PROJECT MANAGEMENT

with Professor Simister

Module Objectives

The module aims to provide you with appropriate knowledge and skills to understand and apply Project Management strategically within your organisation. Projects can be undertaken in a wide range of contexts and there is a need to develop an understanding of key principles and concepts that underpin issues and challenges that sponsors and project and/or general managers face when designing and managing projects to meet their own or other clients’ needs. The module takes a systems approach to the integration of project management principles, processes, tools and techniques. The focus is on alignment, deployment and operations of processes and systems within a project management framework. 

The objectives of the Project Management module are to: 

1. Provide a broad foundation in project management against which complex business and project challenges may be aligned, framed and managed. 
2. Recognize strategic and context factors, which will influence the deployment of systems & processes for delivery of project benefits. 
3. To deepen knowledge of the range of project management practices, models, and ideas available to managers. 
4. Enable efficient and effective project management practice in an organisational context.
5. Define the challenges that face sponsors and project managers and the approaches used to manage these  challenges effectively and efficiently to bring about beneficial outcomes for stakeholders.

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes from studying the Project Management module are set out below. Whilst the assessment strategy will assess that participants have achieved a balance of these outcomes at MBA level, during the course learners will have the opportunity via blended learning delivery to demonstrate a range of learning outcomes particularly around critical thinking, analysis, working in distributed teams and cooperation.

The assignment will provide an individual with an opportunity to demonstrate that they are have developed mastery over the analysis and synthesis process and acquired competence in handling substantive volumes of information. Within the assessment there should be evidence of the acquisition and application of subject specific knowledge and understanding and cognitive skills.

The module provides opportunities for participants to achieve the following outcomes:

• Participants will have a systematic understanding and critical awareness of the module and the current issues relating to project management within organisations and how project related processes and systems are managed in context.

• Describe and understand the importance of appropriate lifecycles including the generic principles of Concept, Design. Implementation, Handover.

• Recognise interfaces within the organisation such as operations management, change management and integration with existing business processes.

• Recognise the approaches that project management provides to manage novel activity effectively and efficiently to bring beneficial outcomes to stakeholders.

• Appraise and produce appropriate project management systems to meet different types of projects in different environments.