Overview
Organizations today engage in two fundamental types of work: operations and projects. Operations are day-to-day tasks and processes required for manufacturing, delivery, or service provision, while projects are temporary undertakings used to achieve a unique product, service, or defined outcome. Most management education focuses on operations, yet management engagement with projects contributes significantly to their success. This course is designed to introduce the key concepts of project management for manufacturing managers, introduce the critical steps and tools in managing a project to completion, and help managers determine which steps and tools are most relevant to a particular manufacturing application. This course will be particularly useful for a manager who is new to projects, but must determine how to manage projects to successful completion.
Objectives
After completing this course, learners will be able to:
- describe what goes on in the different phases of a project;
- explain the differences between managing regular operations and managing a project;
- describe and use the basic tools of project management;
- assess which project management tools are most important in different manufacturing contexts;
- outline how to plan and monitor the progress of a project;
- describe what makes a project successful.
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated based on their participation in weekly online discussions (40%) and a comprehensive assignment (60%). To pass the course, students must achieve 60% or more on each of the credit activities.