FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION
Hi Everyone,
As you all know, you will have the opportunity to discuss questions about the assessments towards the end of the weekly webinars by your facilitator and during Friday drop-in sessions by the subject coordinator. In the meantime, we thought of sharing answers to some common questions asked by past students about the first and final (capstone) assessments under this post for the benefit of everyone.
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General Questions about the Subject:
FAQ 1: Do I need to study professional project management standards such as PMBOK or PRINCE2 as part of this subject?
This subject does not require you to read such standards, but it introduces you to project management subject as an ‘academic discipline’ and provides you with the opportunity to adopt theories to suit your unique workplace environments. However, of course, the knowledge gained in this subject will help you evaluate such methodologies and adapt them to your project practices. Different organisations such as professional bodies, consultancy firms, government organisations have their own standards and some organisations may have their own internal project standards. If you are already familiar with any particular methodology, perhaps you can map those practices against the topic areas in this subject, and then discuss those elements of the project using the theories and principles taught in this subject to reinforce your learning.
FAQ 2: Can I use the learning gained in this subject to obtain project management certifications offered by AIPM, PMI or APM?
AIB offers a generic project management module (10 Credit) in line with the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) Level 9. So, of course, you can provide evidence of your learning at AIB to meet the prerequisites of certification programs such as the CAPM exam from the Project Management Institute (PMI). However, AIB currently does not provide any direct support for PMI or Prince 2 accredited certifications. Therefore, the approval will be totally at the discretion of the organisation that processes your application. Currently, this 9011PMGT subject covers both basic and advanced concepts in project management, applicable to all industries in general, so that student can specialise in other methodologies such as PMI, PRINCE2, Scrum or AgilePM to suit their specific workplace/industry requirements, after the subject.
FAQ 3: What if I haven’t conducted any formal projects in my work experience; How can I select a suitable project example for my assessments?
All of you have some experience in working in a business environment. If you were not involved in a formal project, you can still reflect on a particular work that has the typical characteristics of a project explained on page 8 of Chapter 1 of the textbook. For example, an office relocation, launch of a new service/product, a work improvement initiative (e.g. quality improvement, upgrading processes to suit a new regulation), an organisational change (e.g. adapting to a new strategy, post-covid environments etc.) can be considered for your example project. Most of these works may not have been formally defined as projects within your work environments, so it is now the time to frame such work as projects, and use the opportunity provided in assessment of this subject to define, plan and execute them as a projects, towards better success in future. You will also have the opportunity to discuss your project example with your facilitator and peer students in the very first few webinars.
FAQ 4: What if the project that I have in mind is only pertaining to one department?
A project that occurs within one department can be suitable for your assessments as long as the selected work has the typical characteristics of a project explained in the textbook Chapter 1, page 8. However, please make sure that the example you have chosen provides you with the opportunity to apply the topics taught in this subject to the required depth to help you achieve good grades. For example, suppose you are planning to analyse various external and internal stakeholder groups. In that case, you may need to link your project beyond just one department to include other internal departments, suppliers, customers etc.
Also as stated in final assessment FAQs below, you may select a project which you can identify at least 10-15 main project activities (tasks) to help you apply the project management techniques and concepts taught in this subject to the required depth.
FAQ 5: Should I choose the same project across the first and capstone assessments?
It is NOT mandatory to choose the same project across the first and capstone assessments. But it is highly recommended to work on the same project for these two assessments to get a deeper understanding of the context of your project and be able to gradually improve your work using the feedback you will receive from your facilitator or your peers.
FAQ 6: Can I keep the name of my organisation ‘anonymous’?
Yes, you may keep the name of the organisation anonymous, if required. Also, in this case, you need to deidentify the name of the company and brand names from any figures and diagrams. Therefore, the best strategy is to use those reports to create your own templates and tables and source them as per the AIB Style Guide. Additionally, please also note that any work you submit to AIB will be strictly confidential between you and the AIB examiners.
FAQ 7: Can I use a section that I have used for a past assignment in the same subject /or a different subject for this subject? Will I be penalized for plagiarism?
If you are planning to use content from any other assignment that you have submitted in the past, you need to discuss this with your facilitator. There are many ways that you can avoid copying work from your own work submitted for other assessments. For example, if you are planning to use a section from a past assessment in a different subject, such as an introduction to the organization, perhaps a good strategy is to first look at your analysis/discussion and then think about how best to introduce the organization to help the reader better understand your analysis. This subject introduces you to a unique set of concepts/tools to some unique problems faced by project managers, which are very different from other subjects. So, it is unlikely that you need to repeat content from other assessments in other subjects.
