SYLLABUS

SYST 530 - Systems Management and Evaluation

Spring 2003

 

Professor:

Dr. Peggy Brouse

 

 

Work Phone:

(703) 993-1502 (with voice mail)

FAX:

(703) 993-1706

Website:

http://ite.gmu.edu/~cset/pbrouse.htm

E-mail:

pbrouse@gmu.edu

Office:

GMU:  Science and Technology II - Room 317

Mailbox Location:  Science & Technology 2, Room 111

Office Hours:

Tuesdays:  12:00 – 1:00 and by appointment

Course Description:

Provides the necessary techniques for evaluating the cost and operational effectiveness of system designs and systems management strategies.  Performance measurement, work breakdown structures, cost estimating and quality management are discussed.  Configuration management, standards, and case studies of systems from different applications areas are discussed.

Course Hours:

Tuesday 1:30 to 4:10 p.m. Science & Tech 1 room 110

Text:

Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling, 7th edition (2001); Harold Kerzner. John Wiley and Sons ISBN 0-471-39342-8

Grades:

15% - homework

 

25% - group case studies

 

25% - paper

 

15% - midterm

 

20% - final

Additional Resources

Additional Sources:  There is a wealth of quality literature available on the subject matter of this course.  A few of my favorites are:

 

            INCOSE Insight (informal and short, but educational articles)

INCOSE Systems Engineering Journal

Harvard Business Review (super for the leadership and management portion of the course)

PMI Project Management Journal

PMI PM Network

IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics

IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management

IEEE Engineering Management Review

DSMC Systems Engineering Fundamentals (http://www.dsmc.dsm.mil/pubs/gdbks/sys_eng_fund.htm)

EIA/IS 731 Systems Engineering Capability Model (http://www.incose.org/lib/731-news.html)

 

Note that there are three main bodies of knowledge that intersect in this course:  systems engineering (INCOSE, IEEE), leadership and management (Harvard Business Review), and project management (PMI). 

 

Homework

Students will be given homework assignments most weeks from the end of the chapter(s) discussed during class.  These assignments will not be graded but will be given points for being completed.  The students will hand in homework the week after the chapter is discussed.

Group Case Studies

The Group Case Studies are the focal point of student effort within this course. Groups will meet during class time, but individual preparation may be expected outside of the classroom. There will be groups of several people self-formed during the first meeting of the class.  Each group will meet during class to formulate answers to case studies given in class and then participate in the discussion that follows.  Each week, a different group will be assigned as the discussion leader for the case study.  As part of your homework, you will be expected to write up the group case study results each week.  The case study homework will be due the day the case study is presented.

Paper

Each student will be required to write a paper on an area pertinent to this class (e.g. leadership, performance measurement, etc.). There will be two deliverables for this paper.  The first deliverable will be a summary of the paper including an annotated outline for the paper.  The final deliverable will be due near the end of the semester.  The final deliverable must be at least 15 pages, 1 1/2 spacing, with at least three references.  The paper will be graded based on the original contribution of the author.  It will not be satisfactory to just document leadership styles, for example.  The author would be expected to compare and contrast leadership styles and give an opinion on the subject.

Exams

Two exams:  The first will be in-class and will cover the first part of the semester.  The final will be in-class and will cover the second part of the semester.

 

 

CLASS SCHEDULE

Week 1>

21 January

¨      Background; Introductions

¨      Lecture: Systems Engineering Life Cycles and Processes

¨      Groups:  Form Groups; ADDIS Game

¨      1 - Homework due next week:  2-1, 2-5, 2-6, 2-7, 2-11

 

 

 

Week 2>

28 January

¨      Lecture: Planning the Technical Effort

¨      Groups:  In-class exercise: Project Overrun (pg. 635) led by instructor

¨      Groups:  For next week: 1 - Margo Company (pg. 636) led by Group 1

¨      2 - Homework due next week: 11-2, 11-11, 11-18, 11-19, 11-36

 

 

 

