Teaching Project Management
This document consists of 4 parts:
1 Introduction to learning objects on project management resources
2 Resources on project management
3 Notes for tutors teaching project management
4 Assessing project work
1 Introduction to learning objects on project management
Project management is used increasingly in the information and library sector (ILS) as an effective approach for: developing new initiatives to improve service delivery; achieving goals within a framework of public sector management; managing change within information related organizations.
These learning objects have been developed as an ILS commissioned project for the Higher Education Agency. They provide concise introductions to project management set within the context of the information and library sector. Their purpose is not to replicate the wide range of literature and web resources on project management, but to provide useful content and case studies suitable for use with students on ILS professional educational courses. These resources can also be used for staff training within ILS organizations and can be adapted by trainers and educators to fit the user group.
The learning objects have been created by Barbara Chivers, an independent writer and formerly a Senior Lecturer and MSc Tutor on ILS courses at Birmingham City University previously UCE Birmingham. The case studies have been created from information provided by ILS professionals, based on projects in a range of organizations. These case studies can be used by tutors to stimulate ideas and activities for discussion and learning.
These learning objects consist of 3 Word files:
1 Teaching Project Management
This document provides an introduction and overview of the learning objects on project management. It is aimed at educators and trainers and offers ideas for teaching project management on ILS courses in higher education. A module outline is provided, plus suggestions for how students could work on group projects. There are also suggestions for assignments and assessing project work. However, all of these ideas could be used and adapted for training events.
2 Project Management Overview
This document provides a brief overview of project management. It does not offer detailed descriptions of how to work on projects but provides a context for ILS projects and signposts to more detailed resources. The reasons and benefits for using project management are explored. Several staged approaches are outlined to encourage students to consider a model most useful for their own experiences. Finally, the essential skills for managing projects are discussed briefly. This document could be used as the content for a short course or as an introductory session on a longer teaching module.
3 Case Studies for Project Management
These case studies have been created from real ILS project situations in public and academic libraries. Professional librarians were provided with a template for creating the project details which have been summarized within the template headings for ease of comparison. All projects are unique and some fit the template headings better than others. However, although they have been adapted to form a narrative, the aim has been to retain the unique nature of each project. The template is included at the end of the file.
Titles of these case studies are listed alphabetically below:
DVD Collection Project
Library Portal Project
Public Library Schools Visits Project
Reclassification Project
School Author Visit Project
Self Service Project
Visual Images Databases Project
Volunteers Project
2 Resources on project management
Project management is frequently covered as a themed chapter in some management textbooks. However there are also many books, journal articles and websites devoted specifically to project management. A brief selection of these is given below and tutors may wish to add their own preferred titles to this selection.
Allan, B. (2004) Project Management. Tools and techniques for today’s ILS professional. London. Facet Publishing.
This book has been written for ILS professionals. It applies the principles of project management to the ILS sector. The author uses her professional experience to share insights and provide a range of examples. The project life cycle is covered in detail and there is much useful information and advice on working with people on projects.
Harrin, E. (2007) Project Management in the Real World: Shortcuts to success. The British Computer Society (BCS).
The style of this book makes it an easy and informative read. It lists all the tasks and processes needed for good project management. Examples, anecdotes and case studies are used to explore and support themes, hints, rules and warnings. Icons are used to identify these. Although most examples originate in the business and service sectors, they demonstrate the principles and should encourage ILS students to think about the wider context of project management and the transferable skills that need to be developed.
Reardon, D. (2006) Doing Your Undergraduate Project. London. Sage Publications.
As the title suggests, this book concentrates on working for an undergraduate project or dissertation. It does however apply project management principles to this task and ILM students may find it helpful for both improving their knowledge of project management and for the guidance it offers for their own project work.
Pugh, Lyndon. (2007) Change Management in Information Services Aldershot: Ashgate.
Although the focus of this book is on managing change, students may find the sections on project management in change situations useful for providing an ILM context. It will improve student understanding of the role of project management in change situations.
Websites
There are many web resources on project management and tutors may already have identified their favourite sites. The 3 sites listed below have been selected for inclusion here because they provide useful guidance and offer some free resources.
Business balls (2008). Available from: http://www.businessballs.com [Accessed 21 January 2008].
This is a useful site that provides succinct outlines of different management themes. The project management section outlines the stages of project management with links to free resources from the Project Agency.
The Project Agency (2008). Available from: http://projectagency.com [Accessed 21 January 2008].
The project Agency offers training and support to improve project management across a diverse range of organizations. The site offers some free resources on project management which students will find useful to understand the size and scale of project management.
The Project Management Institute (2008). Available from: http://www.pmi.org [Accessed 21 January 2008].
This is an American site, useful for students to browse to gain an understanding of the global nature of project management.
3 Notes for Tutors teaching project management
Although the range and content of management modules will vary, it is expected that all ILM courses will have some management modules that are studied by the ILM students, either before or concurrently with studying project management.
If a module is developed on Project Management, this will provide a useful space where students can draw on their knowledge from other management modules and apply their learning to the context of project management. Knowledge of how organizations work; their structures, cultures and systems; financial management; leadership; working in teams and managing change; all have direct application to project management. Having covered these themes in management modules, the tutors can expect students to apply their conceptual understanding to the situational context of project management. For example by understanding the complexities of working in teams, they should be able to understand how teams can best be used on project work. By understanding the issues surrounding leadership, they should be able to identify the characteristics and style of a successful project leader. By understanding change management, they will be aware of the importance of consulting stakeholders in project management situations.