Also, suppose you are planning to use content from a past assessment submitted for the same subject/with a similar assessment. In that case, you still need to discuss this with your facilitator/subject coordinator. Because the assessments for the same subject differ between Terms (to different extents), so you need to improve the content to focus on components stated in the new assessment and obtain better grades for the current term. It is also recommended to select an operations example different from your past assessment to help you refresh your thinking, analysis, and recommendations. So, in this case, please discuss with the facilitator to better understand the requirements of the assessment to avoid such inappropriate repetitions and irrelevant content.
FAQ 8: How do I refer to a company report?
Company reports can be referenced similar to the example provided for AIB Style Guide: Section 11.7 example’ reports’, or if you do not find the format you need, you can also create your own citations using the guidelines provided on page 61 of the AIB style guide ( https://learning.aib.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=87756 )
However, please note that if the document is not publicly available, you may need to obtain consent from the organization to present them in your report. Therefore, the best strategy is to use the insights from those reports to create your own templates and tables relevant for the assignment question and source them as ‘created by the author
FAQ 9: What project size is suitable for the assignments in this subject?
Roughly speaking about 10-15 activities (tasks) will give you enough space to apply the project management techniques and concepts.
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First Assessment Related Questions:
FAQ 10: The time limit specified for the first assessment PART A (presentation) – is 10 minutes (+%10 tolerance). Is there a penalty for presenting above this time limit?
As stated in the assessment guidelines, only the time allotted for the assessment piece, that is the first 11 minutes of your presentation, will be considered for marking PART A. Marks for PART A will not be offered for any content beyond the specified time duration, so please make sure your presentation meets this requirement to avoid losing marks.
Also, as stated in the assessment video, you are not required to read the reference list slide or any content of PART B (i.e., the last two slides 500 word written reflection). As you will be submitting both your zoom recording link and slides pack file, marker will have access to the last two slides of your slides pack to assess PART B.
FAQ 11: First assessment (PART A + PART B) requires no more than 12 slides, does this include the title slide, reference list slide and written reflection (PART B) slides?
Yes, the 12 slides include both the title page, reference list slide as well as last two slides (i.e., 500-word written reflection).
However, as stated in FAQ 10 above, your PART A speech need to use only the first 10 slides, and As you will be submitting both your zoom recording link and slides pack file separately, marker will have access to the last two slides of your slides pack to assess PART B.
FAQ 12: First assessment requires at least 6 references. How do I integrate them into the presentation?
When you are adapting a theory/concept/framework or an idea from literature into your presentation, you can insert the reference under relevant bullet point, figure, or the sentence (similar to how you provide in-text citations) on the slide, and then provide the full reference in the reference list slide (your last slide).
As described in the sample oral presentation (see below link), you are not expected to describe theories, models, and content in literature in your speech, instead, you can simply cite the source for the definition of theories/concepts and then explain the results that emerged through the application of theories/concepts to the selected project and provide a response to each assessment question. Also, you may refer to the sample assessment provided under the first assessment below for an example.
https://learning.aib.edu.au/mod/hvp/view.php?id=124584
FAQ 13: How can I submit a sharable zoom recording link? And Can I use some other software ( than Zoom ) to record my presentation?
Kindly note that only a zoom recording using your AIB zoom account is accepted for this assessment. Also, you need to show both your slides, and your video and audio at the same time in your zoom recording, and then submit the sharable zoom recording link with shared screen with speaker view. A comprehensive guide on how to record a zoom presentation is provided here (see below link):
, and how to submit the zoom recording link to the assessment submission point (‘online text’ box) is provided here (see below):
https://learning.aib.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=84041&chapterid=24086
Also, we highly recommend you practice zoom recoding skills well in advance to avoid any technical issue you may face with your equipment.
Also please note: In addition to the zoom recording link submission above, you are also required to submit the PRESENTATION SLIDES PACK as one sperate file to the ‘file submission’ box of the assessment submission point.
FAQ 14: Can you outline what information is required on the title slide (or the very first slide)?
You have the flexibility to select an appropriate project title/overview to suit the purpose and plan for your presentation. Once you have clearly understood the purpose/plan for your presentation by reading assessment brief and engaging with the weekly webinars, you can develop a suitable project title/overview slide for your presentation.
FAQ 15: In academic writing, we use quotations and paraphrasing, but as the slides need to be simple and less-crowded with words, can I simply cite the reference under each bullet point?
Yes, as explained in FAQ 12 above, you are not expected to describe the definition of theories, models and content in literature in your speech, instead, you can cite the source of those concepts and explain the results that emerged through the application of concept/principles to the project and provide a response to the assessment question.
