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Managing Complex Projects2 Credits

BU.300.620.XX [NOTE: Each section must have a separate syllabus.]

[Day & Time / ex: Monday, 6pm-9pm][Start & End Dates / ex: 8/20/18–10/15/18]

[Semester / ex: Fall 2018][Location / ex: Washington, DC]

Instructor[Full Name]

Contact Information[Email Address][Phone Number, ###- ###-#### (Optional)]

Office Hours[Specify the day and time of the 2 hours that will be dedicated to office hours each week. For evening classes, faculty may wish to hold their office hours by phone or email. While faculty are permitted to state “and by appointment,” office hours should not be held exclusively by appointment.]

Required Texts & Learning MaterialsYou will need to obtain the text and a Harvard Business School Publishing coursepack (for the case and simulation). You will be provided information about how to order the coursepack. This syllabus lists selected additional readings that are important to your learning.

TextVerzuh, E. (2016). The fast forward MBA in project management (5th ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. (Available in multiple print and electronic formats with various ISBN numbers) Note: The author’s website has downloadable forms and MS Project tutorials.

Harvard Coursepack Teradyne Corporation: The Jaguar Project (2006). Harvard Business School Publishing, Product 9-

606-042. Project Management Simulation -- Delphi Printers & Peripherals. Harvard Business School Publishing,

case and simulation, Product 4700-HTM-ENG

Readings There are required readings listed below according to class session, and there are additional general readings and references listed in this syllabus. All readings are available on the course Blackboard site under eReserve or Course Documents, or online from the JHU library.

Course DescriptionThis course aims to equip you with effective techniques, methods, and practices for defining, scoping, and planning a project, and then managing it to successful completion. Special areas of emphasis in the course are driven by practical experiences with large and complex projects frequently being late, over budget, and failing to meet specifications. We will pay particular attention to understanding project complexity, risk, and uncertainty so that you are prepared to address these challenges to success. You will gain experience using a leading project management software package.

Prerequisite(s)None

Course OverviewYou have undoubtedly worked on a project or led one, whether in professional, community, or personal

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activities. A project may be to launch a new product or service, implement a new operational process, introduce a new technology into a workplace, organize a community yard sale, put in a patio or vegetable garden in your backyard, or plan a wedding or family reunion. While each project is unique, there is much that has been learned (and re-learned) over time about effective techniques, methods, and practices that can be used across different kinds of projects to help ensure success. This course aims to equip you with these techniques so you can be successful in leading a project.

It is very likely that a business professional’s first opportunity to show leadership abilities is to lead a project. Even if you have already led projects, given that projects are unique, there is always room for new insights and improvement in project management (PM) skills and abilities. We want you to be successful. This course can help you.

There are no prerequisites for this course. While we will not count on your having prior PM knowledge, we will work briskly through the PM learning resources and will draw upon the collective project experiences of students in the class.

This course has some special areas of emphasis. We will pay particular attention to project complexity and risk/uncertainty so that you are prepared to address these challenges to success. We will also discuss the relationship of PM to entrepreneurship: how PM skills can help the entrepreneur and how thinking like an entrepreneur can help a project manager.

While practiced since antiquity, project management is trending up in the 21st century. Organizations want to take best advantage of the latest technologies to improve efficiency and provide strategic advantage. You cannot simply make a major change to an operation with a hard cut-over from one day to the next. Invariably, a project is launched to explore all of the implications of the new technologies and new processes before they are transitioned into routine operational use. So, projects provide a valuable bridge from current to improved operations.

This course will address the challenges of defining, scoping, and planning a project, and then managing it to successful completion. In the global, technology-rich environment of today, skillful project management is ever more challenging, so the experience of this course will help to prepare you to be successful.

Learning ObjectivesBy the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Define and scope a project.2. Break down the work required to execute a project. 3. Develop a project plan.4. Apply metrics and reporting techniques to monitor and control a project.5. Apply methods to address the complexity and risk in projects.6. Work effectively in a team environment to apply project management techniques and practices

in an organizational context.

