Description and contextualization of the subject

The aim of this course is to enable students to know the legal aspects established by the regulations for use in projects, as well as to understand the rights and obligations contracted by project managers and the consequences of non-compliance, as set out in the contract, whose structure and contract cycle will be analysed. And to analyze the fundamental aspects of one of the areas of knowledge inherent to the project: procurement.

Learning outcomes of the subject

The student who successfully completes this subject should be able to:

- To know the legal aspects established by the different regulations to be used in projects.

- To understand the rights and obligations of project managers and the consequences of non-compliance, as set out in the contract.

- Analyse the structure and cycle of the contract.

- Analyse the fundamental aspects of procurement as an area of knowledge specific to the project.

Ordinary call: orientations and renunciation

The assessment of the subject is carried out continuously throughout the course.

The following factors are taken into account in the grading of the course:

Attendance (25%): Although attendance is not compulsory, it is highly recommended due to the contents developed in the classroom. For this reason, attendance forms part of the calculation of the final grade.

Individual assignments (40%): Students must hand in an assignment designated at the beginning of the course. The work will be handed in by uploading it to eGela within the defined deadlines. In order to pass the course, the work must have obtained a grade higher than 5 out of 10.

Exam (35%): As in the certification exams of the professional associations of project management, the exam will be in the form of a multiple-choice test. In order to pass the course, the work must have obtained a grade of more than 4 out of 10.

The grade for the course will be obtained by applying the corresponding weight to each of the factors (attendance, individual work, exam).

If the work has not passed the established cut-off mark, the final mark for the course will be No Show.

If the exam mark is lower than 4.0, the final mark for the course will be that corresponding to the exam mark.

If the student decides to waive the Continuous Assessment of this subject, he/she must communicate it in writing before the deadline for the submission of the individual work. This date can be found in the Student Guide available on the eGela platform.

In this case, in order to pass the course, the student will be assessed by means of a written exam that may contain additional questions to those posed in the exam to which students who are assessed on a continuous basis are submitted and which will include all the contents studied throughout the four-month period corresponding to the exam. This assessment will be completed with an oral exam which will take place on the same day as the written exam, by prior appointment for students registered for this exam. In the oral exam, students will be asked about the contents studied in the classroom, as well as about the activities carried out during the corresponding four-month period. In order to pass the course, students must pass both tests.

In the event that health conditions prevent the completion of a teaching activity and/or face-to-face assessment, a non-face-to-face modality will be activated, of which students will be promptly informed (applicable to all exams: ordinary, extraordinary and advance).

Extraordinary call: orientations and renunciation

Those who have to sit the extraordinary call will do so in the same way as they did in the ordinary call. In other words, those who took the continuous assessment will complete the tests (individual work, team work, exam) that they did not pass in the ordinary call.

The grade for the course will be obtained by applying the corresponding weight to each of the factors (attendance, individual work, exam).

If the work has not passed the established cut-off mark, the final mark for the course will be No Show.

If the exam mark is lower than 4.0, the final mark for the course will be that corresponding to the exam mark.

Those who waive the continuous assessment, will be submitted to a written and oral exam as described in the previous section (Ordinary call: orientations and waiver).

Temary

Legal aspects of the project: Study of the legislation applicable to the projects and the role that the contract has in the projects.

Study of some procedures related to the projects, and foreseen in the regulations, such as the awarding and processing of the projects.



The contract: Study of the definition and characteristics of the contracts. Analysis of their structure and the types of clauses that are customary, with special emphasis on the mechanisms of contractual change. Finally, review of the contracting process and contract management.



The contract cycle: Study of the cycle of a contract through the proposal, launch, execution and closing phases.



Types of contracts in projects: The most common types of contract that will take place around project management are reviewed, such as work contracts, purchase and sale contracts, leasing contracts, collaboration contracts, turnkey contracts, etc. Finally, contracts of particular interest such as contracts in the public sector and agile contracts will be reviewed. Contracts concluded by electronic means will also be analysed.



Contractual guarantees: Different ways of guaranteeing contracts will be analysed, such as guarantees, reciprocal guarantees, first demand guarantees, assignment of credit as a guarantee, comfort letters.



Project procurement management: Study of the importance of procurement in project management, as well as existing management models. Strategic procurement analysis, as well as the most current trends. Finally, presentation of ethical aspects in procurement.

Bibliography

Compulsory materials

Slides uploaded to eGela.

Basic bibliography

Project Management Institute A Guide to the Project Management Book of Knowledge, Project Management Institute. 2013.

In-depth bibliography

- Eggleston, Brian. The New Engineering Contract. A commentary. Blackwell Publishing. Oxford, Great Britain, 2003.



- Federación Internacional de Ingenieros Consultores. Condiciones de contratación para proyectos EPC / llave en mano. Asince (Asociación Española de Consultores en Ingeniería y Organización) e Icex (Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior). Madrid, 2001.



- Federación Internacional de Ingenieros Consultores. Condiciones de contratación para proyecto y obra. Asince (Asociación Española de Consultores en Ingeniería y Organización) e Icex (Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior). Madrid, 2001.



- Martínez Gallego, Eva María. La formación del contrato a través de la oferta y la aceptación. Marcial Pons, Ediciones jurídicas y sociales, S.A. Madrid, 2000.



- Nellore, Rajesh. Managing Buyer-Supplier Relations. The winning edge through specification management. Routledge. London & New York, 2001.



- Rosen, Harold J. Construction Specifications Writing. Principles and Procedures. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, 1999.

Journals

- Acquisition Review Quarterly. http://www.dau.mil/pubs/arqtoc.asp



- European Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management. http://gort.ucsd.edu/newjour/e/msg02712.html



- International Journal of Project Management. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02637863



- International Journal of Project Organisation and Management.



- http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalCODE=ijpom



- International Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management. http://www.napm.org/AboutISM/ijop.cfm



- Journal of Management in Engineering. http://ojps.aip.org/meo/?jsessionid=62271062847122852



- Management Science. http://www.jstor.org/journals/00251909.html



- Project Management Journal. http://pmi.org/info/PIR_PMJournal.asp



- The Journal of Supply Chain Management. http://www.napm.org/Pubs/journalscm/index.cfm

Links

- Asociación Española de Ingeniería de Proyectos (AEIPRO). http://www.aeipro.com. 2010.



- Asociación Española de Responsables de Compras y Existencias (AERCE). http://www.aerce.org. 2010.



- International Project Management Association (IPMA). http://www.ipma.ch. 2010.



- Kalms, Bryan. Developing Specifications for Purchasing. Basado en el libro ¿Guide to Specification Managament¿ publicado por el Purchasing Reform Group, Commonwealth Department of Administrative Services. Queensland, EEUU, 1993. http://www.qgm.qld.gov.au/bpguides/specif/index.html.



- Oriel, John. Guide to Specification Writing for U.S. Goverment Engineers. NAWCTSD. http://www.ntsc.navy.mil/Resources/Library/Acqguide/spec.htm. 2002.



- Project Management Institute (PMI). http://www.pmi.org. 2010.



- The Institution of Civil Engineers. The New Engineering Contract. Tomas Telford Limited. London, 2001. http://www.neccontract.com.