Project Management
The discipline aims to develop a systemic understanding of lifecycle management for development projects of digital, cyber‑physical and human‑cyber‑physical systems.
The course integrates three areas of knowledge: systems engineering, project management, and the organisational theory of complex system development. Students master the structure of the project lifecycle, methods for analysing user needs, conducting pre‑project assessments, managing requirements and configurations, organising development teams, and performing schedule planning and project implementation control.
The programme covers both classical and agile project management methodologies. The classical model (Waterfall) involves sequential stage execution and practical schedule planning using tools such as Microsoft Project. The Agile approach emphasises iterative development, team self‑organisation, and continuous feedback.
Organising the project’s information space plays a crucial role; it includes documentation, architectural descriptions, requirement specifications, progress reports, and the project’s knowledge base. Students learn to build organisational team models for different scales: from small, highly flexible startups to large corporations with large‑scale projects and complex structures.
The practical component of the course is centred around a cross‑cutting group project, in which students develop a digital system by going through all stages of its lifecycle: they formulate the project idea, analyse user needs, conduct a pre‑project assessment, create an architectural concept, define requirements, plan the project, organise the team, and develop a system operation strategy.
Special attention is given to the application of Large Language Models (LLMs) and intelligent assistants in project management. LLMs are used in three modes: as a handbook (explaining terms and methods), a training assistant (interactive discussion of solutions), and an engineering controller (analysing project decisions and documentation). They support requirement and risk analysis, project documentation generation, and decision‑making. At the same time, students learn to critically evaluate LLM recommendations and verify their accuracy.
Upon completing the course, students will know the structure of the project lifecycle, the principles of classical and agile management, and methods for quality, configuration, and requirements management. They will be able to formulate project missions and goals, analyse user needs, develop architectural concepts and requirement specifications, organise teams, build schedule plans, and prepare project documentation.
OBJECTIVES
Formulating a project mission;
Identifying user needs;
Conducting pre‑project assessments;
Managing requirements and configurations;
Organising development teams;
Planning and controlling project implementation;
Managing the operation and development of digital systems.
KEY TASKS
Developing an understanding of digital system project nature;
Learning the project lifecycle structure;
Mastering user need analysis methods;
Mastering pre‑project assessment methods;
Learning requirements management methods;
Learning configuration and version management methods;
Mastering development quality management methods;
Learning project team organisational models;
Mastering calendar planning methods;
Mastering project management tools;
Learning agile and classical development methodologies;
Developing project documentation skills;
Mastering LLM use in project management.
Main topics of the course:
1. Digital and cyber‑physical system projects: scales and types. The topic provides an overview of project forms for developing complex systems, including digital, cyber‑physical and human‑cyber‑physical projects. It also examines different project scales: from small teams to large distributed projects.
2. Project mission, goals and values. This topic focuses on defining a project’s mission and goals. It also addresses balancing stakeholder interests and resolving conflicts between clients, developers and users.
3. User and stakeholder needs. The topic covers identifying and analysing user and business needs. It introduces effective requirement elicitation methods to capture those needs.
4. Pre‑project stage and project assessment. This section deals with conducting comprehensive pre‑project analysis. It includes technical, economic and organisational assessment to support informed investment decisions.
5. Architectural concept of a digital system. The topic explores developing the architecture of an information system. It focuses on defining components, interfaces and data flows.
6. Requirements management. This topic covers classifying requirements and ensuring traceability. It also addresses managing changes throughout the project lifecycle.
7. Configuration and version management. The topic addresses managing system configuration and versions. It emphasises change control to maintain consistency and integrity.
8. Quality and non‑conformance management. This section focuses on ensuring development quality. It covers identifying, tracking and addressing defects and non‑conformances.
9. Project team organisation. The topic deals with defining project roles and organising teams. It covers full‑time teams and matrix management structures.
10. Types of organisations and project implementation forms. This topic compares organisational models such as startups, specialised companies and corporations. It examines their approaches to core and supporting projects.
11. Classical project management. The topic introduces the Waterfall model with phased development. It emphasises detailed calendar planning as a key element.
12. Agile approaches and team self‑organisation. This section covers implementing agile methodologies with iterative development cycles. It highlights backlog management and team self‑organisation.
13. Project information space and development documentation. The topic focuses on organising the project information space. It includes managing documentation, knowledge and architectural descriptions.
14. System operation and development. This topic addresses managing system operation, support and modernisation. It also covers access management and information security throughout the lifecycle.
15. Project closure and system decommissioning. Role of AI assistants in project management. The topic covers completing projects through closure activities such as data migration and archiving. It also explores the use of AI assistants and agent‑based systems in project management.
