INTERNATIONAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Course code
Course title
Type of course
Year of study
Semester
ECTS
Coordinating lecturer
Study form
Course prerequisites
Language of
instruction
FUN120_1
International Project Management
Main
3rd
Summer Program
6: 36 hrs. - lectures and workshops, 124 hrs. - self-study, 2 hrs. - consultations
Dr. Alfredas Chmieliauskas; Paulius Morkvėnas; Karolis Mickevičius-Megelaitis
Full-time; free-mover
-English
Annotation
The rapid pace of technology evolution and globalization has led to a dramatic change of how projects
are run. Projects might be run by virtual teams, with multicultural, multi-generation and international
workforce. Due to the rise of mobile technology the office is where you are now. The course focuses
on introducing conventional and agile ways of project management with an emphasis on the
international, digital and rapidly changing projects environment. The course covers the main project
management topics that are essential to maintaining competitiveness in real-life business situations.
Aims of the course
The course is designed to help students understand the complexities of project work in international
environment and to develop the insights and skills necessary to complete projects effectively, on time,
and within budget.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
 understand contemporary and agile project management and its benefits for their professional and
personal life;
 use relevant management methods when dealing with internal and external project stakeholders;
 feel more confident about accepting responsibility for new projects;
 stay in control of projects in an increasingly global marketplace.
Learning methods
Multiple learning formats are used throughout the course, including lectures, workshops, homework
assignments and classroom presentations. During workshops, in an intensive group work
environment, students are given two types of assignments:
 analysis of contemporary project management practices described in academic and professional
publications;
 development of real-life project plans.
Quality issues
The structure of the course reflects regular student feedback that is highly appreciated and collected
both formally (after completing the course) and informally (during the course). The variety of learning
methods used in the course assumes regular check-ups including student presentations during
workshops, allowing for student guidance regarding the individual learning progress.
Cheating issues
1
Teaching and testing methods of the course favour learning and creativity as opposed to cheating. The
university regulations on academic ethics are fully applied in the course.
Course topics
No.
Class
hours
1,5
1
1,5
2
1,5
1,5
3
1,5
1,5
1,5
4
1,5
1,5
5
1,5
1,5
6
1,5
1,5
7
1,5
1,5
8
1,5
1,5
9
1,5
1,5
10
1,5
Topic
Lecture. Course introduction. Project management fundamentals (part 1).
Lecture. Project management fundamentals (part 2). Project’s compliance with
organization strategy.
Self-study. Reading, discussing articles and preparing presentations.
Workshop. Article-based presentations and discussion, article guidance.
Lecture. Initiating the project. Splitting into teams.
Self-study. Preparing project charter and presentation summarizing it.
Workshop. Delivering project charters and presentation. Discussing the findings.
Lecture. Planning the project. Scope, time and cost management plans.
Self-study. Preparing project scope and time management plans and presentation
summarizing it.
Workshop. Delivering project scope and time management plans and presentation.
Discussing the findings.
Lecture. Planning the project. Cost and risk management plans.
Self-study. Preparing project cost and risk management plans and presentation
summarizing it.
Workshop. Delivering project cost and risk management plans and presentation.
Discussing the findings.
Lecture. Planning the project. Communication and stakeholder management plans.
Self-study. Preparing communication and stakeholder management plans and
presentation summarizing it.
Workshop. Delivering project communication and stakeholder management plans and
presentation. Discussing the findings.
Lecture. Running the project. Team management and leadership.
Self-study. Preparing team motivation management plans and presentation
summarizing it.
Workshop. Delivering team motivation management plans and presentation. Discussing
the findings
Lecture. Project, Program, Portfolio management.
Self-study. Reading, discussing articles and preparing presentations.
Workshop. Article-based presentations and discussion (key differences between Project,
Program, Portfolio management).
Workshop. Differences between traditional and lightweight (Agile) project management
in the sense of agility.
Self-study. Reading, discussing articles and preparing presentations.
Workshop. Article-based presentations and discussion (differences between traditional
and Agile project management), article guidance.
Lecture. Agile project fundamentals.
Self-study. Preparing presentation about usability of Agile outside of software projects.
Workshop. Presentation about the usability of Agile outside of software projects.
Discussing the findings.
Lecture. Workshop. Problem solving techniques.
Self-study. Preparing presentation about findings using other problem solving
techniques.
2
11
12
1,5
1,5
3
Workshop. Presentation about findings using other problem solving techniques.
Lecture. Multicultural and virtual projects.
Self-study. Analyzing articles about multicultural and virtual teams and preparing
presentation about the findings. Preparing integrated project management.
Exam. Case study.
Grading and comments.
Assignment A: article analysis
Assignment A will be evaluated and graded based on MS PowerPoint presentations and class
discussions centred on the subject of specified articles (20 min.). The complete set of the articles will
be made available to students during the first class.
Assignment P: project planning
Assignment P will be evaluated and graded during the course, based on MS PowerPoint presentations
(up to 10 min.). Group project peer evaluation (opposition) will be also graded. Structure for the
presentations:
Title page: project group No., project title, project leader, project group members.
1. Project context: client institution (the one that would be really interested in implementing the
project idea), project owner (function within a client institution who would be assigned to control
the project).
2. Project-related objectives:
 Organizational objectives (they should describe in measurable terms the benefit for the client
institution);
 Product, service or system objectives (they should describe in measurable terms the business
purpose of the project result, i.e. product, service or system);
 Project objectives (a triple constraint).
3. Project result (detailed description of the final deliverable).
4. Project scope management plan:
 Project WBS in chart format (3-level structure with 25-30 wps);
 Project WBS dictionary, i.e. detailed description of the work packages (wps should have the
same numbers as in chart format).
5. Project time management plan:
 Project schedule in Gantt chart format (with milestones and without summary tasks);
 Project milestone plan (in a table format).
6. Project cost management plan:
 Project cost estimate;
 Project budget;
 Project cost baseline in a chart format (S-curve).
7. Project risk management plan:
 List of identified risks;
 Risk categorization chart with explanation;
 Risk register.
8. Project stakeholder management plan:
 List of identified stakeholders and their expectations;
 Stakeholder categorization chart with explanation;
 Stakeholder register.
3
Grading rules
Graded assignments and their contribution to the final grade are shown in the table below.
ASSIGNMENT
% OF THE FINAL GRADE
Assignment A
Assignment P (presentations)
Assignment P (opposition)
Participation
Exam
Final grade:
25
25
10
10
30
100
The instructor reserves the right to add up to 1 extra point to the final grade based on the
contribution and professionalism exhibited by the student in class.
Final exam
The exam is an open-book test that consists of answering 4 out of 5 open questions about project
case.
In case of a negative final grade, students are allowed to retake the exam. The retake test consists of
answering 6 open questions; the weight of the retake is 50%. Assignments cannot be rewritten.
Literature
Required (minimal) reading:
1. Darnall, R., Preston, J.M. (2012). Project Management: from Simple to Complex. Creative
Commons, eISBN: 978-1-4533-5244-1. Access at http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/printedbook/210973
Supplemental reading:
2. Schwalbe, K., (2012). Introduction to Project Management. Kathy Schwalbe LLC, ISBN: 9780982800331.
3. PMI Standards Committee, (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (5th
ed.). Project Management Institute: Newton Square, U.S.A. 978- 1935589679.
4. Schwaber, K., Sutherland, J., (2013). The Scrum Guide. The Definitive Guide to Scrum: The Rules
of the Game. http://www.scrumguides.org/docs/scrumguide/v1/Scrum-GuideUS.pdf#zoom=100
4