ISAM 5637INFORMATION SYSTEMS PROJECT MANAGEMENT SPRING 2009
PREREQUISITE:ISAM 5635 or Equivalent
CLASSROOM & TIME:SSB3305; Wednesday, 7:00 PM – 9:50 PM
INSTRUCTOR:Mohammad A. Rob, Ph.D.
Office:SSB Suite 3-202-9 Voice: (281) 283-3191 E-mail:
Web site:
Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM; Walk-ins and appointment.
COURSE MATERIALS:Required Text: Information technology Project Management, Fourth/Fifth Edition, Author: Kathy Schwalbe, Publisher: Course Technology.
Reference Book:Software Project Management: AUnified Framework, Walker Royce, Addison-Wesley; ISBN: 0-201-30958-0, ISBN: 0-619-21750-2.
Reference Book:Readings in Information technology Project Management, Richardson and Butler, Thompson Publishing, ISBN: 0-619-21750-2.
Required Software: Microsoft Project.
Instructor Material: Class notes available in the instructor's Web site.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:To acquaint students with the project management techniques and their application to the software project management such as software development plan, its associated tasks, cost estimation, task scheduling, milestones and deliverables.
To acquaint students with the tools and techniques for the task scheduling, cost estimation, and tracking.
To prepare students for future careers in IT project management.
COURSE ACTIVITIES:The course will contain lectures, two research paper, tests, discussions, group projects, presentations, and documentation. The test will be a combination of multiple choice and short answers.
GROUP PROJECT:Students will work in groups (4-5 students per group) to manage an information systems development project. They will implement an SDLC methodology to develop the system. Each group will identify its own project and discuss with the instructor before finalizing the project. Each group will be divided into two sub-groups: management and execution. One sub-group will be responsible for the overall management of the project (development of a project plan as well as executing the plan). The personnel of this sub-group contain a project manager and a systems analyst.The other sub-group will be responsible for the execution of the project planthrough system-related documents (analysis, design, coding, testing, etc.) and implementing the system using Access, VB, C#, ASP.NET, etc. The personnel of this group contain programmers, testers, etc.
The group as a whole will decide, after discussion among themselves and knowing the background and leadership quality of each, who will act in various roles. While the execution sub-group will be responsible for actual work, the management sub-group will be responsible for developing project plan, hold meetings, monitor the progress of the project, and produce reports. However, until the planning, analysis, and design phases of the system development life cycle are completed, all members must participate in developing system-related documents (use case, DFD, ERD, forms, reports, etc.) as assigned by the project manager.
The group members may interchange their roles during the middle of the semester;however, if they can work coherently, there will not be any need of changes. It is expected that the group will act responsibly without the intervention of the instructor; however, any significant complexity in assigning and following roles should be brought to instructor’s attention.
DOCUMENTATION:Each group will be responsible for producing all necessary documentation during the life of the project. These documentation needs to be organized and submitted in a binder titled, “Project Management Document” at the end of the semester. Students are required to use Microsoft Project. See attached list for the required documentation for this binder.
GROUP PRESENTATION:Each project-group will make four presentations on their project during the semester. The presentations will be on: (i) The Project charter, (ii) Project Plan and (iii) Progress report, and (iv) Final report. Refer to the schedule on the web site. Each student must participate in the presentation and there will be discussion on the presented materials.
WRITING/DISCUSSION/ATTENDANCE:
Students are expected to be present in class and participate in writing on topics discussed in previous class periods. The writings will be discussed in class and may be collected for grading.
RESEARCH PAPER:Each student is required to write a research paper on a topic closely related to the text material but is not covered in detail in class. Straight copying from the Web is not allowed. Students should consult texts, journals, and trade magazines to write the paper in a scientific format and in student's own language.
WEB SITE:Students will post all documents and presentation in a web site. Each student-group will get a folder in the web server to store all documents in an organized way. Refer to previous years’ web site and documentations.
GRADING POLICY:
Two Tests (averaged)40%
Group Project Documentation20%
Group Presentation10%
Homework10%
Research Paper10%
Writing/Attendance5%
Web Site5%
______
Total100%
GRADES:A–=90 – 93,A=94 – 100,
B–=80 – 83,B=84 – 86,B+=87 – 89,
C–=70 – 73,C=74 – 76, C+=77 – 79,
D–=60 – 63,D=64 – 66,D+=67 – 69,
F=59 and below
OTHER INFORMATION:
- Class attendance: Regular class attendance is expected (Rolls may be called).
- Missing Tests and Laboratories: Missing tests and laboratories will be counted as zero. Make-up of missing tests and any late submission of laboratory materials will be acceptable only under extreme emergencies.
