Project Management and Risk Assessment - Cornwall Pressure Ulcer Prevention Project

Assignment Brief

As part of the formal assessment for the programme you are required to submit a Project Management and Risk assessment.

Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments.

Learning Outcomes:

After completing the module, you should be able to:

1. Critically evaluate different approaches to the management of projects, key dimensions of contractual risks and risk management strategies

2. Distinguish between types of projects and the responsibilities of those involved

3. Identify, apply and critically evaluate legal and non-legal solutions to minimise risk

4. Apply principles of leading and managing project teams to solve complex problems

Graduate Attributes: Discipline Expertise

Knowledge and understanding of chosen field. Possess a range of skills to operate within this sector, have a keen awareness of current developments in working practice being well positioned to respond to change.

You must not include your name in your submission because Arden University operates anonymous marking, which means that markers should not be aware of the identity of the student. However, please do not forget to include your STU number.

Assessment Task
This assessment is worth 100% of the total marks for the module.

Scenario:
Each year approximately half a million people in the UK will develop at least one pressure ulcer. Pressure ulcers usually affect people with an underlying health condition, often with high levels of frailty. Most pressure ulcers develop while patients are in their own homes. However, research and technology has tended to focus on the hospital setting.

Cornwall has a higher than average elderly population. Around five to seven severe pressure ulcers are reported each month. Some patients have said they are reluctant to use pressure-relieving equipment as it can be uncomfortable, hot and noisy.

Continuous pressure monitoring technology can be used to identify ‘hot-spots’ of pressure, generated when patients sit in one position for long periods. For people in the community who have limited mobility, this innovative technology can identify pressure ulcer risk much earlier, allowing the patient to adjust their position accordingly and so help prevent actual damage occurring.

This project by Peninsula Community Health will focus on older people living in the community in Cornwall. By introducing continuous pressure monitoring, coupled with patient and carer education, it will be possible to determine if pressure ulcer risk can be self-managed by patients.
It is anticipated that over an 18-month period around 50 patients from across Cornwall will be recruited to the project. Improvements will be measured by investigating changes in incidence of pressure ulcers, size of ulcer formation, nursing time, level of patient/carer engagement in ulcer prevention behaviours, and satisfaction with the new technology.

Assessment Task

You are selected as a project manager to deliver this project. The local authority has, however, asked that the training, designed for the 30 project staff, be enhanced for use by selected care partners in the borough after project completion. This will form a resource bank for supporting care worker inductions and refresher trainings. [Adapted from the Health Foundation]

Reference:
The Health Foundation, 2020. Improving pressure damage detection in the community using continuous pressure monitoring. [Online]. Available at: https://www.health.org.uk/ improvement-projects/improving-pressure-damage-detection-in-the-community-using-continuous-pressure (Accessed: 22.01.20).

Using the scenario above, prepare a project plan which addresses the following:

Questions:

Task 1:
Critically discuss the rationale and project scope and analyse the project life cycle and methodologies best suited to the project. Discuss the different types of risks (including contractual risks) that may potentially derail the project scope. Recommend risk management strategies to mitigate them.
(1500 words)

Task 2:
Using a Mendelow matrix, map the relative/power interest of key stakeholders in your project, discuss, in detail, the role and responsibilities of at least 3 of the key stakeholders identified. Are there any comparisons to draw with projects of a similar nature in the local authority, England or beyond?
(N/B: ensure your Mendelow matrix is added as part of your work and not as an appendix)
(1000 words)

Task 3:
Evaluate the legal and non-legal solutions you will put in place to minimise risks in the project.
(750 words)
(20 marks)

Task 4:
Critically discuss how team development theories such as Tuckman and McClelland could be used to support the team deliver on the project’s goal.
(750 words)
(20 marks)


Formative Feedback
You have the opportunity to submit a full draft of your answer to receive formative feedback.

The feedback is designed to help you develop areas of your work and it helps you develop your skills as an independent learner.
Your work must be submitted to your tutor by email on or before two weeks prior to the assessment submission date. This is to allow time for you to reflect on the feedback and draft your final submission.

Formative feedback will not be given to work submitted after the above date

Guidelines

You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide ranging academic research and ensure this is referenced using the AU Harvard system.

The My Study Skills Area on iLearn contains useful resources relating to referencing.

You must use the AU Harvard Referencing method in your assignment.

Additional notes:

Students are required to indicate the exact word count on the title page of the assessment.
The word count excludes the title page, tables, figures, diagrams, footnotes, reference list and appendices. Where assessment questions have been reprinted from the assessment brief these will also be excluded from the word count. ALL other printed words ARE included in the word count See ‘Word Count Policy’ on the homepage of this module for more information.

Submission Guidance:

Assignments submitted late will not be accepted and will be marked as a 0% fail.

Your assessment should be submitted as a single Word (MS Word) or PDF file. For more information please see the “Guide to Submitting an Assignment” document available on the module page on iLearn.

You must ensure that the submitted assignment is all your own work and that all sources used are correctly attributed. Penalties apply to assignments which show evidence of academic unfair practice.