Project Management Essentials

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MSc Management
Project Management Essentials
Coursework Assessment Brief
Submission mode: Turnitin online access
1. General Assessment Guidance
 Your summative assessment for this module is made up of this Coursework submission which
accounts for 100% of the marks
 Please note late submissions will not be marked.
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submissions made via the specified mode will be accepted and hard copies or any other digital
form of submissions (like via email or pen drive etc.) will not be accepted.
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guidelines. You may submit LESS than 5000 words but not more. Word Count guidelines can be
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your student registration number (SRN) which will ensure your submission is recognised in the
marking process.
 A total of 100 marks are available for this module assessment, and you are required to achieve
minimum 50% to pass this module.
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is already published by other author(s) and is not referenced will be considered as a case of
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 You should include a completed copy of the Assignment Cover sheet. Any submission without
this completed Assignment Cover sheet may be considered invalid and not marked.
2. Assessment Brief
This module is assessed through one graded element worth 100%. You must achieve at least
50% to pass this module.
For this assignment you have to build a Project Management Consultancy Report based on the
Smart City OS case study.
THE SMART CITY OS CASE STUDY
Hull’s journey to becoming a programmable city
Here’s how Hull is racing to become the UK’s first smart city.
For a city to become smart, it takes a combination of technologies and disciplines, seamlessly
integrated, with an understanding of how a huge number of customers – the population of your
city – with interact with it. In the UK, several cities are racing to become the nation’s smartest
city, from London to Manchester to the country’s current leader, Bristol.
Against those larger cities, Hull might seem like the underdog, but it’s been making considerable
in-roads over the past 12 months or so. In May last year, it was awarded £55,000 for smart
solutions to reduce traffic congestion. Later in the year, it started a more ambitious project – to
create a purpose-built, smart operating system (OS) for the city.
The project, Smart City OS is being delivered by Hull City Council, technology company Connexin
and Cisco. Connexin has been working with cities such as Newcastle Upon Tyne to deliver smart
city technologies, impacting on everything from lighting, mobility, security and waste.
“Developing Hull as a Smart City will give us the opportunity to work with public and private
sector partners to deliver real benefits to communities, businesses and visitors to Hull,” says
Councillor Daren Hale, Deputy Leader of Hull City Council.
The objectives
Hull has been quietly upgrading itself over the past five years. Its small size – with a population
of around 260,000 – has allowed it to make changes at a comparatively quick pace. This has
allowed Hull to become the UK’s first full-fibre city – it has the fastest broadband of anywhere in
the UK, according to broadband choices.
Hull City Council had already worked with Connexin on a long-range wide area network
(LoRaWAN), allowing for better business connectivity and the facility of Internet of Things
devices. Creating its own OS seemed the next logical step.
The aim of the project is to increase and enhance data sharing and decision-making, allowing the
Council to deliver more effective services across the board, from traffic management to health
and social care.
“The system pulls together information that currently sits within separate council computer
systems to enable city-wide management of the city’s public assets in real-time using state-ofthe-art technology, says Hale. “Residents will receive better information to make choices about
transport, traffic and parking. But this will be just the beginning of what is possible.”
Over the course of the project, it will drive new demand for a digitally skilled workforce, which
will then boost Hull’s economy. The Council is investing in skills for its young people as a result.