To view the complete list of the Carey Business School’s general learning goals and objectives, visit the Carey website.

Attendance Attendance and participation are part of your course grade. You are expected to attend all scheduled class sessions. If you need to miss a class, please let the instructor know as soon as possible. You are responsible for all information covered in class, both substantive and administrative, by obtaining that information from a classmate. Classes will include opportunities for you to participate in discussions and for your teams to work together. Failure to attend class will result in an inability to achieve the objectives of the course. Absences may result in loss of points for class participation. Full attendance and active participation are required for you to succeed in this course.

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Assignments

Assignment Learning Objectives WeightClass Participation 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 5–10%Individual Assignments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 10–15%Individual PM Simulation 4, 5, 6 15%Individual Exam 1, 2, 3, 5 30–40%Team Assignments and Project 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 30%Total 100%

Details about the assignments are provided below, along with grading rubrics that will be used in each case. Rubrics are posted on the course Blackboard site.

Important Required Procedures for Submitting Your WorkSubmit assignments and presentations in MS Office format (Word or PowerPoint), unless otherwise approved in advance in writing. Unless otherwise indicated, each assignment will be posted in the ‘Assignments’ section of our Blackboard site. Submit your response via Blackboard (not email) by the starting time of the class when the assignment is due using the file naming convention: lastname-assignment, where assignment is the name of the assignment. All submitted work must be completed on time. If you will not be present for a class, you must submit the assignment before the beginning of the scheduled class. Assignments submitted late or not following the file naming convention will be marked down.

Class Participation (Rubric: Class Participation)This course will be delivered with in-class sessions, supplemented by the Internet technology provided by Blackboard. While a portion of the course will involve classroom lecture, the class is run in an interactive style, with classroom discussion on course material, cases, and current events related to the subject. Specific textbook and outside readings will provide the foundation for discussions. Consequently, extensive class participation is required. You will be graded using the Class Participation Rubric. The activities below provide more guidance to you in support of expectations for class participation:

Attending class Being prepared each class by having completed assignments and readings Responding to questions and “cold calls” in a way that reflects being prepared Participating in group discussions Asking and answering questions Completing assignments on time Sharing experiences, knowledge, and opinions Taking on action items to investigate a topic outside of class and report back Paying attention and engaging with the class activities, which means, as professionals, that you don’t

engage in phone calls, texting, email, non-class Internet use, or related activities during class sessions

You are expected to participate in discussions. In assessing your oral comments, quality is more important than quantity. A quality contribution is concise. For example, it may bring out a new aspect of the topic being discussed, contribute to an idea introduced by a classmate, provide a useful alternative perspective on a subject, helpfully summarize previous comments to support the learning, introduce highly original thinking on an issue or problem, identify linkages and relationships to other knowledge or events, demonstrate deep understanding of a critical point, present an analysis of the facts of a case, guide the discussion in a more fruitful direction, provide a reasoned argument based on evidence from the case or readings, or offer an observation from your experience when it adds to the discussion and learning.You are encouraged to volunteer to answer questions and to be prepared. The instructor may call on you to answer questions even when you have not volunteered (“cold call”).

Individual Assignments (Rubric: Written Reports)These will provide opportunities for you to demonstrate an understanding of specific course material and apply it to new situations. Assignments may include answering homework questions, completing in-class quizzes and exercises, preparing case analyses and article critiques, etc.

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Individual PM Simulation (Rubric: PM Simulation Rubric)This will provide an opportunity for you to make a series of simulated weekly decisions as a project manager to control a project over multiple simulated months. You will need to respond to the outcomes of your decisions and to any external events that may occur. You will be able to see the effect of your decisions on the success of the project: At what rate are tasks being completed? Within budget? Staying on schedule? Quality of the work? Impact on your team?

Individual Exam (Rubric: Written Reports)This examination will provide opportunities for you to demonstrate a broad and deep understanding of the course material by applying what you have learned.

Team Assignments and Project (Rubrics: Written Reports and Oral Presentations)You will have an opportunity to work as part of a team to apply course material to the challenge of project management for a case study. Your team may also be given other assignments on which to develop solutions and submit them as a team.

