Postgraduate Course: Project Management in Business Analysis (CMSE11213)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 15 |
ECTS Credits | 7.5 |
| Summary | In this course, in line with the Project Management Body Of Knowledge guidelines issued by the Project Management Institute, we introduce the project management life cycle and we compare selected state-of-the-art life cycle models for effective project management, such as traditional, agile and extreme project management.
Students will engage in a small sized project and develop hands-on experience of managing a project life cycle. In addition, they will develop team management and leadership skills. |
| Course description |
Project management and business analysis represent two elements that are key to the success of any business endeavour. Project managers are in charge of ensuring that a project is completed on time and within the planned budget. Business analysts must focus on the product of the project ensuring that it meets the needs of the key stakeholders.
In this course, we introduce the project management life cycle and we compare selected state-of-the-art life cycle models for effective project management, such as traditional, agile and extreme project management; we also introduce selected state-of-the-art tools for effective project management, such as PERT and CPM.
We also provide an overview of business analysis activities throughout the life of a project such as stakeholder analysis, requirement analysis, risk analysis, business process and data analysis, implementation, validation, deployment and assessment. For these, we introduce a toolbox of selected state-of-the-art business analysis tools such as mind maps, use case diagrams, business process diagrams etc.
Operating within a given budget necessarily imposes choices in terms of which stakeholder requests should be given priority. Project managers and business analysts must therefore coordinate their plans to ensure that budget is not exceeded and key stakeholders are satisfied. Furthermore, as the project progresses, delays and other unforeseen events may impose a sudden re-planning of on-going activities. The exact nature of this re-planning should also be defined in concert. In some cases, reaching a consensus in the project team may constitute an extremely challenging task. To deal with these issues, we illustrate the basics of group dynamics and strategies that a team can adopt to work together effectively.
The objective of this course is then to:
1. provide an introduction to established project management and business analysis techniques, such as traditional, agile and extreme project management;
2. illustrate selected state-of-the-art tools typically adopted in the context of project management and business analysis;
3. illustrate group dynamics issues typically encountered in the context of project management. Introduce a number of established techniques and inventories that can be used to analyse and deal with these issues;
4. let students familiarize with the above project management and business analysis tools and techniques in the context of a relatively small-scale project that will be developed by teams of 4 to 5 people in a short time frame of 6 weeks. The topic of the project is open and it must be agreed at the beginning of the course. Lecturers will provide a portfolio of possible projects, but students may decide to develop their own project independently. It should be emphasized that group work in this course represents an 'end'. The outcome of the project is not important per se - in principle the project may even not succeed - what will be assessed is the ability of a team to manage a project life cycle.
5. let students individually analyse group dynamics that emerged during the project and strategies put in place to avoid or manage conflicts.
Student Learning Experience:
Tutorial/seminar hours represent the minimum total live hours - online or in-person - a student can expect to receive on this course. These hours may be delivered in tutorial/seminar, lecture, workshop or other interactive whole class or small group format. These live hours may be supplemented by pre-recorded lecture material for students to engage with asynchronously.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Available to Business School students only.
Students with previous project management experience (both theoretical and practical) are advised not to take this course, as it is an introductory course, not an advanced one.
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Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Define what a project is and critically discuss the project management life cycle;
- Identify key trade-offs faced by project managers and business analysts: cost, time, quality, scope, resources;
- Classify project management life cycle models in terms of clarity of goals and solutions: traditional, agile, extreme and emertxe;
- Apply state-of-the-art techniques for managing the project management life cycle of small/medium sized projects;
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Reading List
Essential reading:
Robert K. Wysocki, Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme, Wiley, 7th ed., 2014, ISBN-13: 978-1118729168; Chap 1-12
Jeff Butterfield, Illustrated Course Guides: Problem-Solving and Decision Making - Soft Skills for a Digital Workplace, Cencage, 2009, ISBN-13: 978-1439041147; Unit D: Group Decision Making and Problem Solving
Before attending the first lecture of the course students should read Butterfield's Unit D: Group Decision Making and Problem Solving; they should also read Chap. 1 of Wysocki's textbook.
Further reading:
Kottler & Englar-Carlson, 'Learning Group Leadership: An experiential approach,''Sage, 2009, ISBN-13: 978-1412953719 - Chap 3-4
Harold R. Kerzner, 'Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling,' 11th Edition, 2013 ISBN-13: 978-1118022276
Howard Podeswa, 'The Business Analyst's Handbook,' Delmar, 2009 ISBN-13: 978-1598635652
Perdita Stevens, 'Using UML,' Second Edition, Addison Wesley, 2006 ISBN-13: 978-0321269676
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
After completing this course, students should be able to:
A. Knowledge and Understanding
1. define what a project is and describe the project management life cycle;
2. describe key trade-offs faced by project managers and business analysts: cost, time, quality, scope, resources;
3. describe possible project management life cycle models in terms of clarity of goals and solutions: traditional, agile, extreme;
4. describe the rationale behind frameworks such as Leary's rose and Kolb's learning cycle, as well as their potential applications in the context of team management;
5. describe possible leadership styles;
B. Practice: applied knowledge, skills and understanding:
1. discuss relevant activities that should be executed at each stage of the project management life cycle, i.e. scoping, planning, launching, monitoring & controlling, closing;
2. select the most appropriate project management life cycle models for a given project;
3. discuss advantages and drawbacks for each of the project management life cycle models presented
4. apply existing inventories, such as Kolb's learning cycle model, to identify what members of the group are the most suitable for a given activity, or to determine how to deal with a specific behavioural pattern;
5. recognize different stages of group development: forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning;
C. Communication, ICT and numeracy skills
1. apply state-of-the-art tools in the context of project management and business analysis, such as mind maps, use case diagrams, business process diagrams, CPM, PERT etc;
2. scope, plan, launch, monitor & control and close a small project;
3. develop appropriate documentation at each stage of the project life cycle
D. Generic Cognitive Skills
1. demonstrate report writing skills
2. demonstrate presentation skills
3. demonstrate problem analysis and problem solving skills
4. demonstrate awareness of group dynamics and group leadership styles |
| Keywords | Mark-PMBA |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Roberto Rossi
Tel: (0131 6)51 5239
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Mary Anne Boeff
Tel: (0131 6)50 8072
Email: |
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