IT Project Management

Learning Outcomes

The main objective of the course is to introduce the fundamental concepts of digital systems project management and to study best practices in the area of project management such as the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) of Project Management Institute (PMI), and to use such practices in project management of digital systems. The course will incorporate a laboratory session with project management software tools that allow students to practice some of the principles addressed.

Upon successful completion of the course the students will be able to:

• Recognize the need for IT project management
• Recognize the key issues during the IT project management procedures
• Describe the best practices in IT project management processes and follow an IT project management methodology –from project inception to project closure
• Create work break down structures (WBS)
• Create project plans
• Create business cases
• Describe PMI project management process groups
• Use various methods and techniques for schedule and budget estimation
• Use various methods and techniques for project monitoring
• Use various methods and techniques for resource loading and leveling
• Assign tasks and resources using project management software tools
• Create a Gantt/PERT schedule using project management software tools
• Monitor project progress using project management software tools

Course Content

1. Introduction to project management (e.g. project definition, projects typology, triple constraint concept, a systems approach to project management, organizational influences).
2. Projects, information systems and services life cycles. IT project management methodologies (e.g. phases, deliverables, PMI project management procedures).
3. IT projects business cases (e.g. Measurable Organizational Value, feasibility study, risk analysis, cost-benefit analysis, financial and scoring models).
4. IT project management portfolios (e.g. project selection using Balanced Scorecard).
5. Project charters and project plans. PMI project management processes (PMBOK areas).
6. Project Time and Recourse Management (e.g. Work Breakdown Structure, Project organization structure and responsibilities, Gantt charts, the critical path, network diagramming, PDM networks, CPM/PERT, Scheduling with resource constraints).
7. Project estimation (e.g. Delphi technique, Time boxing). Software engineering metrics and approaches (e.g. Lines of Codes, Function point analysis, COCOMO).
8. Project control. Cost control (e.g. variance analysis, earned value). Performance analysis (e.g. Performances indices SPI and CPI). Forecasting (e.g. Forecasted cost to complete project, forecasted cost at completion).

Suggested Bibliography

• J. Marchewka (2016): Information Technology Project Management: Providing Measurable Organizational Value, Wiley.
• Schwalbe K (2013): Information Technology Project Management, Cengage Learning.
• Phillips J (2010): IT Project Management: On Track From Start to Finish, McGraw-Hill Education.
• B. Maizlish and R. Handler (2010): IT Portfolio Management Step-by-Step: Unlocking the Business Value of Technology, Wiley.
• Project Management Institute (2004): A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition (PMBOK Guides), Project Management Institute.
• Nicholas J (2004): Project Management for Business and Engineering: Principles and Practice, Butterworth-Heinemann.
• International Journal of Information Technology Project Management (IJITPM), IGI Global.
• International Journal of Project Management, Elsevier.