London School of Commerce Project Management Assignment

This project management assignment solution, designed for a Business Studies course at the London School of Commerce, covers various aspects of project management. The assignment includes two parts: the first involves constructing a network diagram, calculating critical path, and analyzing potential project delays for the Fierce Lions football club customer database project. The second part presents a case study scenario involving Tera Byte, Inc., requiring a weighted decision matrix to evaluate potential projects (online Six Sigma training, coding improvement, website redesign, and wireless technology). It then delves into detailed planning for the website redesign project, including creating a work breakdown structure, Gantt chart, and network diagram. The execution phase addresses team challenges, including creating a Pareto diagram. Finally, the solution covers the controlling and closing phases, including recreating a Gantt chart with actual values and project outcomes.

London School of Commerce
Project Management
Department: BA (Honours) Business Studies
Academic Year: October – January 2017
Peterborough
1

Contents
Topic Page
1. Key Information 1
2. Introduction to the Module 1
3. Intended Learning Outcomes 2
4. Outline Delivery 2
5. Assessment 3
6. How is My Work Marked? 5
7. Assessment Offences 8
8. Reading Lists 9
9. Module Evaluation 10
1. Key Information
Module/Unit title: Project Management
Module Leader: Chandranna Rayadurg
All modules delivered by Anglia Ruskin University at its main campuses in the UK and at
Associate Colleges throughout the UK and overseas are governed by the Academic
Regulations. You can view these at www.anglia.ac.uk/academicregs.
In the unlikely event of any discrepancy between the Academic Regulations and any other
publication, including this module guide, the Academic Regulations, as the definitive
document, take precedence over all other publications and will be applied in all cases.
2. Introduction to the Module
This module is designed to give students an opportunity to be an individual contributor,
working on a project team to define, plan and manage a project. Particular focus is given to
hands-on practice of the processes, developing a project plan, and using project
management software to build and then present the project team results in class with a
debrief of key points.
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This module introduces Project Management and identifies the tools and techniques to
resolve problems associated with bringing projects in on time and within an established
budget. Discussion will include topics such as project scheduling, PERT/CPM, resource
levelling, team dynamics and cost estimates. The student will learn how to develop project
proposals and project reports
The student will learn the primary elements of Project Management to such an extent that
he/she is able to develop a detailed project plan for a small or large- scale project.
Additionally, the student will become familiar with negotiation, team building and quantitative
estimation skills.
Module assessment is composed of one 2000 words assignment and one 2000 word case
study analysis.
3. Intended Learning Outcomes
Anglia Ruskin modules are taught on the basis of intended learning outcomes and that, on
successful completion of the module, students will be expected to be able to demonstrate
they have met those outcomes.
LO1: Understand and critically comprehend the theory, concepts, practices and role of
project management within businesses and organisations and its contribution to business
development, business functions and business success
LO2: Evaluate and critically comprehend the importance and operational contexts for project
management and project planning within organisations and its contribution to strategic
direction and business applications
LO3: Devise and implement a project management plan for an identified organisation and/or
business context
LO4: Understand and demonstrate the importance of team development and delivery within
the project management contexts with an organisation
4. Attendance Requirements
100% attendance is required.
Attending all your classes is very important and one of the best ways to help you succeed in
this module. In accordance with the Student Charter, you are expected to arrive on time and
take an active part in all your timetabled classes.
Anglia Ruskin will closely monitor the attendance of all students and will contact you by e-
mail if you have been absent without notice for two weeks. Continued absence can result in
various consequences including the termination of your registration as you will be
considered to have withdrawn from your studies.
International students who are non-EEA nationals and in possession of entry
clearance/leave to remain as a student (student visa) are required to be in regular
attendance at Anglia Ruskin. Failure to do so is considered to be a breach of national
immigration regulations. Anglia Ruskin, like all British Universities, is statutorily obliged to
inform the UK Border Agency of the Home Office of significant unauthorised absences by
any student visa holders.
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5. Assessment
There are 2 forms of assessment for this module:
- one 2000-word assignment
- one 2000-word case study analysis.
Both are equally weighted which means each counts for 50% of the total marks.
Assignment 1
1. Planning is an important and essential activity in many complex jobs in today’s modern
world. As complexity increases, the needs of a systematic planning is much more
important.
