Course Outline – GDBA 595/2

Special Topics in Project Management

JMSB
 Course Number: GDBA 595/2
 Credits: 3
 Section: CC
 Room: MB xxx SGW
 Corinne Charette
Corinne.Charette@concordia.ca
514 848-2424 ext 5086
 office hours: MB 12.367 –
Mondays 15:00-17:30
 Thursdays 16:30-18:00
 Description
Projects are one of the principal means by which organizations change and transform to adapt to
their evolving environments. Whether it is in financial services, technology, engineering,
construction, education or healthcare sector, projects are the drivers for implementing new
strategies and for significant organizational change. Project management is the discipline used for
achieving the goals and effectively and efficiently executing the associated tasks required to
achieve the desired outcomes. Project management has become one of the most popular tools for
organizations (public and private) to improve internal operations, respond to external opportunities
rapidly, streamline new product development and improve customer service.

This course simultaneously presents the general principles of project management while
addressing specific examples across a wide range of IT enabled projects in various industry sectors.
Students in the class may come from different departments and faculties. The course will deal with
core project management principles and concepts in a holistic fashion; students will be able to
explore these via class discussion and by exercising technical and managerial challenges through
the associated course work. Although the course will focus on the concepts enabling individual
project execution, it will also stress the strategic advantage perspective of why organizations
launch specific projects.

The course expands into the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) of the project
management institute (PMI) where students will have the opportunity to review the project
management professional (PMP) certification requirements and practice typical PMP questions
in an interactive web-based environment.

In the course students will also get exposed to project management tools including schedulers,
Gantt charts and Risk Registers as part of the course requirements. Students will be organized in
groups to complete a semester long example project which they will present at the end of the
semester.

Course Objectives
The main objective of this course is to provide students with a good understanding of core
project management concepts and how these concepts can be used to strategically align
projects with the organization’s strategy and attain the project goals in support of that
strategy. To that effect, the discrete objectives of the course are:

1. To understand project management concepts and explain how they are related.
2. To demonstrate knowledge of project planning and scheduling using different tools
and methods.
3. To apply PM principles using typical PM tools.
4. To demonstrate understanding of project management areas of knowledge (PMBOK).
5. To be able to present project management principles and techniques in a coherent and
organized way, showing appropriate examples and skillful transitions.
6. To demonstrate the ability to be an active project participant who understands their
role on a project and who can properly exercise PM techniques in support of that role.
Teaching Method & Resources
Pedagogy:
The course will be focused on the following approaches:
1. Lectures, supported by readings, which will present the core material by module,
including 1 or 2 Guest lectures.
2. Problem-based approach, where students will discuss the project management
principles and techniques via a series of cases presented to them in class.
3. Peer to peer learning, where students will collaborate on creating and assessing
project management artifacts and scenarios through in-class activities.
4. By working in small teams on a on a hypothetical project through a full cycle of
project realization throughout the term.

OPTIONAL: Recommended textbook: Textbook Title: Pinto, Jeffrey K., Project

Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage. Pearson, 4th edition ISBN: 978-0-13-
379807-4

Online resources:
o https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/
o https://www.pmi.org
o Harvard Business Review Magazine and Sloan Review (EBSCO Discovery
Service) – Concordia Library
o Other reading from popular business magazines - TBD

Course Evaluations & Schedule

1. Five P2P Activities (in-class) 25%
2. Group Project: project assignments will be distributed in lecture 2. 25%
3. Mid-term practice test. 10%
4. Summative Exam 40%
Date Topic
Sept 10 Introduction & Orientation; Team Formation
Lecture: The fundamentals of Project Management
1a. Reading: Quick guide to project management
1b. Reading: Firms Need a Blueprint for Building Their IT Systems
Activity: Team dynamics [in-class]

Sept 17 Lecture: Scope Management; Distribution of project assignments

Activity: P2P1-Scope Management [in-class]
2a. Reading: Practical project planning and tracking
2b. Reading: PMI Scope Management Plan

