The Managment of Teaching IT Project Managment
Mohammad A. Rob
Abstract & Bios
Information Technology (17) Project Management can be viewed as an integrated effort ofthree key ingredients: Knowledge, Methodology, and Tools & Techniques. Project managers must develop concepts in the knowledge areas ofProject Management. They must also havepractical experience inproject managementprocesses such as initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing a project. Finally, project managers mustknow how to use various tools and techniques to plan, schedule, and controlprojectmanagementactivities. These ingredients were combined toform aone-semester course on IT Project Management for MIS graduate students. The course integrated the students' previous knowledge ofthe Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) acquiredfrom the Systems Analysis and Design course. Throughout the semester, the students applied the nine areas ofproject management knowledge in a team environmentandactively managedthe developmentofan information technologyprototype-following the steps ofthe project life cycle activities. The managementpractice was taught implementing the motto-a well-plannedprojectmay lead to successful completion while a poorlyplannedproject leads to disaster. Developmentofa clear projectplan and delivering all project- andproduct-relateddocuments in a scheduled timeframe were crucial to managementactivities. The course website helped teams organize all documents and disseminate them among geographically dispersed team members. The experiences ofthe several student project managers suggest: it is not necessary for everyone to be a project manager-s-those who accept the assignment must be able to see the "big picture. " Thispaperoutlines the basic principles ofcourse development, the methods ofcourse management, as well as the lessons learned by the students in managing their projects.
Mohammad A. Rob is an assistant professor ofmanagement information systems at the University Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) in Houston, Texas. He teaches courses on systems analysis anddesign, electronic connnerce, activeserverpages, and project management. Dr. Rob received his PhD from the University ofAlabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Beforejoining UHCL, he worked in several IT companies in the areas of systems design, client-server progrannning, web-database development, and software quality control. Dr. Rob has received several grants from agencies such as the National Science Foundation and NASA's Johnson Space Center. He has published 22 papers in national and internationaljoumals. During the Summers of 1994, 1995, and 2002, Dr. Rob worked as a summer faculty fellow in two NASA centers.
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