The methodology
The OS uses Connexin tech, built on Cisco Kinetic for Cities platform. It will pull together 12
separate council IT systems. Each system will process data from a variety of sources, including
city-wide sensors and Internet of Things devices. This data can be used to help facilitate various
services. Connexin, with its experience in implementing smart city solutions, is taking a five-step
process to the installation.
The first step is infrastructure: having the right level of area-wide connectivity to be able to
deliver smart city services. This is a combination of high-speed fibre networks and LoRaWAN
networks. Hull had a head start in this area – local telecoms company KCOM had invested £85m
in the city’s full-fibre network, and Connexin’s LoRaWAN was already in place.
Second is the installation of sensors across the city, to collect real-time data. This is where the 12
systems come in. Connexin’s Smart Bins is one of them. The others include the Siemens Stratos
platform for traffic management; the Bartec Auto ID system for managing waste; and the Datek
streetlighting system.
The Vaisala IceCast program will help to predict the weather and plan road maintenance. The
Teletrac Navman provides GPS technology, and the Citilogik system will monitor people
movement. Pitney Bowes is providing asset-management software for street furniture.
Elsewhere, Defra’s air-quality database, the Environment Agency’s flood monitoring platform,
Hydro-Logic flooding alert sensors and the Astun iShare GIS web mapping portal – provide the
rest of the data.
Stage three is the implementation of the platform and bringing all of the systems onto the OS.
This is expected to take around a year. This allows for stage four – gathering insights. Stage five
is about determining outcomes based on those insights.
“Our platform will enable Hull to become a “programmable city” and move from outdated siloed
service driven technologies to a central platform to improve service delivery, reduce costs and to
make the most of new technologies such as IoT, AI and machine learning algorithms,” says
Furqan Alamgir, Founder and CEO of Connexin.
Engaging the public and managing stakeholders
While the data will be used by Hull City Council to improve its services across the board, the aim
is to provide insights to businesses and the public too. As the systems are integrated with the
OS, they will be exposed to Hull’s business and private residents. This, it is hoped, will encourage
start-ups to create new technologies that the city can then pull into its Smart City OS.
“For us, it is not just about smart cities,” says Mike Kenworthy, assistant director of digital and
ICT for Hull City Council, who is managing the project. “We are looking at utilising IoT and data –
that we potentially collect from other sources as well – to find innovative approaches to any
problem.”
One of the biggest challenges for the project is managing the stakeholders, who are spread
across various departments within the council, plus other organisations such as Humberside Fire
and Rescue Service, and the University of Hull.
Hull City Council is taking a ‘one council’ approach to managing it all. People see the council as
‘the council’ not as a series of separate services. Constant engagement with stakeholders across
all service sectors is crucial.
The end result
Due to its size, strong digital infrastructure, and lessons learned from other smart city projects,
Hull City Council has been able to skip the pilot phase and roll out Smart City OS across the city.
This could potentially cause Hull to leap up the UK smart city league tables.
Hale and Kenworthy are confident that it will bring considerable economic benefits to the
region, making the city particularly attractive to tech firms. While the council has a lofty
ambition to make Hull the world’s smartest city, the objective is primarily to benefit the people
of the city. “We do not want to be a smart city because it is cool,” says Kenworthy. “We have to
be sure that what we are doing is for the benefit of the city.”
Source: Association of Project Management (APM)
Link: https://www.apm.org.uk/resources/find-a-resource/case-studies/case-study-smart-city-oshull-s-journey-to-becoming-a-programmable-city/- accessed 5/10/20
It is recommended that you should also conduct your own independent research to strengthen