Sept 24 Lecture: Project Team Roles, the PM & Leadership

3a.Reading: Why it’s hard to share people across multiple teams
3b. Reading: Five Critical Roles in Project Management
Activity: P2P2-Team Creation [in-class]
Sept 29 Lecture: Budget Planning, Resources Management; Project Controls
4. Reading: Delivering large-scale IT projects on time, on budget, & on value
Activity: P2P3-Budget Management [in-class]
Oct. 1 Class cancelled Quebec Election Day – makeup class Sunday, Sept. 29
Oct 15 Lecture: Risk Management
5a. Reading: Planning considerations to avoid issues and risks in typical
project situations.
5b. What Great Projects Have in Common
5C: Why Your IT Project May Be Riskier Than You Think
Activity: P2P4-Risk Management [in-class]
Oct 22 Mid Term Test
Oct 29 Lecture: Project Management Office - PMO
6a. Reading: Taking your PMO to the next level;
6b. Reading: The growing importance of EPMO in today’s organization
Activity: P2P4-Risk Management [in-class]
Nov 5 Lecture: Change Management
7. Reading: Ten guiding principles of change management
Activity: Guest Lecture (Tentative)
Nov 12 Lecture: Agile project management
8a,b. Reading: Successful solutions through agile PM; Metrics for Agile P
Activity: Guest Lecture (Tentative)

Nov 19 Lecture: Critical Success Factors, Privacy, Project Closeout & Termination
9 a+b. Reading- Fortune: Home Depot to Pay Banks $25 Million in Data
Breach Settlement & Fortune: A Surprise in the Equifax Breach: Victims
Likely to Get Paid
Activity: Mock Close-out activity [in-class]

Nov 26 Lecture: Independent Project Reviews;

10. Reading: TBS The Independent Reviewers Handbook
11. Reading: Auditor General`s Report on Phoenix Pay System
Activity: P2P5 Mock Project Review [in-class]
Dec 3 Final project presentations
Dec 4 Review for summative exam
Important Dates
Fall/Winter Refer to the Graduate Registration Guide or consult your Graduate Program
Registration Director for exact dates of registration and for academic advice.
September 2018
Mon, Sep. 3 Labour Day, University closed
Tue, Sep. 4 Classes begin, Fall Term
Mon, Sep. 17
Deadline for withdrawal with tuition refund* Fall-term courses (/2 DNE)
Before midnight
October 2018
Mon, Oct. 1 Quebec Election Day – Class Cancelled –Makeup Class Sunday Sept 29
Mon, Oct. 8 Thanksgiving Day, University closed (see December 4, 2018)
November 2018
Mon, Nov. 5
Last day for academic withdrawal from Fall-term courses (/2 DISC)
Before midnight
December 2018
Mon, Dec. 3 Last day of classes, Fall Term
Tue, Dec. 4 Make-up day for classes scheduled on Monday, October 8
Wed, Dec. 5 Examinations begin
Wed, Dec. 19 Examinations end
Mon, Dec. 24
Holiday period, University closed
to Thu, Jan. 3

Note: In the event of extraordinary circumstances beyond the University's control, the content and/or
evaluation scheme in this course is subject to change.
Late assignments class policy: Late assignments, for any reason, will be subject to a 25% penalty for
the first day. An additional 10% will be deducted for each additional day.

The following grading system is used for graduate diploma programs.

% Score Letter Grade

95-100 A+
90-94 A
85-89 A-
80-84 B+
70-79 B
61-69 B-
55-60 C
 0-54 F

Rights & Responsibilities

Plagiarism:
The most common offense under the Academic Code of Conduct is plagiarism which the Code defines
as "the presentation of the work of another person as one's own or without proper
acknowledgement" (Article 16a).
This could be material copied word for word from books, journals, internet sites, professor's course
notes, etc. It could be material that is paraphrased but closely resembles the original source. It could be
the work of a fellow student, for example, an answer on a quiz, data for a lab report, a paper or
assignment completed by another student. It might be a paper purchased through one of the many
available sources. Plagiarism does not refer to words alone - it can also refer to copying images, graphs,
tables, and ideas. "Presentation" is not limited to written work. It also includes oral presentations,
computer assignments and artistic works. If you translate the work of another person into French or
English and do not cite the source, this is also plagiarism. If you cite your own work without the correct
citation, this too is plagiarism.

In Simple Words:
DO NOT COPY, PARAPHRASE OR TRANSLATE ANYTHING FROM ANYWHERE
WITHOUT SAYING FROM WHERE YOU GOT IT! DON'T FORGET TO USE QUOTATION
MARKS!

In class behavior:
All students have the right to expect a class environment that is favorable for learning. As a corollary,
each student is responsible to act accordingly. In this perspective, all students are required to arrive to
class on time. In addition, class disturbances such as cell phone use will not be tolerated.