Institute of Management Sciences

Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan

Course Outline/Lecture Schedule: Project Management

Instructor: Dr. Kh. Khalid Mehmood

Course Introduction/Objective

Businesses regularly use project management to accomplish unique outcomes with limited resources under
critical time constraints. Other than project based industries and firms such as construction and software
houses, in the service sector, the use of project management to achieve an organization’s goals is even
more common. Advertising campaigns, voter registration drives, political campaigns, a family’s annual
summer vacation, and even seminars, trainings, workshops, & conferences on various topics are organized
as projects. Businesses involved in routine sort of manufacturing/assembling also intend to projectize their
new product development projects. Hence, there is a rapid increase in the number of firms that use projects
as the preferred way of accomplishing almost everything they undertake. Not even the most optimistic
prognosticators foresaw the explosive growth that has occurred in the field.

The aim of this course is to equip students with the knowledge of project management and develop
managerial skills and leadership capabilities that a successful project manager uses for effective initiation,
planning, implementation and evaluation of a project. Students get knowledge of different players involved
in projects as well as an in depth information regarding organizational structure and communication etc. for
projects. Students are also taught how to prepare project feasibility study which is an important outcome of
this subject. They are encouraged to come up with creative ideas and plans on projects so as to develop
entrepreneurial thinking amongst them.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course it is expected that the student will be able to:

Sr. Taxonomy
CLO Domain
No. level
1 Suggest creative ways to do the projects and develop Cognitive 6
entrepreneurial thinking.
2 Understand a step-by-step process for doing projects Cognitive 2
successfully.
Understand challenges faced by project managers in various
3 kinds of projects as well as topics in project selection, Cognitive 2
structures and team management.
Understand process of project planning particularly with
4 respect to Planning Commission of Pakistan guidelines and Cognitive 6
develop skills and capabilities in preparing good feasibility
studies.
5 Develop skills in estimating project costs and resources. Cognitive 4
6 Develop skills in project scheduling, project crashing, Cognitive 4
 resource loading, and resource levelling.
7 Understand ways to monitor and control project Cognitive 2
performance.

Course Contents
Lecture 1 & 2

INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT

 What is a Project?
 Project vs. Program
 Characteristics of a Project
 Importance of Project Management
 Project Life Cycles
 Types of Projects
 Parties in Project Environment

Lecture 3, 4, & 5

PROJECT INITIATION: PROJECT SELECTION

 Strategic Management and Project Selection
 Project Selection Models (Criteria, Nature, Types)
o Subjective Models for Project Selection
 Sacred Cow Projects
 Operating Necessity Projects
 Competitive Necessity Projects
 Product Line Extension Projects/NPD Projects
 Sustainability Models
 Other Models
o Objective Models for Project Selection
 Scoring Models
 Profitability Models
 Real Options
 Exercises
 Project Portfolio Management

Lecture 6, 7

PROJECT MANAGER
 Who is a Project Manager?
 Roles and Responsibilities of Project Manager
 Project Manager vs. Functional Manager
 Special demands on PM, Challenges for PM
 PM and related parties (Project Manager’s relationships with Boss/Client, Project Team, Functional
Managers, Contractors/Sub-Contractors)
 Job Advertisements for Project Manager
  Case Study

Lecture 8, 9, & 10

PROJECT ORGANIZATION
 What is a Project Organization?
 Types of Project Organizations:
o Project as part of Functional Organization
o Pure Project Organization
o The Matrix Organization
o Mixed Organizational Systems
o Choosing an Organization Form for a Project
 The Project Team and Project Office
 Mini cases and exercises

Lecture 11, 12

PROJECT PLANNING
 Importance of Project Planning
 Initial Project Coordination/Project Charter
 Project Contracts (Lump Sum contracts vs. Cost reimbursable contracts)
 Project Planning Documentation (Core & Facilitating Processes)
 The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) & Linear Responsibility Charts
 Gantt charts, RACI matrix, Statement of Work, Project Specifications, Milestone Schedules etc.

Lecture 13, 14

 Need/Importance of Feasibility Studies

 How to Prepare good Feasibility Studies
 Planning Commission Forms (PC1, PC2, PC3, PC4, PC5)
 Case Study (Pakistan Science Foundation)

Lecture 15

 Project Risk Management Process

Midterm Examination (30 marks)

Lecture 16, 17, & 18

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION: PROJECT COSTS AND BUDGETS

 Importance/Need of Project Budgets
 Costing the WBS (Costing the resources for an activity)
 Category/Activity Budgeting vs. Programme Budgeting
 Approaches to Budgeting (Top-Down & Bottom-Up Budgeting)
  Work Element Costing
 Role of Learning Curves in Cost Estimation
 Formats and Samples of Project Budgets
 Identifying Budgeting/Costing Errors, Making Better Estimates
 Tracking Signal
 Exercises

Lecture 19, 20, 21

PROJECT ACTIVITY SCHEDULING

 Scheduling Techniques
 Program Evaluation and Review Technique and Critical Path Method
 Calculating project completion time period
 Calculating probabilities of completion/Calculating desired completion time based on given
confidence levels
 Calculating slacks/floats
 Exercises

Lecture 22

RESOURCE ALLOCATION
 Crashing a Project Through CPM
 Exercises
Lecture 22, 23

RESOURCE LOADING & RESOURCE LEVELLING

 Resource Loading
 Resource Levelling
 Exercises

Lecture 24, 25, & 26

PROJECT MONITORING & INFORMATION SYSTEM

 The Planning-Monitoring-Controlling cycle
 Information needs and reporting process
 Earned value and Variances
o Cost variance & index
o Schedule variance & index
o Time variance & index
o Cost schedule index
 Cost calculations based on indices and earned value
 Exercises

Lecture 27, 28
PROJECT CONTROL
 Fundamental Purposes of Control
 Three Types of Control Processes
 Design of Control Systems
 Control as a function of Management
 Balance in a Control System
 Control of Creative Activities
 Control of Change & Scope Creep

Lecture 29, 30
 Using Microsoft Project
 Feeding data, tracking progress, and generating reports.

Teaching Methodology
a) Lectures.
b) Written Assignments and Class Discussions.
c) Guest Speaker (Experts/Professionals).
d) Feasibility Report Writing.

Text Book

1. Project Management – A Managerial Approach, 10 th edition by Jack R. Meredith, Samuel J. Mantel,

Jr., & Scott M. Shafer

Additional Reading Material

2. Project Management – A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling – 7 th edition

by Harold Kerzner. National Book Foundation,
3. Project Management: The Managerial Process (5 th edition) by Larson, E. W. & Gray, C. F.
4. Project Management: Case Studies (2nd edition) by Harold Kerzner
5. Project Management by David Iceland, 4 th Edition
6. Templates for project planning from internet
7. Planning Commission Forms.

Course Evaluation
Midterm exam: 30 marks
Final exam: 50 marks
Sessional marks: 20 marks (Quizzes: 6 marks, Assignments/Feasibility Study: 14 marks)
Total: 100 marks