Defining Projects to Integrate Evolving Team Fundamentals and Project Management Skills

Authors

Harold Smith, Penn State University
Debra Smarkusky, Penn State University
Elizabeth Corrigall, Penn State University

Abstract

Industry has indicated the desire for academic programs to produce graduates that are well-versed in collaborative problem solving and general project management concepts in addition to technical skills. The primary focus of a curriculum is typically centered on the technical training with minimal attention given to coalescing team and project knowledge. In this article, we present an evolutionary approach to defining projects for the duration of a student's tenure that integrates the development of team competencies and project knowledge. The approach uses the project management processes defined in the Project Management Institute's Project Management Body of Knowledge as a standard collection of project knowledge and identifies different levels of expertise that should be exhibited by students at different points through the curriculum. We also provide a collection of example projects to illustrate the differences between projects at each of the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior levels.

Recommended Citation

Smith, Harold; Smarkusky, Debra; and Corrigall, Elizabeth (2008) "Defining Projects to Integrate Evolving Team Fundamentals and Project Management Skills," Journal of Information Systems Education: Vol. 19 : Iss. 1 , 99-110.
Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/jise/vol19/iss1/10