You have been awarded a contract to create a customer database for the Fierce Lions
football club. You will receive a bonus of £110 a day for completing the project earlier
than project deadline estimated from critical path. The contract also contains a penalty
clause in which you will lose £80 for each day the project takes longer than estimated
deadline. The activity time estimates and their dependencies are shown below in the
table:
ID Description Predecessor Duration
(days)
FL01 System Design None 2
FL02 Subsystem A design FL1 4
FL03 Subsystem B design FL1 5
FL04 Subsystem C design FL1 4
FL05 Program A FL2 3
FL06 Program B FL3 5
FL07 Program C FL4 7
FL08 Subsystem A test FL5 4
FL09 Subsystem B test FL6 8
FL10 Subsystem C test FL7 4
FL11 Integration FL08,FL09,FL10 2
FL12 Integration Test FL11 1
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a) Construct a network diagram identifying the following: [800 words/Equivalent] LO1
i. Earliest Start (ES) – 5 marks
ii. Earliest Finish (EF) – 5 marks
iii. Latest Start (LS) – 5 marks
iv. Latest Finish (LF) – 5 marks
v. Slack/Float on each activities – 7 marks
vi. Critical Path for the project - 8 marks
vii. Do you expect to receive a bonus of penalty on this project -5 marks
(40 marks)
b) Assume that there is a delay of 3 days in completing activity FL06. Critically evaluate
different possible actions that the Project Manager could take to avoid exceeding the
current length of the critical path. [500 words] (30 marks)
LO2
2. Critically discuss five factors that can make your project a success. [700 words]
(30 marks)
LO3, LO4
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Assignment 2 – Case Study
Scenario
Tera Byte, Inc. provides a variety of computer-related goods and services to customers
throughout the world. The corporate headquarters has more than 50,000 full-time
employees, and another 30,000 full- and part-time employees are located throughout the
world. Your new CEO, John, came from General Electric, and he and his management
team are ready to revamp the entire organization by implementing Six Sigma principles.
The initial focus will be on training employees in Six Sigma and finding high-payoff
projects that will improve operations and decrease costs. You are a project manager in the
Information Technology department, and you have been with the company for more than
ten years. You have met with other managers in your area, and you have suggested the
following potential projects:
1. Online Six Sigma Training Program: Since the CEO wants to train many employees
in Six Sigma very quickly; your team thinks it makes sense to provide much of the
training in an online format. You have researched several suppliers and you believe
you could outsource much of this project.
2. Coding Performance Improvement Project: Even though Tera Byte is in the computer
industry, the information technology department does not think it uses computing
power economically because many programs are not coded for efficiency. The
company spends hundreds of millions of dollars for supercomputer and mainframe
computing power, and you believe that this project can reduce the number of large
computers the company needs.
3. Website Redesign Project: The Company’s corporate Web site has grown
tremendously in the last few years, and you are not sure that the current design is
attracting new customers or meeting current customer needs very well.
4. Wireless Technology Project: There have been great advancements in wireless
technologies, and you believe that the company is not taking advantage of developing
or using various wireless products.
Tasks
1. Prepare a weighted decision matrix using the template provided on
student portal to evaluate these four projects. Develop at least four
criteria, assign weights to each criterion, assign scores, and then
calculate the weighted scores. Write a one-page paper describing
this weighted decision matrix and what the results show. [400 words]
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Part2: Planning
Scenario
Congratulations! You have been selected as the project manager for the Website
Redesign Project. The company’s CIO, Mary, is the project sponsor. Now you need to
put together your project team and get to work on this high-visibility project. Top
management has told you that you can hand pick your team. In addition, you need to
attend a 5-day Six Sigma class before you start working on this project, and you will have
a senior manager at your company and Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Kevin, acting as
your mentor throughout the project. Kevin will also be overseeing your team’s progress.
Tasks
2. Develop a work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project. Break down the work to
level 2 or level 3, as appropriate. You must do some research in finding out the
typical features of a website and include them in your WBS. [400 words]
3. Use the WBS you developed in step above to create a Gantt chart and network
diagram in MS Excel, MS Project or any similar software. Estimate task durations
and enter dependencies, as appropriate, and include several milestones. Remember
that your schedule goal for the project is six months. [300 words]
Part 3: Execution
Scenario
You and your project team have run into a few challenges in executing the Website
Redesign Project. Three months have passed since the project started. You selected four
full-time people for your dream team and four people working quarter time.
