LBUSI7245 Project Scheduling and Resourcing Course Descriptor

Course Overview

Project scheduling and resourcing are essential to effective project management, ensuring that identified activities are completed efficiently and within established timelines while optimising the use of available resources. Project scheduling involves creating a roadmap that outlines the sequence of activities required to accomplish project objectives. Resourcing focuses on allocating and utilising resources, such as human resources, equipment, and materials, in the most efficient manner to support project activities. Integration of project scheduling and resourcing enables better coordination and optimisation of project activities. By aligning task schedules with resource availability and capacity, organisations can enhance productivity, minimise delays, and ultimately deliver successful projects on time and within budget.

The course is designed to provide students with comprehensive knowledge and practical skills in scheduling and resourcing within the context of project management.Through a blend of theoretical foundations and real-world applications, students will gain the expertise required to effectively plan, control, and optimise project schedules and resources.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

Subject Specific Skills

Transferable, Employability or Professional Skills

Teaching and Learning

This course has a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) page with a syllabus and a range of additional resources (e.g. readings, question prompts, tasks, assignment briefs, and discussion boards) to orientate and engage students in their studies.

A range of additional resources (e.g. readings, tasks, assignment briefs, and/or discussion boards) to orientate and engage students in their studies.

Teaching and learning strategies for this course will include:

• Lectures: Instructor-led classes.
• Seminars/workshops: Interactive sessions on project management principles, focused on applying theoretical concepts.
• Experiential Learning, which may includesimulations and role-playing for hands-on experience, guest speakers for insight from professionals, and/or real-world case studies.
• Online Resources: Flexible learning with study materials.

Faculty hold regular ‘office hours’, which are opportunities for students to drop in or sign up to explore ideas, raise questions, or seek targeted guidance or feedback, individually or in small groups.

Students are to attend and participate in all the scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course and to manage their directed learning and independent study.

Indicative total learning hours for this course: 150, including 40 scheduled hours.

Assessment

Both formative and summative assessments are used as part of this course, with purely formative opportunities typically embedded within interactive teaching sessions, office hours, and/or the VLE.

Formative

A formative assessment in this course could be, for example, a series of set assignments reflective of the elements of the summative assessment, to accustom students to the type of material they will need to process, synthesise, and produce for the summative assessment.

Summative

The mid-term examination can be, for example, an in-tray exercise, where students receive a bundle of information (either on the day, or in advance) which they review under timed conditions, and from which they are expected to diagnose a range of challenges and/or potential solutions, including challenges related to cost, scheduling, resource management, or contextual requirements such as sustainability.

The Portfolio assignment can be, for example, a set of plans for a project, using the theoretical and methodological tools covered within the course to produce a robust plan.

Further information can be found in the Course Syllabus.

Feedback

Students will receive formative and summative feedback in a variety of ways, written (e.g. marked up on assignments, through email or the VLE) or oral (e.g. as part of interactive teaching sessions or in office hours).

Indicative Reading

Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is used as part of the approval/modification process only.

• Lewis, J. P. (2023). Project Planning, Scheduling, and Control : the ultimate hands-on guide to bringing projects in on time and on budget. (Sixth edition). McGraw-Hill Education.
• Vanhoucke, M. (2012). Project management with dynamic scheduling : baseline scheduling, risk analysis and project control. Springer.
• Pierce, D. R. (2013). Project scheduling and management for construction (Fourth edition). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Pinto, J. K. (2020). Project management: achieving competitive advantage (Fifth edition, Global edition.). Pearson.
• PMI (2019) Practice Standard for Scheduling(Third Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc.

Journals

• Project Management Journal
• International Journal of Project Management
• Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
• Journal of Cost Analysis and Parametrics
• Journal of Project Risk Management

Indicative Topics

Students will study the following topics:

• Fundamentals of Project Scheduling
• Network Logic and Diagram
• Activity Duration Estimation and Critical Path
• Precedence Relationship
• Project Schedule Visualisation
• Resource Constraints
• Scheduling and Resource Conflicts 
• Advanced Scheduling Techniques
• Project Performance Monitoring and Control

Version History