The emphasis of a Project Management module could be on minimal teaching and more experiential learning. The number of credits allocated to the module and the number of weeks and hours over which the module will be delivered will influence the type of project work that is expected from the students. The first two taught sessions could be used to provide an overview and context for project management plus briefing for group work. Assignments could be developed for students to work in small project groups on hypothetical situations to solve problems. Alternatively, they could be asked to plan real or imaginary events or new services. Regular reports of their progress and reflective evaluation could be required at key stages to ensure the students remain focused and seek tutor guidance where necessary. It is useful to include several whole group sessions where each project group delivers a presentation about the project task or demonstrates the deliverable if this is an object or event that can be explained.
These final sessions are valuable for several reasons:
· They encourage accountability for progress throughout the module and give visibility to the students’ work.
· They can serve as opportunities for practicing similar events in the workplace.
· A target date for a final presentation replicates a delivery date in a real project situation.
· Presentations offer opportunities for peer learning that is useful for all students in the module group. It encourages reflection and analysis of all individual and group contributions.
Suggested module programme
The structure outlined below assumes a module delivery period of 15 weeks.
Students would be expected to work on the assignment in their own time outside of the module allocation, however, it is recognised that for group work, shared meeting time is difficult. Allocating time within the module helps to resolve this problem and enables the tutor to monitor group progress. The number of sessions allocated can be reduced if fewer weeks are available for the module delivery. Similarly, the number of themes covered in taught sessions can be reduced by using directed readings. However, part of the value of these taught sessions can be to provide opportunities for ideas for the assignment. Also, part of each of these taught sessions could be allocated to group work. This encourages attendance at the sessions plus facilitates group meetings.
Week 1 Introduction to the Module
Overview of Project Management
Briefing for group work on the assignment
Week 2 The Project Life Cycle
Stages in Project Management
Week 3 Systems and processes of Project Management
Week 4 Financial management and control
Week 5 Human aspects of Project Management
Week 6 Group work
Week 7 Group work
Week 8 Progress tutorials
Week 9 Presentations
Week 10 Presentations
Week 11 Presentations
Week 12 Reflection and review of module learning
Working in groups for project work
A project management module is an ideal opportunity for students to work in small groups to develop their team working skills and replicate situations in organizational and professional situations. However, tutors will need to consider the best approach to use for allocating students into group work. Whilst a random allocation may be thought to replicate real work situations, students feel the pressures of working on several assignments concurrently so the group dynamics are important. Poor group dynamics can demotivate students and reduce the quality of their learning and final outcomes. Small groups where individual contributions are visible are usually more effective than larger groups where limited contributions can be hidden. Groups of 4 are usually most productive.
Several approaches to forming groups can be used by tutors:
1 Random allocation
Students are allocated randomly to groups by the tutor. This can be from a register or use of other methods such as coloured cards to identify each group.
2 Tutor created groups
Students are allocated to groups by the tutor, who uses her knowledge of the students’ different skills and personality types to ensure a fairly even spread across all of the groups. The intention in this approach is to avoid problems, especially if previous group work has caused some problems between individuals.
3. Student choice
Students are told to get into groups of a specific size such as between 3 and 4. The tutor may be aware of some personality issues but leaves the students to resolve these and make their own choices. The tutor may however need to reallocate some individuals if size of the groups is unbalanced and cannot be resolved by the students themselves. It is important to have equal sized groups, especially if the work is assessed.
4. Leaders identified by tutor
The tutor identifies several students who are strong and able to lead a group. This choice can mean that dominant personalities are separated across groups. Group leaders then choose their group members. This choice could be made in an order that ensures as much fairness as possible between the different groups. Alternatively, when leaders have been identified the remaining students can choose who they prefer to work with. The tutor may need to intervene if there is an imbalance or a clash of personalities.
5. Group roles identified
The tutor identifies key roles for each project group. A profile of each role is created and students are asked to bid for their preferred role. Groups are then formed by either:
· The tutor selecting one student from each role
· Group leaders choosing the student for their role.
This ensures that different skills are used effectively across all groups and that students have a clear understanding of the role they have chosen.
4 Assessing project work
As discussed above, some of the value of a project management module is the opportunity that it provides for students to work in groups to achieve a specific task. Some form of assessment will be essential to meet university requirements and these will influence the method of the assessment chosen.
Assessing group work usually provides tensions for students who may believe their performance will be influenced positively or negatively by other students in their group. This effect can be reduced by creating an assignment that requires group work on a project task that earns a proportion of 30% or 40% of the final mark. Individual students can then be required to write a report on the project that will earn the remaining proportion of the final mark. This enables capable students to achieve a good mark but prevents weaker students from earning total final marks higher than their true capabilities. In some circumstances it may help weaker students to pass the module by working with more capable students who raise their performance level. However, the marks awarded to individual reports would help to differentiate between ability levels. It is worthwhile noting that although this approach could be criticized for rewarding weaker students, it does reflect many real project management situations that help to improve the skills of individuals through a combined group performance.