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Unit Outline: ITEC843 Research and Development Practice and Management

Semester 2, 2011

Convenor: Dr. Ian Krycer

Value: 4 credit points

Study period: Semester 2

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this unit.

About This Unit

This unit consists of a number of essential biotechnology management themes:  project management, risk management, agile methodologies and team management.  Topics covered in the first theme include project definition, roles and responsibilities, resource management, time and cost estimation, project planning, project control and reporting, measuring project success and post implementation review.  Microsoft Project 2007 is used to assist with resource allocation, costing and scheduling.  The Australian Standard, AS4360, gives us excellent guidance on risk management.  Agile methodologies are particularly relevant given the complexity and rapid change that characterize R & D projects.  Finally, understanding organizational culture, politics and how to manage local and global teams are discussed in depth.

Although this is an M.Biotech. unit, it is also available to MIT students.  Hence, the assignments will have an alternate version for MIT students who are not required to exhibit a detailed knowledge of the biotechnology context.

Teaching Staff

All emails related to ITEC843 should be sent to ian.krycer@mq.edu.au  and must include your full name and your student id number.

Classes

Each week you should attend 4 hours of lectures/tutorials/workshops. For details of days, times and rooms consult the timetables webpage.

Attendance at all classes is compulsory.  You are advised to submit a legitimate and verifiable absence note to the lecturer if you are unable to attend a class, for whatever reason.  In the first instance, an email will suffice, however, backup documentation, such as a doctor’s certificate, might be required.

Required and Recommended Texts

Students are expected to purchase and read the following textbook.  As the final exam is open book, it is strongly recommended that each student has a copy of the textbook:

Erik Larson and Clifford Gray, ‘Project Management: The Managerial Process’ 5^th Edition (2011), McGraw Hill. This book should be available from the University Co-op Bookstore.

The following text books are suggested as recommended reading.  Copies are available from the references and general sections of the library.  Old editions are useful as they cover the basic concepts well, although the chapter references will be different.

• Rob Thomsett, Radical Project Management, Prentice Hall, 2002
• Robbins, S, Bergman, R, Stagg, I and Coulter, M, ‘Management’ 5th Edition, 2008, Prentice Hall

The class Web site, hosted on the Moodle server, will have copies of lecture handouts and additional recommended reading material: du.auhttps://ilearn.mq.e
You will need to use the user name and password issued to you by the Science Faculty when you enrolled for the unit. 

Unit Material

A student folder with all the lecture notes and electronic references will be availalbe for download through the class web site on iLearn at:
https://ilearn.mq.edu.au

Technology used

Students are also expected to make use of MS Project, MS Word and MS Powerpoint. MS Project will be available for free download through the Macquarie-MSDN website.

Learning Outcomes

A student successfully completing the unit will have developed the following skills:

1. Define what is meant by an R&D project and its role in meeting stakeholder expectations
2. Describe the roles and expectations of the main project stakeholders in terms of the contraints of schedule, budget and scope
3. Develop, maintain, manage and report against a project plan which defines the critical path and resource requirements, with tool support, such as MS Project 2007
4. Understand the concepts of agile methodologies and how to apply the Rational Unified Process to complex development projects
5. Understand the components required to manage all the formal and informal processes within a project including leadership and team management
6. Understand risk implications for project planning and implementation of a risk management plan
7. Understand how to manage in a global environment and the importance of dealing ethically with all stakeholders
8. Understand the role of the project manager and the importance of managing the internal and external context for the work of the project and handling organisational politics
9. Develop skills in working in a group to achieve a shared objective within the required timeframe
10. Enhance skills in achieving individual tasks within time frame constraints

In addition to the discipline-based learning objectives, all academic programs at Macquarie seek to develop students' generic skills in a range of areas. One of the aims of this unit is that students develop their skills in the following:

• Critical analysis skills;
• Problem-solving skills; and
• Creative thinking skills.

Teaching and Learning Strategy

ITEC843 is taught via lectures, tutorials and workshop sessions. Lectures are used to introduce new material and give examples of the use of project management disciplines in real life business contexts. While lectures are largely one to many presentations, you are encouraged to ask questions of the lecturer to clarify anything you might not be sure of.

Each week you should:

• Attend lectures, take notes, ask questions.
• Read appropriate sections of the text, add to your notes and prepare questions for your lecturer.
• Prepare answers to next week's tutorial questions.
• Work on any assignments that have been released.

Lecture notes will be made through the student folder to be downloaded from the class Moodle web site, but these notes are intended as an outline of the lecture only and are not a substitute for your own notes or the textbook.

