Economics and business organization
Preferably also the basic contents of Business Management and Operations Management.
The course focuses on project management as a mechanism for managing innovation and as a system for managing current activities.
At the end of the course the student has the basic and advanced knowledge to organize, plan and control a project and to manage all the processes related to it. In particular, he knows the dynamics and critical issues in the management of a project, the planning tools (scope statement, WBS, RAM, Gantt Diagram, Network Diagram), the tools for managing stakeholders and risks, the tools for controlling a project through the EVMS methodology, the economic and financial evaluation techniques of a project, the organization and management methods of a team.
The course contributes to the educational objectives of the course of study, in particular as regards the Economic-Management area.
The course consists of two modules with the following content breakdown:
1. ESSENTIALS
- PROJECT INNOVATION AND MANAGEMENT: Continuous and impulse innovation. Types of innovation. Types of projects. Custom projects and development new products and services. Repetitive projects and processes
- THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT: The project organization. Organizational forms and the role of the project manager. Project team management. Management principles: front loading and the use of flexibility.
- THE PROJECT LIFE CYCLE: The concept of the project life cycle. Project management phases and processes. Initiating, Planning, Controlling & Executing, Closing.
- SCOPE MANAGEMENT: Scope management, Work Breakdown Structure, Responsibility Assignment Matrix.
- PLANNING METHODOLOGIES: Network Techniques, Project Evaluation and Review Technique, Critical Path Method. Application through MS Project of the main planning techniques.
2. ADVANCED
- PROJECT CONTROL: the Earned Value Management System, estimation at completion. Application through MS Project of the main control techniques.
- PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT: The risk management process, the quantitative risk assessment, the management of mitigations and contingencies.
- PROJECT STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT: Stakeholder identification, The salience model, Stakeholder management methods
- THE ECONOMIC-FINANCIAL EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT: The estimate of the project costs, The application of financial methods to the project evaluation.
- PROGRAM MANAGEMENT: Multi project management, Main process for program and portfolio management
- AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Agile methods for project management, The SCRUM method
The course is organized according to 11 parts corresponding to the 11 thematic areas of the course:
ESSENTIALS:
1. Project management and innovation
2. Project management
3. The project life cycle
4. The management of the project scope
5. Planning methodologies
ADVANCED:
6. Project control
7. Project risk management
8. Project stakeholder management
9. The economic-financial evaluation of the project
10. Program management
11. Agile project management
Each area will use of different methods of carrying out teaching activities including:
- Remote use of content through textbooks and / or video (20% of the course)
- Lectures (30% of the course)
- Exercises (30% of the course)
- Company testimonials (10% of the course)
- Laboratories (10% of the course)
The learning verification takes place in two ways depending on whether the student faces the course as attending or as not attending
Attending student
The verification is carried out by:
- Group Project Work (40% of the final grade). During the course a group project work will be developed focused on analyzing a real project chosen by the students using the methodologies seen in class. Students will have to deliver the following deliverables: a presentation in MS Power Point, a scope statement (based on a template provided), a time / cost planning, risk and stakeholder analysis. Students will have 20 minutes to present their project at the end of the course.
- Individual Learning Verification Test (60% of the final mark). This test will be carried out through an individual written exam or oral interview. The exam will include theoretical or practical questions.
Optional individual assignments will be proposed during lectures. The positive completion of these assignments will contribute to an increment of the final grade (up to maximum 10% of the final grade).
Non-attending student
The verification is carried out through an individual Learning Verification Test (100% of the final mark). This test will be carried out by means of a written test during the regular sessions (duration of the test of approximately 2 hours) and an eventual individual oral interview.
Non-attending students can prepare using the texts indicated in the bibliography and using the handouts as a detailed index of the topics.
For attending students only the module of Project and Innovation Management - Essentials.
Attending student
The verification is carried out by:
- Individual Learning Verification Test (100% of the final mark). This test will be carried out by means of a written test during the regular sessions (duration of the test of approximately 1 hour) and an individual oral interview of an indicative duration of 15 minutes.
Optional individual assignments will be proposed during lectures. The positive completion of these assignments will contribute to an increment of the final grade (up to maximum 10% of the final grade).
Non-attending student
The verification is carried out through an individual Learning Verification Test (100% of the final mark). This test will be carried out by means of a written test during the regular sessions (duration of the test of approximately 1 hours) and an optional individual oral interview.
Non-attending students can prepare using the texts indicated in the bibliography and using the handouts as a detailed index of the topics.
If the teaching is taught in mixed mode or remotely, changes can be made compared to what is stated in the syllabus to make the course and exams accessible also in these ways.
At the beginning of the course, through the elearning platform, the calendar of lessons will be provided with an explicit indication of which parts of the textbooks to adopt for the preparation of the individual lessons.