Model Curriculum Guidelines: Do Graduate IS Project Managment Courses Conform?
Roy D. Johnson, Stephen M. Du, Mark Keil
Information Systems (IS) project failures are frequent and expensive. Lack of proper project management (PM) is often the cause of such failures. This should not come as a surprise because many IS professionals lack formal training in PM concepts and techniques. To reduce the incidence of project failure, students pursuing degrees in Information Systems (IS) programs need to learn project management principles and skills. The need for PM coverage is underscored by its inclusion as a core course in the model curriculum guidelines for both IS undergraduate and graduate degree programs by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and Association for Information Systems (AIS). This study examines the current status and content of Masters’ level IS PM courses in the United States. The results of this study offer insights into a model curriculum and its implementation across the United States.
It was found in this study that PM was a required course in 55% of the programs, but in many cases the courses being offered are generic PM courses and do not appear to be customized for the Information Technology (IT) project context.
Instructors cover project management topics in the model curriculum to varying degrees, with comparatively little emphasis being placed on change management. Classroom lecture is the predominant teaching methodology and Microsoft Project is the predominant software used in the classroom. Lack of adherence to the model curriculum appears to stem from: (1) a lack of awareness of the model curriculum guidelines, (2) the need for flexibility in order to be responsive to the market, (3) the difficulty of combining project and change management in a single course, and (4) awareness of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) standards and desire to prepare students for the PMI® certification exam.
Keywords: model curricula, change management, project management
Roy Johnson is an Associate Professor and Fulbright Fellow in the Informatics Department at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. His research interests include creativity, business ethics, critical thinking and pedagogical issues in Information Systems. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Appalachian State University, doctorate in Anatomy, Art and Dance from the University of Oregon and postdoctoral work in Management Information Systems from the University of Minnesota and Indiana University.
Stephen Du is a doctoral student in the Department of Computer Information Systems (CIS) at Georgia State University. He has experience in the software industry as a product manager and an applications consultant. He earned his MBA from UC Berkeley, his master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University and his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Princeton University. His current research interests are in the areas of online learning, model curricula, and collaboration over the Internet.
Mark Keilis a Professor of Computer Information Systems (CIS) in the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. His research focuses on software project management and his work has appeared in MIS Quarterly, Sloan Management Review, Journal of Management Information Systems, and many other journals. He earned his bachelor's degree from Princeton University, his master's degree from MIT's Sloan School of Management, and his doctorate in management information systems from the Harvard Business School.
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