You can present the results of your analysis in the form of bullet points and diagrams and cite any literature using the author-date format on slides. Please also ensure you present the reference list in the last slide of the presentation.
Also, you may refer to the sample assessment provided below under the first assessment brief for an example.
https://learning.aib.edu.au/mod/hvp/view.php?id=124584
FAQ 16: Can I use the first person in my speech?
Yes, as stated in the assessment brief, you are expected to talk as if you were the project manager presenting core purpose of the project to the project participants, to direct them on the project’s purpose throughout the life of the project. So of course you can use the first person (wherever relevant) when delivering the presentation. However, as shown in the rubric, all arguments need to be supported/justified with facts, evidence, examples from the organization and well informed by theories, concepts and frameworks taught in the subject rather than a personal opinion.
FAQ 17: Do I need to describe the definition of models and theories, such as stakeholder influence-interest grid in my speech?
No, as demonstrated in sample oral assessment video, given the short time you have for your speech, it is not required to describe any theoretical definitions of theoretical models in your speech – you can simply include the citation for the model/theory on your slides, and then explain how you intend to use the model, and point out the key results and insights that emerge from your analysis to provide a response to each part of the assessment question.
Also please note: For the first assessment, given the limited time available for your speech, you only need to analyse stakeholders to a level just adequate to understand the range of interests/expectations of a variety of stakeholders in terms of time, cost, performance. The results of such analysis will then help you to establish the project priorities (i.e., time, cost, performance, soft dimensions etc.) and develop appropriate success criteria (i.e., project efficiency, Impact on the customer, Business success, preparing for the future etc.) for the remaining sections of the presentation. You are not required to carry out more advanced analysis such as stakeholder communication plans, stakeholder engagement strategies etc. for the first assessment; however, such analysis can be linked to your final assessment recommendations as appropriate.
FAQ 18: Is there an AIB template for the PowerPoint presentation?
We have not provided an AIB presentation template for this assessment. So you have the flexibility to prepare your own slides using Microsoft PowerPoint.
FAQ 19: The time for this presentation PART A is only 10 mins and I want to make sure I use them wisely. Could you please provide some guidelines on how to manage the time for each section?
You have the flexibility to allocate the time and number of slide for each section of the presentation, only the total time is limited to 10 minutes. So, you can carefully examine the concepts and tasks stated under each bullet point of the assessment and also look at the grading criteria to provide a well-focused answer and get the best possible marks for each criterion in the rubric at the same time.
In order to present a well-focused answer, you can carefully examine the ‘concept key words’ such as objectives; deliverables etc. which refer to the key concepts in the subject and ‘action key words’ such as define, explain, justify, discuss to understand exactly what needs to be included in the answer. For example, for a project objective, you can state them using one sentence, but for project priorities, you can use a project priority matrix (table) on the slide and explain your rationale and justify the priorities in your speech to support your design. Also, elements such as deliverables can be provided as a table to keep the slides simple and not crowded with words.
In this way, you can avoid unnecessary/irrelevant/less important content from your speech. In today’s world of an abundance of data and information, selecting the most relevant and high-priority content, and writing clearly and succinctly has become an essential skill for not only project managers but for all executives. So we hope the word count provided for each assessment will help you develop these skills.
FAQ 20: The scope definition has five steps. For the First Assessment, do I need to explain each step with supporting academic literature?
As for defining the scope, you are not required to carry out all the five steps and all components discussed in the textbook Chapter 4: Defining the project. But you only need to discuss the three components stated in the assessment brief (i.e., project objectives, major deliverables and limits of scope). Also, some components such as project deliverables can be provided simply as a list similar to the textbook example. For example, see the example project objectives and deliverables stated on page 109 of the textbook. But as for other areas like stakeholder analysis, project priorities, and success criteria, as stated in rubric criteria 3, you need to present a more analytical and evaluative arguments supported with a few relevant pieces of literature.
FAQ 21: How do I refer to the stakeholder analysis template in my first assessment presentation?
The stakeholder analysis template is part of the AIB learning materials
: https://learning.aib.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=123337
So you can refer to it as adapted from AIB learning materials. Page 58 of the style guide explains how to refer to AIB learning materials:
https://learning.aib.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=87756
FAQ 22: In the real-world, we do not provide academic references in a project definition or in a project management plan. Why should I provide references in these documents for my assessments?
The artifacts that you are producing for your assessments are not only practical tools that help you define and plan a project in practice, but also academic outputs that help you meet the academic standards required for a Master level course. As you know, graduates at the Master level are expected to demonstrate their critical analysis skills and the ability to do research and apply established theories to practice. As such, your assessment reports are designed in such a manner to help you demonstrate the analytical and critical thinking skills used to generate those outputs. The documents that you are preparing for your assessments are not the final versions that you may provide to your clients/sponsors.
