This course introduces students to the fundamentals of project management as it applies to managing small software development. Through the course students will gain a basic understanding of the importance and role played by project management in successful software development.
Students will be introduced to the following aspects of project management related to managing small software development:
- the strengths and weaknesses of traditional and agile approaches to project management
- leadership and management as applied to small teams of software developers
- professionalism, including ethics
- business context and its impact upon software development
- the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) - PM Skills and Processes
- project planning, control and reporting
- quality and risk management
- team work and people skills
Through the course students will gain sufficient knowledge of the basic principles of software project management that they may support a project manger to carry out the project administrative functions of a program office and understand the context in which project management is conducted.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- identify and describe the impact different project contexts will have upon all aspects of a software development project, including an understanding of the role professional ethics plays in the conduct of successful software development
- distinguish between the features of traditional and agile approaches to managing software development to determine an appropriate project management approach given a project?s business context and scope
- demonstrate through application, knowledge of key project management skills, such as scope determination, decomposition, schedule creation and tracking, and estimation; and governance including progress reporting, risk and quality management
- use critical thinking and reflection to build and defend an argument which is presented as a piece of concise writing suitable for presentation to senior management
- formulate and defend an argument through the use of critical thinking and reflection
- demonstrate an ability to present and defend their arguments both orally and in writing
- demonstrate improved teamwork and collaborative skills
Mapping of Learning Outcomes to Assessment and Professional Competencies
Indicative Assessment
- Written assignment 20%
- Oral Presentation 5 %
- Fortnightly workshop participation and reflection 25%
- Written examination 50%
As the written assignment and presentation are done in small groups of 3 or 4 students, individual marks are determined with the help of peer assessment, which is completed using the WebPA-x software tool .
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
Thirteen two-hour lecture and workshop sessions, thirteen one-hour lectures and eight two-hour small group tutorial / workshop sessions.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Preliminary Reading
- What is project management? Association for project management (APM) - http://www.apm.org.uk/WhatIsPM
- What is project management? Project Management Institute (PMI) - http://www.pmi.org/About-Us/About-Us-What-is-Project-Management.aspx
- Managing the development of large software systems, Dr
Winston Royce
Available from http://www.serena.com/docs/agile/papers/Managing-The-Development-of-Large-Software-Systems.pdf
Minors
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 2
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $3096 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $4146 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2401 | 16 Feb 2015 | 06 Mar 2015 | 31 Mar 2015 | 29 May 2015 | In Person | N/A |