Critical Analysis of a Project Case Study for Organisational Understanding of Project Management

Concept: Scenario

You have been commissioned by a project management professional body to write a 3,000 word report which critically analyses a project case study of your choice to help develop organisational understanding about the value of project management and project planning.

We often think of project management as a technical discipline where we use project tools to ensure projects are planned and implemented well. However, although these are important management issues, it can be argued that projects must also provide value for wider society. With this in mind, this assignment provides an opportunity for you to critically engage with a project of your choice.

Project management organisation: As your report is for a professional body you need to identify one from the outset. For instance, in the UK there is the Association of Project Management (APM) and in the US there is the Project Management Institute (PMI). You may be familiar with others around the world. Select the organisation that you think isappropriate for your report. Your report must be fit for the intended audience. Decide if the report will be for internal purposes only,or whether the intended audience is the membership. Please be clear that the assignment is a scenario only for your studies and you WILL NOT be required to submit your work to an external organisation.

Project: The next step is to identify a real world project case study. There are many examples to choose from around the world. Your choice of project can be as small or as large as you wish, however you need to ensure that your project is robust enough to provide sufficient depth and information to give you the opportunity for criticality in your report.

• a specific large scale, high profile project – for example, the construction of a new airport, railway, bridge, organising a cultural event;
• a project by a specific organisation – for example, where you work or if you have knowledge of a particular company, state body, charity or NGO; or
• a unique example of a project in a particular country.

The assignment focuses on your ability to independently research and critically evaluate the impact of a real project. Your report therefore must demonstrate your engagement with academic literature, for example, journal articles and books and grey literature, such as policy documents and websites. Be sure to undertake as much desktop research about your chosen project as possible, gathering a range of sources of information as well as making use of project management literature to set the scene about the value of project planning. Make use of your informal learning set to discuss your ideas and chosen topic.

By the second workshop you should be able to confirm your scenario, for example:

• The professional body you are writing the report for;
• Whether the report is for the staff of the professional body or intended for an external readership, for example the members;
• The case study you plan to review; and
• Key sources of reading you have identified about the project.

In this phase of the assignment you should also undertake a PESTLE analysis of the project – this will help to you develop your thinking about the opportunities and challenges of the project you are reviewing. The PESTLE analysis can be included in the final report, maybe as an appendix if necessary.

Firstly, as an introduction to your chosen case study, reflect on your knowledge and understanding of project planning as part of project management. What do you understand? Why is it needed? What issues need to be considered for the longer lifecycle of the project? Link this to theories and reading in core texts.

Secondly, provide descriptive detail about the case study project you are reviewing, giving contextual and key information about its scale and complexity, assuming the reader is unfamiliar with the project. Where available, comment on what project planning tools were used on the project.

Thirdly, critically evaluate your chosen case study. Themes you may wish to consider and apply to your case study are:

• The opportunities and benefits a project brings to society including economic and social value;
• The need for sustainable development and corporate social responsibility in projects and project planning; and
• The ‘disbenefits’ of the project or parts of the project for society, for example, where some stakeholders may lose out.

Finally, how does your chosen project case study assist your chosen professional organisation to improve their understanding of projects and their value for contemporary society? For example, does your report provide something extra that is missing in the organisation’s strategy or values? (Note here: you will need to do some research to understand and comment on this in your report). Can your report enhance the organisation or influence it to widen its understanding of project management for the future?