing Project duration.
 Week 14. Leadership. Managing project stakeholders. Influencing by using project related currencies.
 Week 15. Social Network Building; Building trust; qualities of effective project manager.
 Week 16. Managing project teams. Managing conflict within the project.