Students

COMP8770 – Information Systems Project and Risk Management

2020 – Session 1, Weekday attendance, North Ryde

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, any references to assessment tasks and on-campus delivery may no longer be up-to-date on this page.

Students should consult iLearn for revised unit information.

Find out more about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and potential impacts on staff and students

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Stephen Smith
Contact via 02 9850 1099
Rm 362, Level 3, BD Building, 4 Research Park Drive
Monday's 4-5pm
Ian Krycer
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
ITEC602 or COMP6770
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit has three themes: IT project management, agile software development and risk management. Topics covered in the first theme include project definition, roles and responsibilities, resource management, time and cost estimation, project planning, project control and reporting, measuring project success and post-implementation review. Microsoft Project is used to assist with resource allocation, costing and schedule. Hands-on experience is gained using the Rational Unified Process during the second theme. Towards the end of the course we focus on identifying causes of project failure and managing project risk based on the International and Australian Standard, ISO31000.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Apply an understanding of the contextual issues of an IT project to the identification and management of expectations of the main project stakeholders.
  • ULO2: Develop, maintain, manage and report against a project plan which defines the critical path and resource requirements, with tool support, such as MS Project 2019.
  • ULO3: Critically evaluate the concepts of agile methodologies such as the Rational Unified Process, DSDM and DevOps and incorporate appropriate components into the planning for complex software development or off the shelf enterprise system projects.
  • ULO4: Analyse IT project risks and formulate a risk management plan compliant with the international standard, ISO31000.
  • ULO5: Critically evaluate the role of the IT project manager and how to handle organization politics, individual and team management

Assessment Tasks

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Assessment details are no longer provided here as a result of changes due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Students should consult iLearn for revised unit information.

Find out more about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and potential impacts on staff and students

General Assessment Information

Late Submission(s): “Late assessment must also be submitted through Turnitin. No extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission incurs a 20% penalty). Late submissions will not be accepted after solutions have been discussed and/or made available. This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for Special Consideration is made and approved. Note: applications for Special Consideration Policy must be made within 5 (five) business days of the due date and time.”

Delivery and Resources

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Any references to on-campus delivery below may no longer be relevant due to COVID-19.

Please check here for updated delivery information: https://ask.mq.edu.au/account/pub/display/unit_status

Each week you should attend up to 4 hours of lectures and tutorials (please note Tutorials are on a different day to lectures now). For details of days, times and rooms consult the timetables webpage. 

Required and Recommended Texts:

Students are expected to purchase and read the following textbook:

Erik Larson and Clifford Gray, ‘Project Management: The Managerial Process’ 7th Edition (2018), McGraw Hill. This book should be available from the University Co-op Bookstore. or available as an eBook - https://www.mheducation.com.au/9781307023077-aus-ebook-project-management-the-managerial-process-7e 

The following text book is suggested as recommended reading.  Copies are  available from the references and general sections of the library. 

Rob Thomsett, Radical Project Management, Prentice Hall, 2002, not available as an eBook. However, it is available online.

The class Web site will have copies of lecture handouts and additional recommended reading material:  https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/ You will need to use the user name and password issued to you by the University Administration when you enrolled for the unit. 

Technology to be used and required:

We are using MS Project 2016 or 2019.  

Other technology required is MS Word and MS PowerPoint.

Website and access to unit material:

The web page and content for this unit can be found at iLearn: https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/. Note that the unit content is not publicly available and requires for you to log in to access.

Unit Schedule

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

The unit schedule/topics and any references to on-campus delivery below may no longer be relevant due to COVID-19. Please consult iLearn for latest details, and check here for updated delivery information: https://ask.mq.edu.au/account/pub/display/unit_status

Week

Lecturer

Topic

Reading

1

 

Ian

Course Structure

Types of Projects, Role of the Project Manager, IS/IT Projects are Different

Unit Outline

Larson 1, Readings

2

 

Ian

Project Definition

Introduction to MS Project

Hand out Assignment One (Individual Assignment) ‘MS Project 2019 and Case Study’

Larson 4

Erik Larson Videos

 

3

 

Ian

Project Selection and Success Criteria

Estimating Project Times and Costs

Sponsors and Other Stakeholders

Larson 2

 

Larson 5 

Larson 10

4

 

 

Ian

DSDM Introduction and Tutorial

Assignment One Due

Hand out Assignment Two (Group Assignment) ‘IS Project Management Plan’

DSDM Handbook

5

 

Ian

Rational Unified Process

RUP Structure and Navigation

RUP for COTS

IBM Sources  

6

 

Ian

Leadership

Team Management

Larson 10 Larson 11, Thomsett articles

7

Stephen

Risk Management Part 1

ISO31000  

8

Stephen

Risk Management Part 2

 

9

 

Stephen

DevOps

Virtual Teams and Outsourcing

Project Audit and Closure

Accenture, 2015 Larson 12 Larson 14

10

Stephen

Project Plan Structure

Progress Management and Evaluation

Organisational Politics

Larson 6, 10, 12, 13  

11

Stephen

Group Assignment Review Tutorial 

 
12 Stephen Group Presentations  

13

Ian & Stephen

Exam Revision + Group Presentations (cont)

Assignment Two (2) Due

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct​

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes from Previous Offering

Lectures and Tutorials have changed from a 4 hour block to a 2 hour lecture and separate Tutorial session.