INFM 205-10
Informatics Project Management
Fall 2021 Syllabus

S. Gaffney
E-mail
Office location: Kalamazoo, MI
Office Hours: Virtual office hours, by appointment. 

Canvas Information: This course will be available beginning October 11 at 6 am PT.

This two-unit course runs from October 11 through December 6. The class will be available on Canvas on October 11. 

You will be enrolled in the Canvas site automatically.

Course Description

Introduces essential strategies and techniques for project management. Topics include: management styles, institutional constraints, project life cycles, stakeholder management, scope definition, risk assessment, project planning tools, and team management.

Course Requirements

Assignments and Course Calendar

Assignments

Discussions (supports CLOs 1-5; 50 points)

There will be five discussion questions over the course of the term. Students will write a well-organized, thoughtful response of approximately 250 words responding to the assigned question. 

Project Management Software (supports CLOs 3,4; 25 points)

There are a number of computerized PM tools available. Some are free while others have a cost associated. Research available software applications related to project management. Select two and write a five-page comparative description of the software. Areas to consider:

• Ease of use
• Options
• Vendor reputation
• Compatibility with other software
• Price
• Would you purchase this to use on a project?
• Anything else that you think is important

Project Strategy Essay  (supports CLOs 3,4; 25 points)
There are many reasons a project can derail; however, skilled project managers are able to organize the various elements involved and keep a project on course from start to finish. In a two to three-page paper, discuss at least three ways that you can keep your project on track and improve the probability of its success.

Research Project (supports CLOs 1-5; 100 points)

Students will research and write a 10 - 12 page research paper on a topic of interest related to Project management. This project will allow the student to explore an area of interest in depth.

Grading Information

Grading will be based on a total accumulation of possible 200 points, distributed as follows:

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Course Workload Expectations

Success in this course is based on the expectation that students will spend, for each unit of credit, a minimum of forty-five hours over the length of the course (normally 3 hours per unit per week with 1 of the hours used for lecture) for instruction or preparation/studying or course related activities including but not limited to internships, labs, clinical practica. Other course structures will have equivalent workload expectations as described in the syllabus.

Instructional time may include but is not limited to:
Working on posted modules or lessons prepared by the instructor; discussion forum interactions with the instructor and/or other students; making presentations and getting feedback from the instructor; attending office hours or other synchronous sessions with the instructor.

Student time outside of class:
In any seven-day period, a student is expected to be academically engaged through submitting an academic assignment; taking an exam or an interactive tutorial, or computer-assisted instruction; building websites, blogs, databases, social media presentations; attending a study group;contributing to an academic online discussion; writing papers; reading articles; conducting research; engaging in small group work.

Course Prerequisites

Graduate Standing or Instructor Consent. 

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Identify project management roles and environment.
2. Describe the project life cycle.
3. Use major project management techniques including traditional, agile, and extreme.
4. Control and evaluate project management approaches effectively to achieve better outcomes strategically.
5. Demonstrate the "soft" skills that are useful as a project leader and team member.

SLOs and PLOs

This course supports Informatics SLO 2: Evaluate and apply project management techniques and approaches (traditional, agile, and extreme) effectively to achieve successful outcomes, both as project leader and team member.

SLO 2 supports the following Informatics Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs):

• PLO 1 Apply technology informatics skills to solve specific industry data and information management problems, with a focus on usability and designing for users.
• PLO 3 Demonstrate strong understanding of security and ethics issues related to informatics, user interface, and inter-professional application of informatics in specific fields by designing and implementing appropriate information assurance and ethics and privacy solutions.
• PLO 5 Work collaboratively in teams and use project management practices effectively to solve user-centric information and data problems.

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Textbooks

No Textbooks For This Course.

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Grading Scale

The standard SJSU School of Information Grading Scale is utilized for all iSchool courses:

In order to provide consistent guidelines for assessment for graduate level work in the School, these terms are applied to letter grades:

• C represents Adequate work; a grade of "C" counts for credit for the course;
• B represents Good work; a grade of "B" clearly meets the standards for graduate level work or undergraduate (for BS-ISDA);
  For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA, Informatics, BS-ISDA) — INFO 200, INFO 202, INFO 204 — the iSchool requires that students earn a B in the course. If the grade is less than B (B- or lower) after the first attempt you will be placed on administrative probation. You must repeat the class if you wish to stay in the program. If - on the second attempt - you do not pass the class with a grade of B or better (not B- but B) you will be disqualified.
  
• A represents Exceptional work; a grade of "A" will be assigned for outstanding work only.

Graduate Students are advised that it is their responsibility to maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA). Undergraduates must maintain a 2.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

University Policies

Per University Policy S16-9, university-wide policy information relevant to all courses, such as academic integrity, accommodations, etc. will be available on Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs' Syllabus Information web page at: https://www.sjsu.edu/curriculum/courses/syllabus-info.php. Make sure to visit this page, review and be familiar with these university policies and resources.

In order to request an accommodation in a class please contact the Accessible Education Center and register via the MyAEC portal.

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