SEM503 System and Project Management

Instructor: TBA

System and Project Management (SPM) is focused on planning and managing product and system development projects. We assume that the enterprise has strategically chosen what product or system to develop, so that the course can focus on the preparation, planning, and execution of product development projects. The course is organized into four main modules. The first module covers traditional and advanced methods and tools of project management such as PERT/CPM, design structure matrices (DSM) and system dynamics (SD). This operational view of project management exposes the capabilities, limitations and complementary nature of SPM methods and tools. The second module builds on the first by considering strategic questions such as preparation and planning, product development process (PDP) selection and concurrent engineering infrastructures. Three case studies, presented by experienced guest speakers, will serve to contrast the challenges of hardware versus software centered development projects. The third module treats project monitoring and change as well as risk management. This includes ways of tracking resource consumption, critical paths and project progress. Corrective actions such as schedule slippage and compression as well as staffing adjustments are simulated by means of system dynamics models. Empirical factors that are known to affect project success and failure will be presented and debated. Finally, student project presentations will round out the course and offer an opportunity to tap into the collective experience and insights of the participants.