Answer to a Question

Methodology

According to the learning outcomes for this module, this assignment will demonstrate that students can:

1. Understand both the organisational and the strategic contexts of engineering projects and demonstrate a critical awareness of the resources and the technical aspects required for successful project management

2. Select and apply appropriate analytical techniques to the various stages of an engineering-based project in its life cycle

3. Evaluate project management techniques and critically appraise their use

4. Acquire problem solving and decision-making skills

Late submission of coursework policy: Late submissions will be processed in accordance with current University regulations: “the time period during which a student may submit a piece of work late without authorisation and have the work capped at 50% at PG level, if passed, is 14 calendar days. Work submitted unauthorised more than 14 calendar days after the original submission date will receive a mark of 0%. These regulations apply to a student’s first attempt at coursework. Work submitted late without authorisation which constitutes reassessment of a previously failed piece of coursework will always receive a mark of 0%.”

Tasks to be undertaken:

Prepare a Project Initiation Document (PID) to include three out of the five activities from the list below (note - Activity 1 and 2 are compulsory):

1. Project scoping and organisation:

a. SWOT-PESTLE Analysis

b. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), listing at least five (5) activities

c. Project Gantt

2. Financial planning and risk management:

a. Project costing - Develop a table to estimate the cost of conducting the project

b. Project feasibility - Apply at least one (1) financial feasibility assessment tool (Payback, NPV, ROI) and provide justification for your chosen approach

c. Risk analysis - Identify and evaluate at least five (5) potential risks using a risk register table and propose a Risk Management Strategy

3. Develop a brief “Human Resource Management Plan” for the project. This should include:

a. Project Organisation Chart

b. Responsibility Assignment (RACI) Matrix

c. Some recommendations for team development

4. Quality Assurance Plan:

a. Criteria to evaluate the quality

b. Staff in charge of quality assurance

c. A list of control techniques

5. Stakeholder Management:

a. Stakeholder engagement plan

b. Communication strategy - ensure that the local community is well-informed throughout the project delivery stages

Deliverables to be submitted for assessment:

You are expected to submit a brief individual report no longer than 1750 words. In your report you are expected to:

Results

1. discuss the application of each of the three activities you have chosen to your case scenario. This means you must introduce and describe your assumptions and critically evaluate their contributions to the outcome. You are expected to use literature references to support your assumptions.

2. present suitable graphics (table, register, Gantt Chart, RACI Matrix etc.). You are not allowed to only cut and paste images taken from the internet (e.g. Google images). However, you may use an image on the Net as a basis for your own work and amend  it, but you must cite the source and then put ‘amended by author’.

3. provide a word count at the end of your report. The word limit applies to the main body of the report only and excludes any Reference list, Appendix associated with the report, conditional to their appropriate introduction and crossreference to the main report. You should use a font of size no less than 10 points.

References: It is important that you use a wide range of references in your report, to underpin your choice of tool and to show the relationship between project management practice and theory. You will find many useful web pages on project management tools on the internet and you are welcome to use these, but you must cite them correctly. You must use Harvard referencing in your report.

It is not acceptable to only use web pages and you must also provide a good balance of academic literature (journal articles/books), ‘grey’ literature (policy documents and documents published by the APM and PMI, for example).

Proofreading: If you do use a third party to proof read your work or a professional proof reading service you must discuss this with your tutor and declare this in a written statement accompanying your work when you submit it for assessment. Failure to do so will be treated as plagiarism.

How the work will be marked:

This assignment will count towards 70% of this module and will be assessed based on the extent to which the learning outcomes have been met. You need to adhere to the following marking scheme.

• Introduction and Conclusions 10 marks

• Evidence of application and critical analysis of Project management methods to deliver the project (20 marks x 3) 60 marks

• Presentation of results and analysis 20 marks

• Clarity of writing style, referencing and structure of report 10 marks Work showing no evidence of critical analysis will be awarded an outright fail of 44% or less.

A marginal fail of 45% to 49% may be awarded to work that demonstrates some understanding of the problem but where the understanding, accuracy, organisation and critical analysis fail to justify a marginal pass. Exceeding the required word limit will result in a blanket deduction of 10% of the final allocated mark.