Course - Project Flexibility - TPK4420
Project Flexibility
About
About the course
Course content
As unique endeavours, projects are frequently exposed to the unexpected. . 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. The course provides the foundation for the Specialisation Project (TPK4520) and Master Thesis (TPK4920) and comprises (a) selected topics covering research on projects and their management and (b) modules on Master Thesis related research skills.
Learning outcome
Knowledge:
In the project management part, the candidate gets knowledge about:
- Key concepts within the field of project management.
- Different approaches to flexibility.
- Understanding of advantages and disadvantages of flexibility.
- How flexibility is seen from different stakeholder's perspective.
In the research skills part, the candidate gets knowledge and understanding of the key methodological challenges and choices relevant for successful completion of a master thesis in project or quality management.
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.
- Handle literature reviews and apply critical thinking to analyse existing literature and develop own research.
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. Students shall write a report on a topic relevant to the course. 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 50% and a written exam that counts for 50%.
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.
Recommended previous knowledge
This course is designed for students who take TPK4520 Project and Quality Management, Specialization Course, or similar specialization courses. Students should have a background that corresponds to at least five of the obligatory courses in the first year of the Master of Science in Project Management MSPROMAN. Deviations from this can be accepted depending on previous experience and topic for the specialization project and master thesis.
Required previous knowledge
The course requires good knowledge of general project management principles.
Course materials
Course material is mainly 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 course report.
Credit reductions
| Course code | Reduction | From |
|---|---|---|
| TPK4505 | 7.5 sp | Autumn 2014 |
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