- Level Professional
- Duration 19 hours
- Course by University of Leeds
-
Offered by
About
Manage large projects by identifying their key characteristics, examining the key factors and risks that affect their performance and exploring methods to counter their impact on the successful delivery of projects. Looking into examples of best practice, you'll explore the relationship between projects, programmes and portfolios. You'll also discover the roles performed by the project manager, examine the difficulties associated with quantifying transaction costs in major project management and consider how different management approaches impact on these costs. Optimism bias and strategic misinterpretation regularly cause delays to major engineering projects. Using stimulating case studies, you'll evaluate the measures of success and compare and contrast 'project success' versus 'project management success'. In the final week of the course, you'll research and present a contemporary example of a major engineering project from your own country. This course explores concepts analysed in the University's Online MSc in Engineering Management. If you are interested to develop your skills further, take a look at our online degree.Modules
Welcome to the course
1
Discussions
- Introduce yourself
1
Videos
- Introduction from Giorgio
4
Readings
- Welcome to Major engineering project performance
- Introduction
- Research and further reading
- Lesson summary
What is a project?
1
Assignment
- Project management duties
1
Discussions
- The role of the project manager
1
Videos
- Projects, sub-projects and operations
6
Readings
- Lesson overview
- What is a project?
- Who is a project manager and what is project management?
- Project management duties
- Quiz introduction
- Lesson summary
Life cycle of major engineering projects
1
Assignment
- Test your understanding
1
Discussions
- The cost of change
1
Videos
- Project life cycle theories
5
Readings
- Lesson overview
- Types of project life cycles
- The phases of the infrastructure life cycle
- Quiz introduction
- Lesson summary
Developing a project life cycle
1
Discussions
- Critiquing your life cycles
2
Readings
- Lesson overview
- Apply your understanding: creating a project life cycle
References
1
Readings
- References
Programmes and portfolios
1
Discussions
- Programme management
7
Readings
- Welcome to the week
- Lesson overview
- What are programmes and portfolios?
- Case study: the Milan Expo
- What are the challenges of programme management?
- What is a portfolio?
- Lesson summary
Transaction costs in project management
1
Discussions
- Programme management performance
1
Videos
- Transaction costs
4
Readings
- Lesson overview
- Case study: The nuclear industry in the USA and South Korea
- Analysis: the South Korean nuclear industry
- Lesson summary
Critical analysis assessment task
1
Assignment
- Critical analysis task
2
Readings
- Lesson overview
- Critical analysis
Reflective log
1
Discussions
- Sharing your reflections
2
Readings
- Lesson overview
- Writing your reflections
References
1
Readings
- References
Major engineering projects and their cost-schedule performance
1
Discussions
- Major project delivery
1
Videos
- Cost and time performance of major projects
7
Readings
- Welcome to the week
- Lesson overview
- What is a major project?
- What types of risks are involved in major projects?
- What is the iron triangle?
- Error and inaccuracy in major projects: the example of infrastructure projects
- Lesson summary
Key reasons for delay and going over-budget in major engineering projects
1
Discussions
- Optimism bias
1
Videos
- Other reasons to explain over-budget and delay
7
Readings
- Lesson overview
- What is optimism bias?
- How can you reduce the impact of optimism bias?
- What is strategic misinterpretation?
- Strategic misinterpretation: mitigating its impact
- Optimism bias and strategic misinterpretation in context
- Lesson summary
Peer reviewed research task
1
Peer Review
- Reviewing your peer’s research
1
Discussions
- Writing and assessing a piece of research
3
Readings
- Lesson overview
- Your research task
- What is peer review?
References
1
Readings
- References
Understanding project management success vs project success
1
Discussions
- Was Motorola a successful project?
9
Readings
- Welcome to the week
- Lesson overview
- What is a measure of success in major project management?
- Case study: Motorola Iridium
- Motorola Iridium: an analysis
- Main contractor perspective
- How should you measure project success?
- Extended perspective
- Lesson summary
Understanding project success
2
Assignment
- Turner and Zolin Framework
- Test your understanding
1
Discussions
- Major project success
7
Readings
- Lesson overview
- Turner and Zolin framework
- Quiz introduction
- Case study: the Tower of Pisa
- Case study: the Thames Barrier
- Quiz introduction
- Lesson summary
Reflective log
1
Discussions
- Sharing your reflections
1
Readings
- Writing your reflections
References
1
Readings
- References
Welcome to project week
1
Readings
- Welcome to the week
The assignment
5
Readings
- Lesson overview
- The assignment
- Approaching your research
- Academic referencing
- Lesson summary
Creating a presentation
1
Discussions
- Your experiences of presenting
1
Readings
- Creating your presentation
Peer review
1
Peer Review
- Review your peer’s presentation
1
Discussions
- Writing and assessing a presentation
3
Readings
- Preparing your presentation
- Submitting your presentation
- Next steps
Auto Summary
Enhance your project management skills with "Major Engineering Project Performance," a professional-level course in Business & Management offered by Coursera. Led by expert instructors, this course delves into managing large projects, identifying key characteristics, and mitigating risks for successful delivery. Explore best practices, project manager roles, and the impact of management approaches on costs. Through case studies and contemporary examples, you'll evaluate success measures and present a major engineering project from your country. Perfect for professionals seeking advanced skills, the course spans 1140 minutes with a starter subscription option.

Dr Giorgio Locatelli