Academic Year 2020-2021: Project Management Individual Report CP70061E

This document is a comprehensive module study guide for the CP70061E Principles of Project Management course at the University of West London. It outlines the module's aims, learning outcomes, and assessment criteria. The guide details two individual report assignments, each focusing on different aspects of project management. Assessment One requires students to develop a project plan based on a case study, including project specifications, work breakdown structure, and resource identification. Assessment Two builds upon this, exploring agile project management principles, defining project roles and responsibilities, and creating requirements with prioritization and user stories. The guide also includes information on learning materials, student support, and key contact details for the module.

Version No. 2.1 © University of West London 2020
Module Study Guide
Academic Year 2020–2021
CP70061E – Principles of Project Management
Level: 7
Credits: 20

Version No. 2.1 © University of West London 2020
Table of contents
Key team contact details ................................................................................................... 2
1 Module overview ............................................................................................................... 3
1.1 Introduction, aims and summary of content ......................................................... 3
1.2 Learning outcomes to be assessed ....................................................................... 3
1.3 Scheduled contact hours ........................................................................................ 3
2 Assessment and feedback ............................................................................................... 4
2.1 Summative assessment grid .................................................................................. 4
2.2 Assessment brief including criteria mapped to learning outcomes ................... 4
2.2.1 Assessment One: Individual Report .................................................................................................................. 4
2.2.2 Assessment Two: Individual Report .................................................................................................................. 6
2.3 Learning materials .................................................................................................. 8
3 Things you need to know .................................................................................................. 9
3.1 Engagement ............................................................................................................. 9
3.2 Need help, just ask .................................................................................................. 9
3.3 Getting support for your studies ......................................................................... 10
3.4 Student support ..................................................................................................... 10
3.5 Module evaluation – have your say! .................................................................... 10
4 Case Study for Assessment 1 & 2 .................................................................................. 11

Module Study Guide 2
Key team contact details
Module Leader Dr. Yu-Chun Pan
Subject Area & School/College Computing, School of Computing & Engineering
Email [e-mail]
Phone [phone]
Location SMR BY.03.032
Module Tutor Matteo Napolitan
Email [e-mail]
Course Administrator Kate Pinner
Email [e-mail]
Phone [phone]
Location HT.GF.004
Subject Librarian Edyta Krol
Email [e-mail]
Phone [phone]
Location Library PE 02.007
The Course Leader overseeing this module is Dr Chekfoung Tan, and can be contacted at
[e-mail]
The Head of Subject(s) overseeing this module are Nasser Matoorian and Fehmida Mohamedali
and their contact details are [e-mail] and [e-mail]
respectively.
The Head/Executive Dean of the School is Professor Amir Alani and can be contacted at
[e-mail]
The External Examiner responsible for this module is Dr David Kreps (National University of
Ireland Galway, Ireland)

Module Study Guide 3
1 Module overview
1.1 Introduction, aims and summary of content
The main aims of this module are to introduce the underpinning concepts of what project
management is and how a project is planned and developed, and build an understanding of the
major areas required for project control, evaluation and managing a project team. Students will also
be provided with an opportunity to develop an understanding of the underpinning principles of good
project management and uses Information Technology tools and methodologies.
On completing this module students will be able to
• Understand the fundamental concepts, principles and techniques needed for effective project
management
• Identify the roles, responsibilities and competencies of those involved in dynamic project-
based environments, and how these relate to effective project management
• Evaluate and apply the methodological factors that can be used for selecting, defining,
planning, controlling, monitoring and delivering projects
1.2 Learning outcomes to be assessed
1. Identify the fundamental concepts, principles and techniques required for effective project
and programme management
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the roles, responsibilities, and competencies of those
involved in dynamic project-based environments, and how this relates to effective project
and change management
3. Determine the methodological factors that can be used for selecting, defining, planning,
controlling, monitoring, and delivering projects
4. Critically evaluate the factors that contribute to project success and identify the indicators
that can be used to avoid project failure.
5. Effectively apply the principles and methodological factors that can be used for selecting,
defining, planning, controlling, monitoring, and delivering projects
1.3 Scheduled contact hours
Teaching Contact Hours 42 hours
Independent Study Hours 158 hours
Total Learning Hours 200 hours

