Project Management - Assessment Brief

Instructions for assessment

Coursework Details

Individual Summative (Main) Assignments x2: These assignments are based on a fictitious case study that presents students with a business project scenario. You are free to choose the case study from the four options provided.  You must take the role of Project Manager and are required to analyse the case study, research the best approach to managing it and develop the following items of project planning documentation, to be submitted as two separate component assignments at various points through the semester:  Assignments are individually marked

Assignment 2

You must produce a short report written directly to the project sponsor (approx. 2,000 words plus the contents of the risk register) containing the following three items:

1. A suggested risk register containing at least 10 fully documented risks, including owner, mitigation and contingency actions, pre-and post- action weighting and scores and a (referenced) paragraph to the sponsor explaining why such a register is important
2. An explanation of the need for careful, correctly managed completion of a project. Using theory and suitable examples, tell your sponsor how best you believe the project completion should be structured and managed for your specific case study so as to maximise the benefits available.
3. An analysis and critique of methodologies that might be used to run the project case study, principally comparing Agile, Waterfall and PRINCE2 methodologies. Explain their strengths and weaknesses and give your recommendation to the sponsor as to which methodology you believe would be best to use.  There is no right or wrong answer for this and hence marks will be given on the basis of how well you have explained and justified your decision. As with the other assignment elements, reference examples and reference to theory is very important.

Note: Submit copies of your first assignment as appendix to this second piece of work so that the marker will be able to see continuity between the earlier assignment and this final one.  Simply paste them in at the end and submit as one large document.

IMPORTANT: So that there is no confusion or doubt, for ALL elements in all assignments, reference must be made to established project management theory and best practice. As this is a fictitious project case you are free to make assumptions where necessary and these should be clearly stated in your submission.  Furthermore, you are required to use multiple real project examples (both good and bad) as additional reference sources. These will help you demonstrate what good practice project management looks like and what happens when it is not applied.

It is also recommended that you include an appendix that contains all relevant assumptions that demonstrate how you arrived at your estimates - see separate student assignment guide

Project Management Case Study Options – Choose One Only

Academic Year 2020/21 only

The Project Management Assignments require students to develop a number of pieces of documentation relating to a particular case study. To reflect the wide variety of ways in which project management techniques can be applied, we are allowing students to choose between four different fictitious scenarios. Choose one of the four and then answer all of the assignment questions, to be submitted at two separate points in the semester – week 6 and after Easter break, worth 40% and 60% of the module total mark respectively. You must use the same case scenario for all questions as it is expected that you will link your two pieces of work.

Case Scenario 2

QAHE wishes to improve the spaces available for business students and has asked you to project manage the refurbishment and redevelopment of the London/Birmingham/Manchester (please choose one based on your location) Campus. The preference is for tiered seating that can be retracted, together with acoustic panels on the walls to make it a better teaching space. You have been asked to project manage this process with support from the Facilities Management department at QAHE and have been given a provisional budget of £100k.  Bear in mind that the work must not cause disruption to teaching timetables.

 

IMPORTANT: You do not need to have any technical knowledge of construction, IT, app development etc. in order to do well with any of the above as it is the use of the project management processes that will be marked and not detailed technical understand of a particular industry or technology.

Summative

The work in small groups gives you an opportunity to gain a basic understanding of the given case study through interaction and discussion with each other.  This will help you ‘get started’ as you work towards the delivery of the marked assessments which total approximately 3,000 words plus diagrams, tables, appendices, etc. containing the items listed above.  Although each assignment requires you to develop different pieces of project management documentation, marking feedback from one may prove helpful in developing the next, e.g. being told you need to reference better. 

As these assignments are essentially elements of a larger report, they should make extensive use of structural elements (table of contents, headings, subheadings, lists, diagrams, tables, etc.) to help make your work clear to understand and assignment 1 should be included as an appendix when you submit assignment 2, in order to ensure continuity between assignments.  You are expected to show understanding of theory and practice and make use of multiple external reference sources including referencing sources of all templates used for sample PID, Risk Register, etc. Whilst students are encouraged to work together, particularly until the formative assessments, the final reports are required to be individual work demonstrating the student’s unique understanding and insight into the case given. 

Referencing

You MUST use the Harvard System.  The Harvard system is very easy to use once you become familiar with it