The module is part of a Part Time MA degree in I.T. Management. It consists of 12 units and requires at least 5 hours study time per unit. Some of this time will be spent on-line communicating with course participants and tutors, finding resources on the Web etc. Other time will be spent reading and preparing course assignments off-line.
Autumn Semester 1996/97 : (October 1996 to March 1997 - if co-ordinated with existing students). This module will start on October 18th with the face to face meeting at Sheffield University, and conclude on 17th March when the assignment is due.
A good command of English is required. Much of the work on the module requires online discussion and group work.
University of Sheffield UK, Division of Adult Continuing Education.
Before starting this module course members will need to have a basic knowledge of I.T. equipment and software, as well as a good understanding of the process of system analysis and design and/or software development.
Considerable self management is required of participants on this module.
This module will begin with an overview of the principle involved in Information Systems / I.T. Project Management, followed by a review of the human resource management issues. The rest of the module will look at topics such as models for software life-cycles, as well as discussion of the requirements for various project control activities, including costing, guidelines for system quality assurance, and various project control techniques which have been developed in recent years.
Aim
The aim of this module is to provide an understanding of the principles of project management techniques as they apply to the development of information systems. Computing projects often overrun their budget and time schedules. Research shows that the inability to meet deadlines and expenditure limits are often caused by a lack of project management skills, rather than through a lack of technical skills.
Objectives
The aim of project management is to produce information systems which meet the specification, on time, within budget and to a quality standard. The principles of planning at the strategic, tactical and operational levels will be discussed. The required central structures and procedures will also be evaluated. Students will look at the issues surrounding the Project Managerís role as an internal consultant.
Along with managing time and resources, the project manager must also manage people. Management will be accomplished primarily through communicating accurately to team members (who may or may not have been selected for their competence and compatibility). Goals for project productivity will be set and team members will be motivated to achieve them. The personality characteristics of staff can significantly affect individual and team performance.
Most software development starts with an overall concept or mental model of the software development process. The reality may not always fit neatly into the named stages, for instance there may be variation in order or duration or levels of iteration. For the project manager, the level / effectiveness of user involvement in each model is a key success factor. The shift from the traditional (linear) life cycle to the evolutionary (prototyping) approach will be examined.
Prior to making a long-term investment or commitment, it is essential to consider the impact that implementing such changes will bring about. The feasibility study is a method of assessing the suitability of a proposed project in a particular organisation.
Software project estimation is an ongoing activity which starts at the initial proposal stage and continues throughout the project. Traditionally, projects have been estimated by intuitive methods based on an individual's experience with little or no effort being made to correlate data from other projects. However, a number of techniques have been developed to give a greater degree of accuracy in estimating and to qualify the accuracy of the estimate.
Before installing any new systems or changes to systems it is imperative to produce a detailed system specification. This applies to both hardware and software systems. Providing a detailed specification allows documentation to be checked at every stage and increases the chance of success. Close co-operation between the designer and end user organisation is essential for this process to be efficiently completed.
Users and suppliers of an information system often have different perceptions about its quality. The user is normally only interested in the quality of the delivered software / systems whereas the supplier (the project manager and team) is interested also in the reasons for poor quality and ways to correct shortcomings. Unfortunately, quality characteristics for systems can be conflicting, eg. efficiency versus usability, so that the quality assurance process must be developed in line with the varying types of information systems to be developed.
Testing software systems is a process which generally involves comparing actual and expected outputs, resulting from the execution of programs or systems. This process of testing software systems can be said to discover errors in systems but never prove their absence. Participants on the course will look at the factors involved with a view to producing a strategic system testing plan.
Implementation is the installation of the new system and the removal of the current system. It involves the hardware, computer programs, forms, procedures and personnel. As there may be a hidden conflict of interest between the implementors and the rest of the organisation, the transition from the old to the new system is extremely delicate, and needs careful management.
Once installation is complete, various forms of systems maintenance will arise - corrective, adaptive, perfective and preventative. Since it has been estimated that software maintenance can account for 60 per cent of all software development effort, this aspect needs proper organisation, planning and control.
The systems review or audit covers (in retrospect) similar ground to the feasibility study - it examines the projected objectives, scope, costs and benefits (which are actually incurred / experienced). When the system is in full operation, an investigation of the performance of systems measured against its objectives can be carried out.
Many well-established techniques for project management and control have been developed. These provide tools for documenting the tasks in a project, allocating the time each task will take, together with human and other resources. These techniques range from long standing techniques such as bar charts, through network analysis tools to integrated project support environments (IPSES). Many of these methodologies have been developed as software tools to monitor and control projects, and students will be asked to consider the effectiveness of some of these programs.
A module reading pack will be provided for each participant. Other learning resources will be referred to on the ITM Course Web page.
Assignment
Participants will be provided with a case study from which they are to prepare their assignment. This will consist of three sections in which participants will be required to answer specific questions about various phases of project management. It is assumed that course participants will communicate with one another in a ìlearning communityî, although each should prepare their own work for submission.
Assessment :
This module has a 20 credit rating in the UK and will be assessed by the course tutors.
Participants collaborate on their learning throughout the module, and work in a learning set of about 10 plus a tutor. Tutors will work as part of this community and be available on-line throughout the semester.
Tutors are :
Mr Ian Rosser and Mr Neil Goldsmith, currently tutors on the ITM Course at Sheffield University, UK, (plus one other tutor to be confirmed).
No fees applicable for MECPOL partner students, otherwise 700.00 pounds sterling. (Travel and accommodation costs, etc. for initial face to face meeting in Sheffield will have to be met by course participants).
Participants are expected to take part in on-line discussions with tutors and other group members throughout the Semester.
Each unit will provide a full bibliography, but all course participants will need their own copy of the following publication:
Yeates, D. [ed.] (1991) Project Management for
Information Systems,
Pitman, London. ISBN: 0273034545