Project Management Strategies for Grading System Improvement

This report provides an individual review of a project focused on improving the grading system for students, utilizing a project management plan divided into five stages: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closing. It assesses various project planning tools such as Gantt charts, work breakdown structures, and project baselines, detailing their strengths and weaknesses in the context of the chosen topic. The report also discusses the usefulness of these tools in facilitating project planning, tracking progress, minimizing risks, and improving team collaboration. Furthermore, it outlines the application of a risk management process, including risk identification, assessment, treatment, and monitoring, specifically addressing cost risks within the project. The analysis incorporates references to academic books and journals to support its findings and recommendations for enhancing current grading systems.

INDIVIDUAL REVIEW
Table of Contents

Overview of a topic.....................................................................................................................3
Aim and objectives......................................................................................................................3
Project management Plan............................................................................................................3
Presenting different planning tool with strength and weakness..................................................8
How useful the planning tools are for the chosen topic...............................................................9
Usefulness of project planning tools, their strength and weakness in relation to current project
...................................................................................................................................................10
Application of Risk management process on current project....................................................11
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

Overview of a topic
The entire study is based upon the grading system of students and ways to improve the
same. For that, project management plan will be used which determine how the stages are
involved within a project that assist to meet the defined aim. Moreover, the current grading
system of education is not perfect such that they actually do not assist to improve the student’s
ranking. Hence, the present study will help to understand about the topic and determine ways to
improve the same.
Aim and objectives
The aim of the study is to analyse different methods that assist to improve current grading
system for students.
Objectives:
 To understand existing grading system along with ways to improve it.
 To assess different methods of improving the grading system
 To suggest the ways that assist to improve grading system.
Project management Plan
In order to evaluate the entire project, it has identified that the entire project is actually
divided into five different stages which are as mentioned below:
Stage 1: Initiation: It is the first stage in which project manager start a project. In this, different
circulars will be distributed to all the students in order to inform the teachers with regard to
changes that can be implement in a grading system (Damij and Damij, 2021).
Stage 2: Planning: Here, project manager planning for resources in order to evaluate the results
effectually. For that, communication with all relevant stakeholder performed that assist to
generated a better outcome and a detailed schedule of entire process offered to stakeholders.
here, modification can be performed in order to make the grading system more effectual.
Stage 3: Execution: Once the graduation system applied, then it will run for a trial in order to
ensure that all the teachers are comfortable with it and students get benefits for the same or not
(Crawford, 2021).
Stage 4: Monitoring: Under this, KPI implemented that assist to determine whether the
objectives are met or not. In addition to this, a team can be performed in order to ensure that
proper grading system will helpful for the students or not.

Stage 5: Closing: Under this, rectification can be performed of suggested then it will be help to
submit the project at closing stage.
Gantt chart
Task
Mode Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors
1 Brainstorming a suitable
project topic 8 days Tue 3/8/22 Thu 3/17/22
2 Brainstorming the
research aim 6 days Fri 3/18/22 Fri 3/25/22 1
3 Finding the Key
Objectives 9 days Mon 3/28/22 Thu 4/7/22 2
4 Providing a suitable
rationale 5 days Fri 4/8/22 Thu 4/14/22 3
5 Identification of the
project scope 8 days Fri 4/15/22 Tue 4/26/22 1,4
6 Aligning the topic with
project management 6 days Wed 4/27/22 Wed 5/4/22 5
7 Starting the Project
management phase 3 days Thu 5/5/22 Mon 5/9/22 5,6
8 Starting with distributing
circulars 4 days Tue 5/10/22 Fri 5/13/22 7
9
Planning, scheduling,
Communicating with
stakeholders
2 days Mon 5/16/22 Tue 5/17/22 8,7
10 Having a trial run 3 days Wed 5/18/22 Fri 5/20/22 9
11 Using the KPI to track
progress 1 day Mon 5/23/22 Mon 5/23/22 10
12 Submission of project 1 day Tue 5/24/22 Tue 5/24/22 11

