Students
BUS 840 – Business Project Management
2015 – S2 Evening
General Information
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| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Moderator
Dr Robert Jack
Contact via rob.jack@mq.edu.au
Unit Convener/Lecturer
Dr Cathy Y. Xu
Contact via cathy.xu@mq.edu.au
Room 208, E4A Building
Monday 2:00 - 4:00 pm
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|---|---|
| Credit points |
Credit points
4
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| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
BUS651 or MKTG696 or admission to MBiotech
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| Corequisites |
Corequisites
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| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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| Unit description |
Unit description
Through a combination of formal learning, group and individual project work, and interactive class-based activities, participants will develop a full understanding of the leadership and technical capabilities needed for effective project management: definition, scoping and assessing the feasibility of projects; project planning; procurement and building a project team; delivery – time, cost and quality; project resource management; managing project risks; and project communications and marketing.
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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:
- Students completing the course will be able to question and test the feasibility of projects.
- Students completing the course will be able to use critical path and critical chain methods to plan project delivery.
- Students completing the course will be able to apply their learning in the management of project resources and teams.
- Students completing the course will be able to use a variety of monitoring and financial tools to manage the delivery of quality project outcomes.
- Students completing the course will be able to make planning and delivery decisions based on project risk analysis.
- Students completing the course will be able to develop their ability to handle 'soft' project management skills.
General Assessment Information
instructions and marking criteria for Assessments 2 & 3 will be provided in class from Week 2.
Assessment Tasks
| Name | Weighting | Due | Groupwork/Individual | Short Extension | AI assisted? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class Test | 10% | Week 5 | No | ||
| Group Presentation And Report | 30% | Week 8 | No | ||
| Individual Written Assignment | 60% | Week 11 | No |
Class Test
Due: Week 5
Weighting: 10%
Groupwork/Individual:
Short extension 3: No
AI assisted?:
The class test will take place at the start of the tutorial (20:00) in Week 5. It will be a writtent test on all material covered in weeks 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Failure to complete the class test will result in a mark of zero' for the assessment. This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for Disruption of Studies is made and approved.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Students completing the course will be able to question and test the feasibility of projects.
- Students completing the course will be able to apply their learning in the management of project resources and teams.
Group Presentation And Report
Due: Week 8
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual:
Short extension 3: No
AI assisted?:
The Group Presentation task will require students in groups to research and present an analysis of a completed project. In addition, groups will be instructed to treat the presentation task as a mini-project, and to present an analysis of the effectiveness of the group at managing the mini project. Therefore the group presentation will cover (i) a researched project and (ii) an assessment of group effectiveness.
All presentations will take place in Week 8 class from 18:00pm. Every group members must present. Each group should submit a 2000-word summary report of the presentation in hard copy at the class AND a soft copy to Turnitin on iLearn by 17:00pm on the due day.
The in-class group presentation is worth of 10 marks and the summary report is worth of 20 marks of the overall 30 marks allocated to this assessment.
No extensions will be granted. Groups fail to submit their summary report or students who are absent from a scheduled presentation will result in a mark of zero for the task. However, these do not apply for cases in which an application for Disruption of Studies is made and approved.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Students completing the course will be able to question and test the feasibility of projects.
- Students completing the course will be able to use critical path and critical chain methods to plan project delivery.
- Students completing the course will be able to apply their learning in the management of project resources and teams.
- Students completing the course will be able to use a variety of monitoring and financial tools to manage the delivery of quality project outcomes.
- Students completing the course will be able to develop their ability to handle 'soft' project management skills.
Individual Written Assignment
Due: Week 11
Weighting: 60%
Groupwork/Individual:
Short extension 3: No
AI assisted?:
The written assignment will require research and analysis of a question related to project management theory. The assignment should be about 3000 words excluding references.
A hard copy of the assignment is to be handed in during your Week 11 tutorial; AND, a word version of the essay is to be submitted electronically to Turnitin on iLearn by 17:00pm on the due day.
No extensions will be granted. Late tasks will be accepted up to 72 hours after the submission deadline. There will be a deduction of 20% 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 – 40% penalty). However, these do not apply for cases in which an application for Disruption of Studies is made and approved.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Students completing the course will be able to apply their learning in the management of project resources and teams.
- Students completing the course will be able to use a variety of monitoring and financial tools to manage the delivery of quality project outcomes.
- Students completing the course will be able to make planning and delivery decisions based on project risk analysis.
Delivery and Resources
Classes
Classes are held each week of the semester unless the class falls on a public holiday. Each class is 3 hours, including a 2-hour lecture and a 1-hour tutorial.
The timetable for classes can be found on the University website at: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au
Unit web page
Course material is available on the learning management system - iLearn (http://ilearn.mq.edu.au).
iLearn will be used to post course material such as lecture slides and assessment details, announcements, student grades and as a means of communication between staff members and students.
All important announcements will be made on iLearn and you are expected to view the announcements page of the course website at least once per week
Technology Used and Required
This unit requires access to standard information and communication technologies such as a personal computer and internet access.
