44007 Conlon

MIS 44007 Spring 2015

Section 001-201510  CRN=15593

Project Management and Team Dynamics 

Syllabus

Instructor: Ryan Conlon

Semester: Spring 2015

Class Meetings: Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:45 PM to 5:00 PM

Room: BSA 205

Office Hours: I don’t have an office.  To see me, please schedule via email.  My best time to meet with you would be just before or just after class. 

Email: rconlon@kent.edu or ryanconlon@yahoo.com

Phone: (440) 759-0761 (Mobile)

Text: Project Management for Dummies by Stanley E. Portny.  Optional Text: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) Fifth Edition

Prerequisites: Junior or Senior class standing recommended.

Project Management and Team Dynamics

An overview and hands on experience of project management.  This course starts with initiation and proceeds through planning, execution, and closing out a project. As a framework it uses the Project Management Institute’s PMBOK Guide – Project Management Body of Knowledge (Fourth Edition).  This is a recognized standard for the project management profession worldwide. 

Critical to the success of any project is a well-functioning, highly motivated team.  Putting together the right team with a clear focus can mean the difference between a successful project (on time and within budget) and a failure.  History is littered with examples of failed projects, especially large software projects.  We can learn a lot from these unfortunate experiences and, hopefully, avoid repeats in the future. 

The course begins with the Meyers-Briggs personality inventory which will help in later class team exercises.  Teams will be formed for ad-hoc exercises that will help students learn good team behavior, giving other team members appropriate feedback, practicing leadership, and tracking progress.  These team exercises will teach the importance of good peer feedback; feedback that is caring, helpful, and appreciated.

Projects in the 21^st century are now often done with a very diverse workgroup.  It is not uncommon to have teams composed of members from many different places in the world all collaborating in real time to accomplish one goal.  This is global execution of projects.  Understanding the differences in the cultural environment and how people interact with each other in different places in the world can make or break a project team.  It is the hidden assumptions about person to person interaction that different cultures have that need to be made explicit.  Without making everything explicit, too often people misinterpret behavior, take offense, and quit working together.  Of course, this leads to project failures.  

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES AND COURSE FORMAT (refer to the Schedule for the calendar and specifics):

§         Class Attendance and Discussions: You are expected to be punctual for each class meeting. An absence, excused or unexcused, does not relieve you of any course requirements. Since attending class is a necessary condition for participation in other activities, you cannot afford to miss classes. You are expected to read the assigned text material before coming to class in order to make sessions more meaningful and productive. I do not believe in makeups as they are unfair to other students.  Attendance and Discussion will count toward 30% of your grade.  This includes one presentation in class as well. 

§         Case, Article Discussions and Assignments: You are expected to read, analyze, and discuss all the assigned cases and articles. You can be called upon at any time to present and discuss the assigned cases. Case presentations and discussions will focus on analyzing key issues and strategies for resolving those issues. Your quizzes, assignments, and exams will examine your understanding of the cases and articles.  

§         Quizzes/Exams: There will be six (6) quizzes over the semester. Students will have the option of dropping the quiz with the lowest score. Quizzes will count towards 30% of your grade.  The Final Exam is comprehensive and counts towards 20% of your grade.

§        Assignments: There will be several assignments during the semester.  These are written assignments where you will write a document related to a project.  During the course of a project several written documents are required during the different stages of initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling and ending with closing out a project.  You will have a chance to write these documents and receive feedback on your writing. 

§        Extra Credit Opportunities: You can earn extra credit by volunteering to help me, especially during the team activities; for example, prior to class with setup and after class to put the room back in order.  In addition, there are outside the class opportunities with MISA, and some local companies who want help.  Ask about these opportunities, please.

Students' Final Grade will be based on the following percentages:

The final course letter grade will be assigned according to the following breakdown of total points earned (+ and - will also be assigned).

925 or higher   A                     800 to 824       B-                    675 to 699       D+

900 to 924       A-                    775 to 799       C+                   625 to 674       D

875 to 899       B+                   725 to 774       C                     600 to 624       D-

825 to 874       B                     700 to 724       C-                    Below 600       F

 The Following Policies Apply to All Students in this Course 

1. Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools/Flashfast) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Sunday, 1/25/2015 to correct the error.  If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester. 
2. The course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, March 22, 2015.  Withdrawal before the deadline results in a "W" on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade must be calculated and reported.

3.      Academic honesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit.   In addition, it is considered to cheating when one cooperates with someone else in any such misrepresentation.  The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense.  It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course.  Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.

4.      University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability/  for more information on registration procedures).

5.      If you are eligible to graduate, it is your responsibility to apply for graduation before the set deadline (May Graduation: Apply before September 15^th     August Graduation: Apply before December 13^th December Graduation: Apply before March 15^th).  If you apply after the deadline you will be assessed a $200 late fee. Please see your academic advisor as soon as possible if you are uncertain as to your progress toward graduation.  To apply for graduation complete the following steps: Log onto your Flashline account 1. Click on the Student Tools tab, 2. Look in the Graduation Planning Tool Box, 3. Click on Application for Graduation.  If an error message appears, you must contact your advisor.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, it is expected that students will understand:

1.      There are four phases to all projects:
Initiation
Planning
Executing
Closing

2.      Associated with each phase are certain critical documents:
Initiation Document
Plan
Status Updates (throughout the project)
Closing Document

3.      Clear focus on what the project will and WILL NOT do is critical to success.

4.      Communication throughout the project is critical to success. 

5.      Learn and practice key principles of Business Presentations

Schedule (Tentative – this will change over the semester, watch Blackboard for updates) 

Rules for the class

1.   Class starts promptly at 3:45 PM, don’t be late.

2.   Class ends at 5:00 PM, some days we may end early.

3.   If you can’t attend for any reason, you must tell me in advance (email is best option).  Not attending will hurt the class participation portion of your grade.

4.   College years are for learning as much as you can.  If your view is “do the bare minimum and get the degree” then I don’t want you in this class.  I expect enthusiastic students who will learn as much from each other as from me.  Having fun and making this class a memorable experience is an important goal.