HTSC H3016: Project

Management

Short Title: Project Management APPROVED

Full Title: Project Management

Module Code: HTSC H3016

ECTS credits: 5

NFQ Level: 7

Module Delivered in no programmes

Module Contributor: Robert Hickey

Module Description:
The overall purpose of this module is to give learners an understanding of the techniques and processes
involved in project management. This will be done by providing them with the skills necessary to evaluate
life cycles, in working projects generally and horticulture projects in particular. The students will acquire the
skills needed to critically assess the specific elements, processes and tools involved in the scoping and
conceptual planning of projects. Learners will also be trained in the use of commercially available project
management software.

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module the learner will be able to

1. Organise project specifications into manageable units for implementation purposes

2. Create, arrange and assemble projects through the preparation of Work Breakdown Structures, Communication Plans,
Risk Management Plans, Network Diagrams and Project Schedules
3. Compare and evaluate alternative methods of Project Organisation and Project Closure
4. Judge the significance of the critical factors which lead to successful projects and project managers
5. Conduct, manage, organise and plan a group based project
6. Construct project plans using commercial Project Management software.

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 HTSC H3016: Project
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Module Content & Assessment

Indicative Content

Project Initiation
• The Definition of Project characteristics; • Project Dimensions; • The Life Cycles of Projects; • Process Groups

The Role of the Project Manager

• Project versus Functional Management; • Responsibilities of a Project Manager; • Acquiring resources, Motivating personnel;
Communication issues in Project work; Handling stress; Credibility; • Managing obstacles; • Ethics and the Project Manager

Project Selection
• Numeric and non-numeric selection methods • Cost Benefit Analysis for project selection • Accounting rate of return • The concepts of Net
Present value (NPV), Discounted Payback Period (DPP), Internal rate of Return (IRR) and Accounting Rate of return.

Project Planning
• Plan co-ordination • Work Breakdown Structures • The Project Charter • The concepts of Scope management and Scope Creep • The
Hierarchical planning process • Change management

Project Organisation
• The growth of project oriented organisations • Organisational guiding principles • Types of project organisation • Pure project organisation
• A project as part of the wider functional organisation • Hybrid structures • Choosing an organisation form • Organising the Project Team

Project scheduling
• Defining a schedule and the terminology of Scheduling. • Network diagrams, including Activity-on-Node and Activity-on-Arrow • The
Critical Path Method • Commercially available scheduling software

Project risk management

• Defining risk • Risk dimensions • Risk Identification, Classification, Mitigation and Management

Earned Value Analysis

• Collecting data on Projects • Information Needs • The Earned Value Analysis process • Key measures and indices for EVA.

Project closure
• The varieties of project closure • The phenomena of extinction, addition, integration and starvation • Deciding when to close a project and
the closure process • Why some projects fail

Indicative Assessment Breakdown %

Course Work Assessment % 50.00%

Final Exam Assessment % 50.00%

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 Course Work Assessment %

Assessment Assessment Description Outcome % of Assessment

Type addressed total Date

Case study In groups of 4 the students will be required to review a report based on 3,4 10.00 n/a
a substantial project from the past which failed for a variety of reasons.
From analysing the report each group will have to deliver a
comprehensive presentation outlining the critical issues which resulted
in the failure of this project to deliver on its objectives. The presentation
should contain a discussion on why the team consider these issues to
be critical to the success of a project. Each team should include
suggestions of how these critical issues might have been avoided using
the recommended text to back up their argument. All points must be
referenced appropriately.

Practical/Skills A series of weekly in-class exercises (4) (created using Microsoft 1,2,3,5,6 20.00 n/a
Evaluation Project) centred round a specific project. Here the student must utilise a
wide variety of common tabs, groups and specific tools to be found in
Microsoft Project in order to assemble a project plan. In these exercises
the students will be required to create a hierarchical project plan through
preparing work breakdown structures, network diagrams and project
schedules. The student will have to identify the critical path through the
project and be able to print off their project plan gantt chart including a
network diagram. A project baseline will be set and from this visual
reports will be generated.

Project In groups of 4 the students will be required to put together a 1,2,3,4,5,6 20.00 n/a
comprehensive project plan based on a set of drawings and
specifications from a working project, with a fixed budget and limited
people resources. They will need to produce a responsibility matrix,
project scope statement and project charter. All sections of the project
plan will need to be placed on one MS Project file for final submission. A
2,000 word report detailing how the team worked together to complete
the project plan from start to finish including all the various areas for
consideration identified in the initiation stage of the project. A print off of
the project gantt chart should accompany the report.

Final Exam Assessment %

Assessment Type Assessment Description Outcome % of Assessment Date

addressed total

Formal Exam End-of-Semester Final Examination 1,2,3,4 50.00 End-of-Semester

Indicative Reassessment Requirement

Repeat examination
Reassessment of this module will consist of a repeat examination. It is possible that there will also be a requirement to be reassessed in a
coursework element.

ITB reserves the right to alter the nature and timings of assessment

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Indicative Module Workload & Resources

Indicative Workload: Full Time

Frequency Indicative Average Weekly Learner Workload

Every Week 30.00

Every Week 30.00

Resources

Recommended Book Resources

Meredith and Mantel 2003, Project Management, A Managerial Approach, 5th Ed Ed., Wiley and Sons New York

Supplementary Book Resources

David L. Cleland, Lewis R. Ireland,, Project Management [ISBN: 978-0071471602]

Dennis Lock 2001, The essentials of project management, Gower Brookfield, Vt. [ISBN: 0566082241]

Fergus O'Connell, How to run successful projects III [ISBN: 0201748061]

David Boddy, David Buchanan 1992, Take the lead, Prentice Hall New York; London [ISBN: 0138128278]

Patrick L. Healy 1997, Project management, Butterworth-Heinemann Port Melbourne [ISBN: 0750689439]

by Carl L. Pritchard 2001, Risk management, ESI International Arlington, Va. [ISBN: 1890367303]

This module does not have any article/paper resources

Other Resources

Website: Project Management InstituteProject Management Institute

http://www.pmi.org/

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