COURSE NUMBER: MBA 290P.1B

COURSE TITLE: Project Management Case Studies

UNITS OF CREDIT: 1 unit

INSTRUCTOR: Omar Romero-Hernandez

E-MAIL ADDRESSoromero@berkeley.edu

PREREQUISITE(S): None

CAREER FIELD
The course represents a strong foundation for those interested in pursuing certification in the future by the Project Management Institute (PMI). There are 90% chances that students will be working in projects after graduating. This class will help you develop strong foundations, tools and practical skills to help them navigate in this path.

CLASS FORMAT:
Course content includes lecture notes on Project Management theory and tools, Business Cases, Project Management software and a Simulation on Project Execution.

REQUIRED READINGS:
The course will use a packet of readings and case materials available at study.net
Briefs with class material and take-away points will be available.
Textbook: Meredith, J., Mantel, S. J. Project Management, A Managerial Approach, 8th Edition, Wiley and Sons.

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE:

45%     Business cases and course activities
20%     Class participation
35%     Final project. The project is meant to be a project planning document, which you get to prepare along the course. This is the best way to quickly apply what you learn. 

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:

We have successfully revamped this course with more emphasis on practical aspects of Project Management. This one-unit course is particularly useful to those MBA students who have participated in projects at their previous job, yet haven’t had any formal Project Management knowledge on frameworks and tools required to plan and execute a project according to international standards. 

The primary objective of this course is to develop critical skills and the knowledge needed to successfully define, plan, implement and lead projects. Emphasis on this course is positioned on Project Planning. 

The course delves into planning and scheduling techniques including: project definition, project selection, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Resource Estimation, Critical Path Method (CPM), Pert, Gantt Charts, Resource Constrained Scheduling, Project Monitoring and Project Closing.  Tools and frameworks presented in class are paired with the use of project management software that will also be taught in class.

The course may be particularly useful to students who would like to receive formal training on Project Management and who may attend experiential learning courses at Haas (Haas@Work, Clean Tech to Market, IBD), where student teams may need to define and plan for a course projects along their semester.

Think about this: Business leaders constantly compete for executives’ attention, resources, and to deliver projects on time, within budget and with a degree of quality that matches their reputation. Only one of every three projects lands to successful completion. You will be taught what it takes to plan and lead successful projects. 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

Prof. Romero-Hernandez was the recipient of the 2010 Franz Edelman Award, the world’s most prestigious award on Operations Research and Management Science.

Omar has been an academic and project practitioner for more than 15 years. Omar has worked for a diverse range of public and private organizations. He is a Chemical Engineer with graduate studies in Economic Policy and Government and a PhD in Process Economics and Environmental Impact from Imperial College, London, UK. Currently, he is a National Researcher, leading practitioner, and author of various books including: Renewable Energy Technologies and Policies, and Industry and the Environment and several international publications on project management, business and sustainable development.

He has led various internationally awarded projects in the field of sustainable business strategies and implementation –– sponsors include the United Nations, Ministry of the Environment, Industry consortiums, S&P 500 companies, the Stock Exchange and NGOs.