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2 Assessment and feedback
2.1 Summative assessment grid
Type of
Assessment
Word Count or
equivalent
Threshold
(if
Profession
al Body-
PSRB
applies)
Weighting Pass
Mark
Submission
due-date &
time
Method of
Submission
& Date of
Feedback
Individual
Report
2000 words
(excluding
tables,
diagrams and
appendixes)
N/A 50% 50%
Week 9
(Sunday 25
April 2021)
On-line
submission
Feedback
within 15
working
days after
submission
Individual
Report
2500 words
(excluding
tables,
diagrams and
appendixes)
N/A 50% 50%
Week 15
(Sunday 6
June 2021)
On-line
submission
Feedback
within 15
working
days after
submission
2.2 Assessment brief including criteria mapped to learning
outcomes
2.2.1 Assessment One: Individual Report
Assessing Module Learning Outcomes: 1-2
Assessment Task: Individual Report
Wordcount or Equivalent: 2000 words (excluding tables, diagrams and appendixes)
Weighting: 50%
Refer to the EBTH case study (available in the end of MSG) and investigate further as appropriate. You
are not required to have any special knowledge of the case study except that which is in the public
domain. You may make any reasonable assumptions provided they are documented. You will need to
use lecture materials and wider reading to complete the following questions. You must use the Harvard
referencing style and include a reference list at the end.
You are the newly appointed project manager for the project to roll out the business globally. You are
required to provide a written report based on the EBTH case study (available in the end of MSG) to
cover:

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• Case study background
• Selected project management methodology and justification
• Developed project specification
• Project Plan, Developed Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) using Word, Excel, MS Project or
any other suitable application.
• Identification of skills and resources required for the project, including human resources and
potential need for recruitment
Document all the assumptions for this project Specification. The report must be appropriately structured
and reference the literature. You should refer to the below marking scheme, as it provides a basic
structure for your report.
Marking Scheme
Criteria Description Marks
Introduction Description and coverage of topic
Case study organisation background
Report outline
10
Project Management
(PM) Methodology
Comparison of different PM methods (based on literature)
Selection and justification of PM method for the project
15
Project Specification Explanation of your developed project specification
• Project Scope
• Project Lifecycle
• Risk Plan
• Product definition
• Quality Plan
25
Project Plan Explanation of your developed plan
• Stage of development
• WBS (analysis of activity and dependency)
• High level schedule
15
Skills and Resources
Requirements
Identification and explanation of the key skills and resources
needed to develop this project
• Project stakeholders
• Project team structure
• OBS (Organisation Breakdown Structure or Table of roles
and responsibility)
15
Conclusion Summary of report
Importance and potential impacts of your project plan
Discussion on limitations/constraints
10
Report Presentation Structure
Language
Layout/style
10

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Use of visual aids
Reference and citation style
Word count
Total 100
2.2.2 Assessment Two: Individual Report
Assessing Module Learning Outcomes: 3-5
Assessment Task: Individual Report
Wordcount or Equivalent: 2500 words (excluding tables, diagrams and appendixes)
Weighting: 50%
Referring to the case study and your own assessment 1 and then choose ONE specific project
deliverable of your choice to complete the following tasks:
1. Research the Agile PM principles and explore the possibilities of applying these during the
project. Use the Project Approach Questionnaire to decide whether the agile approach using
DSDM is viable. If not, what other Agile PM approaches might be suitable?
2. Identify the main Roles and Responsibilities that this case study has introduced. If a role is not
mentioned, then introduce this role to the case study. Include all roles in your answer.
3. Create the list of requirements (features) in a table format including MoSCoW prioritisation and
estimates. Produce user stories (or a backlog) with acceptance criteria included.
4. Describe how the project manager will develop a delivery plan including:
• Timeboxes and describe the first timebox in detail for DSDM.
OR
• Kanban or any other suitable tool with explanation
Marking Scheme
Tasks Criteria Issues Max
mark
Task 1
Agile PM
Approach
Application Have you explored the possibilities of applying Agile
PM principles during the project?
Have you completed an appropriate Project Approach
Questionnaire?
Have you shown reasonable justification and
conclusion for the selected Agile approach?
10
Relevant theory
and
frameworks
Have you provided a clear review on the Agile project
management approaches?
10