GradingThe grade of A is reserved for those who demonstrate extraordinarily excellent performance as determined by the instructor. The grade of A- is awarded only for excellent performance. The grades of B+, B, and B- are awarded for good performance. The grades of C+, C, and C- are awarded for adequate but substandard performance. The grades of D+, D, and D- are not awarded at the graduate level (undergraduate only). The grade of F indicates the student’s failure to satisfactorily complete the course work.

Please note that for Core and Foundation courses, a maximum of 25% of students may be awarded an A or A-; the grade point average of the class should not exceed 3.3. For Elective courses, a maximum of 35% of students may be awarded an A or A-; the grade point average of the class should not exceed 3.4. (For classes with 15 students or fewer, the class GPA cap is waived.)

Plans for the Class Sessions

Session 1 Foundations of Project ManagementThis session will introduce PM and the organizational context for projects. We will discuss sources of information and insight about PM, including the PM Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®), and the roles for its five processes and ten knowledge areas.

The course will proceed on two streams: one will take us from the origin of a project to the point of having a realistic schedule, accomplished through class sessions and the team project. In parallel, we will start with an already defined set of tasks for a project through the Delphi Printers & Peripherals case and simulation. This simulation will highlight the challenging “triple constraint” of making decisions that affect scope, resources, and schedule, while keeping a focus on the quality of the products and the morale of your team. You will be acting as the project manager for Delphi, making decisions for each week of simulated time and observing the effects of your decisions. So, the second concurrent stream is to manage the existing Delphi project through to completion.

Required Readings: 1. Verzuh, Ch. 1, 2.2. Klein, G. (2007). Performing a project premortem. Harvard Business Review, 85(9): 18–19.3. Case and Simulation: Delphi Printers & Peripherals (Harvard Coursepack).

Session 2 Mastering the “Fuzzy Front End” of Projects: Getting to an SOWThis session examines the circumstances for starting a project, the motivation and goals. The emphasis is on what you can do to bring clarity to the project initiation: defining scope, identifying stakeholders, eliciting requirements, identifying risks, and understanding the roles of sponsors, champions, and customers. We will discuss various early documents, like the project charter, that can help you. Your efforts are pointed toward coming up with a Statement of Work (SOW) that is realistic and puts you on a path to succeed.

In this session, you will be assigned to teams to work on a project. We will discuss the case project and the team deliverables.

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Required Readings: 1. Verzuh, Ch. 4, 5, 6, 19.2. DeMeyer, A., Loch, C. & Pich, M. (2002, Winter). Managing project uncertainty: From variation to

chaos. MIT Sloan Management Review, 44: 60–67.

Session 3 Project Complexity and Risk: From SOW to WBSIn this session, we will explore variations in projects with respect to complexity and risk—and the decidedly less glamorous “uncertainty” that surrounds most projects of any consequence. We want to attain some understanding of these various conditions and their implications for project success. Risk management for a project needs to begin as soon as a new project is being considered and discussed. We will investigate approaches to identify and address project risks.

The discussion of complexity and risk will support our continuation of the project life cycle: taking an SOW and developing a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that is feasible in light of project uncertainty and can serve as a basis for creating a project schedule. We will also discuss project management life cycle models such as iterative, adaptive, and agile.

Required Readings: 1. Verzuh, Ch. 7, 8 2. Hass, K. (2008). Introducing the new project complexity model: Part 1. Project Times (online).

Session 4 Project Scheduling and Critical Path Analysis: From WBS to a ScheduleProject scheduling is such a critical element of PM that it is sometimes (incorrectly) believed to be all that a project manager does. The schedule is important. It requires attention to budget, staffing, skill-mix, project risk, the network diagram of task predecessor-successor relationships, and resource estimates. Based on the WBS, what staff skills and talent are needed for the team? What external providers will be used? How much effort will it take to meet the project objectives? What are effective ways to estimate resources? An effective and realistic schedule can make the difference in a project being successful or not. We will look at canonical project life-cycle models, from linear to agile to serve as reference structures. We will discuss ways to design schedules to accommodate uncertainty that is always present.

