Advanced IT Project Management

Unit Code:HIT8437

Credit Points	Duration	Contact Hours	Campus	Prerequisite	Corequisite
12.5 Credit Points	1 Semester or equivalent	36 Hours	Hawthorn	HIT7407 Information Systems Project Management or HIT8060 Systems Project Management	Nil

Credit Points

Duration

Contact Hours

Campus

Prerequisite

Corequisite

12.5 Credit Points

1 Semester or equivalent

36 Hours

Hawthorn

HIT7407 Information Systems Project Management or HIT8060 Systems Project Management

Nil

Related Course/s:

Master of Information Technology Project Management

Aims & Objectives:

IT project managers are often confronted with extreme complexity and uncertainty in the projects they manage in modern organisations. Traditional frameworks alone can be limited in their ability to support a project manager with the knowledge and skills required to manage the actuality of IT projects, where multiple perspectives, multiple images, politics and conflict, resistance to change are often encountered. This unit aims to introduce students to new ways of thinking and practicing, taking into account a range of soft issues in building project teams and in managing complex, uncertain business projects in order to deliver benefits for the client.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this subject, students should be able to:

Understand the importance of delivering business value to clients via IT projects, and appreciate how this is achieved
value focused project decision making
Develop a business benefits realisation plan to ensure value creation
Understand the challenges of managing complexity and uncertainty in IT projects
Demonstrate knowledge of soft project management skills, especially multiple perspectives and multiple images of projects
Appreciate the concept and practice of reflective project management, and appropriate tools and techniques to support
reflection.
Understand the role of key methodologies and frameworks to support and improve project management practice

Teaching Methods:

Lectures (24 hrs) and Tutorials (12 hrs)

Assessment:

Individual Assessment, Group Assessment and Exam

Generic Skills Outcomes:

During this unit students will receive feedback on the following key generic skills:

- Teamwork (Work productively in diverse teams)
- Analysis (Identify and structure familiar and unfamiliar problems, Identify, select and work through a range of options, Present coherent, reasoned and informed arguments to support conclusions and recommendations)
- Problem solving skills (Conceptualise problems, formulate a range of solutions, and make a choice between options, Be able to tackle unfamiliar problems)
- Planning and organising skills (abilioty to plan and implment strategies and activities for completing tasks)

Content:

Value creation in IT projects (Move from cost/time/quality to cost/time/value to client, Value focused project decision making, Value creation and benefits realisation)
Managing Complexity and uncertainty
Soft project management issues (multiple perspectives and multiple images of projects, managing project politics, social
processes in IT projects)
Reflective practitioners and project management practice
Tools for reflective project management
Managing change and transformation driven by IT projects, Resistance to change
Methodologies/frameworks (PM and ISD) (PRINCE2,ITIL, MSP, P30, CMMI, Agile, Critique of these methodologies and frameworks)
IT Project governance
Building organisational IT project capability

Reading Materials:

Winter, M. and Szczepanek, T. (2009) Images of Projects. Gower, UK.

Mersino, A. (2007) Emotional Intelligence for Project Managers. Amacom, USA.

Cicmil, S. et al. (2006) Rethinking Project Management: Researching the Actuality of Projects. International Journal of Project Management, vol 24, pp675-686.

Anderson, E. (2008) Rethinking Project Management: An Organisational Perspective. Pearson, UK.