course-details-portlet

TPK4420

Project Flexibility

Choose study year
Credits 7.5
Level Second degree level
Course start Autumn 2025
Duration 1 semester
Language of instruction English
Location Trondheim
Examination arrangement Aggregate score

About

About the course

Course content

As unique endeavours, projects are frequently exposed to the unexpected. To manage such uncertainty, flexibility is often required. The course describes how projects are managed and designed for flexibility all project phases. The course also includes a critical perspective, and addresses drawbacks of project flexibility. In addition to flexibility, key words include resilience, adaptability and governance. The following topics are addressed: stakeholder analysis, project governance, project models, flexible designs of both the project processes well as the project delivery, assumption surfacing, change management, project resilience, agile project management, project evaluation and uncertainty management. These topics will be illustrated with examples from applications within manufacturing, construction, IT and organizational change projects.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

the candidate gets knowledge about:

  • Key concepts within the field of project flexibility management.
  • Different approaches to flexibility.
  • Understanding of advantages and disadvantages of flexibility.
  • Tool box for analyzing flexibility.
  • How flexibility is seen from different stakeholder's perspective.

Skills:

the candidate can:

  • Apply different approaches to achieving flexibility in projects.
  • Understand the incentives for different stakeholders related to flexibility.
  • Apply key tools for change management in projects.

General competence:

the candidate can:

  • Understand basic relationships between organisations, projects and the outside world.

Learning methods and activities

Lectures and seminars. Evaluation will be based on a report and an exam. To get admission to the exam, a preliminary course report must have been submitted and approved. The lectures and exercises are in English. Students are free to choose to write reports in Norwegian or English. As a part of the course, students shall write a report on a selected aspect of project flexibility. The report shall be based on the course material, supplemented by further literature that students are expected to find as a part of the course.

Compulsory assignments

  • Preliminary reports and presentation

Further on evaluation

Final exam (report and written examination) provides a basis for the final grade in the course. The final grading includes a report that counts for 51% and a written exam that counts for 49%.

Assessment of the parts is stated with letter grades according to the grade scale for the percentage assessment method.

Compulsory activity from the previous semester can be approved by the department by repeating the course if there have been no significant changes in the program later.

Report can be in English or Norwegian. Presentation of report is mandatory and is done in English. Exam is in English.

All assessments must be passed before the overall result can be calculated in the course.

At postponed exam (re-sit exam), the examination form may be changed from written examination to oral. Re-sit/re-sit examinations will be held in August.

Continuation and voluntary repetition / improvement can be carried out for some sub-evaluations without having to reassess both sub-evaluations in a topic. There is an opportunity to complain about partial assessments in this topic before all sub-evaluations have been completed.

Required previous knowledge

The course requires good knowledge of general project management principles.

Course materials

Course material include a textbook and selected academic publications on the topic. In addition, it is a part of the course that students shall find literature to be used in the project report.

Credit reductions

Course code Reduction From
TPK4505 7.5 sp Autumn 2014
This course has academic overlap with the course in the table above. If you take overlapping courses, you will receive a credit reduction in the course where you have the lowest grade. If the grades are the same, the reduction will be applied to the course completed most recently.

Subject areas

  • Production and Quality Engineering - Production Management
  • Industrial Economics
  • Machine Design and Materials Technology - Product Development
  • Production and Quality Engineering - Manufacturing Systems
  • Project Management
  • Construction Management
  • Production and Quality Engineering - Production Management
  • Technological subjects

Contact information

Course coordinator

Lecturers

Department with academic responsibility

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Examination

Examination

Examination arrangement: Aggregate score
Grade: Letter grades

Ordinary examination - Autumn 2025

School exam
Weighting 49/100 Examination aids Code D Date 2025-12-17 Time 15:00 Duration 4 hours Exam system Inspera Assessment
Place and room for school exam

The specified room can be changed and the final location will be ready no later than 3 days before the exam. You can find your room location on Studentweb.

Sluppenvegen 14
Room SL310 lilla sone
11 candidates
Room SL510
1 candidate
Room SL311 orange sone
9 candidates
Room SL311 lyseblå sone
8 candidates
Assignment
Weighting 51/100 Date Submission 2025-11-13 Time Submission 14:00 Exam system Inspera Assessment

Re-sit examination - Summer 2026

School exam
Weighting 49/100 Examination aids Code D Duration 4 hours Exam system Inspera Assessment Place and room Not specified yet.