Assignment Information

Module Name: Project Management in Practice

Module Code: 7025SSL

Assignment Title: CourseWork (CW) - 2000 word individual assessment

Assignment Due: 14/11/2024 at 18:00 UK time

Assignment Credit: 10 credits

Word Count (or equivalent): 2000 words +/- 10%

Assignment Type: Standard

Percentage Grade (Applied Core Assessment). You will be provided with an overall grade between 0% and 100%. You have one opportunity to pass the assignment at or above 40%.

Assignment Task

You are a project manager for a battery based tram in Cambridge. The project use the latest automotive expertise in the region to develop an innovative track design and vehicle, and deliver an affordable light rail system. Alongside a package of measures, the battery based tram project will provide an alternative to the car, help to improve air quality and reduce congestion. The project has developed a new kind of vehicle and track that aims to provide a reliable, frequent, environmentally friendly transport system in Cambridge and towns at a lower cost than conventional light rail and still provide the same benefits. The vehicle is battery-powered, eliminating the need for overhead wires. You will oversee the planning and development of the project and will be powered by battery only as part of a new 'green new deal' package of infrastructure upgrades in Cambridge. The target is to open the project within 6 years.

You have been appointed as a Project Manager to oversee the planning and development of this project. You are to:

· Assess the feasibility of the project, drawing on appropriate project management theory and frameworks;

· Prepare an initial plan that includes the project scope, the project Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Gantt chart. I recommend to define minimum 30 different tasks and 4 milestones;

· Analyse the main stakeholders and provide recommendations on how these stakeholders should be managed to maximize the chance of achieving the project’s objectives;

· Identify unexpected events that may have a positive or negative impact on the project objectives.

· Minimum 20 academic sources, e.g., monographs, academic articles, book chapters, editions.

Source Material:

The word count is 2000 words.

• The word count is 2000 words in total +/- 10%.

• There will be a penalty of a deduction of 10% of the mark (after internal moderation) for work which falls under or over 10% of the word limit.

• The word limit does not include charts, figures, tables, headings, in-text citations, references and the Appendix (optional).

• Ensure that all tables, diagrams and models are labelled, include a citation and are discussed in the text.

• You must state the number of words used on the front cover of each part of the assignment.

Submission Instructions:

Your assignment should be presented as a report, using the following structure:

1. Executive summary

2. Feasibility study

3. Project scope, WBS and Gantt chart

4. Project stakeholder assessment

5. Risk assessment

6. References list

I recommend to use a minimum of 20 separate academic sources, preferably peer-reviewed sources (articles from journals ranked within the ABS Ranking of journals) for both parts. An initial reading list will be provided via Aula.

Important points to remember

• All discussion and recommendations should be supported by reference to academic and professional publications.

• Your assignment should demonstrate project management theory throughout.

• A list of references must be included.

• You must ensure you are not plagiarising others published works.

• Appendices should only be used to support information within the report.

• Formatting of submission should always be Microsoft Word and not PDF.

CRITERIA WEIGHTING

For more specific information about the criteria mentioned above, see the attached standard marking rubric. It is important that you read the detailed rubric for this CW before you start to design it.

Instructions:

The assessment must be submitted by 18:00 (UK time) on the given date and time.

· Your coursework will be given a zero mark if you do not submit a copy through Aula platform. Please take care to ensure that you have fully submitted your work.

· Please ensure that you have submitted your work using the correct file format, unreadable files will receive a mark of zero. The Faculty accepts Microsoft Office documents, unless otherwise advised by the module leader.

· All work submitted after the submission deadline without a valid and approved reason (see below) will be given a mark of zero.

· The University wants you to do your best. However we know that sometimes events happen which mean that you can’t submit your coursework by the deadline – these events should be beyond your control and not easy to predict.  If this happens, you can apply for an extension to your deadline for up to 5 working days, or if you need longer, you can apply for a deferral, which takes you to the next assessment period (for example, to the resit period following the main Assessment Boards). You must apply before the deadline.

You will find information about the process and what is or is not considered to be an event beyond your control at https://share.coventry.ac.uk/students/Registry/Pages/Deferrals-and-Extension.aspx

· Students MUST keep a copy and/or an electronic file of their assignment.

· Checks will be made on your work using anti-plagiarism software and approved plagiarism checking websites.

Development of Skills and Attributes

This module aims to prepare students in delivering strategic change and transformation through the management of projects in organisations. It will develop the student’s understanding of the stages, tools and techniques required for project initiation, planning, execution, control and termination.

Using a variety of teaching methods, students will understand how to effectively plan and execute a project, whilst considering the wider business context in which the project operates.

Marking and Feedback

How will my assignment be marked?

Your assignment will be marked by the module team.

How will I receive my grades and feedback?

Provisional marks will be released once internally moderated.

Feedback will be provided by the module team alongside grades release.

You can expect to have marked work returned 10 working days after the deadline submission. If for any reason, there is a delay, you will be kept informed.

Marks and feedback will be provided online/in class/face to face. As always, marks will have been internally moderated only, and will therefore be provisional; your mark will be formally agreed later in the year once the external examiner has completed his/her review.

What will I be marked against?

Details of the marking criteria for this task can be found at the bottom of this assignment brief.

Assessed Module Learning Outcomes

The Learning Outcomes for this module align to the marking criteria which can be found at the end of this brief. Ensure you understand the marking criteria to ensure successful achievement of the assessment task. The following module learning outcomes are assessed in this task:

LO1: Critically evaluate the role of project management within organisations to deliver successful change

LO2: Critically analyse project planning literature and theory, and competently apply project planning within a given organisational context.

LO3: Critically evaluate the methods and techniques used to organise and plan project time, cost, resources and people.