Week 3>

4 February

¨      Lecture: Scheduling and the Systems Engineering Management Plan

¨      Groups: Margo Company (pg. 636) led by Group 1

¨      Groups: For next week: 2 - Crosby Manufacturing Corporation (pg. 722) led by Group 2

¨      3 - Homework due next week: 12-2, 12-7, 12-11, 12-13, 12-20

 

 

 

Week 4>

11 February

¨      Lecture: Budgeting and Cost Estimation

¨      Groups: Crosby Manufacturing Corporation (pg. 722) led by Group 2

¨      Groups: For next week: 3 - The Bathtub Period (pg. 873) led by Group 3

¨      4 - Homework due next week: 14-1, 14-7, 15-2, 15-10, 15-11

 

 

 

Week 5>

18 February

¨      Lecture: Monitoring and Information Systems; Technical Performance Measurement

¨      Groups: The Bathtub Period (pg. 873) led by Group 3

¨      Groups: For next class: 4 -  Telestar International (pg. 414) led by Group 4

¨      5 - Homework due next week:  15-3, 15-5, 15-7, 15-13

 

 

 

Week 6>

25 February

¨      Paper:  First deliverable due (soft and hard copy)

¨      Semester Midterm Exam

 

 

 

Week 7>

4 March

¨      Lecture: Project Control; Design Review and Evaluation Process; Test, Evaluation, and Experimental Design, Configuration Management; Data Management

¨      Groups: Telestar International (pg. 414) led by Group 4

¨      Groups: For next week: 5 - The Two-Boss Problem, (pg. 634) led by Group 5

¨      6 - Homework due next week: 11-27, 11-30, 11-31, 11-45

 

 

 

Week 8>

11 March

¨      Spring break:  No Class

 

 

 

Week 9>

18 March

¨      Lecture: Decision Making with Multiple Objectives

¨      Groups:  In-class exercise: The Two-Boss Problem, (pg. 634) led by Group 5

¨      Groups: For next week: Case Study provided by professor (6 - DSS in a Chinese Chemical Plant); led by Group 1

¨      7 - Homework: questions provided by professor (not in book) due on 3 April

 

 

 

Week 10>

25 March

¨      Lecture: Integrated Product-Development

¨      Groups:  In-class exercise: Case Study provided by professor (DSS in a Chinese Chemical Plant); led by Group 1

¨      Next week groups: 7 - Williams Machine Tool Company, page 45 led by Group 2

¨      8 - Homework: Myers-Briggs personality test at:

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

 

 

 

Week 11>

1 April

¨      Lecture: Myers-Briggs personality test

¨      Groups: Williams Machine Tool Company, page 45 led by Group 2

¨      Next week groups: 8 - The Carlson Project (pg. 229) led by Group 3

¨      9 - Homework due next week: 4-2, 4-9, 4-14, 4-34, 4-37

 

 

 

Week 12>

8 April

¨      Lecture: Organizational Design; Managing Conflict and Negotiation

¨      Groups: The Carlson Project (pg. 229) led by Group 3

¨      Next week groups: 9 - Facilities Scheduling at Mayer Manufacturing (pg. 411) led by Group 4

¨      10 - Homework due next week: 7-5, 7-6, 7-13, 7-24

 

 

 

Week 13>

15 April

¨      Professor at conference; no class

 

 

 

Week 14>

22 April

¨      Lecture: Risk Management

¨      Paper:  Final paper due (soft and hard copy)

¨      Groups:  In-class exercise Facilities Scheduling at Mayer Manufacturing  (pg. 411) led by Group 4

¨      Next week groups: 10 - Teloxy Engineering (A) page 948 led by Group 5

¨      11 - Homework due next week: 17-3

 

 

 

Week 15>

29 May

¨      Lecture: Ethics

¨      Groups:  In-class exercise Teloxy Engineering (A) page 948 led by Group 5

¨      Homework: none

 

 

 

Week 16>

6 May

¨      Semester Final Exam