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Task 2
Resource
Application Identify the main Roles and Responsibilities that this
case study has introduced?
Have you selected added undefined roles to the case
study?
Have you produced a systematic answer addressing
the options?
10
Relevant theory
and
frameworks
Have you provided appropriate discussion in the
context of relevant literature to assign the roles and
responsibilities?
10
Task 3
Requirements,
Prioritisation
and User
Stories
Application
Relevant theory
and
frameworks
Have you created your high-level requirements
(Features)?
Have you demonstrated the reason for chosen these
features?
10
Application
Relevant theory
and
frameworks
Have you created the list of requirements (features) in
a table format including MoSCoW prioritisation and
estimates?
Have you provided appropriate discussion in the
context of relevant literature? Have you demonstrated
the reason for this prioritisation?
10
Application Have you produced valid user stories (or a backlog)
with acceptance criteria included?
10
Task 4
Delivery plan
and Timeboxing
Relevant theory
and
frameworks
Have you systematically described how the project
manager will develop a delivery plan?
10
Application Have you demonstrated the application of timebox
and described in detail the main content?
OR
Have you demonstrated the application Kanban or
any other suitable tool with explanation?
10
Report
Presentation
Structure
Language
Layout/style
Use of visual aids
Reference and citation style
Word count
10
Total 100

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For guidance on online submission of assignments, including how to submit and how to access online
feedback, please refer to the UWL Blackboard student-help pages at:
http://www.uwl.ac.uk/blackboardhelp
2.3 Learning materials
The reading list for this module is available on Blackboard in the module area or by
searching https://uwl.rl.talis.com/index.html. This shows real-time availability of books in the library and
provides direct links to online resources, recommended by your lecturer.
Remember to log into Blackboard daily to receive all the latest news and support available at
your module sites!
Subject guides (https://www.uwl.ac.uk/library/finding-and-using-information/subject-guides-libguides)
are also available to help you find relevant information for assignments, with contact details of the
Academic Support Librarian for your School.

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3 Things you need to know
3.1 Engagement
Teaching at UWL during the academic year 2020-21 will be conducted using the UWLFlex model and
may involve a range of on site and online teaching and learning activities. Whether you are engaging
with teaching and learning activities on site or via the UWL Virtual Learning Environment, we expect the
same level of commitment and engagement from you. If you are unable to attend scheduled on site or
online activities or complete activities in the time frames set out, you should let your tutors know. You
should aim to stick to assessment deadlines; if you are concerned that you will not be able to complete
your assessments on time, you should talk to your tutors. Your engagement, whether online or on site,
will be tracked and if we see that you are not engaging, we will get in contact with you. However, we
encourage you to let us know if you are struggling so we can work with you to find solutions and get
you back on track as soon as possible. Give yourself the best possible chance to succeed by engaging
with the full range of learning and teaching activities available to you.
All students should refer to the Attendance and Engagement Monitoring Policy particularly if your
course is accredited by a professional body, or if you are an International student on a Tier-4 visa, or a
student on an Apprenticeship course which have additional requirements.
3.2 Need help, just ask
The University recognises that there are times when you may encounter difficulties during your course
of study and provisions are made to help you. If you are struggling with meeting deadlines please talk
to us, whether it’s your course/module leader, personal tutor or any member of staff, speak to them so
they can get you the support you need to succeed. You can extend your deadline if you have a good
reason why you are not able to submit a piece of coursework on time, apply online for an extension
before your deadline. An extension will allow you an extra 10 working days. If an extension is not
sufficient and circumstances beyond your control are preventing you from completing your
assessment, then you can, apply online for mitigation.
Please remember late submission without extension or mitigation will result in penalties depending on
how late it is, see University Academic Regulations.
You are reminded that the University applies penalties to students who commit an academic offence, in
which case the Academic Offences Regulations will be used to deal with any cases of academic
misconduct including examination offences, plagiarism and other means of cheating to obtain an
advantage.
You are encouraged to seek advice from the Students’ Union Advice Service; UWLSU support you with
all aspects of your academic experience by providing advice and guidance to ensure you are fully
informed of the academic regulations set out by the University as well as advocate for student views.
You are expected to behave in line with UWL expectations, irrespective of whether your interactions
with staff and other students are in person or online. As you will be engaging with others online and a
range of online materials, it is important to consider how to stay safe online and ensure your
communications are secure and appropriate. If you have any questions about how to manage your
online UWL activities, please contact your module leader.
If you have an issue about the module, you should speak to your Module Leader or Course Leader

