MSc Project Management

Management Theory

You'll learn the key theories and principles of management to understanding how those theories and principles can be applied in practice to a range of project contexts. Management style is personal and unique; therefore, this module will build the foundation of your management knowledge and leadership to empower you develop your own unique approach to management. You'll be able to integrate this knowledge with your own values, experiences, and goals, to provide the basis for a life-long development of your management skills. Among many other things, you'll learn the principles of governing project teams, including organisational structures and leadership. You'll also explore the functions, forms, operation, and behaviour of organisations in a variety of contexts and situations to enhance management and organisational success.

Management Practice

Project managers must appreciate the importance of people to the success of their project. Organisational and project performance is largely dependent on the performance of people, which in turn is determined by the quality and effectiveness of their management. Therefore, it is crucial that managers can effectively lead the people that are under them in the project organisation structure, and aid and inspire their teams to produce the best results within the constraints of available resources. The module emphasises on the development of your personal skills and traits required to manage the knowledge and intellectual capital of the project team and take advantage of an ever increasing dependency on effective knowledge management. You will explore knowledge-based economy and its impact on the complex and changing organisational and project environment. You’ll learn about people management, HR policy and practices, and how to manage performance, empower motivation, and development commitment.

Project Management Systems

A project’s life cycle forms a solid foundation on which the manager builds the foundations for management strategies. This module walks you through the body of knowledge and recognised project management methodologies to discover the roles and functions of the manager, value adding activities and innovative tools and techniques to be used. You'll develop a thorough understanding of the process of project management, together with the diverse range of resources and activities that the project manager must plan, coordinate and control to achieve a successful project. The module will equip you with the specialist management skills and knowledge to successfully execute the project from inception through all its stages to completion and use. You'll be challenged to develop a personalised management approach and strategy to deliver a real-world project for a sponsoring organisation. The module will empower you to actively explore the practical tools and techniques that project managers use to support core project objectives.

Project Management Context

Projects are conceived to allow the organisation to achieve its strategic goals in most the most effective and efficient way. Projects must therefore be carefully managed to align with the concurrent projects, programmes, and portfolio to deliver the core business objectives of the sponsoring organisation. This module will give you a sound understanding of the context for project management and how projects relate to organisations and the larger organisational environment. You'll explore contemporary project management by looking at examples from a wide range of organisations and industries. You'll develop an appreciation of the history and development of project management, together with a critical consideration of contemporary project management from examples of its application in a wide range of organisations and industries. It allows you to explore the duties and obligations of the project manager, along with the terms and conditions of their employment, the legal rights. You'll develop the skills and attributes required to be a successful project manager, including the selection of projects, the different processes involved, and procurement systems used to procure projects.

Project Management Techniques

Project management techniques is applicational in nature and is designed to help you develop a systematic understanding of a number of key tools and techniques used in the management of projects, enabling you to critically evaluate project needs and to select and apply appropriate techniques for your project. With the demand for continuous improvement, production systems such as lean and agile will be explored as well as other performance improvement tools and techniques, including analysis and evaluation of risks and determine their influence on the evolution, design, technology, management, and financial aspects throughout the project life cycle. You'll learn the quality management systems and methods used to manage the quality of projects, together with the skills to critically analyse quality situations in order to select and apply appropriate quality management solutions. A range of learning methods; including case studies, workshops and tutorials are used throughout the module to enhance your ability to discriminate, select and apply appropriate techniques to a wide variety of situations.

Cost and Financial Management

The primary objective of this module is to provide a framework for how the business case for projects is developed, established, and evaluated, together with the processes involved, supported by an understanding of financial and accounting protocols and practices. You'll gain an in-depth understanding of the financial, commercial, and cost aspects of projects and project management, together with the skills to apply value management and whole life costing techniques to maximise project value to the customer. You'll explore the business and commercial environment in which projects exist, and critically evaluate the factors that influence the strategic and financial rationale for projects. You'll learn how the funding mechanisms commonly applied to projects is undertaken to enable you to recognise and manage the implications of these on the project and portfolio of projects. The module also explores techniques for effective cost management of projects to develop your abilities to provide effective cost control, cash flow and financial forecasts at every stage of the project.

Project Planning and Control

You'll have probably heard that “plans are nothing; planning is everything”. While this claim can be contested, the complexity of project planning is a fact of life. Planning and scheduling for effective management of cost, time and quality requires a systematic understanding of the principles, practices and systems used to plan and control projects. A systems thinking approach adapted in this module will allow you to gain a critical insight into integrated planning and programming software and information systems and the potential of Project Management Information Systems [PMIS] to provide effective management of all aspects of a project, especially resources, risks, time, and cost. You'll develop a working understanding of a range of methodologies and techniques, including agile and waterfall approaches, Earned Value Management, and the theory of constraints (TOC) to support your planning and management of projects. You'll develop the ability to select, adapt and apply a variety of project planning and management tools and techniques to the management of projects.

Research Design and Methods

This module is designed to prepare you to undertake small-scale research for the major project or dissertation. You'll gain an in-depth understanding of the theories and methods of research and research design to develop a theoretical and practical foundation from which to embark on your master’s level dissertation. You'll learn a range of approaches to research, including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods, together with an understanding of a number of specific research methods and their advanced application. It allows you to critically consider the design for your chosen research project and, in the end, you'll prepare an acceptable proposal for the dissertation, including the consideration of ethics and ethical issues.

Major Project/Dissertation

This module takes you through an independent research journey to equip you with the knowledge and expertise to tackle complex real-world situations and become a competent project manager. You'll choose a research topic and undertake the project with support and guidance from a dedicated subject matter expert (SME). You'll explore challenges and gain an understanding of how project management unfolds in practice. The research topic can be based on any discipline background, but could include aspects such as success factors, innovative technologies, management innovations, sustainability and specific issues affecting your day to day management functions. You'll conduct a significant research project in that area which may involve a systematic literature review, data collection, analysis, and a write-up. The final piece of work should be equivalent to a maximum of 15,000 words.