Name: Mike Salah – CPEng
Master of Engineering Science (Sydney Uni)
Grad Dip in Business Administration (AGSM)
BSc in Civil Engineering (Manchester University)

Short Bio:
Mike is a civil engineer with over 10 years experience as a construction project manager prior to moving to Australia and gaining his Masters in Project Risk Management. For the past 18 years in Australia, Mike has specialised in assisting organisations in both the public and private sectors transform their project and risk management practices to achieve their business objectives and growth goals. His experience covers assisting organisations establish their enterprise and project risk management disciplines, project portfolio prioritisation models, setup and operate their projects & program offices, develop their project & risk management capabilities, review their major projects & improve their project management processes, and provide overall assurance through independent reviews, benchmarking and being part of wider audit teams. Mike is currently a Director in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Project Services team in Sydney, where is specialises in helping organisations improve their project and risk management maturity.

Email: moukhlessalah@hotmail.com

Phone: +61 2 8266 5376

Opening intensive:
Friday 2nd May 2014 7pm-10pm
Saturday 3rd May 2014 1pm-8pm
Sunday 4th May 2014 9am-4pm

Closing intensive:
Friday 9th May 2014 7pm-10pm
Saturday 10th May 2014 1pm-8pm
Sunday 11th May 2014 9am-4pm

The key learning objectives of this course are:

1. Knowledge and understanding of the latest research and development of the principles for portfolio and programs management;
2. Application of research and professional practice tools to a range of contemporary issue such as climate change, terrorism, the global financial crises and disputes between waring communities;
3. The application of the principles for portfolio and programs management research in the development of potential solutions to contemporary issue;
4. Use of state-of-the-art processes and techniques developed for portfolio and programs management;
5. Understanding of the need to maintain ethical, social and cultural standards on projects
6. Understand the role of portfolios and programs in determining a balanced set of investment initiatives, programs and projects (components of a portfolio) that should be undertaken to meet the organisation’s strategic and business objectives;
7. Understand principles of systematic problem solving techniques and the use of issues trees to identify possible project ideas and initiatives
8. Understand how to balance a portfolio needs with organisational constraints in order to select the right projects
9. Understand the governance and risk parameters and processes needed for the success of a portfolio
10. Understand how to monitor, control and report on the execution and benefit realisation

Text book:
Project Management Institute, (2008) The Standard for Portfolio Management, 2nd Edition, ISBN13: 9781933890531

Project Management Institute, (2008) The Standard for Program Management, 2nd Edition, ISBN13: 9781933890524

Project Portfolio Management - Selecting and Prioritizing Projects for Competitive Advantage by Lowell D. Dye.

The Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto

Project Portfolio Management: A Practical Guide to Selecting Projects, Managing Portfolios, and Maximizing Benefits (Jossey-Bass Business & Management) by Harvey A Levine.

Strategic Project Portfolio Management: Enabling a Productive Organization (Microsoft Executive Leadership Series) by Simon Moore.

Optimizing Corporate Portfolio Management: Aligning Investment Proposals with Organizational Strategy, by Anand Sanwal.

Project Portfolio Management, Leading the Corporate Vision (2007) by Shan Rajegopal, Phili McGuin and James Waller.

MyUni is the University of Adelaide's online learning environment. It is used to support traditional face-to-face lectures, tutorials and workshops at the University. MyUni provides access to various features including announcements, course materials, discussion boards and assessments for each online course of study (see: https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au)

This course is offered in blended learning mode with the face-to-face component offered as intensives.

As a guide, a 3 unit course comprises a total of 156 hours work (this includes face-to-face contact, any online components, and self directed study).

Intensive	Content	Readings	Activities
1	Organisational Context Problem Definition	Pyramid Principle	Combination of lecture and exercises
2	Problem Solving skills The portfolio prioritisation process	Portfolio Management Standard (PMI)	Combination of lecture and exercises
3	Recap Select an organisation and a challenge Assignment 1	Portfolio Management Standard (PMI)	Work on Assignment 1
4	Program Context Program management processes	Program Management Standard	Combination of lecture and exercises
5	Explain the 11 program management processes	Project / Program Management Standards	Combination of lecture and exercises
6	Select an organisation program Start Assignment 2	Project / Program Management Standards	Work on Assignment 1

 

Assessment No.	Form of Assessment/Collaborative Task	Length (in word count)	Weighting	Due Date	Learning outcomes covered (see 2.1 for detail)
1	Portfolio Presentation & Report	4000 words report, 15-20 slide presentation, Prioritisation model	30%	30/05/2014
2	Program Office, Charter, Plan and Control	5000 words	50%	16/06/2014
3	Research Paper, Case Study and Critique	3000 words	20%	16/06/2014
	Total		100%

 

Assessment 1: Portfolio Presentation & Report (Group)
Weighting: 30%
Due Dates: 30/05/2014
Submission Details: Online through MyUni

Task:
Develop a presentation, report and associated excel sheets to present to the Board of XCorp the recommended prioritised Portfolio that will address its market opportunities and challenges within its organisational constraints.

You will submit an Organisation Portfolio Selection Presentation in Powerpoint (15 – 20 slides) supported by a prioritisation model in MS Excel and a 4000 word report

Length and Presentation:
4000 word report, 15-20 slide presentation

Criteria by which your assignment will be marked:
· The quality of the presentation, report and associated excel sheets to present to the Board of XCorp the recommended prioritised Portfolio that will address its market opportunities and challenges within its organisational constraints
· Demonstrated ability to transfer or apply concepts covered in the course to this topic.
· Demonstrated awareness of and insight with regard to this topic.
· Application of theory and principles into practice;
· Demonstrated quality and depth of analysis.
· Demonstrated quality of writing.

Learning objectives with this assessment (refer to section 2.1):



Assessment 2: Program Office, Charter, Plan and Control (Individual)
Weighting: 50%
Due Dates: 16/06/2014
Submission Details: Online through MyUni

Task:
Define the required program office processes to manage the successful delivery of the above recommended portfolio/program
· Develop the Program Charter
· Develop the Program Management Plan
· Develop the Program Control and Closure Plan

Length and Presentation:
5000 words

Tools and Templates used and included in the submission

Criteria by which your assignment will be marked:
· The quality of the definition of the required program office processes to manage the successful delivery of the recommended portfolio/program
o Quality of the Program Charter
o Quality of the Program Management Plan
o Quality of the Program Control and Closure Plan
· Demonstrated ability to transfer or apply concepts covered in the course to this topic.
· Demonstrated awareness of and insight with regard to this topic.
· Application of theory and principles into practice;
· Demonstrated quality and depth of analysis.
· Demonstrated quality of writing.

Learning objectives with this assessment (refer to section 2.1):

Assessment 3: Research Paper, Case Study and Critique (Individual)
Weighting: 20%
Due Dates: 16/06/2014
Submission Details: Online through MyUni

Task:
Carry out a review of business and academic literature to identify key transformation case studies. Describe the approach adopted for selecting and implementing the transformation program, its advantage and disadvantages
Examine what you would have done differently and the lessons learnt

Length and Presentation:
3000 words

Criteria by which your assignment will be marked:
· Extent of research in terms of references and readings
· The materiality of the ropic or case study selected
· The quality of writing and presentation

Learning objectives with this assessment (refer to section 2.1):

In completing these assignments, higher marks will be awarded for evidence of reading notes, text and papers, and integration of this theory into your answers. This means the application of theory into practical application. Direct referencing of external material in your answers is preferred.