COURSE NUMBER: MBA 290P.1B
COURSE TITLE: Project Management Case Studies
UNITS OF
CREDIT: 1
unit
INSTRUCTOR: Omar Romero-Hernandez
E-MAIL ADDRESS: oromero@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.