Unfortunately, you selected full-time team members who were all pretty much like
youall drivers and natural leaders. Everyone kept trying to say how to do things, but no
one wanted to pay attention to the details and get the actual work done. In addition, no
one on your team really understood how Six Sigma projects worked, and the training was
not very helpful. No one realized how many process diagrams and how much data you
had to collect. No one understood the statistics you had to run as part of the project, and
the programmers on your team think all of the paperwork and number crunching is a
waste of time. They think all you need to do is hold a few meetings with all of the
programmers and have them follow a few basic guidelines to make their website more
efficient and user friendly. Kevin, your mentor and a Master Black Belt, is trying to help
out, but he is ready to reassign at least half of the people on your project to his own dream
team.
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Tasks
4. Create a Pareto diagram related to the Website Redesign Project. Assume you have
been tracking the common coding inefficiencies programmers make by examining
random samples of code from several programs. Assume there are six categories of
inefficiencies with the following frequency counts:
a. Category 1: 24
b. Category 2: 72
c. Category 3: 28
d. Category 4: 15
e. Category 5: 57
f. Category 6: 4
[300 words]
Part 4: Controlling
Scenario
After the Six Sigma Steering Committee meeting halfway through your project, you have
been demoted to team member and Kevin, your mentor, is taking over the role as project
manager. Kevin kept all four part-time team members and one of the full-time team
members, but he replaced the other three people with his own staff. You had the option to
quit the project, but you decided to stay on since you knew much of the history, and you
really did want to see how someone else would run things. You respected Kevin’s work
so far and wanted to learn more from him. Kevin still plans to finish the project in three
more months. He has been given authority to go a bit over budget as long as a new, more
conservative financial analysis shows that this project and the following one are good
investments.
Tasks
5. Review and recreate the Gantt chart you created in task 3. Enter actual values for the
first three months, assuming the project was about 20 percent behind schedule and 20
percent over budget. [300 words or Equivalent]
Part 5: Closing
Scenario
Kevin did a great job managing the rest of the Website Redesign Project. You were very
impressed with his ability to pull everyone together to meet project goals. Your final
project presentation to top management is next week. You did meet your schedule goal,
and the final cost for the whole system was about $400,000. Top management is pleased
with the results, even though it cost about 25 percent more than planned. They
appreciated Kevin’s and your honesty in redoing the financial estimates, which still made
the project look like an excellent investment.
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Tasks
6. Prepare a lessons-learned report for the entire project. Include input important
stakeholders in summarizing the lessons learned. Use the template provided on portal.
[300 words]
Marking Scheme
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# Criteria Weight Very Poor/No Attempt
(0-19%)
Poor(20-29%) Average(30-49%) Merit(50-69%) Distinction(70-79%) Excellent(80-89%) Outstanding(90-100%)
1 Part 1: Initiation
Have all tasks in
the first phase of
project been
attempted,
answered
correctly with
critical thinking
and analysis
15% Not attempted or No
evidence of any learning
has taken place
Poor effort is evident
from many tasks,
report(s) not in an
acceptable standard/
Missing some
important
information
Attempts to produce
an acceptable answer
but partially. Very
limited/no critical
evaluation.
Demonstrates an
understanding and
importance of many
tasks with appropriate
critical evaluation
Demonstrates a clear
understanding of the
importance of several tasks
in initiation with their pros
and cons and critical
evaluation
An excellent and clear
understanding of all
tasks their critical
evaluation. Some
originality is
evident
An exceptional and clear
understanding of all taks
and their importance in
the first phase of the
project with significant
evaluation and
justification.
2 Part 2: Planning
Have all tasks in
the second phase
of project been
attempted,
answered
correctly with
critical thinking
and analysis
20% Not attempted or No
evidence of any learning
has taken place
A basic description
with limited/ no proper
insight about the main
tasks to be provided
in the solution
Makes a clear attempt
to answer the question.
However, a limited
research!
Makes a clear attempt
and identifies essential
features and focussed
on the question.
