Admission requirements
None.
Description
ICT development projects face increasing complexity. In addition to technological challenges, managerial and organizational issues arise, causing failure to a vast number of development initiatives. The lecture based part of this course focuses on the management of the development process, including the systems development life cycle, alternative approaches to software development, techniques for project management, and critical success factors. The project-based part of the course, which builds on the software engineering course from the third semester, provides an opportunity to experience and apply the issues and techniques discussed in the course.
Course objectives
Upon completion of the course students should have a firm grasp of the concepts, approaches, techniques and developments in the management of ICT projects, based on lectures and case studies as well as on direct experience in managing a hands-on ICT development project. The course looks both at in-house development projects as well as external and off-shore development projects and explicitly includes issues related to intra-organizational ICT projects. In addition, concepts related to managing across multiple projects such as quality management and the capability maturity model are discussed as well. The course takes a broad organizational approach to project management, ranging from the traditional project management techniques to measurement issues, financial evaluation, and the management of user expectations and involvement.
In addition, the students will get some insight into the subtleties of running an IT company and the fundamental principles of being successful in business.
Timetable
The schedule can be found on the LIACS website
Detailed table of contents can be found in blackboard.
Mode of instruction
The course is structured around two building blocks: nine theory sessions, including in-class reading and case study assignments, and an ambitious, practical system’s development project, to be carried out in pre-assigned groups of about 6 students.
Assessment method
Written exam
It will be based on materials covered during class and assigned readings or handouts. It is a closed book, closed notes exam.
Assignment
Your assignment is to propose, plan, calculate, manage, and execute towards a (very basic) prototype, a software development project in a specific, pre-assigned area.
You will present your working system and the underlying architecture in a ‘trade-fair’ at the end of the semester and will be graded on a variety of aspects.
You will be graded on how well your group does, how cooperative and informative your group is for the other groups in the trade fair, and how impressed attendees of the ‘trade fair’ are with your collective effort.
Grading
Your total grade for this course will be based on the following:
15% project proposal (‘bid’) [group]
20% detailed project plan plus functional specifications [group]
5% Deutsche Bank case presentation [group]
5% in-class participation [individual]
35% written exam [individual]
15% project presentation at trade fair [group]
5 % peer student evaluation [individual]
Blackboard
Reading list
Bob Hughes and Mike Cotterell (2009): Software Project Management, McGraw-Hill
Further reading assignments are provided online through blackboard. Additional reading assignments may be added as the course progresses, and will be made available through blackboard.
Signing up for classes and exams
You have to sign up for classes and examinations (including resits) in uSis. Check this link for more information and activity codes.
There is a limited capacity for elective students. Please contact the programme Co-ordinator.
Contact information
Programme Co-ordinator ms. Judith Havelaar LL.M