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Practical Application of Project Management Studies

Learn about different types of case studies, advantages and disadvantages of using real and past projects, and how to analyze and evaluate project management theories in practice. Discover the benefits of experiential learning and higher-order cognitive development.

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Practical Application of Project Management Studies

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  1. Case Studies in Project Management: Theory Versus Practice by Kathy Schwalbe, Ph.D., PMP Associate Professor, Augsburg College VP of Education, PMI-Minnesota November, 2001 www.augsburg.edu/ppages/~schwalbe schwalbe@augsburg.edu

  2. Think roosters are cool? Beware! They can turn on you, and you on them!

  3. What’s My Point? • Experiential learning is very important; you can’t learn most things just by reading or talking about them • People in all disciplines, including project management, need to develop higher order cognitive skills to be effective

  4. Presentation Outline • Background on learning using case studies • Three types of case studies • Real projects • Past projects • Fictitious case studies • Review a few fictitious cases/exercises • Discuss good cases and need for more

  5. Case Studies as a Learning Tool • Case studies help develop higher levels of cognitive development (Bloom’s taxonomy) • Case studies help people make meaning out new concepts (Kolb’s experiential learning model)

  6. Bloom’s Taxonomy ofCognitive Development • Knowledge (learn terminology) • Comprehension (explain terms in own words) • Application (apply concepts to problems) • Analysis (break down and examine information) • Synthesis (creatively apply various concepts to new situations) • Evaluation (judge the value of material) Case Studies

  7. Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model Concrete Experience Case studies Active Experimentation Reflective Observation Transformation (making meaning) Prehension (pre- senting material Abstract Conceptualization

  8. Real Projects as Case Studies • Best way for students to learn (I believe) • Advantages: • Students, teachers, and sponsors work together to initiate, plan, execute, control, and close projects • Sponsors receive great work at a great price • Students get “real” experience applying what they’re learning in class • Disadvantages: • Upfront time required to find good projects • Class time must be structured over a longer time period (like semesters) • Risks involved in running real projects

  9. Suggestions for Using Real Cases • Have HW#1 be for students to propose a potential project (see paper for HW description) • State selection criteria, and be sure to include strong sponsorship, student interest, realistic scope, learning potential, etc. • Require PM tools like a charter, WBS, Gantt chart, status reports, project web site, etc. • Show students samples of good projects done by previous students and discuss what you liked about them

  10. Sample of Real Student Project

  11. Sample of Real Student Project

  12. Sample of Real Student Project

  13. Past Projects as Case Studies • Most students have some work experience, so they can find past projects to analyze • Advantages: • Students can compare theory vs. practice • Students learn to interview people, analyze information, and document real projects (see ResNet example in my book) • Disadvantages: • Sometimes hard to find organizations willing to share project information • Risk of not finding much relationship between theory and practice • Students prefer doing their own projects rather than analyzing someone else’s

  14. Sample of Analyzing Past Project

  15. Suggestions for Using Past Projects • Have students discuss using the past projects for a class assignment with the organizational sponsor first • Offer to keep all information strictly confidential, and let sponsor know they will receive copies of the students’ analysis • Provide detailed guidelines on how to do the analysis (I had students either create or analyze project documents, describe lessons learned, theory vs. practice, etc.)

  16. Theory Versus Practice of PM: Past Projects As Case Studies • In fall of 2000, I had 3 classes (100 students, 20 group projects) analyze past projects and Microsoft Project files from real companies • Students documented the projects and either analyzed or created charters, WBSs, Gantt charts, lessons learned, etc. for the projects. They also used these tools to manage their class projects • We found that many companies did not apply common PM theories, tools or techniques • Students used several skills in doing these projects and really could analyze and evaluate past projects

  17. Samples of Past Projects Used for Students’ Case Studies • Sun Server Prototype Project • IBM Software Development Project • Boston Scientific, Scimed Stent Development Project • Carlson Companies “Best Companies to Work For” Project • Godfather Pizza Colossal Crust Marketing Campaign Project • Mentor Corp. L. Catheter Pilot Line Process Development/Lean Manufacturing Project

  18. Some Results from Analyzing Real Cases Studies • The more technical projects, like those at IBM and Boston Scientific, used more PM tools • Few projects had a project charter in textbook format (short and signed) • Few companies used a WBS, but most had “lists” of what needed to be done • Some companies had some form of a schedule, but few used true Gantt charts • Few mentioned using other common tools taught in most PM courses

  19. Results of Analyzing MS Project Files • Few of the real case studies used Microsoft Project or any type of PM software • Only a couple of the 20 or more Project files students collected used any of the the cost or human resource management features, and if they did, they were used improperly • Many Project files had terrible WBSs – often had no hierarchy at all • Most files did not have tasks linked properly, include milestones, or use tracking features • Only one real project of these 20 used critical path analysis

  20. Sample Project File for a Conference

  21. Resource Histogram from Project File

  22. Fictitious Case Studies • Many educators use fictitious exercises and case studies • Advantages: • All the information is available (including answers for instructors) • Can be short or long, done in class or as HW • Disadvantages: • Students cannot interact with real characters • Instructors must keep finding new cases to avoid boredom and cheating

  23. Need for More Project Management Case Studies? • Harvard Business Review and other sources have many case studies, but are many directly related to project management? • Is it hard to find shorter, focused case studies related to project management? • Let’s review a few minicases included in the second edition of my book, Information Technology Project Management

  24. Sample Minicase for Scope Management (see paper)

  25. Sample Minicase Part 2 (see paper)

  26. Sample Minicase for Quality Management

  27. Sample Minicase Part 2

  28. Comments on Need for More Case Studies in Project Management?

  29. Contact Information • Feel free to e-mail me your ideas at schwalbe@augsburg.edu • Look at project management information, lecture notes, syllabi, articles, samples of student projects, etc. from my web site at www.augsburg.edu/ppages/~schwalbe

  30. Final thought: Remember that we all influence our future leaders… Scott Schwalbe – Future Governor?

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