Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences: Home

Article Title:
Using Project Deliverables and Project Management for Timely Completion of Student Projects
by Alan F. Chow, Kelly C. Woodford, Nancy Lambe,

Abstract:
Project management is an increasingly important aspect of an employee?s skill set. As students work their way through the undergraduate curriculum, there needs to be a process for them to learn more project specific skills, as most will work on some form of project in their post graduation careers. This paper outlines a method of incorporating the stages or domains of the project management life cycle into the requirements and deliverables of a student project in upper level business courses. The focus is on utilizing the stages of project management (Initiation, planning, executing, controlling, and closing) to enable students to have a more successful learning experience. Students working through this type project found that the structure and requirements in place forced them to stay on task throughout the semester, and prohibited them from falling behind, as a schedule was established in the planning stage that had to be adhered to. Through completion of projects as part of the classroom learning experience, students are better prepared to handle project activities in their careers, and are better able to blend into a team based project management effort. Feedback from students working in this learning format support the idea that using project management concepts within the semester project both enhances the learning experience and provides them with an improved skill set for future employment, even though the sample is limited and small.

Keywords: project management; education; deliverables; planning; management

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