Makes a clear attempt to
answer the question and is
focussed on the question
and demonstrates how
to do research with
appropriate references
An excellent effort! Outstanding, can be used
in publications!
3 Part 3:
Execution
Have all tasks in
the third phase
of project been
attempted,
answered
correctly with
critical thinking
and analysis
20% Not attempted or No
evidence of any learning
has taken place
No evidence of any
learning has taken
place. Very limited
effort
An effort can be seen
to identify the possible
solutions in the
execution phase
However, no thought
has been put in to
arrive
at these!
An effort is evident
identifying possible
alternate solutions
with some
justification.
A significant justification
is evident from the list of
solutions and report
Originality has been
shown in arriving at all
possible alternate
solutions
An integrated approach
and unique thought
process has been applied!
4 Part 4:Control
Have all tasks in
the fourth phase
of project been
attempted,
answered
correctly with
critical thinking
and analysis
20% Not attempted or No
evidence of any learning
has taken place
No/little effort can be
seen.
An attempt to control
the project, missing
the main issues of
commitment
and the strategic
importance
Main issues like
strategic importance
and employee
commitment have
been addressed in the
memo,
but lacks justification
Demonstrates a clear
understanding of the
questions, tasks and
addressed critical issues
A clear understanding
and importance of
monitoring and
controlling project
emphasizing main issues
is clearly evident
5 Part 5:Closing
Have all tasks in
the last phase of
project been
attempted,
answered
correctly with
critical thinking
and analysis
15% Not attempted or No
evidence of any learning
has taken place
No serious effort or no
lessons learned
Makes a clear attempt
to answer all the
questions However, a
limited research
Clearly understood the
question and
developed scope
statement with all
necessary changes
about
the functionality,
however they are more
generic rather than
specific.
Demonstrates a clear
understanding of the
question and addressed
positively.
Excellent effort is
evident from the report
A completely innovative
approach!
6 References 10% No evidence of any Minimal evidence of Little attention to Some evidence of Reasonable range of Wide range of references Standard and consistent
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Accurate
citation and
referencing to
online resources,
books and
journals
referencing referencing
No attention given to
citation
referencing and
citation, but not in a
consistent, acceptable
academic format
referencing and
citation, in acceptable
academic format, but
only limited to online
resources
references in an acceptable,
academic style but limited
to books and online
resources
to books, online
resources in consistent
academic style
academic style in
referencing to latest
books, online resources
but no journals
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General instructions for both assignments:
 Prepare the assignment in a word processor document
 Your name and student number should be included in the footer of each page of the
assignment document, and all pages should be numbered.
 Start each question on a new page in the document and provide a heading for each
question. Paginate your document so that it is neatly presented.
 Outside materials may be used in assignments but all such material must be quoted and
referenced if included verbatim. In general you should present your ideas and
understanding in your own words.
 All written or essay type questions in this assignment are to be answered in writing using
a word processor. Use a proportionally spaced font such as Arial / Verdana/ Calibri 12
point for normal, essay-type written answers.
How the Learning Outcomes are Assessed
Learning Outcomes Assessment
LO1: Understand and critically comprehend the theory, concepts,
practices and role of project management within businesses and
organisations and its contribution to business development,
business functions and business success
Assignment Part 1
LO2: Evaluate and critically comprehend the intergrational
importance and operational contexts for project management and
project planning within organisations and its contribution to
strategic direction and business applications
Assignment Part 2
Case Study (part 1 and
2)
LO3: Devise and implement a project management plan for an
identified organisation and/or business context
Case Study (part 2)
LO4: Understand and demonstrate the importance of team
development and delivery within the project management
contexts with an organisation
Case Study (part 2)
Submission of the assignment:
 Date:
o 20th December 2016 by 23:59 hrs
All coursework assignments and other forms of assessment must be submitted by the
published deadline which is detailed above. It is your responsibility to know when work is
due to be submitted – ignorance of the deadline date will not be accepted as a reason for
late or non-submission.
 Procedure:
o Personal Hand-in: All student work which contributes to the eventual
outcome of the module (ie: if it determines whether you will pass or fail the
module and counts towards the mark you achieve for the module) is
submitted via Reception at Guild House, Peterborough using the formal
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