Technology used: iLearn. Students are required to familiarise themselves with iLearn. If you have difficulties logging on to iLearn, please contact the university's technical support staff. Do not contact the lecturer or the tutors as they will not be able to help you with technical queries.
Students are expected to check their university email account and contact the teaching staff through it. Gmail, hotmail and other personal email accounts are often blocked through the university's spam filter; communicating through those risks that your query will not be answered.
What is expected from students?
To achieve the learning outcomes of this unit, students are expected to ...
- attend lectures and tutorials;
- participate in lecture and tutorial activities;
- proactively contribute to the group work;
- read in advance the chapter/s corresponding to the weekly topic;
- save and/ or print copies of the lecture slides and bring them along to the lectures;
- save and/or print the worksheets and other material necessary for each tutorial.
Attendance will be taken in the tutorials - You are expected to attend at least 10 of the 11 tutorials. Failure to do this may affect your final mark.
Required text and useful sources
Required text:
Larson E W and Gray C F, Project Management - The Managerial Process, McGraw Hill, 5th edition (2010) or 6th edition (2014).
This text is compulsory and can be purchased from the Macquarie University Co-op Bookshop.
Useful websites:
- http://www.pmhut.com/ has a wide-ranging set of articles by project management practitioners;
- http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/ has lots of articles on project management topics;
- http://www.aipm.com.au/ is the website of the Australian Institute of Project Management.
Unit Schedule
Weekly Program Outline*
|
Week |
Date |
Topic |
Tutorial & Assessment |
|
1 |
27/07 |
Introduction to the unit and key concepts |
No tutorial scheduled |
|
2 |
03/08 |
Project teams and estimation |
Class activities |
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3 |
10/08 |
Project set-up |
Class activities |
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4 |
17/08 |
Project planning - time |
Class activities |
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5 |
24/08 |
Project planning - resources |
Class activities (Assessment 1 In-class test) |
|
6 |
31/08 |
Project risk analysis |
Cass activities |
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7 |
07/09 |
Project monitoring and control |
Class activities |
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14/09/15 to 25/0915 Mid semester break |
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||
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8 |
28/09 |
Group presentations |
(Assessment 2 Summary report to be submitted to Turnitin and at the class.) |
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9 |
05/10 |
Public holiday, no classes. |
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|
10 |
12/10 |
Socio-cultural aspects of project management, leadership, stakeholders and communications |
Class activities |
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11 |
19/10 |
Agile project management and project selection |
Class activities (Assessment 3 Individual written assignment to be submitted to Turnitin and at the class.) |
|
12 |
26/10 |
Project procurement and project close down |
Class activities |
|
13 |
02/11 |
Review of the unit |
Class activities and consultation |
*Note: Changes to this outline, if required, will be discussed in class and/or announced on iLearn.
Policies and Procedures
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of 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/support/student_conduct/
Results
Results shown in iLearn, 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.
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 improve your marks and take control of your study.
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
IT Help
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Graduate Capabilities
PG - Discipline Knowledge and Skills
Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Students completing the course will be able to question and test the feasibility of projects.
- Students completing the course will be able to use critical path and critical chain methods to plan project delivery.
- Students completing the course will be able to apply their learning in the management of project resources and teams.
- Students completing the course will be able to use a variety of monitoring and financial tools to manage the delivery of quality project outcomes.
- Students completing the course will be able to make planning and delivery decisions based on project risk analysis.
- Students completing the course will be able to develop their ability to handle 'soft' project management skills.
Assessment tasks
- Class Test
- Group Presentation And Report
- Individual Written Assignment
PG - Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking
Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Students completing the course will be able to question and test the feasibility of projects.
- Students completing the course will be able to use critical path and critical chain methods to plan project delivery.
- Students completing the course will be able to apply their learning in the management of project resources and teams.
- Students completing the course will be able to use a variety of monitoring and financial tools to manage the delivery of quality project outcomes.
- Students completing the course will be able to make planning and delivery decisions based on project risk analysis.
- Students completing the course will be able to develop their ability to handle 'soft' project management skills.
Assessment tasks
- Group Presentation And Report
- Individual Written Assignment
PG - Research and Problem Solving Capability
Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Students completing the course will be able to question and test the feasibility of projects.
- Students completing the course will be able to use critical path and critical chain methods to plan project delivery.
Assessment tasks
- Group Presentation And Report
- Individual Written Assignment
Changes from Previous Offering
Contents and schedule of assessments are changed from previous offering as follows:
The Class Test assessment has been revised from multi choice test to case- or scenario- based written test;
The Group Presentation assessment has now included a 2000-word summary report in addition to the in-class group presentation;
The Group Presentation has been moved from the final week to Week 8 so as to allow students sharing of learning and receiving feedback during the semester.
Research and Practice
- This unit uses research from external sources;
- This unit gives you opportunities to manage a project through a group assignment;
- This unit entails examination of global context through evaluating project management practices and literature review.