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Unit outline_

PMGT5205: Professional Project Practice

Semester 1, 2023 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Project Management is a key approach to achieving organisational objectives across multiple industries, including engineering, construction, IT, organisational change and transformation, including many others. Project Management is a rapidly growing profession, involving the coordinated definition and delivery of unique objectives within time, cost, and quality constraints. This unit provides students with an introduction to Project Management, including a review of the project lifecycle from conception, through delivery, to acceptance. In this unit, students will also gain an understanding of different project methodologies and the organisational context in which projects are managed.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Project Management
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
ENGG5205
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Louis Taborda, louis.taborda@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s) Louis Taborda, louis.taborda@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s) Catherine Graham, catherine.graham@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Monitored exam
? 
hurdle task
Assessment 3 - Online Canvas Quiz
Quiz on concepts + casestudy/ scenario covered in class
30% Formal exam period 2 hours
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7
Small continuous assessment Weekly Worksheets
Mix of group exercises, revision quizzes and reviews conducted weekly
30% Multiple weeks
Closing date: 10 Jun 2023
In class + up to 1 hour/ wk after class
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO7 LO6 LO5 LO4 LO3 LO2
Online task Assessment 1 - Online Canvas Quiz
Quiz on concepts + casestudy/ scenario covered in class
20% Week 07
Due date: 07 Apr 2023 at 23:59

Closing date: 07 Apr 2023
2 hours
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO6 LO5 LO4
Assignment group assignment Assessment 2 - Group Report
Team-based report responding to casestudy/ scenario provided in class
20% Week 11
Due date: 13 May 2023 at 23:59

Closing date: 15 May 2023
Minimum 20 pages
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO6 LO5 LO4 LO3 LO2
hurdle task = hurdle task ?
group assignment = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

  • Assessment 1: short-answer and multiple-choice questions in a 2-hour online Canvas quiz responding to content covered and a casestudy/ scenario provided . 
  • Assessment 2: written group work in the style of a business or technical report – responding to the casestudy/ scenario provided. Individuals will be given marks adjusted by confidential peer evaluations.
  • Assessment 3: short-answer and multiple-choice questions in a 2-hour online Canvas quiz responding to complete course content and a casestudy/ scenario provided . 
  • Continuous Assessments: these will include worksheets, quizzes and Canvas submissions based on exercises undertaken individually or in groups as a part of workshop activities during that week.

Detailed information for each assessment will be provided on Canvas.

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Study Commitment:

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

 

Text-matching software for Assignment Submission:

As part of the assessment process, text matching software such as Turnitin will be used to identify plagiarism and/or be used for providing feedback.

 

Confidential Peer Evaluation:

As part of the group contribution assessment process, collaborative & self-peer evaluation tools (e.g. SparkPlus, CATME, etc.) may be used, either on a confidential or non-confidential basis, to understand contributions and interactions amongst group members. Marks may be adjusted for an individual team member, following on from the peer evaluation process.

 

Canvas Marks Not Reliable:

Canvas will be used in this unit and while key assessments will be submitted via Canvas, it cannot be used to determine/ predict a students final marks in this unit because not all assessments are visible to students and group/team marks can change for each individual team member based on the peer-evaluation conducted at the end of the semester.

 

Recycling Assignments Not Allowed:

Recycling involves submitting (or resubmitting) your own work that has already been assessed without the permission of the lecturer of this unit, and for which you have already been given feedback. Recycling is a form of academic dishonesty and will be handled in line with the coursework policy.

