MEEN40310

This module is designed primarily for postgraduate students based in industry who have experience working in an engineering or related technical discipline. However, the same project management skills can be applied in many other industries. The module is designed to allow the student to work around their own schedule, and to focus a significant part of the learning and assessment on a project relevant to their own professional interests. The module is primarily undertaken through self-paced learning of online content and individual and group assignments, with optional live tutorial and feedback sessions. Tools and techniques learned each week are directly applied to an individual research project on a topic of the students choosing.

This module introduces students to the full project management lifecycle with reference to “Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK)” of the Project Management Institute and the ISO 21500 family of standards. Specifically, the module will cover the main tools and techniques used in modern project management processes including; reference-class forecasting, multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), risk analysis, stakeholder analysis, work breakdown structures, activity-on-node networks, PERT, earned value approach to project monitoring and control etc. Thus, by the end of this module you will understand and be able to execute the key steps to ensure that a project is initiated, planned, managed, monitored and controlled successfully.

A broader conceptual framework for project management approaches will be also described as related to project complexity and uncertainty. The appropriate application of conventional or disciplined project management, agile, lean, or learning approaches, or some hybrid, can thus be critically assessed and the approach adapted to the needs of a project. Risk identification and management plays a key role in any project, but even more so as uncertainty increases. Risk management tools and approaches are covered in detail.

Project management also involves “the much messier, often contradictory and paradoxical world of project implementation”. The module will describe the socio-technical nature of projects and the importance of effective leadership, team building and good stakeholder relations.