9011PMGT Project Management 2023 Term 3
ASSIGNMENT 1
Summary
This is a two-part assessment consisting of Part A) a 10-minute oral presentation that defines a proposed new project and Part B) a written reflection on potential project success and failure factors related to the proposed project.
Learning outcomes
1. Demonstrate advanced understanding of project management principles, frameworks and contemporary topics.
2. Critically analyse, reflect on, and synthesise complex information, problems, principles and frameworks related to project management.
3. Clearly, concisely and credibly communicate project management knowledge to specialist and non-specialist audiences to inform practice.
Task
Defining a project is a critical step as it sets the foundation for developing a detailed project plan. Clear project definition contributes to increased project success, and an unclear project definition leads to project failures and scope creep. An effective project definition needs to clearly articulate why the project is needed, what is expected to be accomplished, and how success will be measured.
The purpose of this assessment is to provide you with the opportunity to clearly define a new project, using an advanced understanding and application of project definition concepts and techniques and applying project management theories and concepts. You will act as the project manager, and effectively communicate the project definition to the project participants, to direct them on the project’s purpose throughout the life of the project.
After defining the project, it is crucial to reflect on potential success and failure factors. Based on your own experience of similar project, industry and literature, identify the potential factors that twill contribute to the success or failure of your project. This process will help you better plan the project in the next stages.
Critically analyse and evaluate the selected project, and present the following key components of a project definition. This will provide a good foundation for detailed level planning of the project in assessment 2.
It is recommended you select a potential new project that you or your organisation have in mind to run in the near future. Alternatively, you can relate this to a past project or a project in progress, however, in this case, you need to assume that you have been provided with the opportunity to re-define the project towards a better project performance and propose it as a new project.
Procedure
For Part A, your oral presentation should include the following components:
Project title.
Background and purpose. Explain the purpose of the project including the problem, solution and justification. Discussed in weeks 1 and 2.
The scope. Define the project objectives, major deliverables and limits of scope. Discussed in week 2.
Stakeholder Expectations. Identify and prioritize the project’s stakeholders expectations. Discussed in week 2.
The project’s priorities. Establish and justify the project’s priorities based on the analysis of stakeholder expectations. Discussed in week 2.
The project’s success criteria. Define and discuss the project’s success criteria. Discussed in week 1.
The reference list.
For Part B, your 500-word written reflection should include the following components:
Reflect on the project definition you have presented in Part A, and compare with your own experience of similar projects, industry and literature. Identify two top priority success or failure factors that can affect the project.
Describe two factors identified, then explain how it may affect the project’s success criteria you have defined in Part A. (Discussed in week 1).
Include your reflection on 2 slides in paragraph form, at the end of your presentation.
For this assessment, you are required to submit the following two items:
Oral presentation recording in the form of a shareable Zoom URL
PowerPoint (.pptx) slide deck
Requirements
Oral presentation slides must be prepared using MS PowerPoint and must be recorded using your AIB Zoom account (https://myaib.zoom.us/). PowerPoint is available from your AIB Office 365 account
Thoroughly read the instructions in How do I submit an assessment? Oral presentations
The presentation is 10 minutes (+10% i.e. 60 seconds tolerance). It should be around 12 slides: a title slide, main slides, two slides with your 500-word reflection and a slide with your reference list.
You do not need to verbally present your reference list and 500-word reflection in your oral presentation (as it is included on the PowerPoint slide deck you submit).
Record the presentation using your AIB student Zoom account. Make sure you copy the shareable link of your recording and enter it in the submission point.
This assessment requires you to use a minimum of six (6) credible academic sources in addition to your textbook. You may also use current company, industry, government and media sources to support your statements, but these will NOT count toward the minimum required credible academic sources for your assessment. Many web-based sources are not sufficiently rigorous and credible for use in academic assessments and will NOT count toward the minimum required credible academic sources for your assessment. For further guidance, refer to Scholarly, academic & peer-reviewed journals.
You must appropriately acknowledge all sources of information in your assessment with the AIB Harvard author-date style of referencing – see the AIB Style Guide and Assessment Policy and Procedure.
Your grade will be adversely affected if your assessment contains no/poor reference list, and if your presentation is beyond the allowed tolerance level (see the Assessment Policy available on the AIB website)
Assessment example
The purpose of the example is to stimulate your critical thinking. Comments indicate areas of strength and opportunities for improvement for you to consider. However, the example does not provide a model answer. You must follow the assessment instructions with regard to content.
For more tips and how-to resources, visit the Study Skills site.
Grading criteria and feedback
Your assessment will be marked according to the following grading criteria:
Articulate the project purpose and its strategic context (20%)
Apply project definition concepts and frameworks (25%)
Critically analyse and evaluate project stakeholders and their expectations, the scope, project priorities and project success criteria (30%)
Clearly, concisely and credibly communicate to specialist and non-specialist audiences with engaging and professional presentation in well-structured slides. (10%)
Reflection. (10%)
Referencing (5%).