KL7022 - Engineering Technology Management

The module will help you to develop a strong appreciation of the key issues associated with the disciplines of business practices in project management in electrical and electronics, and wider engineering context. Tools and techniques will enable you to analyse the project requirement and to set out an appropriate strategy for conducting critical research and evaluation.

The syllabus will cover key following topics:

1. Key concepts, tools, techniques and approaches to project management, functions of a project manager, different types of projects, stakeholder, impact of people on projects, legal and security risk
2. Project management essentials: planning; scheduling, estimating, risk management, resource allocation, monitoring and control, closing projects,
3. Ethics issues: Understand and consider ethics within projects and tools on how to ensure that compliance is maintained throughout the project duration,
4. Staffing considerations: selecting project teams; managing project teams; personnel training and motivation; appreciation of the computing marketplace,
5. Quality issues: what is quality; quality assurance; quality control; quality plans; configuration management and version control,
6. Professional issues: professionalism as a concept, impact of professionalism on personal development responsibilities and duties of a project manager; professional codes.
7. Supply chain issues and impact on business operation
8. Responsible business, Sustainable development, and Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

You will be taught in this module via a combination of lectures, seminars, directed and independent learning, supplemented by both case studies and research materials. Your lectures will follow an integrated approach to learning with informal discussion on related topics to the delivered content, followed by suitable problems in the seminar sessions.
During your independent learning, you will be expected to use on-line support, develop your skills for critical analysis, academic report writing and time-management.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:
1. Critically discuss the methods, processes, practices and limitations relating to the analysis and management of operations, projects, legal, threat, security risk and change within a business.
(AHEP4-M15 (EP1m, EP5m), M9 (ET6m), M15 (ET2m), M10)

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
2. Design engineering solutions for broadly-defined problems that meet a combination of societal, user, business and customer needs as appropriate. This will involve critical consideration of applicable health and safety, risk, supply chain, diversity, inclusion, cultural, societal, environmental and commercial matters, codes of practice and industry standards. (AHEP4-M2 (EA1m), M7 (ET4m))

3. Apply and critically evaluate knowledge of engineering management principles, commercial context, risk control, project management, relevant legal matters. (AHEP4-M9 (ET6m), M15 (ET2p))

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
4. Identify and critically analyse ethical concerns and make reasoned ethical choices informed by professional codes of conduct (AHEP4-M8 (ET1m))
5. Identify and critically analyse the engineering practice to recognise the responsibilities, benefits and importance of supporting equality, diversity, and inclusion in project management (AHEP4-M11).

Formative Assessment:
Within the lecture and the seminar settings the module will use both case studies and real-world problems to provide typical examples of both project management and manufacturing considerations for electronics. It is designed to help you and your tutors assess your understanding and progress with open-ended solution and personal reflection. Within this context we will debate the performance and critically assess the necessary function, in doing so these sessions are rich in verbal feedback.

Summative Assessment:
There will be one summative assessment for this module which is worth 100%.

coursework (CW): The assessment is a coursework (3000 words) will be a reflective piece on a case scenario for project management in a business environment. Students are required to critically analyse the management challenge in the company and apply the module and literature theory to support their analysis and solution discussion.
(MLOs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

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Engineers work in their professions within a managed environment or are managers themselves. To be effective and employable they need understanding of managing at the strategic and project levels and the ability to evaluate what is going on so they can make, support, or criticise management decisions from a number of perspectives. Through the study and research activities in the module, students will acquire the skills and tools to achieve these.