Topic List

WEEK	TOPIC	READING
1	Course Structure Modern Project Management Aligning the Project with Organisational Strategy	Unit Outline Larson and Gray, 1-3 and Readings
2	Defining the Project – Scope, WBS, Responsibilities Introduction to MS Project Practical – MS Project 2007 Tutorial Hand out Assignment One (Individual Assignment) ‘MS Project 2003 for Schedule, Resources and Costing’	Larson and Gray, 4 Microsoft website Larson and Gray, Videos
3	Estimating Project Times and Costs Developing a Project Plan MS Project Tutorial	Larson and Gray, 5 Larson and Gray, 6 and readings To be confirmed
4	Progress Management and Evaluation Project Success Criteria    Assignment One Due Group One Minor Project Presentation	Larson and Gray, 13 Thomsett, 7, 9 and Readings
5	Risk Management ISO 31000 (2009) Hand out Assignment Two (Individual Assignment) Essay on ‘Project Success and Risk Mitigation’ Group Two Minor Project Presentation	Larson and Gray, 7 ISO 31000 (2009)
6	Project Audit and Closure Agile Project Management Hand out Assignment Three (Group Assignment) ‘Biotechnology Project Management Plan’ Group Three Minor Project Presentation	Larson and Gray, 14 Larson and Gray 17 and Readings Group exercise
7	Leadership Team Management Assignment Two Due Group Four Minor Project Presentation	Larson and Gray, 10 Larson and Gray, 11 and Readings
8	Virtual Teams and Outsourcing Project Oversight Group Five Minor Project Presentation	Larson and Gray, 12 Larson and Gray, 16
9	Organisational Culture Organisational Politics Politics Tutorial Group Six Minor Project Presentation	Robbins, 3 Larson and Gray, 10,12 and Readings Miller
10	Managing in a Global Environment Social Responsibility and Managerial Ethics Group Seven Minor Project Presentation	Robbins, 4 Robbins, 5
11	Contemporary Issues in Project Management Group Eight Minor Project Presentation	Discussion of 4 recent papers
12	Group Major Project Presentations Assignment Three Due	Class assessment
13	Revision Tutorial Group Presentations Continued.

Assessment Items

TASK	PLANNED DATE	TOTAL MARKS
Assignment 1:	Due Week  4	10%
Assignment 2:	Due Week 7	10%
Group Assignment	Due Week 12	25%
Group Minor Project Presentations	Weeks 4 to 11	5%
Final Examination (Open Book)	TBA	50%

Please note that satisfactory performance in all of the assignments and especially in the final exam constitute a necessary pre-requisite for passing this unit.    

Late assignments: All late assignments will attract the penalty of having the maximum possible mark reduced by 10% per day late, including weekends.  In other words, this means that an assignment that is ten elapsed days late can only attract zero marks, even if it is perfect.

Assignment 1: Individual Assignment. 
Microsoft Project 2007

You are given the tasks, resources and schedule for a project which need to be entered into MS Project 2007.  You are required to answer a series of questions on the resource requirements, critical path, schedule and costs associated with this project.

Assignment 2: Individual Assignment
Realising Success with Complex Projects

You are to write a well researched and referenced essay (2000 to 3000 words) on the topic of biotechnology project success.  Numerous complex pharmaceutical, biotech or medical device research or development projects suffer from planning problems, cost overruns and even total failure.  What are the factors that contribute to a project’s success and how can the major risks be mitigated?  Use at least 10 references, half of which must be from academic journals.  These references need to be in addition to any class readings referenced.
(MIT students should focus on complex IT projects.)

Assignment 3: Group Project 
Project Plan

A series of biotech R & D projects will be allocated amongst the groups.  Your team are consultants recommending your project and risk strategy to secure a go-ahead from the client organisation.  Your focus is on the project context and business benefits, process/methodology and risk management plan to suit your project and client organisation.  Groups will present to their ‘clients’ in Weeks 12 and 13. (MIT students will be in separate groups and will be allocated relevant IT projects.)

Group Minor Project Presentation

Furthermore, each group will be required to make a presentation to the class on the context risk issues related to a contemporary biotechnoloy project.  You will base this presentation on a recent paper from the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology.

All assignments should be handed in via the online Moodle system at https://moodle.comp.mq.edu.au/ by the time specified in the assignment description.
All work submitted should be readable and well presented.


Relationship Between Assessment and Learning Outcomes

LEARNING OUTCOME	ASSESSMENTS
1. Define what is meant by an R&D project and its role in meeting stakeholder expectations	This will be assessed by the Group Assignment and the Examination.
2. Describe the roles and expectations of the main project stakeholders in terms of the contraints of schedule, budget and scope	This will be assessed in Assignment 2, the Group Assignment and the Examination.
3. Develop, maintain, manage and report against a project plan which defines the critical path and resource requirements, with tool support, such as MS Project 2007	This will be assessed in Assignment 1.
4. Understand the concepts of agile methodologies and how to apply the Rational Unified Process to complex development projects	This will be assessed in the Group Assignment and the Examination.
5. Understand the components required to manage all the formal and informal processes with a project including leadership and team management	This will be assessed in the Examination.
6. Understand risk implications for project planning and implementation of a risk management plan	This will be assessed in Assignment 2, the Group Assignment and the Examination.
7. Understand how to manage in a global environment and the importance of dealing ethically with all stakeholders	This will be in the Examination.
8. Understand the role of the project manager and the importance of managing the internal and external context for the work of the project and handling organisational politics	This will be assessed in the Group Assignment and the Examination.
9. Develop skills in working in a group to achieve a shared objective within the required timeframe	This will be assessed in the Group Assignment.
10. Enhance skills in achieving individual tasks within time frame constraints	This will be assessed in all the assignments.

