Welcome to this course in Project Management!

Lectures, seminars and tests are held on Chalmers campus Johanneberg. You can find the locations for lectures and seminars on TimeEdit HERE. 

Information about course content and learning goals are presented in the Course PM HERE, while an overview of the schedule, preparatory work (to be completed for each lecture and seminar) and submissions can be found in the schedule below on this page. Remember to prepare for each seminar by reading the relevant literature, and produce a post-seminar reflection.

Important note on registration for exams: you do NOT need to register for any of the exams - you will be automatically registered (the retake opportunity for Test 2 is visible on Ladok and studentportalen - please ignore this request for registration). Only those who participated in the course in previous years, but want to take a re-sit, must contact the course examiner. 

The course is coordinated by Linus Thomson - linus.thomson@chalmers.se. In the first instance, please direct your questions to Linus who will subsequently reach out to the rest of the teaching team if required. 

The course is examined by Ingrid Johansson Mignon (IBB139) and Ksenia Onufrey (TEK368, DIT841). 

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Schedule and Preparatory work

Week	Date	Time	Course Activity	Preparations  (videos and articles are available under each module)
Introduction Lecture
45	3/11	10.00 - 11.45	Lecture (Linus, Ksenia, Ingrid)	Read course PM, course information, and familiarise yourself with canvas.
Module 1: Project Management Basics
Test 1
46	10/11	08.00 - 09:45	Test 1 (Room To Be Confirmed)	Prepare by reading, watching and practicing the material for Module 1.
Module 2: Mega Projects
46	10/11	10.00 - 11:45	Lecture (Christoffer)	Prepare by reading the compulsory literature
	12/11	10-00 - 11.45 (group 1) 13.15 - 15.00 (group 2) 15.15 - 17.00 (group 3)	Seminar A	1) Do the preparations for Seminar A.  2) Submit your reflections for Seminar A before the deadline.
Module 3: Project Methodologies
47	17/11	08.00 - 09:45	Lecture - Part 1 (Ingrid)	Prepare by reading the compulsory literature
	17/11	10:00-12:00	Lecture - Part 2 (Amanda)	Prepare by reading the compulsory literature
	19/11	10-00 - 11.45 (group 1) 13.15 - 15.00 (group 2) 15.15 - 17.00 (group 3)	Seminar B	1) Do the preparations for Seminar B.  2) Submit your reflections for Seminar B before the deadline.
Test 1 (Retake)
48	24/11	08.00 - 09.45	Test 1 Retake (Room To Be Confirmed)	Only relevant for those who did not take the test or did not pass. Sign up for the re-exam under assignments in Canvas.
Module 4: Project Success
48	24/11	10.00 - 11.45	Lecture (Linus)	Prepare by reading the compulsory literature
	26/11	10.00 - 11.45 (group 1 & 2) 13.15 - 15.00 (group 3 & 4)	Seminar C	1) Do the preparations for Seminar C.  2) Submit your reflections for Seminar C before the deadline.
Module 5: Complexity and Uncertainty in Projects
49	1/12	10.00 - 11.45	Lecture (Ksenia)	Prepare by reading the compulsory literature
	3/12	10.00 - 11.45 (group 1) 13.15 - 15.00 (group 2) 15.15 - 17.00 (group 3)	Seminar D	1) Do the preparations for Seminar D.  2) Submit your reflections for Seminar D before the deadline.
Module 6: Project Leadership
50	8/12	10.00 - 11.45	Lecture (Martin)	Prepare by reading the compulsory literature
	10/12	13.15 - 15.00 (group 1 & 2) 15.15 - 17.00 (group 3 & 4)	Seminar E	1) Do the preparations for Seminar E.  2) Submit your reflections for Seminar E before the deadline.
Closing Lecture
51	15/12	10.00 - 11.45	Lecture (Ksenia)
Test 2
51	17/12	14.00 - 18.00	Test 2 (Room To Be Confirmed)	Study the lectures and the compulsory literature for Modules 2-6.
Test 2 (Retake)
3	12/1	08.00 - 12.00	Re-exam Test 2 (Room: To Be Confirmed)	Only relevant for those who did not take the test or did not pass. Sign up for the re-exam under assignments in Canvas.