Timeline

Work breakdown structure

Presenting different planning tool with strength and weakness
There are many tools used for the project on the basis of their project which are as
mention below:
Gantt chart:
It is one of the top management tool which assist to visualize the project according to the
timeline. With this, project manager keep track the project schedule and determine if any
deviation identified over a project (Chow and et.al., 2021).
Advantages:
 Easy to schedule the task and understand the work in an effective manner.
 The clear and visual representation of timeframe assist to determine the work.
 It helps to avoid the overloading the resources
Disadvantages:
 Not easy to align the task on time.
 Calculation is hard to perform.
Workbreak down structure:
It is one of the most fit planning tool that assist to breakdown the entire project into a
hierarchical manner. It follows a hierarchy where the end goal is divided into different stages to
meet the defined aim (Key features of project management tools, 2020).
Advantages:
 Organise the work.
 Assist to determine the potential scope risk (Heigermoser and et.al., 2019).
 Make effective estimation to each task.
Disadvantages:
 Performing the task step by step is not possible.
 Lot of task will make the project disbalance.
Project base line:

It is a graphical way of representing the project values that compare the baseline which is
a standard of the set project in against of actual performance. With the help of this planning tool,
it assist to track a real time progress.
Advantages:
 It helps to improve the estimates as it assist to determine the actual cost.
 Help in better performance assessment (Richardson and Jackson, 2018).
Disadvantages:
 Due to lack of proper change management lead to affect the entire project.
 It is difficult to track the performance
How useful the planning tools are for the chosen topic
All the planning tools actually assist project manager to make a planning and scheduling
of their task so that it assists to generates a better plan. Moreover, for a project manager it is not
easy to determine the critical path and monitor the progress but with the help of such planning
tool like gantt chart and WBS, project manager can determine the improvement of grading
system and impact over the student’s performance as well. Further, with the help of different
tools, the tracking of each task will be easily performed and that is why, the chances of conflicts
and deviation will be minimized. In addition to this, it can be stated that with the help of such
tools, a project manager ascertain quickly regarding the completion time. Overall, it can be stated
that with the help of effective planning tools, project manager further minimizes the risk and also
improve collaboration between team members so that effective outcome can be generated in
order to implement grading systems into an University.

Usefulness of project planning tools, their strength and weakness in relation to current project
In order to successfully complete the project related to analysis of methods for improving
existing grading system for students, the four most significant project planning tools has been
used by project manager. These are as follows:
PERT Technique: The usefulness of this planning tool in current project is that it has
helped in calculating the exact time required for completing this project.
Strength:
 It has helped in conducting ‘what if ‘analysis on the project activities.
Weakness:
 The chances of prediction inaccuracies are also present in this tool.
Survey: The usefulness of survey planning tool is that it has helped team member in focusing
on their goals and objectives via collecting responses from target audience.
Strength:
 It has helped in gathering convenient data on current grading system from the student as a
respondent.
Weakness:
 Sometime, respondent does not answered question because of lack of confidence.
Work-breakdown structure: This tool is useful for breaking the whole project of analysing
current grading system into smaller tasks (Ullah and et.al., 2021). With the help of its step-to-
step approach, the current project is completed within the pre-determined time frame.
Strength:
 It has boosted the productivity of project team to analyse current grading system and
ways to improve the same.
Weaknesses:
 Sometime, there are plenty of tasks which need to be done in one go is challenging for
current project team members.
Gantt Chart: This tool is useful for planning activities via assessing the deadline of project.
It has helped in completing each activity on time and analysing current grading system.

Strength:
 Easy to schedule the tasks.
Weaknesses:
 It is quite complex to prepare and manage the charts (Ullah and et.al., 2021).
Application of Risk management process on current project
The project management process basically defines the risk present in project, the impact of
that risk on project and how project manager responds to them. The four essential steps of risk
management are as follows:
Identification of risk: This is the first step in which project manager need to identify the
risk attached with the project. For example, the risk project manager has identified while doing
the project related to analysis of current grading system for students is cost risk. It means the risk
of overrun of cost or budget is attached with current project.
Assessing the risk: The second step is to assess the risk based on either qualitative and
quantitative factor (Zhou and Yang, 2020). For example, in order to assess the cost risk, the
project manager has adopted qualitative assessment which involve analysis of risk based on its
probability and impact.
Treat the risk: This is a step which state the treatment of risk in order to deal with that
risk. For example, in current project, the treatment of cost risk is done by the project team via
adopting the accept strategies. Further, the project manager has kept aside some funds for
emergency case if the cost required to do project enhances.
Monitor and Report on the risk: This is the last step of RM process which involve
monitor and report on the risk (Zhou and Yang, 2020). For example, with the help of preparing
and monitoring risk structure, they have completed whole project within the timeline.