Course syllabus

ACE115 Project management in construction

The course is offered by the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering.

LP1 - 7.5 hp

 

Examiner

Dilek Ulutas Duman, DUD, senior lecturer, Construction Management ACE, dileku@chalmers.se

Teachers

Anna af Hällström, AH, Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Applied IT, University of Gothenburg, anna.af.hallstrom@gu.se

Daniella Troje, DT, Senior lecturer, Construction Management and Engineering, ACE Chalmers, daniella.troje@chalmers.se

Dimosthenis Kifokeris, DK, Associate professor, Building Design, ACE Chalmers, dimkif@chalmers.se

Jan Bröchner, JB, Professor Emeritus, Innovation and R&D Management, TME Chalmers jan.brochner@chalmers.se

Madhu Happalad, MH, PhD Researcher, Construction Management and Engineering, ACE Chalmers, happalad@chalmers.se 

Martine Buser, MB, Associate Professor, Building Design, ACE Chalmers, buser@chalmers.se

Mikael Viklund Tallgren, Researcher, Construction Management and Engineering, ACE Chalmers, mikael.tallgren@chalmers.se

Sean Elliot Wisse, SEW, PhD Researcher, Construction Management and Engineering, ACE Chalmers, wisse@chalmers.se

Oliver Löfman Nastefski, OL, Project Manager, WSP

Robert Sturk, RS, Operations Manager, Skanska

Magnus Eriksson, Project Manager, Trafikverket

Efraim Ljung, Production Planning and Design Manager, Skanska

 

Course purpose

Projects are the primary means of creating value in the built environment and are central to production and innovation in the construction sector. Effective project management is therefore crucial in design and construction. Despite the availability of established standards, methods, tools, and techniques, construction projects often face delays, budget overruns, poor quality performance, or difficulties in meeting societal needs.

Construction projects are inherently complex, requiring project managers to navigate technical challenges, competing demands from internal and external stakeholders, and institutional pressures. This complexity is intensified by increasing demands for sustainability, political and economic uncertainty, and continuous technological change.

This course introduces the complex nature of the construction sector and emphasises the central role of projects and project managers. The aim is to provide students with the knowledge and skills required to understand, organise, and manage construction projects in a complex and changing industry. Students are introduced to fundamental project management concepts and knowledge, drawing on construction management research and real-world examples. The course combines theoretical and practical perspectives to support the application of learning in practice.

In addition to the core aspects of project management (PM), the course addresses broader themes such as power, politics, and ethics. These topics help students understand the broader role of the project manager and the implications of project decisions for stakeholders, institutions, and the built environment. Through the course, students develop the knowledge and skills needed to manage projects responsibly in a changing construction sector.

 