Project scheduling is among the most analytically rigorous of PM topics. Critical path analysis and “crashing” a project can be formulated as optimization problems. We will discuss the critical path through the schedule and what it means in initial planning and when actual resources are consumed as the project unfolds. We will discuss resource leveling and resource-constrained projects.

Required Readings: 1. Verzuh, Ch. 9, 11

Session 5 Managing an Ongoing Project with MS ProjectWe will discuss a key concern for any project: are we making progress? It has become common PM folklore to say that a project is “90% complete,” only to spend another 90% of the budget on what was thought to be the remaining 10%. In fact, getting an accurate account of the percent complete of a project is an important responsibility of a project manager. We will discuss earned value management (EVM) and variance-analysis methods to assess project completeness, so you can know how to mark progress and better understand the true status of the project.

Part of this session is conducted as a lab exercise in which you will gain hands-on experience with the most widely used PM software tool, Microsoft Project. This is very comprehensive tool that will introduce you to the features of such products. As projects involve even relatively modest size, in terms of number of work packages and their relationships, you will likely want to use a tool like this to manage ongoing activities.

Required Readings: 1. Verzuh, Ch. 12, 16, 22

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Session 6 Leading Your Project Team to SuccessThis session will provide increased attention to the critical non-technical elements of successful project management. We will discuss the vital role of project managers as leaders, building a project team and leading the team to success.

The readings for this session will provide multiple perspectives on the nature of project success and the characteristics of successful projects.

Required Readings: 1. Verzuh, Ch. 13, 14, 15, 172. Dvir, D. & Shenhar, A. (2011, Spring). What great projects have in common. MIT Sloan Management

Review, 52: 19–21. 3. Matta, N. & Ashkenas, R. (2003). Why good projects fail anyway. Harvard Business Review, 81(9):

109–114.4. Royer, I. (2003). Why bad projects are so hard to kill. Harvard Business Review, 81(2): 49–56.

Session 7 PM and the Product Development ProcessThis session focuses attention on what your project generates, so we will relate PM to product development. Well-known project failures are often tied to using a linear life cycle, when the assumptions for using it are not met. Your project may need to use iterative, adaptive, and agile methods. This consideration also links to entrepreneurial activities, which are often closely tied to creating a new product, process, or service.

In our continuing discussion of the evolution of the project life cycle, we will turn to critical closing activities that you will want to carefully manage so as not to have your till-now successful project have its legacy ruined by a late mistake. We will discuss effective methods for project closing and alternative models for transitioning from the project to the modified operational processes.

We will discuss a comprehensive Teradyne Corp. case for its Jaguar Project, which will pull together key issues affecting project success.

Required Readings: 1. Verzuh, Ch. 3, 102. Ajam, M. (2011). Entrepreneurship and project management. Executive News Wire (online).3. Case: Teradyne Corporation: The Jaguar Project (Harvard coursepack)

Session 8 ExaminationIn addition to the exam, this session may include reports from the project teams on their schedules, plans, and resource estimates.

Tentative Course CalendarThe instructors reserve the right to alter course content and/or adjust the pace to accommodate class progress. Students are responsible for keeping up with all adjustments to the course calendar.

NOTE: See elsewhere in this syllabus for topic descriptions and readings for each session. This tentative calendar does not show all of the assignments and due dates.

Week Topic Major Milestones1 Foundations of Project Management Launch PM Simulation

2 Mastering the “Fuzzy Front End” of Projects: Getting to an SOW

3 Project Complexity and Risk: From SOW to WBS Team Project: SOW due

4 Project Scheduling and Critical Path Analysis: From WBS to a Schedule

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Week Topic Major Milestones5 Managing an Ongoing Project with MS Project Team Project: WBS due

Lab: MS Project6 Leading Your Project Team

7 PM and Product Development Process Teradyne Corp. case

8 Exam ExamTeam Project: Schedule due

Optional Readings & Resources

Baccarini, D. (1996). The concept of project complexity - a review. International Journal of Project Management, 14(4): 201–204.

