Assignment on Project Management Methodology and Research Methods

1. Critically evaluate and reflect upon research principles and methodologies and synthesise core project management processes and procedures to assure project success and minimise risk within the constraints of legal and ethical issues.

2. Flexibly and autonomously apply the theoretical underpinning of project management and research methods into professional practice and contextualize your project work on emerging technologies within relevant legal and ethical frameworks.

You will be using a tailored project management methodology to run a real-life project based on PRINCE2® and the PMBOK®.
This is an individual assignment. You will be added to a project team. During the assignment, you might have further people added to the team; your team might be split up or merged with other teams or you might be allocated to a different team. In this situation you are assessed and marked against your contribution to the project team(s) you are working with. If you do not contribute to your team you will receive a low grade.

This assignment is designed to develop and assess your project management skills through the management of a project from its initial  inception right the way through to product delivery and lessons learned report. Your Project:

As part of an educational advisory project, your team has been asked to create an educational showcase about an emerging technology. As part of the project, you are required to research this emerging technology systematically. The area that your team looks at should be directly related to the course that you are studying but may cover any aspect of technology within this area

As an individual you must submit the following by the end of Week 6:
1) An individual, reflective report of no more than 1000 words that critically evaluates the following areas:

a. The tasks for which you were, according to the RACI matrix, accountable and responsible including an evaluation of the project progress as well as alternative strategies that could have been followed with analysis of the repercussions or advantages of such strategies.

b. The research you did on an emerging technology and how this research fed into the project deliverables.
c. The legal and ethical aspects of the project, in relation to the BCS code of conduct.

2) Project documentation and artifacts for which you were accountable, as indicated in the RACI matrix (see below) plus any other
documentation that indicates your engagement with other project activities. These will not be directly marked but informs the
individual, reflective report.

Size or length of assessment

3) A peer review form using the template provided on BREO. As a team you must produce the following deliverables before the end of Week 5:

1) Comprehensive Project Management Documentation – these must include a Project Brief, Project Initiation Document, Highligh Reports, Lessons Learned Report and Meeting Minutes.

2) A RACI Matrix based on the template provided on BREO.
3) A Risk Response Plan that clearly addresses the risks specific to the project.
4) A structured report (approximately four pages) on the emerging technology aimed at subject experts.
5) A report (approximately four pages) that addresses the ethical and legal challenges that may arise as a result of this technology.
6) A short video on the technology that can be used as an introductory educational tool.
7) A social media campaign (e.g., blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) on the technology.
8) A poster. 

Group Discussion Board on BREO

For project documentation the templates that are provided on BREO must be used. For reference purposes all the project documentation

and deliverables must be uploaded on the project team’s discussion board. You must keep local copies as backup to evidence your own

contribution. Meeting minutes are an essential part of the project documentation. Practical sessions

During the practical sessions, guidance and help relating to the project management methodology will be given. The practical sessions

should be used to develop the products specified. Note that you will also be expected to work outside of the practical sessions.

Attendance at lectures and practical sessions will be monitored. Marking
The RACI matrix forms the basis of the marking process. It defines who is responsible, accountable, and needs to be consulted or informed in respect to the following tasks:

• Project Brief
• Project Initiation Document
• Poster
• Highlight Reports
• Structured Report
• Legal and Ethical Report
• Video
• Social Media
• Lessons Learned Report
• Project Management

Each team member must be accountable to at least one of these tasks and responsible for at least two more of those tasks (the person accountable for ‘Project Management’ is the overall Project Manager). For a given task, the person accountable manages the people that are responsible.

The RACI matrix will be uploaded to the project team’s group discussion board. When the project team changes (new members; members leaving) a new version of the RACI matrix needs to be uploaded. Please also note the following:

All individual deliverables must be consistent with the overall project experience. If there are inconsistencies between the real performance (as evidenced in the submissions of other students, peer assessment form, contribution on the discussion board and by tutor observation in the practical sessions, including attendance) and the individual report, the unit team will adjust the grade accordingly.

What am I required to do in this assignment?

The unit team might decide to viva individual students and amend grades if their contribution to the project is unclear from the submission or if there are severe inconsistencies between the claims in the individual report and the actual performance.
Unprofessional or unethical behavior can lead to a low grade or to further repercussions under the University’s student code of conduct. It is necessary to regularly check BREO for updates or clarifications.

1. Provide evidence of proficiency and appreciation of the business context of projects within a specific domain or area.
2. Distinguish, evaluate and apply a variety of research approaches methods and techniques.
3.  Design and apply indicators to suggest the basis for innovative solutions as a result of research activities with an amalgamation of existing and emerging technologies in the field.
4.  Contextualize your solutions within legal and ethical constraints as, for instance, provided by the code of conduct of a professional body

How do I produce high quality work that merits a good grade?

Understand from the first day that this is not a group assessment. Yes, you must work with other people, but the assessment is individual based on what you have done and your thoughts about it. If the project team has a problem, you need to think how you can contribute to solve it.

Be proactive and engage with your project team; adopt a professional attitude while doing the assignment. Understand clearly how the assignment is structured and if you have any questions about the requirements ask your tutor

While it is encouraged and good practice to exchange ideas with other students understand that your individual report is about your experience in the role you have within your project team; your experience is different from that of other students.
How does this assignment relate to what we are doing in scheduled sessions?

For the assessment you are required to systematically investigate a current technology and to produce output both for a technical and a non-technical audience. While you work in a project team your individual contribution will be assessed and marked. This work will help to develop the ability to manage the different and dynamic issues during the development of a project, to reflect on the given task and to demonstrate working solutions. This will give you the opportunity to present the work with a clear and distinct delegation of the subtasks
being required to complete the assessment.

How will my assignment be marked?
1. Your assignment will be marked according to the threshold expectations and the criteria on the following page.
2. You can use them to evaluate your own work and consider your grade before you submit