your knowledge of this project.
END OF CASE STUDY
THE SMART CITY OS CONSULTANCY REPORT
In the role of a Project Consultant you are required to develop a project report for the Smart City OS
project by leveraging the techniques and concepts you have covered in the module.
The report has to include the following tasks:
 Task 1 – The Project Manager (12 Marks)
Critically discuss what skills the project manager of the Smart City OS project needs to develop
to be effective and reflect on possible actions the project manager of the Smart City OS project
should take to develop those skills. Support your arguments with academic literature and
references to other similar real projects.
 Task 2 – Problem Solving & Decision Making (12 Marks)
Identify relevant stakeholders and create a stakeholder influence map for the Smart City OS
project and discuss why these are the most critical stakeholders emerging from your analysis.
Afterwards, by leveraging the academic literature and similar real projects, critically discuss how
you engage the stakeholders you have identified with the Smart City OS project.
 Task 3 – The Project Triangle (12 Marks)
Critically discuss the importance of the various project triangle parameters that will need to be
managed by the Smart City OS project manager over the course of the project, and how they
may inter-relate to each other. Discuss the impact of possible changes to this project. Support
your arguments with academic literature and references to other similar real projects.
 Task 4 – Managing Finances (12 Marks)
Provide advice to the project manager on what resources may be required for this project and
what could be an effective cost estimation technique for the Smart City OS project and explain
why. Support your arguments with academic literature and references to other similar real
projects.
 Task 5 – Risk Management within the Project (12 Marks)
Develop a risk analysis by constructing a risk register for the Smart City OS project. You should
identify at least ten risks that the Smart City OS project should be aware of by using the
appropriate categories (e.g., environmental, operational, financial, strategic, reputational,
compliance, etc…). For this analysis, an appropriate risk register format should be used.
 Task 6 – Conflicts and Negotiation (12 Marks)
Identify at least six conflicts that may arise when running the Smart City OS project and their
sources. Once you have identified those potential conflicts, critically discuss which actions can
be taken by the project manager to resolve them and suggest appropriate conflict management
and/or negotiation strategies to address these. Support your arguments with academic
literature and references to other similar real projects.
 Task 7 – Teamwork (12 Marks)
Critically discuss what the project manager can do to build a highly successful team for the Smart
City OS project. In particular focus on the importance of how a diverse team can increase project
performance., Critically reflect on what actions the project manager can take to build a diverse
team for the Smart City OS project, and what are some of the challenges of working in diverse
teams.
 Presentation and Structure (10 Marks)
 Assessment Self-Evaluation (6 Marks)
You must self-evaluate each single task of your report by using the rubric provided in the
marking guide and attach it to your report. The template for this can be found in the marking
guide section
Word count: 5000 words
Your report structure should include the following sections:
Cover page (University cover sheet)
Table of Contents
List of Abbreviations (if appropriate)
Introduction
Task 1 – The Project Manager
Task 2 – Problem Solving & Decision Making
Task 3 – The Project Triangle
Task 4 – Managing Finances
Task 5 – Risk Management within the Project
Task 6 – Conflicts and Negotiation
Task 7 – Teamwork
Concluding remarks
References
Assessment Self-Evaluation
Appendix (if appropriate)
Word count – only applies to the main body (shown in bold); i.e., cover page, table of content, list of
abbreviations, references, assessment self-evaluation and appendix are not part of the 5000-word
count
If you have any further questions about this coursework assignment, please contact the module
leader or the tutor.
Tip for Mapping the Assessment towards Module Topics and Module
Learning Outcomes (LOs)