Holistic standards

Please note the following table which will provide you with an understanding of the grading system used in ITEC843.

High Distinction

Outstanding quality with the addition of originality and/or creativity. Oustanding description of the background, communication and analysis of results. Excellent conclusion summarising the key points. Results presented in well-formatted with correctly labelled tables, figures, captions etc. Analysis and synthesis of the main ideas from the literature are integrated and strongly linked to the tasks expected. Several key references are used (typically about 8-10 at 300 level), cited in the text and without error in the references.

Distinction

Superior quality description, analysis and communication of the material. Superior quality description of the topic and conclusions of the material under investigation. Results presented in clear prose, clearly labelled tables, graphs, figures and so forth. Analysis and synthesis of the literature is linked clearly to the assignment and shows good insight into what the literature states with regard to the topic under study. Most aspects and formatting of the references are correct.

Credit

Good quality presentation, analysis, description and presentation of the material in the assignments and exam. Material making up the assignments illustrates that a clear understanding is shown. Tables, graphs and other supporting material are present but will not have the depth of analysis of discussion incorporated into the assignment to the degree evident for a distinction/high distinction. Titles for tables and figures may have minor parts missing. Literature has been analysed and evaluated, but may lack clear linkage with the topic under study. Most aspects of referencing are correct, but some references cited in the text may be missing or incorrectly formatted in the reference list.

Pass

Satisfactory description, analysis and presentation of results. All components of the assignment are present in the assignment. There may be an incorrect structure to the assignment in parts. Prose is perhaps not particularly fluid, but the main points are still present. An inappropriate means of presentation may have been used in the assignments. Literature has been used, but often will include textbook instead of journal articules/given readings on the specific topic under question. Most aspects of referencing are correct, how some references cited in the text may be missing or incorrectly formatted in the reference list.

Fail

Poor assignment coverage and structure. Very limited analysis and dicussion of the results. Ideas are not clearly expressed and limited attention has been given to writing in academic form. Inadequate and/or incorrect referencing.

Examinations

You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable. The timetable will be available in Draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the examinations and in Final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of examinations.

You are advised that it is Macquarie University policy not to set early examinations for individuals or groups of students. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching semester, that is the final day of the official examination period.

The only exception to not sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances you may wish to consider applying for Special Consideration. Information about unavoidable disruption and the special consideration process is available on the web (PDF).

If a Supplementary Examination is granted as a result of the Special Consideration process the examination will be scheduled after the conclusion of the official examination period. For details of the Special Consideration policy specific to the Department of Computing, see the Department's policy page.

Plagiarism

Please refer to the Department of Computing Plagiarism Policy for the definition of plagiarism, advice on avoiding it and the penalties in place if you are found to have submitted plagiarised work.

Student Support Services

Macquarie University provides a range of Academic Student Support Services. Details of these services can accessed at http://www.student.mq.edu.au.

The Department of Computing provides a Third Year Liaison Officer to help deal with non-unit related issues that you might have as a first year student at Macquarie. If you are falling behind in your work or having problems that interfere with your studies, please ask to see the Liaison officer: Ros Ballantyne, email ros at ics.mq.edu.au, telephone 9850 9513.

Staff-Student Liaison Committee

The Department has established a Staff-Student Liaison Committee at each level (100, 200, 300) to provide all students studying a Computing unit the opportunity to discuss related issues or problems with both students and staff.

For each meeting, an agenda is issued and minutes are taken. These are posted on the web at:

• http://www.comp.mq.edu.au/units/800-liaison

Details of the regular meeting dates will be posted on the unit home page. Anyone with an interest in Computing units may attend. This includes staff involved in the teaching and administration of the units, and all students currently taking a Computing unit at that level. There are formal Liaison Committee representatives for each unit who attend to present the views of the student body; all students are welcome and are encouraged to attend.

The meetings are usually held in the Department of Computing Meeting Room, E6A357.

To forward agenda items or get in touch with your representative, send an email to ian.krycer@mq.edu.au .

If you have exhausted all other avenues, then you should consult the Director of Teaching (Assoc. Prof. Debbie Richards) or the Head of Department (Assoc. Prof. Benard Mans). You are entitled to have your concerns raised, discussed and resolved.