Module Study Guide 10
informally in the first instance. Your Course Representative can also raise your concerns at Course
Committees, which take place each semester. If you are unable to resolve it informally, you should
refer to the Complaints Procedure which is outlined in the student handbook and consult the Students’
Union about it. The University aims to ensure that issues are resolved informally as quickly as possible
to have minimum impact on your studies.
3.3 Getting support for your studies
Throughout your course of study, you will have access to a wide variety of sources of support
depending on your individual circumstances and needs. Your first point of call for getting general
academic support is your Personal Tutor. As well as approaching your Module Leader with any
questions specifically related to your module and your Course Leader with questions on your Course,
do contact your Personal Tutor or Apprenticeship Support Link Tutor for academic advice in relation to
your studies and your academic development.
Apart from the University-wide support framework, which encompasses the Module Leaders, Course
Leader, the Subject Librarian, and your Course Administrator, you will also have at your disposal the
UWL Engagement Team. The Engagement Team offers One-to-One Academic Support opportunities
and Academic Skills Workshops throughout the year, helping you to develop skills relevant to your
degree. Workshops include for instance Essay Planning and Writing; Critical Thinking; Reflective
Writing; Group Work and Presentation Skills. Maths Support and English Language Support
opportunities are available too. For more information email or to register for weekly updates email
[e-mail] or you can visit our website to find out more about the support offered by
the Engagement Team, such as Peer Mentoring or online academic skills resources at:
uwl.ac.uk/current-students/support-current-students/academic-support
3.4 Student support
In addition to the support listed in the previous section, there is also more help offered by UWL Student
Support Services. These are located in The Street at St Mary’s Road, Ealing campus, but offer drop-in
sessions at all UWL sites. They offer a wide range of support and advice services consisting of Student
Advice, and Funding & Immigration advice; Careers; Counselling; Disability/Mental Health; Inter-faith
Advisor; Placement & Employment; Volunteering; Student Welfare; and Scholarships and Bursaries.
Contact Student Services (general) for more information at [e-mail] or call
020 8231 2345.
3.5 Module evaluation – have your say!
Towards the end of the module you will be invited to provide some anonymous feedback to the Module
Leader through an online survey. This is your opportunity to give some direct feedback about the
module through a series of questions and free text. Your constructive feedback will help the Module
Leader and teaching team to understand the module experience from your perspective and helps
inform the development of the module. At the end of the survey period, a response to the survey will be
available on Blackboard so that you can see exactly how your voice has been heard.

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4 Case Study for Assessment 1 & 2
How one auction website underwent a digital transformation to boost sales from $8 million to
$70 million
Cincinnati-based EBTH added partners and focused on improving technology to help it grow from a
locally-based auction site into a national platform with explosive sales growth and plans to go global.
Auction websites aren't new, but the way that Cincinnati-based Everything But The House manages
their site is ground breaking.
The company underwent a digital transformation that helped it grow from $8 million in sales in 2012 to
$70 million in 2016 and an anticipated $120 million this year, according to Jacquie Denny, co-founder
of EBTH.
The company, which operates an online auction site with its acronym, EBTH, has a simple premise. If
someone has an estate to sell, such as after a family member dies or moves to a retirement home, the
items are listed online starting at $1 and buyers around the US can bid for 5-7 days until the item sells.
Practically anything on the site can be shipped anywhere in the US and other parts of the world. There
are deals to be had, but competition can be fierce since each item is one-of-a-kind.
EBTH currently offers auctions in 27 markets in 22 states with 3 million visitors to the site each month
and 1 million registered bidders, and there are plans to expand globally. But it didn't start out that way.
Denny and Brian Graves co-founded the company in 2008 with a focus on estate sales in Cincinnati
with an initial bidder base of 800 people. "We weren't sure we wanted to take this nationally, but within
the first six months of growth and this becoming so explosive we started getting courted by groups in
LA and Chicago. But we didn't want to franchise it," Denny said.
Denny said she liked the intimate feel of connecting with families and making it easier on them, in the
case of a family death, than in a traditional estate sale where they didn't always know how much
something sold for, or what happened to it. "They see how much people like the items, and it kind of
tells the story of their family. They get closure," she said.
The company first expanded into nearby markets in Louisville and Lexington, KY and then Nashville,
TN. But it still operated on its original premise, which was selling items online for local pickup only.
Eventually, Denny and Graves began talking to two brothers, Andy and Jon Nielsen, who were
interested in buying a share of the business. Andy brought in Mike Reynolds as well, and the trio
formed a new partnership with Denny and Graves in 2012, with Andy Nielsen as the CEO, Jon Nielsen
as the chief business officer, Mike Reynolds as the COO, Denny as the chief development officer, and
Graves as the chief learning officer.
Andy Nielsen said it was clear from the start that EBTH needed to make a more substantial investment
in technology as well as develop a shipping strategy that was more automated, since every item sold is
unique with only one SKU available. "We needed to build the technology to allow us to automate, and
identify the constraints to growth, which were shipping, logistics, and fulfilment," he said.
"Our focus still remains on continued geographic expansion. We are in 27 different markets right now,
and we'd love to be in the largest number of cities possible. There will be an international element of

