| What am I required to do in this assignment? |
| The first assignment is focused around a group-based environment and you must establish a group of five (5) members only, unless explicitly authorised. This initial group formation will take place during the first practical session and you will then work on the planning and implementation of a small scale technical project or functional prototype. Task overview You are required to define, manage and deliver a project during the course of this unit. You will work in groups of five (5) and, depending on your pathway, you will develop a product with the following minimum requirements: 1) The production of relevant project management documentation. 2) A tangible output directly related to your course e.g. working software for Software Engineering students. 3) You will produce a brief video that shows your product “in action”. |
| Submission Deadline | Marks and Feedback |
| Before 10am on: 21/04/2023 |
20 working days after deadline (L4, 5 and 7) 15 working days after deadline (L6) 10 working days after deadline (block delivery) |
| Unit title & code | Agile Project Management (CIS047-3) |
| Assignment number and title | Assessment 1: Group interview |
| Assignment type | PR-Oral |
| Weighting of assignment | 70% |
| Size or length of assessment | n/a |
| Unit learning outcomes | 1. Demonstrate the following knowledge and understanding: Differentiate and critically appreciate the professional, ethical and social context of agile project management methodologies and their instantiation into practical applications within the IT industry. 2. Demonstrate the following skills and abilities: Coherently analyse and evaluate an agile professional project management methodology for a collaborative project in view of its societal, commercial and economic context as well as its ethical implications. |
| for documentation via Breo. Demonstrations will commence from 24th April 2023 |
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| Managing the Project You will be expected to use the principles, processes and techniques of the PRINCE2 Agile project management methodology in order to help manage your project. You will learn concepts during the lectures that can be directly applied within the project and hence attendance at lecture sessions and practical classes is going to be important. Group formation During the first practical sessions you should form into groups of five (5). Once the group is formed you will need to begin assigning relevant roles to each group member. There are five separate roles: 1. Start-up manager 2. Project manager – overall responsibility for the project itself 3. Quality manager 4. Risk manager 5. Scheduling manager Roles should be assigned as quickly as possible, ideally in the first practical. As you are graded as an individual in a team, those without a dedicated role risk failing the assignment. Key deliverables to be produced • Project plan – an outline of the project products (deliverables) in the form of a Gantt chart and to include a team ‘code of conduct’ derived from the BCS code of conduct; work package; Agileometer. • Quality plan – a plan of how the quality of products (deliverables and documents) will be measured along with an assignment of quality checking duties to an appropriate member of the team • Risk Management plan – records all identified risks that could affect the project, assigns probability and severity as well as a strategy for mitigation, amelioration etc. • Scheduling documentation – Gantt chart, Kanban, communication plan, and meeting minutes • Lessons learned log – Records important lessons that have been learnt during the lifetime of the project • A brief (5 minutes maximum) video demonstrating your functional artefact. All deliverables must be made available on the BREO group area which will be monitored by the tutors. Individual team members must keep local copies as backups. The authorship of each of these documents must be clearly indicated on the first page and these documents should be equally distributed among team members as far as practicable. Group work demonstration Assessment one involves the group answering any questions about the artefact and the project management thereof and potentially demonstrating their artefact. This session typically lasts 30 minutes but can be up to an hour and should address the legal, social, ethical and professional issues of the project and in particular: • What was the project about and did it achieve its aims and objectives. If not, then why not? • How effective was the project management approach during the project, specifically o Did the team meet deadlines, and if not how did you deal with this? o In view of the commercial and economic context of your deliverables: were the products produced fit for purpose? o How did you find a project management approach as a project tool – did it help the management of the project? • As a group, how effective was the work environment, and the approach used to assign tasks to individual members? • What was your approach to identification, assessment and management of risk concerning the various activities in the project? Was this approach effective (discuss why)? If not, what were the key lessons learned from this area? Where there any aspects of health and safety relevant to the project? • What were the key lessons learned during the project, and how could these be used to inform future management of project? |
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| What do I need to do to pass? (Threshold Expectations from UIF) |
| In order to pass Assessment 1 you will need to: • Evidence how key areas of professional project management such as risk and quality have been addressed. • Answer questions on the major aspects of the project including legal and ethical issues. • Present an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of your chosen project management approach |
| How do I produce high quality work that merits a good grade? |
| A focused approach to the project documentation and artifact are the key to attaining a good grade. Be careful how you choose which group you want to be in, you will have to work with them for the coming weeks and tensions might arise. Being clear and concise in the delivery of the relevant paperwork will help you understand the project and your role within it as well as everyone else’s. Being well read on the subject matter tends to translate well too. |
| How does this assignment relate to what we are doing in scheduled sessions? |
| You will be exposed to project management approaches underpinned by the theory of project management that encompass the knowledge area of scope, time, cost, risk, quality, stakeholders, human resources, communication and procurement. You will apply this methodology to a task that is defined by project constraints but which has to be detailed by the project team. |
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| How will my assignment be marked? |
| Your assignment will be marked according to the threshold expectations and the criteria on the following page. You can use them to evaluate your own work and consider your grade before you submit. |
| 3rd Class – 40-49% | Lower 2nd – 50-59% | Upper 2nd – 60-69% | 1st Class – 70%+ | |
| 35% | Satisfactory knowledge demonstrated of project management principles |
Good knowledge demonstrated of project management principles |
Very clear understanding demonstrated of project management principles |
Excellent breadth and depth of knowledge in relation to your understanding of project management principles |
| 35% | Satisfactory awareness of social and ethical issues relating to technology developed |
Good solid awareness of social and ethical issues relating to technology developed |
Very good awareness of social and ethical issues relating to technology developed |
Excellent awareness of social and ethical issues relating to technology developed |
| 30% | Satisfactory role and documentation contribution shown |
Good role and documentation contribution shown |
Very good role and documentation contribution shown |
Excellent role and documentation contribution demonstrated |