Students

COMP8770 – Information Systems Project and Risk Management

2022 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Stephen Smith
stephen.smith@mq.edu.au
Contact via 02 9850 1099
Rm 362, Level 3, 4 Research Park Drive
TBA (online via Zoom)
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
ITEC602 or COMP6770 or Admission to MRadiopharmSc or Admission to MLabAQMgt
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

General Assessment Information

General Assessment Information

Late assessments: Online quizzes, in-class activities, or scheduled tests and exam must be undertaken at the time indicated in the unit guide. Should the activity be missed due to illness or misadventure, Special Consideration may be applied for.  

All other assessments must be submitted by 5:00 pm on their due date. Beyond this time, a 12-hour grace period will be given after which the following deductions will be applied to the assessment mark: 12 to 24 hours late = 10% deduction; for each day thereafter, an additional 10% per day or part thereof will be applied until five days beyond the due date. After this time, a mark of zero (0) will be given. For example, an assessment worth 20% is due 5 pm on 1 January. Student A submits the assessment at 1 pm, 3 January. The assessment received a mark of 15/20. A 20% deduction is then applied to the mark of 15, resulting in the loss of three (3) marks. Student A is then awarded a final mark of 12/20. 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Assignment 1 20% No Week 4
Assignment 2A - Group Project 20% No Week 11
Assignment 2B - Presentation 10% No Week 12
Final examination 50% No TBA

Assignment 1

Assessment Type 1: Modelling task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 4
Weighting: 20%

 

In the first part, you are given the tasks, resources and schedule for a project which need to be entered into MS Project 2019. You are required to answer a series of questions on the resource requirements, critical path, schedule and costs associated with this project. For the second part of the assignment you are given a case study for a complex project and asked to identify the risks and possible mitigation strategies. Furthermore, you need to advise on how to use MS Project in this context.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply an understanding of the contextual issues of an IT project to the identification and management of expectations of the main project stakeholders.
  • 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.

Assignment 2A - Group Project

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 11
Weighting: 20%

 

A series of IT projects will be allocated among groups of 4 students. These will include software development, off the shelf package and mixed projects (a package requiring integration with backend systems). Your team are consultants recommending your project and risk strategy to secure a go-ahead from the client organisation. Your focus is on the project process/methodology and risk management plan to suit your project and client organisation.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply an understanding of the contextual issues of an IT project to the identification and management of expectations of the main project stakeholders.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Analyse IT project risks and formulate a risk management plan compliant with the international standard, ISO31000.
  • Critically evaluate the role of the IT project manager and how to handle organization politics, individual and team management

Assignment 2B - Presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 12
Weighting: 10%

 

A series of IT projects will be allocated among groups of 4 students. These will include software development, off the shelf package and mixed projects (a package requiring integration with back-end systems). Your team are consultants recommending your project and risk strategy to secure a go-ahead from the client organisation. Your focus is on the project process/methodology and risk management plan to suit your project and client organisation.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply an understanding of the contextual issues of an IT project to the identification and management of expectations of the main project stakeholders.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Analyse IT project risks and formulate a risk management plan compliant with the international standard, ISO31000.
  • Critically evaluate the role of the IT project manager and how to handle organization politics, individual and team management

Final examination

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: TBA
Weighting: 50%

 

A formal examination covering all the course work material.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply an understanding of the contextual issues of an IT project to the identification and management of expectations of the main project stakeholders.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Analyse IT project risks and formulate a risk management plan compliant with the international standard, ISO31000.
  • Critically evaluate the role of the IT project manager and how to handle organization politics, individual and team management

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Each week you should attend up to 3 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’ 8th Edition (2021), 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-8e 

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

Week

Lecturer

Topic

Reading

1

 

Steve

Course Structure

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

Unit Outline

Larson 1, Readings

2

 

Steve

Project Definition

Introduction to MS Project

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

Larson 4

Erik Larson Videos

 

3

 

Steve

Project Selection and Success Criteria

Estimating Project Times and Costs

Sponsors and Other Stakeholders

Larson 2

 

Larson 5 

Larson 10

4

 

 

Steve

DSDM Introduction and Tutorial

Assignment One Due

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

DSDM Handbook

5

 

Steve

Rational Unified Process

RUP Structure and Navigation

RUP for COTS

IBM Sources  

6

 

Guest Lecture

Matt

Leadership / Communication

Team Management

Larson 10 Larson 11, Thomsett articles

7

Steve

Risk Management Part 1

ISO31000  

8

Steve

Risk Management Part 2

 

9

 

Steve

DevOps

Virtual Teams and Outsourcing

Project Audit and Closure

Accenture, 2015 Larson 12 Larson 14

10

Steve

Project Plan Structure

Progress Management and Evaluation

Organisational Politics

Larson 6, 10, 12, 13  

11

Steve

Group Assignment Review Tutorial 

  
12 Steve Group Presentations  

13

Steve

Exam Revision + Group Presentations (cont)

Assignment Two (2) Due

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

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

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/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

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

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

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

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

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

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

Updated Lecture content, both Assignments updated and re-written

Updated assessments to align with IT and BioTech students.

Unit information based on version 2022.03 of the Handbook