CS352-15 Project Management for Computer Scientists

Academic year
23/24
Department
Computer Science
Level
Undergraduate Level 3
Module leader
Ian Saunders
Credit value
15
Module duration
10 weeks
Assessment
Multiple
Study location
University of Warwick main campus, Coventry
Introductory description

Almost everything we do as computer scientists is packaged into a "project", often full of risk and uncertainty, yet we are expected to plan and forecast to deliver fully-featured high-quality products on time and within budget. In this module you will learn practical techniques to manage projects, you will hear from industry experts, and you will work as a team to develop a project of your own.

Module aims

The aims of the module are to make students into effective project managers. The module will:

  • Equip students with the knowledge and practical skills required to manage projects;
  • Examine a range of well established project management techniques, from 'traditional' to modern;
  • Provide a link to computer science “in the real world”, sharing in the practical experiences of industry experts
Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Students will develop robust project management techniques, including: defining measurable project objectives; identifying and engaging stakeholders; managing scope, schedule and budget; making forecasts and measuring success; risk categorisation and mitigation.

This module will cover a range of well established project management methodologies, frameworks and philosophies, including: PRINCE2, PMI (PMBOK), Waterfall, Scrum and Agile, Kanban and Lean.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

Indicative reading list

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Subject specific skills
Transferable skills

Study time

Type Required
Lectures 20 sessions of 1 hour (13%)
Seminars 10 sessions of 1 hour (7%)
Private study 120 hours (80%)
Total 150 hours
Private study description

Background reading, Homework activities, Independently-organised group work, Revision

Costs

No further costs have been identified for this module.

You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.

Students can register for this module without taking any assessment.

Assessment group D2
Weighting Study time
Individual Report 20%

The essay will be graded by multiple peers (peer-assessed), and moderated to ensure fairness.

Group Presentation 10%

Individual marks are the determined by combining the team's "presentation score" with their "individual score".

In-person Examination 70%

CS352 Examination


  • Answerbook Pink (12 page)
  • Students may use a calculator
Assessment group R1
Weighting Study time
In-person Examination - Resit 100%

CS352 resit examination


  • Answerbook Pink (12 page)
  • Students may use a calculator
Feedback on assessment

Individual written essays will receive detailed feedback for each chapter, with justification of overall grade awarded, both from peers and from teacher.

Mark breakdown provided from teachers and peers for group presentation (no written commentary will be provided due to timing constraints of presentation marking).

Peer appraisal will allow team members to receive anonymous written feedback from team members about their performance.

Past exam papers for CS352

Courses

This module is Core for:

  • Year 4 of UCSA-G504 MEng Computer Science (with intercalated year)
  • UCSA-G503 Undergraduate Computer Science MEng
    • Year 3 of G503 Computer Science MEng
    • Year 3 of G503 Computer Science MEng
  • Year 3 of UCSA-G408 Undergraduate Computer Systems Engineering
  • Year 4 of UCSA-G409 Undergraduate Computer Systems Engineering (with Intercalated Year)

This module is Optional for:

  • UCSA-G4G1 Undergraduate Discrete Mathematics
    • Year 3 of G4G1 Discrete Mathematics
    • Year 3 of G4G1 Discrete Mathematics
  • Year 3 of UCSA-G4G3 Undergraduate Discrete Mathematics
  • Year 4 of UCSA-G4G4 Undergraduate Discrete Mathematics (with Intercalated Year)
  • Year 4 of UCSA-G4G2 Undergraduate Discrete Mathematics with Intercalated Year

This module is Option list A for:

  • UCSA-G500 Undergraduate Computer Science
    • Year 3 of G500 Computer Science
    • Year 3 of G500 Computer Science
  • UCSA-G502 Undergraduate Computer Science (with Intercalated Year)
    • Year 4 of G502 Computer Science with Intercalated Year
    • Year 4 of G502 Computer Science with Intercalated Year
  • Year 3 of UCSA-G503 Undergraduate Computer Science MEng

This module is Option list C for:

  • USTA-G302 Undergraduate Data Science
    • Year 3 of G302 Data Science
    • Year 3 of G302 Data Science
  • Year 3 of USTA-G304 Undergraduate Data Science (MSci)
  • Year 4 of USTA-G303 Undergraduate Data Science (with Intercalated Year)