Schedule*

Week	Day	Date	Time	Location	Teaching form	Topic	Lecturer
36	Monday	31/08/2026	13:15-16:00	TP-L13	Lecture 1	Course introduction and overview Introduction to the assignment Group formation and expectations	DUD
	Thursday	03/09/2026	09:00-11:45	TP-L13	Lecture 2	Project management theory, paradigms, and basics	DK
		03/09/2026	13:15-16:00	TP-L12	Lecture 3	The context of construction project management	DT
37	Monday	07/09/2026	13:15-16:00	TP-L13	Lecture 4	Project-based organization	MB
	Thursday	10/09/2026	09:00-11:45	TP-L12	Mini lecture + Literature seminar	Large projects and complexity (Mandatory)	AH
	Thursday	10/09/2026	45-minute supervision booking – flexible scheduling	Will be decided with your supervisor.	Supervision-1	Each group must book a 45-minute supervision session with their supervisors in advance (mandatory).	DUD, DK, MH, SEW
	Friday	11/09/2026
38	Monday	14/09/2026	13:15-17:00	TP-L12	Lecture 5	Power, authority, and politics in PM	MB
	Thursday	17/09/2026	08:00-11:45	TP-L13	Presentations	Each group will have a presentation followed by Q&A (Mandatory)	DUD, DK, MH, SEW
	Thursday	17/09/2026	13:15-16:00	TP-L12	Presentations
39	Monday	21/09/2026	13:15-16:00	TP-L13	Lecture 6	Scope and Quality	DK
	Thursday	24/09/2026	09:00-11:45	TP-L13	Lecture 7	Planning and Scheduling	MVT
	Thursday	24/09/2026	45-minute supervision booking – flexible scheduling	Will be decided with your supervisor.	Supervision-2	Each group must book a 45-minute supervision session with their supervisors in advance (mandatory).	DUD, DK, MH, SEW
	Friday	25/09/2026
40	Monday	28/09/2026	13:15-16:00	TP-L13	Lecture 8	Risk management	DUD, RS
	Thursday	01/10/2026	09:00-11:45	TP-L13	Lecture 9	Governance of projects and the Scandinavian approach to project management	DUD
	Thursday	01/10/2026	13:15-16:00	TP-L12	Workshop	Stakeholder management  (Mandatory)	DUD, MH
41	Monday	05/10/2026	13:15-17:00	TP-L12	Lecture 10	Estimating and budgeting	OL, DUD
	Thursday	08/10/2026	09:00-11:45	TP-L13	Lecture 11	Being a Project Manager: Reflections from Practice	ME, DUD
	Thursday	08/10/2026	13:15-16:00	TP-L12	Lecture 12	Ethics in PM in the construction sector	JB
42	Monday	12/10/2026	13:15-16:00	TP-L13	Quiz + Self Study	Quiz (Mandatory)+ Self Study	DK, DUD
	Tuesday	13/10/2026	45-minute supervision booking – flexible scheduling	Will be decided with your supervisor	Supervision-3	Each group must book a 45-minute supervision session with their supervisors in advance (mandatory).	DUD, DK, MH, SEW
	Thursday	15/10/2026	09:00-11:45	TP-L13	Lecture 13	Digitalisation and PM	EL, DUD
43	Monday	19/10/2026	13:15-16:00	TP-L13	Lecture 14	Course overview	DUD
	Tuesday	20/10/2026	08:45-11:45	SB2-L408 SB2-M415	Presentations	Final presentations in 2 parallel sessions (Mandatory) / Wrap-up and participant feedback	DUD, DK, MH, SEW
			13:15-16:00		Presentations
44	Thursday	29/10/2026	17:59	Via Canvas	Written project report	Submission Deadline for Group Project

 

*The course schedule outlined in the table may be adjusted. Any changes will be promptly communicated through announcements and updated on the Canvas page.

**Supervision days are listed in the course page but not in TimeEdit. Once you are informed of your group and supervisor, you should contact your supervisor to schedule meetings for three different occasions. The time and location for these meetings will be arranged between the supervisors and the groups.

Course literature

Course book: Winch, G. M. (2010) Winch, G. M. (2010). Managing construction projects (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/chalmers/detail.action?docID=698479

The course literature also comprises scientific articles, along with excerpts from selected books on construction and project management. A detailed reading list for each session will be uploaded to the Canvas page before the course starts. Lecture slides and handouts will also be made available for review before each session.

Reading list: Course literature

You are expected to have read the assigned literature before the beginning of each lecture. This will provide you with the necessary terminology and preconceptions to enable further collective exploration in class.

 

Course design

Course content

• Introduction to project management: what it means in today’s construction sector and how it has developed over time
• Basic concepts in project management
• Different approaches to project management and the changing role of the project manager
• The specificities of project-based organizations
• Actors and stakeholders in construction projects
• Planning of projects and cost management
• Project scope and quality
• Managing risk and uncertainty
• Power, authority, and politics in project management.
• Technological transformation and project management
• Ethical concerns in the construction industry.
• Practical applications and case studies: Real examples of successful and unsuccessful projects

Teaching methods

The course includes lectures, case studies, tests, student-led presentations, and seminars.

