Spring 2009

Assignments

Lectures

Resources

Instructors

Barbara Stone (bstone@ischool.berkeley.edu)

Jodie Mathies (jmathies@ischool.berkeley.edu)

We are both graduates of SIMS, certified PMPs, and working project/program managers. We have business experience in IT, banking, real estate, and education. Our teaching experience ranges from an e-commerce class at Haas to spearheading training and compliance at a Fortune 200. Click on our names to see our resumes.

Course Philosophy

We believe that the most interesting, cutting-edge work happens within the context of a project. The fact that projects are often charting new courses represents the appeal and risk of becoming project managers. While each project is unique, there are common tools and techniques that can be applied to managing the work to a (usually) successful conclusion. These tools include strong team building, negotiation, and planning. There are industry standards and vocabulary that can be learned to make transitioning between different organizations as a project manager much easier. We will teach the standards and how to apply them based on the needs of each project. We believe the number one adjective to apply to all successful project managers is flexible.  We may not be able to teach someone to be flexible, but we can give them enough samples, examples, and stories to have a large arsenal to draw on in managing projects.

Class Meetings & Office Hours

Class meets on Fridays from 1:00 to 3:00pm in 205 South Hall. The format of the class will be a mix of lectures, class discussions and project management exercises. 

Office Hours will be Fridays , Room 6 South Hall, 3:00-4:00 p.m. or by appointment.

Grading

Grading will be 50% on assignments, 30% on in-class work, and 20% on presentations.

Readings and Books