- Academic Honesty: The Honesty Code is the university community’s standard of honesty and is endorsed by all members of the University of Houston-Clear Lake academic community. It is an essential element of the University’s academic credibility. It states: I will be honest in all my academic activities and will not tolerate dishonesty.
Academic honesty is the cornerstone of the academic integrity of the university. It is the foundation upon which the student builds personal integrity and establishes a standard of personal behavior. Because honesty and integrity are such important factors in the professional environment, you should be aware that failure to perform within the bounds of theses ethical standards is sufficient grounds to receive a grade of “F” in this course and be recommended for suspension from UHCL. For further information, refer to the University of Houston-Clear Lake catalog.
- Special Academic Accommodations: Any individual with a disability who requires special accommodation should inform the professor and contact Disability Services Office, Room 1402, or call (281) 283-2627.
- Incomplete Grade: A grade of “I” (Incomplete) will be administered only under extreme, verifiable emergency” situation where the student in unable to complete some minor portion of the course work due to circumstance beyond his/her control provided the student is passing the course.
- LAST DAY TO DROP A COURSE OR WITHDRAW FROM THE SEMESTER WITHOUT PENALTY IS MARCH 30, 2009.
TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE (Subject to change if deemed necessary)
Date/Year 2009 / Lecture Schedule / Important DatesJanuary 21 / Syllabus review and Introduction / Formation of Project Groups (4-5 students)
January 28 / Chapter1: Introduction to Project Management / Identify the IT Project
First Research Paper Due
February 4 / Chapter2: The Project Management and Information Technology Context / Group Presentation-I Begins: Project Charter
Homework: Chapter 1 Discussion Questions - All
February 11 / Chapter 3: The Project Management Process Groups
Appendix-A: Guide to using Microsoft Project 2000 / Homework: Chapter 2 Discussion Questions – All
Second Research Paper Due
February 18 / Chapter 4: Project Integration Management / Homework: Chapter 3 Discussion Questions - All
February 25 / Chapter 5: Project Scope Management / Group Presentation-II Begins: Project Plan
Homework: Chapter 4 Discussion Questions - All
March 4 / Chapter 6: Project Time Management / Homework: Chapter 5 Discussion Questions – All
Third Research Paper Due
March 11 / Test Day – No lecture / Test-I: Chapters 1 - 6
March 18 / Spring Holiday
March 25 / Chapter 7: Project Cost Management / Group Presentation-III Begins: Progress Report
Homework: Chapter 6 Discussion Questions - All
April 1 / Chapter 8: Project Quality Management / Fourth Research Paper Due
Homework: Chapter 7 Discussion Questions - All
April 8 / Chapter 9: Project Human Resources Management / Homework: Chapter 8 Discussion Questions - All
April 15 / Chapter 10: Project Communication Management / Homework: Chapter 9 Discussion Questions - All
April 22 / Chapter 11: Project Risk management / Group Presentation-IV Begins: Final Report
Homework: Chapter 10 Discussion Questions - All
April 29 / Chapter 12: Project Procurement Management
Appendix-B: PMP Exam and Related Certifications / Submit Final Project Document
May 6 / Test Day – No lecture / Test-II: Chapters 7 – 11
Outline of Project Documentation
The project documentation contains a project title, a table of content, the following documentation, along with an appendix. The appendix is described below. Also shown below are the documents that need to be covered in each presentation.
Project Management
Process / Documentation / Presentation / TimeInitiating /
- Project Charter
Planning /
- Scope Statement
- Work Breakdown Structure
- Project Organization Structure
- Responsibility Assignment Matrix
- Activity Sequencing – PERT Diagram
- Activity Duration – Gantt Chart
- Schedule – Gantt Chart
- Resource Listing
- Cost Estimation
- Cost Budgeting
Executing /
- Steps of Quality Assurance/Improvement
- Bi-Monthly Reports (progress on the project)
Controlling /
- Report any changes to project scope, schedule, cost, quality, people
- Make adjustments to schedule – Gantt Chart Update
Closing /
- Final report on the project (Success, failure, lesson learned)
Appendix A: System-Related Document
This will contain documents created by the analysts and programmers in planning analyzing, designing, coding, and testing of the system. It should contain interview documents, any work samples, data-flow diagrams, forms and reports design, database design, and test plan. Also shown below are the documents that need to be covered in each presentation.
Phase / Documentation / Presentation / TimePlanning /
- System Request
Analysis /
- Feasibility Analysis
- Requirements Documents
- Use-Case diagrams
- Data-Flow Diagrams
- Entity-Relationship Diagrams
Design /
- Forms
- Reports
- Programs
- Database
- Network
Implementation /
- Test Scenarios
- Test Results
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