Module Study Guide 12
EBTH, but the exact timing is yet to be determined," he said.
One of the reasons EBTH is successful is the leaders' ability to learn from mistakes and quickly change
what doesn't work.
The first expansion market for shipping merchandise from sales, instead of just offering local pickup,
was in Fairfield County, CT in 2013. The shipping and logistical infrastructure hadn't yet been built out,
and many of the items were purchased globally and had to be transported back to the Cincinnati
warehouse and then shipped out to buyers around the world. "We were trucking full loads of inventory
back to Cincinnati. It helped us to identify when we launched Connecticut that we had not fully fixed this
logistical challenge," he said.
Currently, 50-60% of merchandise is shipped rather than picked up by buyers, and shipping demand
continues to grow. While items can be sold to buyers around the world, it's not yet offering auctions
based in other countries, so Nielsen does not consider the company to be global.
"To unleash global demand we needed to provide instantaneous shipping quotes for anywhere in the
world. We changed our mentality from thinking this will be a local audience to pick up most of the
merchandise and a minority of it [would be] shipped. That was one of our key learnings. We decided to
double down and build the infrastructure of the shipping side of our business," Andy Nielsen said.
But they're not done yet. "We still have tremendous room for improvement," Andy Nielsen said. The
current distribution center is a 200,000-square-foot facility in Blue Ash, OH.
"Solving shipping logistics is challenging. We believe that if you own this, then you can own this space,"
he said.
One of the reasons the CEO thinks EBTH has been successful is that it's an e-commerce company
that acts like a technology company with regular feature releases and content deployment.
There are changes made to the site every day. Even during a single online session, a user might be
prompted to refresh the page to see an updated version of the site. This is part of the EBTH strategy to
test new ideas and see how buyers respond, said Bobby Uhlenbrock, the chief technology officer for
EBTH.
Many concepts are tested in-house before buyers ever see them on the site. With more than 1,000
employees testing the beta version, "If it breaks or causes an error, we can hear about it before one
customer ever sees it," Uhlenbrock said.
"We are always designing experiments to test something out on a small scale and learn from it, and if
it's successful roll it out widely and double down. We're running 20 experiments on the site right now.
We use this concept called a feature flag," he said.
Uhlenbrock explained, "We are agile and flexible. Nimble. We are able to de-risk a rollout by rolling it
out to employees first. We're actually deploying new code 10-20 times a day. The site is changing 10-
20 times a day, but you as a customer might not see a thing. That's been transformational. That's a
practice we've been doing for about a year now."
One thing that was tested but didn't work was offering customers the ability to browse by a particular
item and see everything in that category for sale in any of the 27 markets served by EBTH, rather than
shop by sifting through all of the items in one particular sale.
"We all thought that everybody would want to shop that way. If you're shopping for a sofa, or you're a
collector of gold coins, why wouldn't you want to look at all the gold coins? So we rolled out this

Module Study Guide 13
interface that sort of emphasized category shopping over sale shopping, and we noticed that it was
grossly underperforming people shopping by individual sales. We took a step back and looked at the
analysis and customers showed us by their traffic that customers preferred shopping by sales,"
Uhlenbrock said.
Data analysis is how EBTH determines what works and what doesn't and teaches the company how to
build its business. But traditional e-commerce techniques do not work. Vendors try to sell Uhlenbrock
off-the-shelf products such as recommendation engines and retargeting tools, but when there is only
one of an item available, they don't work. "Building these neighborhoods of interest is basically
impossible for us as an off-the-shelf algorithm," he said.
"How we do it is super proprietary and it works for us because we're designing it in an auction
environment for an auction environment. We're building a bigger moat to keep competitors away."
(This case study is based on an article written by Teena Maddox and was originally published on
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-one-auction-website-underwent-a-digital-transformation-to-
boost-sales-from-8-million-to-70/?ftag=TREf7159e0&bhid=24599976861342598400622388803303 )

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