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2020/2021  KAN-CMIBO1036U  Project Management and Product Development

English Title
Project Management and Product Development

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course Autumn, Second Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Claus Varnes - Department of Marketing (Marketing)
Just Pedersen
Tom Grad
Main academic disciplines
  • Project and change management
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 26-06-2020

Relevant links
Learning objectives
  • Explain the challenges of managing projects in general and product development projects
  • Be able to explain and compare the different management approaches / methods for projects
  • Explain how these methods and management tools can be applied in practice
  • Be able to account for and discuss the managerial challenges by applying the different management methods and tools.
  • Explain the application of project management methods and tools in different contexts
  • Be able to argue for the choice of different methods and management tools in the context of project management and product development
Examination
Project Management and Product Development:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance.
Individual or group exam Oral group exam based on written group product
Number of people in the group 4-5
Size of written product Max. 20 pages
Assignment type Project
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
15 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and external examiner
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
* if a student is absent from the oral exam due to documented illness but has handed in the written group product she/he does not have to submit a new product for the re-take. However the group product must be uploaded once again on Digital Exam.
* if a whole group fails the oral exam they must hand in a revised product for the re-take.
* if one student in the group fails the oral exam the course coordinator chooses whether the student will have the oral exam on the basis of the same product or if he/she has to hand in a revised product for the re- take.
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

Project management has become an increasingly relevant form of organizing for innovation activities such as the development of products, services, or business models. Yet, project management requires particular competencies, and some sources even claim that the strategy of a firm is the effect of projects successfully implemented within the organization.  

 

The course aims to provide participants with analytical tools and capabilities that will allow them to examine the challenges of managing projects comprehensively. 

 

The course develops the learnings necessary to meet the objectives with an inductive approach (Gioia, Glaser & Strauss), where the course initiates with a long day where we meet practitioners, join simulations, solve real problems with design thinking and play with LEGOs. The observations we make will later serve as the empirical base from where we activate examples and develop theory jointly with the literature offered in the textbook and journal articles.

 

The course intends to bridge innovation management with project management.

 

We cannot identify a textbook with this exact perspective, and a traditional textbook will cover the project management part, whereas journal articles represent innovation management. Together we will integrate the two.

 

Moreover, we aim to equip you with an understanding of some of some the contemporary management tools in this field e.g., agile, design-thinking and half double.
Description of the teaching methods
The method of teaching will be a combination of traditional class lectures with other elements as such as guest lecturers, panel discussion, brainstorming sessions, quizzes and group presentations. The group presentations (or similar creative learning material) will be held by 3-5 students and there will be approx. two presentations per session. The presentations will be based on examinations of real-life projects. It is the aspiration of this course that all students will present at least once.
Feedback during the teaching period
Assignment 1: Paper structure assignment
Each group, consisting of 4-5 students, is required to submit an assignment detailing a proposed exam paper structure for project management and product development, including a research question, data collection plan and choice of theory. The assignment, which must have a maximum length of 2 pages per student, should argue how the proposed structure allows for an in-depth analysis of the research question, and how the research questions allow for critically addressing the theories in the course. The assignment is to be uploaded at a specified date. The groups are then paired and given the proposal of another group, which they must criticize with a 1 page feedback. A rubrics for feedback will be provided. A grade of pass or fail will be given based on a holistic assessment of the assignment and the feedback and the feedback paper.

Assignment 2: Multiple-choice quiz
Toward the final lectures, a multiple-choice quiz will be given to the students. The quiz will serve as feedback both to the students in informing them individually, where they may have lacks, but also to the faculty on where to focus the final lectures.
The quiz will follow the format of the PMI test, which is a recognized professional test within project management.
Student workload
Teaching 36 hours
Preparation 100 hours
Exam 70 hours
Expected literature

Book:

  • Pinto, J.K. (2019) “Project Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage, Global Edition, 5th.

 
Last updated on 26-06-2020