Bachelor of Science in Project Management

Examination of core issues in the practice of leadership. Identification of differing theories and styles of collaborative, integrative organizational leadership, and comparison to authoritarian or management by edict within the organizational context.

Overview of Information Systems (IS) infrastructure and its utilization in today’s global business environment. The use of technological tools and the role of information systems will be discussed from the organizational strategic, tactical, and operational view. Students learn how to choose and utilize information and knowledge to gain a competitive advantage in the industry.

The course provides an overview of human resources management and organizational development activities including employment, interviewing, career systems, compensation, benefits, training, organizational change, performance evaluation, discipline and employee assistance, labor relations, affirmative action, and equal employment opportunity considerations, and health and safety.

Utilization of a managerial framework for the examination of ethics in the workplace. Exploring the recognition of the link between workplace ethics and business success as part of an effective business strategy. Managerial best practices in workplace ethics are studied, providing students with an understanding of how ethical decision making occurs. Case analyses are employed to prepare students for real-life experiences involving issues of workplace ethics and assist students in developing skills needed to contribute to responsible business conduct.

Examination of the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in the workplace. Discussion of the relevance of evaluating metrics associated with DE&I theories. Review of the benefits to organizations in the areas of costs, marketing, resource acquisition, creativity, problem solving, and flexibility as a result of valuing diversity. Discussions of equity and inclusion are examined as they relate to managing a diverse workforce.

An overview of the issues of quality applied to human resources management. Topics include the delegation of authority and empowerment, work groups, team building and employee involvement, reward/recognition programs and employee morale, and the importance of written and oral communication skills in the delegation, sharing, and execution of work. Students gain a clearer understanding of the ways the workplace is changing to improve productivity and profitability.

Introduction to the concept of project management, covering the essential elements of planning a project, initiating the project, implementing the project, and the termination of the project, while emphasizing the importance of team building and leadership, as well as incorporating cost, scheduling, and budgetary principles according to contractual terms.

• Define the project framework.
• Explain the essentials for effectively managing a project.
• Describe project methodology.
• Develop project detailed plans.
• Define project implementation, control, handover, and closure.
• Describe the strategic aspects of project management.

The course will examine the elements of project planning and control by studying each element in depth. Topics addressed include work breakdown structures, budgets, costs, resource planning and allocation, project monitoring and reporting, and project and process control methods, as well as the termination and audit of a project. Students gain a clearer understanding of the importance of project planning and control and the tools, methodologies and disciplines required to achieve success.

• Develop a work breakdown structure (WBS) and properly plan and organize project information to develop a schedule.
• Estimate and develop durations for activities from various resources and determine their relationship to each other.
• Calculate the early and late dates and float for each activity to include the critical path through the network.
• Apply costs to activities based on their estimated value to include progress measures based on time and costs and calculated earned value as it relates to project performance.
• Develop a cash flow chart for the entire project.

This course deals with the management of a business segment or portfolio of projects leading to organizational change. It develops a model that compares the program with other segments of an organization using benchmarks, and develops a plan that builds an infrastructure of critical chains for parallel projects.

• Explain the governance of a project as part of the total organization.
• Plan the performance architecture of a program or segment within the organization and assure alignment of goals and responsibilities.
• Design the integration of project efforts into s systematic program.
• Formulate the infrastructure that supports integration of resources and projects.
• Write and integrate financial planning parameters and goals.
• Plan process improvement goals and techniques to encourage an attitude of continuous improvement.

This course will explore Project Accounting and its relationship with Earned Value Management. The course will provide the fundamentals of determining the relevance of a project from the financial and cost management perspective. Students will explore the role of traditional cost management techniques governing a project, along with understanding the viability of a project from a return-on-investment profile throughout the project life cycle. In addition, students will learn how to read Earned Value Management reports to facilitate progress reporting to senior management, the customer, and technical stakeholders.

• Explain EVM concepts and the benefits.
• Organize and plan projects.
• Perform, analyze, and report project performance.
• Enable early problem identification and resolution.
• Project future cost and schedule performance.

Overview of the management of contracts made with customers, vendors, or partners. Contract management includes negotiating the terms and conditions in contracts and ensuring compliance, as well as documenting and agreeing to changes that may arise during its implementation of execution.

• Describe methods to manage risk throughout the procurement life cycle.
• Explain essential contract legal principles.
• Identify the right type of contract for a project, balancing the risks between buyer and seller.
• Explain how to select contractors using source selection criteria.
• Perform a contract negotiation using standard tools and techniques.
• Describe how to administer a contract.

This course uses presentation, interactive exercises, and small-group work to explore Agile concepts, principles, roles and responsibilities, and practices. Students will get hands-on experience with Agile management tools and techniques and gain an understanding of how Agile teams and projects work.

• Apply key agile project management terms.
• Distinguish among project methodologies based upon project requirements.
• Synthesize the core practices and philosophies behind agile methodologies.
• Apply agile tools and techniques to efficiently deliver value.
• Articulate the importance of value-driven delivery and continuous process improvement loops ensuring that goals are met.

This course covers the area of risk management in the project context. It highlights the importance of risk management and the need for project managers to think ahead in this regard. It contains essential risk management theory and concepts as applicable to project environments including project risk planning, preparation, and response. It also overviews the areas of risk identification, assessment, monitoring, and control. Qualitative and quantitative risk analysis techniques will be presented to students within this course.

• Explain the benefit of risk management for projects.
• Outline the risk management process.
• Describe roles and responsibilities in the risk management process.
• Identify, assess, and treat possible project risks.
• Assess risks both qualitatively and quantitatively.

This course will explore the principles of sustainability and how you can use this basic knowledge to increase the value in the projects you manage. You will also learn about the effects of climate change on projects and how to properly address the risks that arise from climate change.

• Identify sustainability factors you can apply to developing or refining a projects business case.
• Articulate sustainable development factors that will increase the benefits achieved through your project.
• Apply sustainable development factors across the traditional project management process groups and knowledge areas.
• Describe how project quality can be enhanced through application of sustainable development concepts.
• Identify sustainable development factors that will allow you to achieve cost and schedule efficiencies.
• Discuss the basic sustainability principles, concepts, and theories as they apply to building and infrastructure projects.

This course will explore emerging trends in project management. Through select case studies, we will follow current trends in project management—the innovations, approaches, and outcomes of projects in public works, urbanization, satellite exploration, financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, etc. Students also will analyze how best practices and continuous improvements have forged rapid developments and innovations in emerging subsectors—such as robotics, artificial intelligence, and sustainability—have drawn upon modernized planning and more accurate analytics.

• Examine the evolving trends in project management practices.
• Discuss the evolving skills required for effective project management.
• Analyze methods used to evaluate investments in project initiatives.
• Demonstrate the skills to create value through projects at the intersections of industries.
• Apply the integration of change management initiatives into organizational transformations.

This course focuses on integrating project management knowledge, skills, and techniques developed in previous courses. It emphasizes critical analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of the theories and application of project management. It includes a major research paper and presentations as well as opportunities for reflection. Prerequisites: successful completion of all PMB program-specific courses.

• Apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to project knowledge areas and processes.
• Integrate current literature on topics associated with project management competencies.
• Evaluate alternative strategies and implement major aspects of project management for a sample project.
• Prepare professional documentation and presentations consistent with university and diverse workplace standards.