 

Mark Moderation:

There may be statistically defensible moderation when combining the marks from each component to ensure consistency of marking between markers, and alignment of final grades with unit outcomes.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

Exceptional project deliverables/ value delivered to sponsor by team with excellent peer-evaluations

Distinction

75 - 84

Excellent project deliverables/ value delivered to sponsor by team with excellent/good peer-evaluations

Credit

65 - 74

Professional project deliverables/ value delivered to sponsor by team with good peer-evaluation

Pass

50 - 64

Adequate project deliverables/ value delivered to sponsor by team with fair peer-evaluation

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

For every calendar day up to and including ten calendar days after the due date, a penalty of 5% of the maximum awardable marks will be applied to late work. The penalty will be calculated by first marking the work, and then subtracting 5% of the maximum awardable mark for each calendar day after the due date. Example: Consider an assignment's maximum awardable mark is 10; the assignment is submitted 2 days late; and the assignment is marked as 7/10. After applying the penalty, marks will be: 7 - (0.5 x 2) = 6/10. For work submitted more than ten calendar days after the due date a mark of zero will be awarded. The marker may elect to, but is not required to, provide feedback on such work. Refer to section 7A of Assessment procedures policy available at: http://sydney.edu.au/policies/showdoc.aspx?recnum=PDOC2012/267&RendNum=0

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Multiple weeks Independent study guided by the online content & lectures. You are expected to undertake 8 - 10 hours per week of independent study in addition to the workshops. Independent study (120 hr)  
Week 01 Introduction to project management: 1. Project management history; 2. Project manager roles and responsibilities; 3. Project complexity and uncertainty; 4. Project typologies, structures and frameworks Workshop (2 hr)  
Week 02 Strategy and Project Initiation: 1. Project justification & Business Case 2. Strategic and organisational context; 3. Strategic alignment & project selection Workshop (2 hr)  
Week 03 Stakeholder management: 1. Definitions of stakeholder 2. Analysing stakeholders 3. Understand the stakeholder perspectives 4. Stakeholder engagement/ comms Workshop (2 hr)  
Week 04 Scope and requirements: 1. Collecting requirements; 2. Recording requirements; 3. Requirements analysis/ traceability; Workshop (2 hr)  
Week 05 Project planning: 1. Network diagrams and their variants; 2. Scheduling/ time planning including Gantt charts; 3. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Workshop (2 hr)  
Week 06 Costs & Estimates: 1. Cost management: 2. Cost estimating; 3. Cost planning Workshop (2 hr)  
Week 07 Resource management: 1. Resource estimating; 2. Resource planning; 3. Resource leveling Workshop (2 hr)  
Week 08 Risk and quality management: 1. Risk identification, analysis and response; 2. Quality control and assurance Workshop (2 hr)  
Week 09 Procurement and ethics: 1. Procurement planning and control; 2. Why does ethics matter? Workshop (2 hr)  
Week 10 Execution and governance/ monitoring 1. Work delegation; 2. Project governance; 3. Progress monitoring and reporting Workshop (2 hr)  
Week 11 Teamwork & Leadership: 1. Team collaboration; 2. Leadership styles; Workshop (2 hr)  
Week 12 Project communication and closure: 1. Project success and evaluation; 2. Project completion and handover activities Workshop (2 hr)  
Week 13 Organizational Maturity & Integrated PM Review Workshop (2 hr)  

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Some weekly exercises that form a part of the Continuous Assessments mark can take the form of critical reviews of readings that will be provided in class.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. Describe the nature of projects and their organisational context
  • LO2. Evaluate the implications of project lifecycles in different contexts and from different perspectives
  • LO3. Understand and identify ethical issues facing project management professionals in projects.
  • LO4. Analyse the trade-offs between competing constraints such as time, cost and resources.
  • LO5. Recognise various stakeholder roles in projects and the need for stakeholder management.
  • LO6. Recognise the broad principles and processes that guide project management practice.
  • LO7. Recognise ethical issues and considerations facing project management professionals.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

We are introducing greater student interaction/ sharing aside from the "permanent groups" formed in Week 6 so students have more opportunities to meet and discuss with students. That's just one of many ideas that past students suggested and we have taken on board this semester.

All correspondence, assessments and/or documentation students create in this unit will need to use the following convention in its title/subject heading: ENGG5205_2022S1_TeamX: Topic

Further information and Team identifiers (X) will be provided in Canvas.

All administrative/ enrolment matters should be directed to: pmgp.admin@sydney.edu.au

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.