Background & Description

Are you looking for a Project Management course that offers the flexibility and convenience of a web-based course, but also offers interaction with the instructor and fellow students? The ITS JPO’s Professional Capacity Building (PCB) Program and the Consortium for ITS Training and Education (CITE) are offering an instructor-led, web-based ("blended") version of the "Managing High Technology Projects in Transportation" course.

The ITS PCB Program recently released this project management course as both an instructor-led course through the National Highway Institute as well as a web-based course. The course content is the same for both courses; only the course presentation is different. Both versions are designed to improve the project management skills of public and private sector personnel who are responsible for managing the implementation of technology-intensive transportation projects. The course provides training related to the fundamental principles and practices of good project management; the steps of planning, designing, and implementing transportation systems projects; the types of project management tools available for managing transportation systems projects; and the basic skills required to be a good project manager.

What is an Instructor-led, Web-based course?

A “blended” course combines the best features of both instructor-led and web-based instruction. These features include:

• Live discussions with the instructor through the use of conference calls,
• Convenient, flexible web-based learning,
• A specific time schedule in which to complete the course, and
• Interaction with other students through the use of class problems posted on a discussion board.
  

Course Objectives

Upon conclusion of this course, students should be able to:

• Define the fundamental principles of good project management.
• Describe the general management skills and role played by the project manager as they relate to ITS projects.
• Explain the steps taken to plan, design and implement ITS projects
• Describe the phases of projects (definition, planning, design, & execution) and the project management techniques relevant to each phase.
• Follow leads to additional project management resource information.

Course Length

The course goes for six weeks (see course syllabus) and takes the student between 10-15 hours of time to complete the entire course.

Author & Instructor

The author & instructor of the course is Philip Tarnoff, Director of the Center for Advanced Transportation Technology (CATT) at the University of Maryland.

Outline of Web-based Course Content

The course outline is as follows:
(numbers in parentheses refer to pages)

1. Introduction to Project Management (3-65)
   1. What is a project?
   2. ITS Project Management
   3. Project Management Processes
   4. People Themes
   5. Management Themes
   6. System Themes
   7. Lesson 1 Quiz
      
2. Project Initiation - Feasibility (66-104)
   1. Project Initiation
      • The "V" Model
   2. Establishing Feasibility
   3. Building the Team
   4. The Vision
   5. Defining Constraints
   6. Estimating Cost and Schedule
   7. Lesson 2 Quiz
   8. Class Problem 1: Feasibility
      
3. Project Planning (105-177)
   1. Prepare Management Plan
   2. Planning Steps
      • Metrics
      • Work Breakdown Structure
   3. System Development Process
      • Spiral Model
      • Waterfall Model
      • Evolutionary Model
   4. Contracting Plan
      • Consultant/Contractor
      • Systems Manager
      • Design/Build
      • Task Orders
   5. Project Plan
   6. Lesson 3 Quiz
      
4. System Planning (178-221)
   1. Request for Proposals
   2. Evaluation Plan
   3. Qualifications
   4. Capability Maturity Model
   5. Reimbursement issues
   6. Concept of Operations
   7. Risk Management
   8. Lesson 4 Quiz
      
5. Project Execution (222-299)
1. Requirements and Specifications
2. Configuration Management
3. Traceability
4. Configuration Control Board
5. Change Control
6. Risk Management
• Planning, Monitoring and Resolution
7. Class Problem 2: Risk Mitigation
8. Requirements Walkthroughs
9. Documentation Reviews
10. Testing: Validation and Verification
11. Acceptance Testing
12. Testing Plans
13. Status/Performance Monitoring
    
6. Project Close-Out (222-325)
   1. Final Project Documentation
   2. System Maintenance
   3. Maintenance Contracting
   4. Lesson 6 Quiz
      
7. Course Conclusion (326-332)

Course Syllabus

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