Project management

Project management

A GUIDE ON CHOOSING THE PROJECT

There is only ONE assignment (001) for this module which is a progressive compilation of a project report for any project that you will select to work on. You are encouraged to give it a suitable name that describes your project. The project that you choose for this assignment could be from one of the following categories in no particular order;

• An organizational project that you are involved in as your organisation’s main line of business – to manage projects for your organisation or on behalf of others;

• An activity that you are convinced would benefit from being handled as a project;

• An activity in which you have been involved in the past that was not carried out as a project, but one which you believe would have been managed better as a project. If you use this option you should describe how you would execute this activity now using the knowledge gained through this module.

• Depending on the type of business you are familiar in.

Note: You will get maximum benefit from doing this assignment if it is based on real project. If you are unable to work on a real project, please discuss with your tutor for suggestions, but the responsibility to choose a project for this assignment is totally yours as a student.

Assessment 001a – (1000 words +/-10%)

The assessment is based on a Case Study, real or hypothetical scenario developed by the student and meets all the criteria of the learning outcomes of the module (see learning outcomes assessed session above)

Assessment Part 001a: Training manual based on a project Case Study Selection- individual work (30%). With a particular type of project in mind, either real or hypothetical, assume the role of a project manager that is supposed to train a team of new employees in the project management processes. Design the training to target two core areas: the project life cycle and project methodologies.

Write training manual to cover the following areas:

 Overview and purpose of each phase in the lifecycle.

 Importance of each phase as it is relevant to the project selected for your case study.

 Overview and comparison of project methodologies, similarities and differences

 Choice of documentation used in each phase.

 Research evidence on how, for similar projects, requirements in specific phases have affected the project success/failures.

Assessment Part 001b – (2000wods +/- 10%)

Assessment Part 001b: Individual report based on Case Study Review and Analysis (70%). This will consists of a formal report (i.e. the report should have an Abstract, introduction, body of the report and conclusion and recommendation etc.) that will be written by each student.

Following the guide on choosing the project on page 2, consider choosing a (or your) project based on whether there sufficient scope to allow you to demonstrate the application of the wide range of tools and techniques introduced in appropriate topic area(s) of the module. Project concepts with too narrow a scope are difficult to expand upon in demonstrating a full range of tools and techniques. The project selected should no less than 20 activities. On the other hand, projects that are initially perceived as being too large or broad in scope can typically be broken down to produce more than adequate scope for the purpose of this assignment. The report should provide a clear and/or more detailed description of the chosen case study, if you have chosen to continue with your case study in part 001a.

From a project management perspective;

(i) Diagram the work breakdown structure (WBS) for your project.

(ii) Plot a full project Gantt chart with start and finish times.

(iii) Justify why either CPM or PERT may be superior in the project concerned

(iv) Illustrate the critical path and show the project duration in days using activity numbers.

(v) Assess the benefits of using a Gantt chart in project management.

(vi) Discuss how project team pitfalls can be avoided.

(vii) Integrate risks, responses, contingency plans and stakeholders into a risk response matrix.