Dept.

of Engineering
MGEL – Master of Global Engineering Leadership

SYLLABUS: ISE 6801

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
SUMMER 2018- DRAFT WORING VERSION

Course overview
Instructor
Instructor: Jack Slavinski
Email address: slavinski.4@osu.edu
Phone number: 704-936-6703
Office hours: By appointment. A phone call will typically be scheduled. Please allow for
sufficient notice in advance to schedule.

Course description
This course is intended to provide foundational and advanced project management education
in an interactive online learning environment as part of the Master of Global Engineering
Leadership program. The course will focus on relevant and best practice project management
topics and case studies that will prepare the students to plan, organize, engineer for success,
lead/manage and participate in the multi-faceted and complex conditions that arise during
planning and execution of small to large projects and programs. The material will cover why
project management discipline which is both an art and a science at the same time. Students
will need to be able to critically assess and respond to various project execution conditions.
Some might find project management to be common sense and we will discuss why the
common sense theory does not always work in reality in the corporate world. How one
“responds” to the dynamic and complex project conditions is what’s key. The online lecture,
book, studies and research material will emphasize specific project management processes,
conditions and best practice disciplines and techniques, inclusive of leveraging certain project
management software tools. It will also seek to ground the project management lessons in
industry based examples. These examples will be rooted in the importance of conducting
highly effective project management in conjunction with applied project engineering
techniques.
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It’s highly important to note that, as is typically the case with managing projects, leadership
mindset, team management and motivation and communication, combined with managing to
the details, especially risks, are often the most critical success factors. There will be substantial
emphasis placed on understanding the value and impacts of those areas.

Course learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should successfully be able to:
1. Articulate why project management discipline is both an art and a science at the same
time through execution of case studies and assessments.
2. Investigate how attaining the right leadership attributes and team behavioral mindsets
are critical success factors with project management.
3. Practice and learn techniques on how to assess and build high performing teams.
4. Through use of relevant and recognized industry best practice project management
topics, methods and standards using case studies the students will develop and
implement the planning, organization, engineering and execution of projects of various
degrees of complexity for success.
5. Explain how to lead/manage, participate and respond to the multi-faceted and complex
conditions that arise during planning and execution of small to large projects and
programs.
6. Analyze the impacts of organizational culture and change and develop actions to
maximize a projects ultimate success.
7. Practice how to effectively lead diverse, geographically distributed teams, including the
implications of managing globally.

Required materials
Project Management for Engineering and Technology – David Goetsch
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Required supplemental materials

There will be assigned required readings, research and exercises required for review and
submission throughout the course.

Optional materials
There are many additional books written about project management that you might find
interesting and useful at times and need to make a personal decision as to whether you need to
purchase one depending upon your particular needs.

Course technology
For help with your password, university e-mail, Carmen, or any other technology issues,
questions, or requests, contact the OSU IT Service Desk. Standard support hours are available
at https://ocio.osu.edu/help/hours, and support for urgent issues is available 24x7.
 Self-Service and Chat support: http://ocio.osu.edu/selfservice
 Phone: 614-688-HELP (4357)
 Email: 8help@osu.edu
 TDD: 614-688-8743

Baseline technical skills necessary for online courses

 Basic computer and web-browsing skills
 Navigating Carmen (Canvas)

Technology skills necessary for this specific course

 Recording a slide presentation with audio narration
 Recording, editing, and uploading video

Necessary equipment
 Computer: current Mac (OS X) or PC (Windows 7+) with high-speed internet connection
 Webcam: built-in or external webcam, fully installed
 Microphone: built-in laptop or tablet mic or external microphone

Necessary software
 Word processing
 PowerPoint
 Excel
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Grading and faculty response

Grades
Assignment or category Percentage Points

Midterm Exam 30%

Final Exam (Research Paper) 50%

Assignment Submissions/Discussion Group Contribution 20%

Total 100%

See course schedule, below, for due dates

You will be graded on the quality and comprehensiveness of

your responses.

Late assignments
Late work will be subject to a 10% penalty for each day late. No work will be accepted for
credit after three days past the due date.

Grading scale
A 93 to 100
A- 90 to 92
B+ 87 to 89
B 83 to 86
B- 79 to 82
C+ 75 to 78
C 71 to 74
C- 67 to 70
D+ 63 to 66
D 59 to 62
F Less than 59

Faculty feedback and response time

I am providing the following list to give you an idea of my intended availability throughout the
course. (Remember that you can call 614-688-HELP at any time if you have a technical
problem.)
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Grading and feedback

For large weekly assignments, you can generally expect feedback within 7 days.

E-mail
I will reply to e-mails within 24 hours on school days.

Discussion board
I will check and reply to messages in the discussion boards every 48 hours on school days.

