Revised: June 3, 2009
The Volgenau School of IT & Engineering
Applied IT Department

IT 343 Section 002, TTH 7:20-10:00 PM, Fairfax Campus, Engineering Room 4457 - 3 credits -
Instructor: Dr. William Pegram, wpegram@gmu.edu, Website: www.billpegram.com
Graduate Teaching Assistant: Sagar Mitra, smitra@gmu.edu

Required Text and Reading Material:

Text: Schwalbe, Kathy, Information Technology Project Management, 5th Edition, Thompson Course Technology 2007. ISBN-10: 0-324-66521-0, ISBN-13: 978-0-324-66521-5. You can utilize previous editions or the current edition (6th edition). Do not worry about whether the book "comes with" Microsoft Project since you will have access to that through the MSDNAA. Price: GMU bookstore $95 new, $71.25 used if available; www.ichapters.com (hardcopy $81.49) (includes free download of first chapter) or e-book ($47.99 - PDFs of chapters, typically good for 180 days),

Case Studies: A packet of case studies from the Harvard School of Business is also required reading. GMU bookstore: $37.65, used (if available) 28.25.

  1. BAE Automated Systems (A)
  2. BAE Automated Systems (B)
  3. Singapore TradeNet
  4. Managing Conflict in a Diverse Workplace
  5. The Rise and Fall of Iridium
  6. Timberjack Parts
  7. A&D High Tech (A)
  8. A&D High Tech (B)

Course Objectives:

The course schedule page can be found at www.billpegram.com It will be revised during the semester. If you miss class, make sure to check the schedule page for new material and changes.

Course Structure

The course will be conducted as a mixture of lecture and discussion. Most class sessions will be treated as two sessions: one devoted to a lecture, one to discussion of a case study. Students are expected to actively participate. A team of students will be assigned to research the case study and present their findings to the class as a foundation for subsequent discussion. All students are expected (1) to have read the case study presented and (2) to be prepared to participate in the subsequent discussion.

Writing Intensive Requirement

This course fulfills the University Writing Intensive Requirement for the IT major. It does so through requiring students to write two short papers, each approximately 750 words, and a longer paper, approximately 2000 words. Students must submit a draft of the paper, which will be reviewed and returned with comments, and the student will then submit a final version of the paper. . The grade on the longer paper will be an average of the grade on the draft and the final version of the paper.

Presentations:

Students will sign up to be part of a team of no more than 5 people to present on some aspect of one of the Harvard Business School Case Studies. Each student will prepare and present a presentation coordinated with the rest of their team on part of their team's assigned case. The combined presentations of the team should cover its assigned case. Presentations will be evaluated on coordination, content, delivery and class response.

Microsoft Project Exercise:

This has two parts: (1) each student will individually prepare and submit a project plan (estimated completion date, estimated cost, and critical path) utilizing Microsoft Project for the A&D High Tech (A): Managing Projects for Success Case.Study (2) each presentation team will submit a revised plan for A&D High Tech (B): Managing Scope Change Case Study. Students may download a copy of Microsoft Project through the Microsoft Developers' Network Academic Alliance, to which the Volgenau School subscribes.

Grading Policy

Your grade will be a function of the 2 short papers (8% each), the longer paper (20%), 2 midterms (12% each), and final (16%), MS Project Exercise (8% for each part) and Presentation (8%).

Academic Honesty

Students are encouraged to help each other out. On homework assignments and projects, students may ask for and receive some assistance from others, unless otherwise directed by the instructor.  Yet those helping a student should avoid "doing the work" for the student.  No assistance is permitted on exams and quizzes. On writing assignments, plagiarism will be punished and the instructor may utilize plagiarism detection tools. The instructor will provide at the beginning of the semester further guidance concerning plagiarism.

ODS Statement:

If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see instructor and contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) at (703) 993-2474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through the ODS.