 

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course, the student should be able to)

Learning objectives

Knowledge

• Describe basic project management (PM) concepts and tools
• Have knowledge of different PM knowledge areas, paradigms, and traditions
• Identify PM issues in specific cases
• Understand specific characteristics of construction projects

Skills

• Identify and synthesize relevant PM literature
• Analyze and evaluate organizational aspects of PM practice
• Analyze, evaluate, and interpret PM practice
• Evaluate the impact of PM practices on actors and stakeholders

Competencies

• Define, formulate, and solve PM-related problems through process-based pedagogy
• Critically evaluate project management models
• Critically review and discuss peers students' work
• Reflect on power, politics, and ethical issues in PM practice
• Reflect on issues of uncertainty, complexity, and bias for PM practice

 

Examination

Course participation

Students must participate in at least 80% of the course sessions; attendance will be controlled during the class. Participation in mandatory course activities (or a relevant compensation assignment in agreement with the examiner) is a prerequisite for passing the course.

Assignments

The course assessment has two parts:

•  Interim assessment
  • Group work (10%): Oral presentation on the main project management knowledge areas
  • Individual exam (30%): Multiple-choice test on the main project management knowledge areas
• Final assignment
  • Group work (50%): Written project report
  • Group work (10%): Oral presentation of the report, with peer-review feedback on the final day

Details regarding group work 

• With an estimated 70-80 students registered for the course, there will be around 16 groups*, each consisting of 4-5 students. For the presentations and subsequent group work/assignments, each group will be assigned a dedicated teacher who will supervise them throughout the study period. The teachers supervising the group work are: DK, DUD, MH, and SEW.
• The allocation of students to groups and supervisors will be done by the course teachers and published on the course page at the end of the first week.
• Student Presentations – Week 38 (Participation is mandatory)
  • Each group prepares a 10-minute presentation on their assigned project management knowledge area.
  • The slides should be clear and informative, so other students can use them for learning.
  • After each presentation, there will be a 10-minute discussion with the group, teachers, and classmates.
• Individual quiz – In Week 42, a quiz on the main project management knowledge areas will be done in class through Inspera (digital exam portal - closed book exam).
• Final Presentation – Week 43
  • The presentations will run in two parallel sessions with DK, DUD, MH, and SEW as supervisors.
  • Each group has 12–15 minutes to present their work. After that, the opponent group has 10–15 minutes to ask questions and give feedback. At the end of the session, we will have a general discussion with all participants (about 30 minutes). 
  • Attendance is mandatory for all students for the whole day.
• Written project reports must be uploaded to the Canvas ACE115 page.

*Depending on the total number of students registered in the course, there might be changes in the plans for the group work presentations. 

 

Course grade

The final grade is based on a weighted total of 100 points from the following parts of the examination:

Assessment	Week	Points	Notes
Oral presentation of project management knowledge areas	38	0–10	10 points for presentation, 0 points for non-attendance
Individual multiple-choice test	42	0–30	Taken in class via Inspera
Final presentation and peer-review feedback	43	0–10	10 points for presentation and feedback, 0 points for non-attendance
Written project report	44	0–50	Submitted to Canvas.
Total		0–100

 

Grading scale: 

Grade	Point range
5	85–100
4	70–84
3	55–69
Fail	< 55

 

Course updates and improvements since last year

• New sessions have been added, and several existing sessions have been updated.
• The teacher team has been updated with new members.

Instructions on using generative AI tools (like ChatGPT)

ACE115 follows the general stance of Chalmers’ Executive Committee for education, which is that bachelor's and master's education should reflect a real working situation within the professional field as much as possible, including access to AI tools. However, it is not always appropriate to use them, and when they are used, it is a prerequisite that AI tools are employed in a responsible and transparent manner. In this page, you can find instructions and implications on using AI for your course work: https://www.chalmers.se/en/education/your-studies/masters-and-bachelors-thesis/regulations-for-the-use-of-ai-tools/Links to an external site. The page refers to working on theses, but the same principles apply to your regular coursework and assignments.

Communication

Feel free to contact the examiner (dileku@chalmers.se) anytime you need assistance. However, please avoid asking questions that are already covered in the course documents on Canvas. Additionally, please CC the examiner on all emails with teachers and supervisors regarding the course to help us track the information exchange more easily.