Attendance, participation, and discussions

Student participation requirements
Because this is a distance-education course, your attendance is based on your online activity
and participation. The following is a summary of everyone's expected participation:
 Logging in: ROUTINELY THROUGHOUT THE WEEK TO CHECK FOR UPDATES
Be sure you are logging in to the course in Carmen each week, including weeks with
holidays or weeks with minimal online course activity. (During most weeks you will
probably log in many times.) If you have a situation that might cause you to miss an
entire week of class, discuss it with me as soon as possible.
 Office hours and live sessions: FLEXIBLE
Meeting with me for office hours is optional and best accomplished by phone. However,
if you are required to discuss an assignment with me, please contact me at the
beginning of the week. I will need at least 48 hours’ notice prior to meeting, which will
again likely be by phone.
 Participating in discussion forums:
Participation is tied directly to each assignment. For that reason, please refer to the
weekly assignment instructions for specific participation requirements.

Discussion and communication guidelines

The following are my expectations for how we should communicate as a class. Above all, please
remember to be respectful and thoughtful.
 Writing style: While there is no need to participate in class discussions as if you were
writing a research paper, you should remember to write using good grammar, spelling,
and punctuation. Informality (including an occasional emoticon) is fine for non-academic
topics.
 Tone and civility: Let's maintain a supportive learning community where everyone feels
safe and where people can disagree amicably. Remember that sarcasm doesn't always
come across online.
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 Citing your sources: When we have academic discussions, please cite your sources to
back up what you say. (For the textbook or other course materials, list at least the title
and page numbers. For online sources, include a link.)
 Backing up your work: Consider composing your academic posts in a word processor,
where you can save your work, and then copying into the Carmen discussion.

Other course policies

Academic integrity policy
Policies for this online course
 Quizzes and exams: You must complete the midterm and final exams yourself, without
any external help or communication. Weekly quizzes are included as self-checks without
points attached.
 Written assignments: Your written assignments, including discussion posts, should be
your own original work. In formal assignments, you should follow a consistent style to
cite the ideas and words of your research sources. You are encouraged to ask a trusted
person to proofread your assignments before you turn them in--but no one else should
revise or rewrite your work.
 Reusing past work: In general, you are prohibited in university courses from turning in
work from a past class to your current class, even if you modify it. If you want to build
on past research or revisit a topic you've explored in previous courses, please discuss
the situation with me.
 Falsifying research or results: All research you will conduct in this course is intended to
be a learning experience; you should never feel tempted to make your results or your
library research look more successful than it was.
 Collaboration and informal peer-review: The course includes many opportunities for
formal collaboration with your classmates. While study groups and peer-review of major
written projects is encouraged, remember that comparing answers on a quiz or
assignment is not permitted. If you're unsure about a particular situation, please feel
free just to ask ahead of time.
 Group projects: This course includes group projects, which can be stressful for students
when it comes to dividing work, taking credit, and receiving grades and feedback. I have
attempted to make the guidelines for group work as clear as possible for each activity
and assignment, but please let me know if you have any questions.

Ohio State’s academic integrity policy

Academic integrity is essential to maintaining an environment that fosters excellence in
teaching, research, and other educational and scholarly activities. Thus, The Ohio State
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University and the Committee on Academic Misconduct (COAM) expect that all students have
read and understand the University’s Code of Student Conduct, and that all students will
complete all academic and scholarly assignments with fairness and honesty. Students must
recognize that failure to follow the rules and guidelines established in the University’s Code of
Student Conduct and this syllabus may constitute “Academic Misconduct.”
The Ohio State University’s Code of Student Conduct (Section 3335-23-04) defines academic
misconduct as: “Any activity that tends to compromise the academic integrity of the University,
or subvert the educational process.” Examples of academic misconduct include (but are not
limited to) plagiarism, collusion (unauthorized collaboration), copying the work of another
student, and possession of unauthorized materials during an examination. Ignorance of the
University’s Code of Student Conduct is never considered an “excuse” for academic misconduct,
so I recommend that you review the Code of Student Conduct and, specifically, the sections
dealing with academic misconduct.
If I suspect that a student has committed academic misconduct in this course, I am obligated
by University Rules to report my suspicions to the Committee on Academic Misconduct. If
COAM determines that you have violated the University’s Code of Student Conduct (i.e.,
committed academic misconduct), the sanctions for the misconduct could include a failing
grade in this course and suspension or dismissal from the University.
If you have any questions about the above policy or what constitutes academic misconduct in
this course, please contact me.
Other sources of information on academic misconduct (integrity) to which you can refer
include:
 The Committee on Academic Misconduct web pages (COAM Home)
 Ten Suggestions for Preserving Academic Integrity (Ten Suggestions)
 Eight Cardinal Rules of Academic Integrity (www.northwestern.edu/uacc/8cards.htm)

Accessibility accommodations for students with disabilities

Requesting accommodations
If you would like to request academic accommodations based on the impact of a disability
qualified under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, contact your instructor privately as soon as possible to discuss your specific needs.
Discussions are confidential.
In addition to contacting the instructor, please contact the Student Life Disability Services
at 614-292-3307 or ods@osu.edu to register for services and/or to coordinate any
accommodations you might need in your courses at The Ohio State University.
Go to http://ods.osu.edu for more information.
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Accessibility of course technology

