Required Textbooks

Project Management by Gary R. Heerkens (McGraw-Hill, 2002)

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition, (Project Management Institute, 2004)

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A note on the two textbooks:

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (let's just call it PMBOK) is a source overview of everything that impacts project management. This text documents the inputs, processes, and outputs of each of the separate knowledge areas and the interrelationships of those areas. If you choose to continue your studies and receive a certification in project management, you'll find PMBOK is the bible for defining what you should know. But as a text for actually leading a project it is sadly lacking. This is the reason I chose the Project Management (Heerkens) text. I evaluated ten textbooks before selecting Heerkens; I find it easy to read, inexpensive, and a good guide for project managers who are starting out.

We will start each unit by reading PMBOK. Then, in preparation for submitting an assignment, we will read the how-to's in Heerkens plus look at examples I've created in the lecture. You will not have reading from Heerkens in every unit.

Reading Assignments

In each unit, there are reading assignments from your textbooks and my online lecture. Do the reading in your texts before reading my lecture.

Review Questions

Starting in Unit 2, you will find questions that test your understanding of the previous unit. Please make sure you know the answers to these questions before moving on to the work for the next unit.

Some of the review questions are just for your own use, some require answers directed back to me, and some are used to prompt general discussion between you and your classmates on our Message Board.

Internet Resources

In some units, I provide links to Web sites that I ask you to review. Some of them are the sites of consulting organizations that specialize in project management (with posted job openings!), and some are general industry or government sites that pertain to the topic of that unit.

Project Assignments

There are four project assignments that you will submit to me. Together, these assignments make up the course project. Each of the assignments covers a specific aspect of project management and gives you hands-on practice in using important tools. It's far better to make the mistakes here with me than out there, in front of the customer.

Example Project

Throughout the course, I will refer to steps in an example project -- the creation of an employee newsletter. Through my examples, I will outline how you should execute your course project assignments.

Message Board Assignments

In some units, I ask questions that require you to post responses on the Message Board. Class participation makes up a significant portion of your grade.

Grading

The final grade will be based on four assignments and classroom participation.

Assignment 1 -- Project Definition	20%
Assignment 2 -- Work Breakdown Structure	20%
Assignment 3 -- Project Schedule	20%
Assignment 4 -- Risk Management Plan	20%
Classroom participation on the Message Board	20%