FAQ 23: How can I demonstrate critical analysis skills in the first assessment when it is about presenting a project definition?
There are several areas in the first assessment in which you can demonstrate critical analysis and evaluation skills. For example, a more in depth and critical analysis stakeholders, critical evaluation and justification of project priorities, systematic and in-depth development of the project success criteria are some of the areas you can demonstrate these skills.
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Final Assessment Related Questions
FAQ 24: What is the expected structure for this written report?
You need to follow the AIB standard report structure/format described in the AIB style guide. You can follow the structure explained in the standard report structure in AIB Style Guide (click here) and AIB report templates here (click here) and (click here)
FAQ 25: Do I need to make my submission using Microsoft WORD or PDF?
As stated in the assessment brief, your final report needs to be submitted as one single ‘Microsoft Word’ file.
FAQ 26: Do I need to include peer-reviewed academic articles as references for the final report?
Yes, as stated in the final assessment requirements sections, you need to integrate at least 6 academic references in the final assessment. You may refer to company documents, industry reports, industry surveys etc. from various sources to support your arguments; however, as noted on the assessment page, these will NOT count toward the minimum required credible academic sources for your assessment. So it is important that you incorporate peer-reviewed academic articles because the insights from such articles contribute towards higher quality and credibility of your arguments.
FAQ 27: Are the diagrams and tables not counted in the word?
Yes, as stated in the AIB style guide, tables, diagrams, and figures are not included in the word count. Also, any stand-alone tables, diagrams, figures, or appendices do not count towards marks unless you have explained the key insights/patterns/implications of the results shown in those artefacts in your discussion. So please make more effective use of diagrams to support your arguments towards better marks.
FAQ 28: Do I need to explain the diagrams or tables in the body of the text?
Yes, any standalone diagrams, tables or figures will not count towards marks unless you have explained the most critical aspects of them in the text. So please remember to make use of diagrams, tables and figures to support your arguments, and also discuss the most critical aspects of them in the body of the text to score higher marks.
Also, please refrain from merely extracting/copying figures/diagrams or generic descriptions of concepts/diagrams from the textbook. Mere repetition of the same generic figures/diagrams/explanations in the textbook in the same form, at length, may not add value to your arguments. Instead, you may introduce the concepts very briefly (by citing the textbook/literature,) explain why the selected concept is appropriate/any assumptions/how you are planning to apply it etc. and then move on to the application/analysis/discussion.
FAQ 29: How do I avoid plagiarism?
The information regarding academic integrity is available under the AIB integrity section on the AIB website.
Once you have uploaded your report to the assessment submission portal, please do not press the submit button and wait until you see the Turnitin similarity percentage. Normally, a similarity percentage of 10% and above can be considered as a warning sign, but this is not a basis for applying the penalty conditions. You need to refer to the Academic Integrity Policy document and Academic integrity web page above to understand different types of plagiarism and relevant penalty conditions. In order to avoid plagiarism, you need to appropriately cite other’s work and paraphrase until you obtain a low Turnitin similarity percentage. Additionally, the AIB Style guide explains how to develop different types of academic arguments (e.g. descriptive, evaluative, analytical, and critical paragraphs), which will help you develop your own original arguments and present an original analysis.
FAQ 30 : Do I need to use any project software to develop diagrams and charts for this assessment?
The use of project software is not part of the learning outcomes or content of this course. Given the limited study time available for the course, it is not recommended learning any new project software for this course. Instead, you may use MS WORD tools and manual methods explained in the textbook to draw diagrams and charts for this assessment.
The focus of this course is to introduce you to the theories, concepts, and techniques in project management and then apply them to a project with about 10-15 activities. It will then help you understand the ‘logic’ behind any project software and expertise such software within your workplace to run more complex projects, after the course.
However, if you are already familiar with any project software, you can use them to develop any charts/diagrams but in this case, you need to attach a screenshot of the results of such analysis (e.g. WBS diagrams, Gantt charts etc.) into your MS WORD report, and still submit your work as one single MS WORD file.
FAQ 31: How do I refer to a company report?
Refer to the AIB Style Guide for information on referencing company reports. Please note that if the document is not publicly available, you may need to obtain the consent of the organisation to present them in your report. Therefore, the best strategy is to use those reports to create your own templates and tables and reference them as per the AIB Style Guide.
FAQ 32: What project size is suitable for the assignments?
Roughly speaking about 10-15 activities (tasks) will give you enough space to reflect upon and apply the project management techniques and concepts.