Brown, K, Ettenson, R., & Hyer, N. (2011, Summer). Why every project needs a brand. MIT Sloan Management Review, 52: 61–68.

Cummings, J., & Pletcher, C. (2011, Spring). Why project networks beat project teams. MIT Sloan Management Review, 52: 75–80.

Flyvbjerg, B., Garbuio, M., & Lovallo, D. (2009). Delusion and deception in large infrastructure projects: Two models for explaining and preventing executive disaster. California Management Review, 51(2): 169–194.

Grenny, J., Maxfield, D., & Shimberg, A. (2007, Summer). How project leaders can overcome the crisis of silence. MIT Sloan Management Review, 48: 46–52.

Keil, M., & Mahring, M. (2010, Fall). Is Your Project Turning into a Black Hole? California Management Review, 53(1): 6–31.

Kloppenborg, T., & Laning, L. (2012). Leading project managers: The project executive role. Chapter 4 in Strategic Leadership of Portfolio and Project Management. Business Expert Press: Boston.

Maylor, H., Vidgen, R., & Carver, S. (2008). Managerial complexity in project-based operations: A grounded model and its implications for practice. Project Management Journal 39 Supplement: S15–S26.

Pinto, J., & Kharabanda, O. (1995). Lessons for an accidental profession. Business Horizons, 38(2): 41–50.

Rice, M., O’Connor, G., & Pierantozzi, R. (2008, Winter). Implementing a learning plan to counter project uncertainty. MIT Sloan Management Review, 49: 54–62.

Schlesinger, L, Kiefer, C., & Brown, P. (2012). New project? Don’t analyze - Act. Harvard Business Review, 90(3): 154–158.

Vidal, L. & Marle, F. (2008). Understanding project complexity: Implications on project management. Kybernetes, 37: 1094–1110.

General Project Management ReferencesThese supplementary resources are available online without cost and may provide further breadth and depth to your study of project management:

MS Project Online Help Facility: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/results.aspx?av=zpj&ctags=CH010066658&queryid=ae110278%2D6026%2D4697%2Db387%2D199da0cc70ed

Saylor Academy. Project Management: From Simple to Complex. Available free online at: http://www.saylor.org/site/textbooks/Project%20Management%20-%20From%20Simple%20to%20Complex.pdf

The following books are available free online through the JHU library, Safari Books Online: Cooke, J. (2012). Everything you want to know about agile. Cambridgeshire, UK: IT Governance Ltd. Heldman, K., & Mangano, V. (2011). PMP®: Project Management Professional exam: Review guide

(2nd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: John Wiley – Sybex. Heldman, K. (2011). Project Management JumpStart (3rd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: John Wiley – Sybex. Kerzner, H. (2009). Project management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling

(10th ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

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Project Management Institute, Inc. (2013). Project Management Body of Knowledge: A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (5th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc.

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Carey Business School Policies and General Information

Blackboard SiteA Blackboard course site is set up for this course. Each student is expected to check the site throughout the semester as Blackboard will be the primary venue for outside classroom communications between the instructors and the students. Students can access the course site at https://blackboard.jhu.edu. Support for Blackboard is available at 1-866-669-6138.

Disability Support ServicesAll students with disabilities who require accommodations for this course should contact Disability Support Services at their earliest convenience to discuss their specific needs. If you have a documented disability, you must be registered with Disability Support Services (carey.disability@jhu.edu or 410-234-9243) to receive accommodations. For more information, please visit the Disability Support Services webpage.

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It is the responsibility of every Carey student, faculty member, and staff member to familiarize themselves with the AEP and its procedures. Failure to become acquainted with this information will not excuse any student, faculty, or staff from the responsibility to abide by the AEP. Please contact the Student Services office if you have any questions. For the full policy, please visit the Academic Ethics Policy webpage.

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Other Important Policies and ServicesStudents are encouraged to consult the Student Handbook and Academic Catalog and Student Services and Resources for information regarding other policies and services.

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