This online course requires use of Carmen (Ohio State's learning management system) and
other online communication and multimedia tools. If you need additional services to use these
technologies, please request accommodations with your instructor.
 Carmen (Desire2Learn) accessibility
 Streaming audio and video
 Synchronous course tools

Course schedule (Tentative-I may alter as we proceed through the

course and will announce/communicate/post further changes and instructions
in advance weekly)
Week Topics, Readings, Assignments, Deadlines

Course introductions, critical nature of leadership, why do projects

succeed or fail
Assignments (All due Sunday by 11:59pm):
 2 minute intro video – Post to Carmen drop box - Introduce yourself to
the class with a brief background and state your views on why
leadership of projects is critical to their success.
 Research a large project that was highly successful. What were the key
1 project team methods and behaviors that enabled that? What
leadership engagement style was used? Post single page (couple of
(May
paragraphs) response to the Carmen discussion group. Comment
9)
another student’s response in three sentences or less.
 The final exam of this course includes a summer semester long
research project on an aspect of project management that interests
you. What are your first thoughts (you can finalize next week) on
what your research project be? Please post to Carmen. This will need
to be submitted as a paper at the end of the course and will be
graded.
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Leadership and team behavioral impacts, commonly used project

methodologies, project life cycle planning, measures and actions of
success for project startup
Reading Assignment:
2 Reading Assignment: Chapter One of Project Management book.
(May
14) Assignments (All due Sunday by 11:59pm):
 Research and assess the use of Agile as contrasted with traditional
Waterfall/Linear project methodologies. Provide a not more than two
page assessment to the Carmen drop box.

Project organization, sponsor, charter, status reporting-controls and

metrics, scope and requirements management
Reading Assignment-TBD
Assignments (All due Sunday by 11:59pm):
3
 Video post to Carmen drop box in response to your assessment of
(May
complex case study.
21)
 Design an effective project status report, based upon case study
assignment-TBD and upload to Carmen drop box.
 Take personal assessment quiz and upload to Carmen drop box.

Estimation date modeling and critical path planning. Schedule

forecasting and milestone construction.
Reading Assignment – TBD
4
(May Assignments:
28)  Schedule development – TBD (Due Sunday by 11:59PM)
o Develop the project schedule as per the case study provided

Resource planning modeling, virtual/global resource planning,

subcontracting resource planning & mgt, time tracking & management
5 Reading Assignment – TBD
(June
4) Assignments:
 Construct resource planning model as per supplied case study. Submit
to Carmen drop box. (Due Sunday by 11:59pm)
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Risk assessment and management. Mid-term planning.

Reading Assignment- TBD
Assignments:
 Risk Assessment and Peer Review
6
o Part 1 - Develop risk assessment to supplied case study and
(June
submit to Carmen discussion group. (Due Wednesday by
11)
11:59pm)
o Part 2 - Respond to peer assessment assignment TBD and
provide verbal feedback to assigned peer. (Due Sunday by
11:59pm)

7 Mid-term (Due Sunday by 11:59pm)

(June  Respond to provided mid-term case study. Post to Carmen drop box.
18) Grading criteria will be provided in advance.

Ensuring quality of execution through effective project decision

making and decision making frameworks.
Reading Assignment-TBD
Assignments:
 Complex Execution Case
8
o Develop your response to the complex project execution case
(June
study in the form of a 3 minute presentation to the projects
25)
steering committee. Post your response to the discussion
group. (Due Wednesday by 11:59pm)
o Review one of your classmate’s video responses and provide a
one paragraph critique to the discussion group. (Due Sunday
by 11:59pm)

Project execution phase gate value, design and execution.

9 Reading Assignment-TBD
(July Assignments (All due Sunday by 11:59pm):
2)
 Design gate entry/exit criteria for the supplied case study. Post your
response to the Carmen drop box.
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Schedule acceleration techniques and considerations.

Reading Assignment-TBD
10 Assignments (All due Sunday by 11:59pm):
(July
 Review the global program case study which will be provided. Assess
11)
how you would respond to the sponsors request to have the project
accelerated. Post your response to Carmen drop box.

Leading virtual and global teams in a project context.

Reading Assignment-TBD
11
Assignments (All due Sunday by 11:59pm):
(July
18)  Complete the assessment of impacts of to the provided virtual and
global project case study. Submit to Carmen drop box.

Corporate culture and workforce demographics impacts on change

and project leadership.
12 Assignments (All due Sunday by 11:59pm):
(July  Complete complex case study impact assessment on corporate
25) culture, demographic diversity and geographic dispersion and submit
to Carmen drop box.

Final exam-Research assignment selected-TBD due to Carmen drop

13 box by August 5th.
TBD
Grading criteria will be provided in advance.