Assessment Task	Module Topic	Marks	Module LOs
Task 1 – The Project Manager	The Project Manager	12	LO3 – Critically evaluate how project management behaviours can promote organisational success
Task 2 – Problem Solving and Decision Making	Problem Solving and Decision Making	12	LO1 – Strategically apply relevant project management practices within organisations
Task 3 – Project Triangle	The Project Triangle	12	LO2 -Critically appraise project management principles and environmental contexts in which projects can be delivered
Task 4 – Managing Finances	Managing Finances	12	LO2 – Critically appraise project management principles and environmental contexts in which projects can be delivered
Task 5 – Risk Management Within the Project	Risk Management Within a Project	12	LO2 – Critically appraise project management principles and environmental contexts in which projects can be delivered
Task 6 – Conflicts and Negotiation	Conflicts and Negotiation	12	LO1 – Strategically apply relevant project management practices within organisations
Task 7 – Teamwork	Teamwork	12	LO3 – Critically evaluate how project management behaviours can promote organisational success
Presentation and Structure	10
Assessment Self-Evaluation	6
Total	100

Marking Guide (Student Version)

Assignment task	Distinction	Merit	Pass	Fail	Self -Evaluation
Tips for students  A discussion of any personal, interpersonal and/or group skills which includes any skills within those categories eg. Time management, communication, leadership, self-awareness and so forth in relation to the case study. Basically, any skills can be included here as long as they can be justified.  Development of skills should also be included. For eg. Developing self-awareness  Reference to any other smart city  This task can have a number of different answers, but you must be able to justify your answers and support your statements with relevant academic references.	Explain why you feel you have met the task to the level you indicate (not part of maximum word submission)
The Project Manager (12 marks)	Excellent/outstanding discussion of the key skills needed by the project manager for running the project and how to develop these skills. Excellent/outstanding critical analysis and/or evaluation skills have been demonstrated including comparison with at least one other similar real life project Thorough knowledge and understanding of the topic and explicit evidence of the wider contexts of the topic with coherence and the ability to synthesise appropriate principles by reference to appropriate sources.	Good discussion of the key skills needed by the project manager for running the project and how to develop these skills. Good and clear understanding of the topic. Good critical analysis and/or evaluation skills. Discussion is supported by reference to appropriate sources.	Satisfactory discussion of the key skills needed by the project manager for running the project and how to develop these skills. Satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the topic. Satisfactory critical analysis and/or evaluation Discussion is supported by some reference to appropriate sources	Limited, weak or inadequate discussion of the skills needed by the project manager for running the project. Limited, weak or inadequate knowledge and understanding of the topic. Limited, weak or inadequate critical analysis and/or evaluation. Discussion is supported by limited, weak or inappropriate sources.

 

Tips for students: • Internal stakeholders should be clearly identified and included • External stakeholders should be clearly identified and included • Mapping of stakeholders onto the Mendelow Matrix or any other stakeholder power/influence map must be included. You can map stakeholders in any quarter but should justify your choices • Stakeholder engagement theories such as communication strategies or a 5-stage stakeholder engagement theory framework or any other relevant strategy or model should be included • This task can have a number of different answers, but you must be able to justify your answers and support your statements with relevant academic references.	Explain why you feel you have met the task to the level you indicate (not part of maximum word submission)
Problem Solving and Decision Making (12 marks)	Excellent/Outstanding detailed stakeholders influence map, excellent/outstanging discussion of the projects’ key stakeholders and of the stakeholder engagement techniques that can be adopted by the project manager. Excellent/outstanding critical analysis and/or evaluation skills have been demonstrated including comparison with at least one other similar real life project. Thorough knowledge and understanding of the topic and explicit evidence of the wider contexts of the topic with coherence and the ability to synthesise appropriate principles by reference to appropriate sources.	Good stakeholders influence map, good discussion of the projects’ key stakeholders and of the stakeholder engagement techniques that can be adopted by the project manager. Good and clear understanding of the topic. Good critical analysis and/or evaluation skills. Discussion is supported by reference to appropriate sources.	Satisfactory stakeholders influence map, satisfactory discussion of the projects’ key stakeholders and of the stakeholder engagement techniques that can be adopted by the project manager. Satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the topic. Satisfactory critical analysis and/or evaluation Discussion is supported by some reference to appropriate sources.	Limited, weak or inadequate stakeholder influence map, limited, weak or inadequate discussion of the stakeholder engagement techniques that can be adopted by the project manager. Limited, weak or inadequate knowledge and understanding of the topic. Limited, weak or inadequate critical analysis and/or evaluation. Discussion is supported by limited, weak or inappropriate sources
Tips for students:  PM parameters should be mentioned ie, time, cost, quality and scope. It is not necessary that the APM (2020) triangle be used ie any other valid PM triangle is acceptable  There are many different answers to this, but you should be able to explain how and why a change in one of the parameters affects the others  You can also include the impact of change on the project using a change management model or even discuss the change control process within projects  Application to the case study is required	Explain why you feel you have met the task to the level you indicate (not part of maximum word submission)

 