FAQ 33: Something I always find difficult is to strike the balance between either (a) write enough detail and discussion but go well over the word limit (e.g. large project) or (b) struggle to reach the word limit because I choose something that is too simple (e.g. small project). Could you please provide some advice on this?
It is really a good idea to carefully select the phases of the project and levels of details (e.g. project tasks) in such a manner it allows you to discuss within the word count limit, and still present an in-depth application of concepts to get better marks.
For example, if it is a project for starting a new business, you can start thinking about the broad project phases (e.g. business plan, raising funds, setting up the business, product launch) and then if you feel the scope is too large to discuss within the word count, then you can narrow down the scope of the project to select a set of phases (a subset of phases or even just one phase), which allows you to reflect on about 10-15 project activities to suit the word count of this report.
On the other hand, if you feel the project scope is too small, then you can expand the project scope/or increases the levels of the details to include more activities. Basically, your project example needs to allow you to apply the concepts taught in each topic in the learning materials such as scheduling, risk analysis, etc. to get good marks for in-depth application of concepts and a critical discussion of the same.
FAQ34: For the first part of the final assessment, based on the unique context of the project and the insights gained in reflection in assessment 1, we need to select and justify two topic areas for analysis and recommendation. How can I approach this section?
As we will discuss in our very first week webinar, project managers need to critically reflect on the unique context and specific project environment of each project and select top priority areas of focus before planning and implementing a project, so they can avoid project failures and ensure greater success. So in this section, based on the your deeper understanding of the project context/environment and the insights you have gained from your reflection in first assessment, as well as any research insights from project management literature/case studies within your specific industry, you can present a justification of the importance of the two topic areas that you have selected for your analysis.
FAQ 35: For the second part of the final assessment, we need to provide two (2) recommendations based on analysis of project plans related to two selected topic areas. How can I approach this section?
As for recommendations, you need to provide two recommendations based on analysis of project plans related to two selected topic areas. For example, if you have identified project closure as one of your topic areas in the first part of the final assessment, then you can reflect on the project closure activities (e.g. wrap up activities, project audits, performance reviews, benefits monitoring maps etc.) and identify issues that you think as most important for the success/avoid failure in the project (e.g. lesson learned session) and provide well informed, relevant and actionable recommendations.
Additionally, as explained in the final assessment video please try to provide some actionable recommendations/implementation guidelines (e.g. customized checklist or a questionnaire that can be used to conduct lesson learned sessions) towards better marks.
FAQ 36: When we analyse a selected topic area, do we need to cover all subtopics within a topic?
Given the word count limitations, you may select a topic or a sub-topic within a topic for your analysis. For example, if you select ‘project scheduling ‘ as one of your topics, you can focus on any subtopic (e.g. estimations related to the schedule plan, reducing the duration of the schedule plan, critical resources constraint in the schedule plan etc.) for your analysis and recommendations.
Also, you are not required to use all tools/techniques taught within one topic. For example, if you select scheduling as one of your topics, you have the flexibility to select the appropriate tools/visualisation format to present and analyse the schedule plan (e.g. Network diagram, Gantt chart or an Agile release plan). You may use diagrams/concepts just adequate to support the core argument.
FAQ 37: I am interested in using some techniques from agile methodology for the final assessment. How can I draw a WBS and a Gantt Chart for an agile project?
If you are already familiar with a specific project methodology such as Agile methodology, you may combine tools from different methodologies to suit your project and demonstrate your application skills in the topic areas stated in the assessment requirements. However, in this case, kindly note that you may need to read beyond the core readings to gain further understanding of those methodologies and adapt those tools to suit the assessment requirements. Here are some additional resources that describe how to draw a WBS and Gantt chart for an agile project:
Learning materials provides a brief introduction to the agile methodology (see reading on the following page) and (additionally the textbook Chapter 15):
https://learning.aib.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=123347&chapterid=47040
The agile methodology uses different terminology for project phases (e.g. sprints or iterations), WBS & WBS levels (e.g. Epics, Stories, Features and Tasks lists) and Gantt chart (simply arrange your features and tasks lists across the timeline of the Gantt chart). So you can use your feature/task list to develop a WBS and a Gantt chart for each iteration of your project. Here are two simple articles which describe some examples of drawing a WBS and a Gantt Chart for an agile project. See the following articles for some examples on how to develop a WBS/Gantt Chart using features/tasks in an agile project:
https://www.smartsheet.com/content/agile-gantt
Then using these adapted WBS/Gantt charts, you can discuss other remaining topic areas such as risks analysis, project monitoring (e.g. Kanban/burndown charts) to suit an agile project.
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