UMMDPS-15-M International Project Management
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Assignment Detail
There are two parts to the assignment both of which must be completed. The first part of the
assessment comprises two elements.
Component A: (25% of the overall assessment weight)
A group report as a Project Business Case (800 words, +/-10%)
Component B: (75% of the overall assessment weight)
An individual Project Management Plan based on the Project Business Case (first element
of component A).
Students who pass will have demonstrated a depth of knowledge, understanding, analysis and
synthesis in Project Management, as well as the competency to work in a project team.
Component A,: A Project Business Case
This component is a group report with 25% of the overall weight for the module assessment.
Students are required to work in groups to develop a Project Business Case with clearly
defined benefits of the expected project outputs. As projects are expected to solve some
problems and/or deliver some benefits, the Project Business Case should focus on justifying
the rationale of the project—-why the project is needed and what benefits the project can
deliver. Some of the key considerations in the group report can be:
1, Project Definition. This section shall define the project in terms of problem statement, and/or
expected benefits, with clear objectives and contribution to some strategic achievements.
2, High Level Scope definition, with critical success factors and some measurable targets. It
should also include realistic resource estimates.
3, A risk assessment of the project and project context, identifying the controls required to
minimise or eliminate these risks, including an outline of any potential economic and
environmental problems that may be relevant.
The project doesn’t have to be in a traditional project-based industry such as IT and
construction, as project management has been employed as an effective tool to tackle
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problems arising from different situations. The group shall work together to decide which
Project Business Case they develop. Some examples are listed below
• Conduct an investigation of a scandal/accident
• Complete a cross border merge/acquisition,
• Organising a big event (Commonwealth Game) or a small event (exhibition/trade
show),
• Setting up a new business venture,
• A new product innovation,
• A marketing/political campaign,
• Rebranding of a company or its product portfolio
• A TV commercial or a Movie,
• A special ceremony (for a royal family member wedding or Olympic games opening?)
• New seas cruise with a unique theme (Finding Elsa?)
Any issues you consider as important can be included in the group report in order to justify the
rationale of the project initiative. The Project Business Case MUST include the use of
appropriate project tools such as, Risk Assessment Matrices, GANTT, and Stakeholders
Analysis etc.
The module leader may provide a project for the group to work on in case that the group
members have difficulties to reach an agreement.
Component B, Developing a Project Management Plan as the individual report
The report is worth 75% of the overall mark and is an individual report. You should not work
with other students in the preparation of the report although you can use the data and
information gathered by the team for the group report of Component A. This individual report
shall serve as a Project Management Plan with the following considerations:
1. An introduction section which should include the background to and rationale for the
project, reflecting an understanding of the project constraints and complexity.
2. Definition of the project including the project objectives and a statement of the project
scope with project deliverables.
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3. A Project Management Plan which reflects the requirements, project objectives,
project scope and project deliverables. The report should include a work breakdown
structure (WBS) and a ‘project schedule’ (Gantt chart) with descriptions of deliverables
at each stage. For each deliverable: targets, controls, dependencies, resource
requirements, responsibilities and authorities should be identified where appropriate.
4. Some resource estimates for the development of the project including financial
planning. This should discuss the critical success factors and the financial budget.
5. A description of the project governance which may include:
• Project management team structure;
• Roles and responsibilities;
• Communication plan.
6. A risk assessment of the project, with the controls identified to minimise or eliminate
these risks, including an outline of any potential constraints and/or problems that you
consider may be relevant.
7. The report should include a conclusion and recommendations section that pulls all the
disparate elements together.
In short, this Project Management Plan may include project background and scope
statement, project constraints and complexity, key success factor, monitoring and control
method, project governance and key roles, stakeholder analysis, risk analysis, WBS and a
working schedule. However, the listed elements and structure are not prescriptive for
developing your unique project management plan, and some other elements and
considerations should be included where the project requires some special considerations
at planning stage.
These along with all literature, facts and data should be cited and referenced using the UWE
Harvard Referencing System.
This individual report carries 75% of the overall weight. The length of the report should be
2,500 words (+/-10%). If the report is outside these boundaries you may lose marks.
Diagrams, tables, references, bibliographies and appendices do not form part of the word
count.
Correct academic referencing must be demonstrated according to the Harvard Referencing
System (details on the BBS learning skills web page or through the library).
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A marking scheme is given as a separate document on Blackboard; this should be used as
a guide.
Please note the university modular assessment regulations apply. Your specific attention is
drawn to submission and plagiarism rules; no plagiarism will be tolerated.
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