 Comparison with any similar project that adds value to the explanation  This task can have a number of different answers, but you must be able to justify your answers and support your statements with relevant academic references.
Project Triangle (12 marks)	Excellent/Outstanding discussion of the importance of the project triangle parameters and their interrelation. Excellent/outstanding critical analysis and/or evaluation skills have been demonstrated including comparison with at least one other similar real life project. Thorough knowledge and understanding of the topic and explicit evidence of the wider contexts of the topic with coherence and the ability to synthesise appropriate principles by reference to appropriate sources.	Good discussion of the importance of the project triangle parameters and their interrelation. Good and clear understanding of the topic. Good critical analysis and/or evaluation skills. Discussion is supported by reference to appropriate sources	Satisfactory discussion of the importance of the project triangle parameters and their interrelation. Satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the topic. Satisfactory critical analysis and/or evaluation Discussion is supported by some reference to appropriate sources.	Limited, weak or inadequate discussion of the importance of the project triangle parameters and their interrelation. Limited, weak or inadequate knowledge and understanding of the topic. Limited, weak or inadequate critical analysis and/or evaluation. Discussion is supported by limited, weak or inappropriate sources
Tips for students: • A basic explanation of what resources are needed for this project ie. human, material, equipment and financial. From these a link can be made to a relevant cost • estimation technique. • Any relevant cost estimation technique such as parametric, analogous, analytical, delphi, feasibility, definitive or any other cost estimation technique can be used. • A comparison between two or more cost estimation techniques with a recommendation on which one to choose and why could score higher marks. • Comparison with any similar project that adds value to the explanation • This task can have a number of different answers, but you must be able to justify your answers and support your statements with relevant academic references.	Explain why you feel you have met the task to the level you indicate (not part of maximum word submission)

 

Managing Finances (12 marks)	Excellent/Outstanding discussion and justification of what can be the cost estimation approach appropriate for the case study. Excellent/outstanding critical analysis and/or evaluation skills have been demonstrated including comparison with at least one other similar real life project. Thorough knowledge and understanding of the topic and explicit evidence of the wider contexts of the topic with coherence and the ability to synthesise appropriate principles by reference to appropriate sources.	Good discussion and justification of what can be the cost estimation approach appropriate for the case study. Good and clear understanding of the topic. Good critical analysis and/or evaluation skills. Discussion is supported by reference to appropriate sources	Satisfactory discussion and justification of what can be the cost estimation approach appropriate for the case study. Satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the topic. Satisfactory critical analysis and/or evaluation Discussion is supported by some reference to appropriate sources.	Limited, weak or inadequate discussion and justification of what can be the cost estimation approach appropriate for the case study. Limited, weak or inadequate knowledge and understanding of the topic. Limited, weak or inadequate critical analysis and/or evaluation. Discussion is supported by limited, weak or inappropriate sources
Tips for students:  Any number of risks in the categories such as technological, financial, operational, political, strategic, environmental, reputational, scheduling and execution, stakeholder/partnership and so forth can be included  At least 10 risks should be identified and explained using a basic risk register format ie, scores before and after mitigation should be included and the mitigation strategy should also be included  A colour coding legend of severity can also be included  Application to the case study is required  This task can have a number of different answers, but you must be able to justify your answers and support your statements with relevant academic references	Explain why you feel you have met the task to the level you indicate (not part of maximum word submission)
Risk Management within the Project (12 marks)	Excellent/Outstanding detailed presentation of at least 10 risks. Risk register used with appropriate risk categories. Identified risks are specific to the case study. Thorough knowledge and understanding of the topic and explicit evidence of the wider contexts of the topic.	Good presentation presentation of at least 10 risks. Risk register used. Identified risks are specific to the case study with appropriate risk categories. Good and clear understanding of the topic.	Satisfactory presentation of at least 10 risks. Risk register used. Identified risks are specific to the case study with appropriate risk categories. Satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the topic	Less than ten risks identified. Limited, weak or inadequate use of the risk register. Limited, weak or inadequate knowledge and understanding of the topic

 

