Project management is a popular area and relevant to almost all FIT students. The arguments are all well known and self evident. Project management is important in industry because the way projects are scheduled and managed determines cash flow and delivery lead time of major contracts. Training in project management is highly regarded by employers. Many informal surveys of new and existing students have confirmed the appeal and likely success of a Project Management track.

On 29 Jan 2010, the FIT Graduate Programs Committee (GPC) agreed to a proposal for a Project Management professional track in the Master of Business Information Systems (MBIS). http://infotech.monash.edu/about/committees-groups/fec/sc-pgcrsework/2010/meetings/110ag.html Item 4.2.1 "FIT5178 Applied Project Management" is one of the core units of the track. It will also be an elective for other postgraduate courses within Monash University. "FIT5178 Applied Project Management" covers the numerical topics of project management and other essential knowledge, such as decision making and project management software.

22/1/2014 - Change to contact hours made to align with Handbook entry (bulk upload from CUPID extract). Approved by ADE.

6/12/2016 - modified Unit Objectives to comply with AQF requirements at level 8. This change should commence in semester 1, 2017

6/12/2016- The original Objectives of which there were eight (20 May 2014, 09:36am) do not demonstrate Blooms Taxonomy nor support AQF level 8. The terms used in the new set of objectives establish the importance of this unit as a postgraduate unit and indicate the value attributed to critical analysis and evaluation, concepts that post graduate scholars should be demonstrating by the end of their unit. Additionally the new set of objectives take a more holistic approach to the topic rather than simply identifying each individual component of the unit which I think is unnecessary. Further it was seen as logical to reduce the number of objectives from 8 to 3 for reasons of clarity and succinctness.

Amended assessment by placing more weight on the assessment. This is to bring the unit into line with all other post graduate units. This change should commence in semester 1 2017.

6/12/2016 - changes to the synopsis and prescribed reading have been conducted as the content for this unit has been adjusted to better position the unit and its focus on PMBOK.

6/12/2016 - Chief examiner should be changed as Rod Martin has retired. This change should commence in 2017.

14/12/2016 - Admin: fix typo in learning outcomes.

7/2/2017 - Changed "PMBOK" to reflect correct name "PMBOK Guide" to ensure correct usage of legal name, and changed "laboratory" to "tutorial".

7/2/2017 - exam reading time has been updated to 30 minutes to allow students sufficient time to read the case studies.

15/2/2017 - Administrative amendment on behalf of CE- Amended synopsis. Deleted an incorrect symbol relating to PMBOK.

10/10/2017 - Admin: update prohibitions.

25/06/2018 - Admin: Update to assessment on behalf of the CE removing the 30 minute reading and noting time from the exam and revising the exam to 3 hours.

24/9/2019: Admin - adding 10 minutes reading time to the overall exam duration as per University requirements.

19/11/2020: Admin - this unit was disestablished at FEC 5/20 on 12/11/2020 as it is no longer required.

On successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Critically evaluate the synchronicity between the main four knowledge areas as outlined in PMBOK - scope, time, budget and quality - in order to evaluate project performance.
2. Critically analyse and transform complex project management problems by using a range of project management evaluation tools, financial techniques and modern software that are involved with the four main knowledge areas.
3. Demonstrate expert judgment and adaptability when presented with specialised technical project management issues.

080315 Project Management

This unit focuses on four of the important knowledge areas established from the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK): scope management, time management, cost management and quality management.

The unit demonstrates the technical aspects of the knowledge areas otherwise known as the triple constraints - and places the emphasis on the planning and execution of projects. The unit will demonstrate how the triangulation of these knowledge areas supports a successful project. The unit will conclude with a discussion on governance compliance and decision making techniques to provide traceable project transparency and accountability.

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, PMBOK 5th Edition. 2013. Project Management Institute. (Available as an e-book)

Kerzner, H. 2017 Project Management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and Controlling, 12th Edition. Wiley ISBN: 978-1-119-16535-4.

Kerzner, H. 2014. Project Recovery: case studies and techniques for overcoming project failure. Wiley. ISBN: 978-1-118-80919-8.

Kerzner, H. Project Management Metrics, KPIs, and Dashboards: A guide to measuring and monitoring project performance, 2nd Edition. Wiley. ISBN: 978-1-118-52466-4.

Schwalbe, K. 2016 Information Technology Project Management (8th Edn), Cengage Learning. ISBN 13 978 1 285 45234 0

on-campus and off-campus

Examination (3 hours and 10 minutes): 40% In-semester assessment: 60%

Justification: The exam has significant case study questions and careful reading and consideration needs to be undertaken before answering the questions. Our anecdotal analysis of the semester one exam showed a tactic of only attempting 3 of the 4 parts of the exam. These students had significantly higher marks in the first 3 sections and mainly zero marks in 4 section.

Most students appeared to be "rushed" in the final section with very short singular word answers instead of the analysis they have been taught to perform. We believe many students have received disproportionally low marks in the last section due to lack of time.

We believe that the loss of reading and noting time will be detrimental to the students.

Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:

(a.) Contact hours for on-campus students:

(b.) Additional requirements (all students):

Faculty of Information Technology

Students must be enrolled in a post graduate course at Monash university to undertake this unit.