Examination arrangement

Course content

The course focuses on the management of programmes of projects and the management of project portfolios within single and multiple organisations. Particular emphasis will be given to the strategy and governance of multiple projects for achieving strategic and policy goals in organisations. The course covers the following areas.

1.Programme management - Developing a strategic view of projects and groups of projects. (lineages, programmes, portfolios).

2. Portfolio management - Developing a systems-level view on a group of projects and programmes from an organisational or public-sector governance angle.

Sessions will be based on teaching cases and examples from international practices developed by course instructors and active engagement of the course participants contributing their experiences to the class discussions. The course is focusing on projects from a variety of fields and sectors, for example, urban infrastructure, technology development, and organisational change.

Learning outcome

Knowledge: The student has conceptual knowledge of basic principles, ideas and concepts of programme and portfolio management. Students will develop an appreciation of the need to move beyond the traditional project management ‘toolkit approach’ based on predictable and standardised execution processes to a more strategic direction-setting, prioritisation and coordination approach.

Skills: Using the frameworks presented in the course, students will be able to assess the unique challenges of programmes and portfolios in their organisations is involved and design the appropriate approach to manage them successfully.

Learning methods and activities

The course will be carried out in four full day sessions, with individual and group work taking place concurrently. Dates of the sessions are outlined in the course timetable and are envisioned to take place in NTNU facilities in Oslo and Trondheim. The learning material will comprise a selection of teaching cases and literature that students will be asked to engage with in advance of the sessions. Classroom sessions will include case-based work, group work and discussions of examples to maximise the learning experience of the group. Between the two full-day session blocks, students will engage with the material through self-study and developing their assignments.

Compulsory assignments

• Class attendance and participation
• Self-study and development of individual assignments

Further on evaluation

Assessment will be based on the brief to develop an approach for programme and/or portfolio management in an organisation. To maximise the learning value of the course for students, the final paper will involve students choosing the organisational setting that they will address in their report (in the initial submission) and then applying insights, concepts and ideas from the course on the challenges identified in their organisational (or project) setting in the final submission.

Portfolio (two assignments prepared in advance of the submission deadlines) consists of:

• Initial submission that defines the brief that the student will address later in the course final assignment. This will be a description of the setting (organization or project) and the issues that will be the focus of the final course report. The initial submission is 500-600 words not including figures, tables and references and represents 20% of the final mark.

• Final report which is based on the initial submission brief. The final report should demonstrate the understanding of the concepts and examples discussed in class, applied to the setting of choice (as defined in the initial submission). The final submission should be up 1800-2000 words not including figures, tables and references and comprises 80% of the final mark

Students will receive individual comments on their initial submission which will guide them in developing the final paper.

Information about submission deadlines will be announced at the start of the course.

All parts must be re-taken if the student wishes to improve the grade in the subject.

Specific conditions

Recommended previous knowledge

IØ6205- Management and organisation of project work or equivalent. Practical experience working on projects.

Course materials

Thiry, M. (2016). Program management. Routledge.

More materials announced at the start of the course

Credit reductions