Tips for students:  There are many conflicts that could be detailed here but you need to identify 6. So any conflict relating to the case study is valid as long as you justify it and explain why.  Any source of conflict may be discussed  Situational factors may be discussed also  Any conflict or negotiation models can be used  Comparison with any similar project that adds value to the explanation  This task can have a number of different answers, but you must be able to justify your answers and support your statements with relevant academic references	Explain why you feel you have met the task to the level you indicate (not part of maximum word submission)
Conflicts and Negotiation (12 marks)	Excellent/Outstanding detailed presentation of at least six conflicts and their sources. Excellent/Outstanding discussion of actions that can be taken to resolve those conflicts. Excellent/outstanding critical analysis and/or evaluation skills have been demonstrated including comparison with at least one other similar real life project. Thorough knowledge and understanding of the topic and explicit evidence of the wider contexts of the topic with coherence and the ability to synthesise appropriate principles by reference to appropriate sources.	Good presentation of at least six conflicts and their sources. Good discussion of actions that can be taken to resolve those conflicts. Good and clear understanding of the topic. Good critical analysis and/or evaluation skills. Discussion is supported by reference to appropriate sources.	Satisfactory presentation of at least six conflicts and their sources. Basic discussion of actions that can be taken to resolve those conflicts. Satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the topic. Satisfactory critical analysis and/or evaluation Discussion is supported by some reference to appropriate sources.	Less than six conflicts identified, and source of the conflicts not specified. Limited, weak or inadequate discussion of actions that can be taken to resolve those conflicts. Limited, weak or inadequate knowledge and understanding of the topic. Limited, weak or inadequate critical analysis and/or evaluation. Discussion is supported by limited, weak or inappropriate sources
Tips for students: • Any number of models can be used to explain team development • Characteristics associated with effective project teams may be discussed • Barriers or Team Killers to team effectiveness may be discussed • Diversity and inclusion should be discussed in relation to projects and the case study project • Challenges working with diverse teams should also be discussed • This task can have a number of different answers, but you must be able to justify your answers and support your statements with relevant academic references	Explain why you feel you have met the task to the level you indicate (not part of maximum word submission)

 

Teamwork (12 marks)	Excellent/Outstanding discussion of what can be done to build highly successful teams, diverse teams and the challenges of working in diverse teams. Excellent/outstanding critical analysis and/or evaluation skills have been demonstrated. Thorough knowledge and understanding of the topic and explicit evidence of the wider contexts of the topic with coherence and the ability to synthesise appropriate principles by reference to appropriate sources.	Good discussion of what can be done to build highly successful teams, diverse teams and the challenges of working in diverse teams. Good and clear understanding of the topic. Good critical analysis and/or evaluation skills. Discussion is supported by reference to appropriate sources.	Basic discussion of what can be done to build highly successful teams, diverse teams and the challenges of working in diverse teams. Satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the topic. Satisfactory critical analysis and/or evaluation Discussion is supported by some reference to appropriate sources.	Limited, weak or inadequate discussion of what can be done to build highly successful teams, diverse teams and the challenges of working in diverse teams. Limited, weak or inadequate knowledge and understanding of the topic. Limited, weak or inadequate critical analysis and/or evaluation. Discussion is supported by limited, weak or inappropriate sources
Presentation and Referencing (10 marks)	Excellent/Outstanding with precise, full and appropriate references and notes at near-publishing standard. For a distinction the report will use a consistent approach to headings, tables and graphs. Formatting and presentation is professional throughout.	Good with precise, full and appropriate references and notes at a high standard. For a merit the report will use a consistent approach to headings, tables and graphs. Formatting and presentation is good.	Satisfactory with precise, full and appropriate references and notes. There may be a limited number of references, but the correct format is used, albeit with some errors. There may be some errors in formatting and presentation, but the report is satisfactory.	Limited, weak or inadequate references with some errors. Formatting and presentation is limited, weak or inadequate.
Self-Evaluation (6 marks)	Student has highlighted which level she/he believes have met each task and provided a reasonable explanation Student has indicated grade band but provided a very limited explanation (ie one sentence)	Student has indicated grade band with no explanation	Student has not indicated grade band but provided an explanation	Student has attempted another reasonable form of self-evaluation against the tasks Student has not included a self-evaluation
Total	100 marks