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Project Management: A Survey Course for Software Developers

Background

This course provides an overview of key project management concepts as specified by the Project Management Institute with a specific orientation towards software projects. Students completing the course will have sufficient exposure to process, quality, risk, and scheduling concepts to be productive in a modern development organization.

Prerequisites

Although no prior project management experience is assumed, students should have exposure to the software development life cycle and set theory.

Objectives

Students who complete the course will be conversant in the following topics:

• Introduction: Project management defined; project life cycles; unique aspects of software projects; stakeholders, roles, and expectations; line, matrix, and project management styles.

• Process Oriented Development: Processes defined, development and management process types, process maturity levels, software project documentation.

• Time Management: Time management defined, schedule estimation, scheduling mathematics, critical paths, time oriented documentation, project management software.

• Quality Management: Quality defined, quality assurance and total quality management compared, data gathering and analysis, quality documentation, special concerns for software.

• Risk Management: probability and risk, statistics and distributions, Monte Carlo simulations, critical path convergence, risk decision trees.

Course Structure

The course includes lecture, individual lab, group exercise, and exam time. The structure is as follows:

• Lectures: Seven lectures of 90 to 120 minutes each.

• Individual Labs: Seven after class exercises to re-enforce course topics.

• Group Exercise: The class will deliberate on a project management case study in lieu of an eighth lecture day.

• Exams: Two exams, each two hours long, based on lab exercises to verify student intake.

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