 

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Course Literature (minor changes may occur in the literature list)

Module 1: Project Management Basics

Compulsory reading:

• Pinto, J. K. (2020). Project Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage (5th Global ed.). Boston: Pearson Education. Chapters 7 to 10 (included) and 12 to 14 (included).

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Module 2: Mega Projects

Compulsory readings:

• Denicol, J., Davies, A., & Krystallis, I. (2020). What are the causes and cures of poor megaproject performance? A systematic literature review and research agenda. Project management journal, 51(3), 328-345.

• Flyvbjerg, B. (2014). What you should know about megaprojects and why: An overview. Project management journal, 45(2), 6-19.

• Stefano, G., Denicol, J., Broyd, T., & Davies, A. (2023). What are the strategies to manage megaproject supply chains? A systematic literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Project Management, 41(3), 102457.

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Module 3: Project Methodologies

Compulsory readings:

• Lindkvist, L., Soderlund, J., & Tell, F. (1998). Managing product development projects: on the significance of fountains and deadlines. Organization studies, 19(6), 931-951.
• de Meyer, A., Loch, C., & Pich, M. (2002). Managing Project Uncertainty: From Variation to Chaos, Sloan Management Review, 43(2), 60-67.
• Takeuchi, H., & Nonaka, I. (1986). The new new product development game. Harvard business review, 64(1), 137-146.

Recommended readings:

• Rigby, D. K., Sutherland, J., & Takeuchi, H. (2016). Embracing Agile. Harvard Business Review, 94(5), 40–50.
• The Scrum Guides https://scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html 
• Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS) Rules https://less.works/less/rules
• Flow of Teams in LeSS Introduction to LeSS - Large Scale Scrum (LeSS)
• Feature teams  https://www.craiglarman.com/content/feature-teams/feature-teams.htm

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Module 4: Project Success

Compulsory readings:

• • Shenhar, A. & Dvir, D. & Levy, O. & Maltz, A. (2001) Project Success - A multi-dimensional strategic concept. Long Range Planning. 699-725Download Shenhar, A. & Dvir, D. & Levy, O. & Maltz, A. (2001) Project Success - A multi-dimensional strategic concept. Long Range Planning. 699-725

  • Karrbom, G. & Hallin, A. (2014). Rethinking dichotomization - A critical perspective on the use of 'hard' and 'soft' in project management research. International Journal of Project Management. 568-577, 32(4)Download Karrbom, G. & Hallin, A. (2014). Rethinking dichotomization - A critical perspective on the use of 'hard' and 'soft' in project management research. International Journal of Project Management. 568-577, 32(4)

  • Crawford, L,. & Pollack, J,. (2004). Hard and soft projects - a framework for analysis. International Journal of Project Management. 645-653, 22(8)

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Module 5: Complexity and Uncertainty in Projects

Compulsory readings:

• Shenhar, A.J., (2001). One size does not fit all projects: Exploring classical contingency domains. Management science, 47(3), 394-414.
• de Meyer, A., Loch, C., & Pich, M. (2002). Managing Project Uncertainty: From Variation to Chaos, Sloan Management Review, 43(2), 60-67.
• Olausson, D. & Berggren, C., (2010). Managing uncertain, complex product development in high‐tech firms: in search of controlled flexibility. R&D Management, 40(4), 383-399.

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Module 6: Project Leadership

Compulsory readings:

• Introduction chapter (only) in Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership.

• Barber, E., & Warn, J. (2005). Leadership in project management: from firefighter to firelighter. Management Decision, 43(7/8), 1032-1039.

• Holmberg, I., & Tyrstrup, M. (2010). Well then-What now? An everyday approach to managerial leadership. Leadership, 6(4), 353-372.