OPIM 5270 Introduction to Project Management
Course Title: OPIM 5270 Introduction to Project Management
Type: Required course
Term/Time: Spring 2017 / Thursdays 6:00 – 9:00pm
Instructor: Mark Tschiegg
Teaching Assistant: Prachi Srivastava
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Knowledge/Skills Gained: Teamwork, PMI Project Management, MS Project, WBS, RACI Matrix, Simulation (Crystal Ball), FMEA, etc.
Summary: The professor has vast working experience. The lecture is clear and straightforward. However, personally speaking, this teaching assistant wasn't as helpful as expected. If you have any question, ask the professor directly.
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If you don't have any experience like me, this Intro to PM class taught by Mark Tschiegg is very helpful. However, this is not an easy A subject (click and see syllabus here). There were 10 quizzes and one group project when I took this class in spring 2017. Almost in every class students had a quiz to test whether we read the reading materials to prepare for today's lesson before the class started.
Good news is: There were no exams. Additionally, the professor took only 7 highest quiz scores out of the 10 quizzes when calculating final grades. In other words, students could screw up or give up 3 quizzes. Overall, these 10 quizzes contributed just 35% to our final grade.
Bad new is: Most students screwed up more than 3 quizzes due to our expectation that we could mess up 3 times.
For the group project, nothing to worry about because the professor broke down the entire project into several smaller assignments matching the lessons we learned. Accordingly, at the end of the semester, students just needed to put every assignment together for the final presentation (click and see my group project presentation slides).
The professor is busy because he is still working in the industry. Therefore, his class is always on Thursday night. The TA might also need to cover the lecture once or twice throughout the semester when he is in business trips.
This class usually have several MBA students with full-time jobs. This is actually good for students who are completely new to the project management. I recommend students interact with both the professor and the classmates to learn something besides the textbook. Given that the theories in the textbook are often too perfect to be applied in the real world, project managers need to find alternatives to deal with problems. I enjoyed talking to them and learned how they implement projects and cope with difficulties via ways that are not described in the textbook.
In conclusion, the professor is great and he teaches this subject very straightforward. Students should come prepared for the quizzes and discussions. It's even better if there are some students with real working experience related to project management because naive students can learn from them in addition to the professor and the textbook. I definitely recommend Mark Tschiegg's Intro to PM.
Bonus: CAPM or PMP certification
After completing OPIM 5270 Intro to PM, students without any PM working experience are qualified to take the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) exam. It can now be taken online, so you can take the exam anywhere and anytime you want. For more information and further details, please click here.
Students can also wait until completing OPIM 5668 Project Risk and Cost Management to take CAPM exam.
If you already have experience for at least 4,500 hours leading and directing projects and a 4-year degree, after completing this class, you can take the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam. For more information and further details, please click here.
Although there are many other PM-related certificates, PMI certificates are highly recognized around the world.
Type: Required course
Term/Time: Spring 2017 / Thursdays 6:00 – 9:00pm
Instructor: Mark Tschiegg
Teaching Assistant: Prachi Srivastava
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Knowledge/Skills Gained: Teamwork, PMI Project Management, MS Project, WBS, RACI Matrix, Simulation (Crystal Ball), FMEA, etc.
Summary: The professor has vast working experience. The lecture is clear and straightforward. However, personally speaking, this teaching assistant wasn't as helpful as expected. If you have any question, ask the professor directly.
========================================================================
If you don't have any experience like me, this Intro to PM class taught by Mark Tschiegg is very helpful. However, this is not an easy A subject (click and see syllabus here). There were 10 quizzes and one group project when I took this class in spring 2017. Almost in every class students had a quiz to test whether we read the reading materials to prepare for today's lesson before the class started.
Good news is: There were no exams. Additionally, the professor took only 7 highest quiz scores out of the 10 quizzes when calculating final grades. In other words, students could screw up or give up 3 quizzes. Overall, these 10 quizzes contributed just 35% to our final grade.
Bad new is: Most students screwed up more than 3 quizzes due to our expectation that we could mess up 3 times.
For the group project, nothing to worry about because the professor broke down the entire project into several smaller assignments matching the lessons we learned. Accordingly, at the end of the semester, students just needed to put every assignment together for the final presentation (click and see my group project presentation slides).
The professor is busy because he is still working in the industry. Therefore, his class is always on Thursday night. The TA might also need to cover the lecture once or twice throughout the semester when he is in business trips.
This class usually have several MBA students with full-time jobs. This is actually good for students who are completely new to the project management. I recommend students interact with both the professor and the classmates to learn something besides the textbook. Given that the theories in the textbook are often too perfect to be applied in the real world, project managers need to find alternatives to deal with problems. I enjoyed talking to them and learned how they implement projects and cope with difficulties via ways that are not described in the textbook.
In conclusion, the professor is great and he teaches this subject very straightforward. Students should come prepared for the quizzes and discussions. It's even better if there are some students with real working experience related to project management because naive students can learn from them in addition to the professor and the textbook. I definitely recommend Mark Tschiegg's Intro to PM.
Bonus: CAPM or PMP certification
After completing OPIM 5270 Intro to PM, students without any PM working experience are qualified to take the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) exam. It can now be taken online, so you can take the exam anywhere and anytime you want. For more information and further details, please click here.
Students can also wait until completing OPIM 5668 Project Risk and Cost Management to take CAPM exam.
If you already have experience for at least 4,500 hours leading and directing projects and a 4-year degree, after completing this class, you can take the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam. For more information and further details, please click here.
Although there are many other PM-related certificates, PMI certificates are highly recognized around the world.
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