GSOE9820 Assignment Tasks 1-3
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
Purpose
The project management plan (PMP) includes all the information required to successfully manage your project to completion. It documents the careful planning work done by the project team before the project enters the execution phase. It is the project team’s description of how they are going to manage the project to achieve its objectives, within its constraints. One way to think about the PMP is to imagine your team is moved to another, higher priority project and your recently completed PMP
document is given to the new team. Will they be able to manage your project to completion using your
PMP?
In a professional setting, a PMP may vary between enormous, multiple volume guides for example in
large infrastructure, or defense procurement projects, to a simple 2-page project brief for a quick
internal project in a small workplace. In any case, creating some variation of a PMP is ubiquitous in
industry, and an important piece of experience to take with you from this course.
Skills
In this assignment you will show that you can perform the first four course learning outcomes (CLOs),
which are:
1. Translate organizational objectives to project deliverables 2. Formulate project scope 3. Select and apply project management methods 4. Integrate and justify project plans Refer to the learning outcomes document for more information on these.
Knowledge
This assignment will also help you to become familiar with the following important content in this
discipline:
The Project Charter
Budgeting
Stakeholder management
Scheduling
Risk management
Project integration
Human Resources
The PMBOK Guide
Estimating cost and time
Contingency planning
Risk mitigation
Project scope
Design Thinking
Teamwork
Resource management
Communications
management
Procurement
Requirements definition
Planning for opportunity
Change management
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GSOE9820 Assignment Tasks 1-3
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
Task 1–Scope Definition
Learning outcomes Group/individual Weighting Deadline Hand-in
CLO-2 Individual 5% (overall) Week 3 Fri
20th June 17:00
Moodle
Instructions
Carefully read the project brief that you have chosen to work on. It gives a general description of the
objectives of your project, but it may not say how these are going to be achieved, or what exactly the
project will deliver in order to provide a solution.
Consider what your project will need to do to fulfill its objectives and to realize the supposed benefits.
What are its major deliverables? What smaller deliverables constitute these major deliverables?
other work is going to be necessary to make sure the project is a success, and what are the tangible
Outcomes of this extra work?
Review the lecture content, especially wk 1 Scope slides.
Read PMBOK (6th Ed.) Sec. 4.1.3, Sec. 5.3.3.1
and Sec. 5.4.
1. Write a statement that defines the purpose of your project in under 30 words. 2. Draw a work breakdown structure (WBS) diagram that shows the major deliverables of your project and decomposes each of these down to the work package level. 3. Write a scope statement for your project in under 100 words. Hand in your WBS diagram and project purpose/scope statements by the deadline.
Task 2 – PMP Components
Learning outcomes Group/individual Weighting Deadline Hand-in
CLO-1,2,3 Group 40% for
submission + 5%
for individuals
progress check
Week 7 Fri
18th July 17:00
Turnitin
Instructions
For Task 2, develop the (PMP) for the same project you described in Task 1, while demonstrating the
application of PM Methods.
Structure your PMP according to the PMBOK guide Sec. 4.2.3.1.
Add an introduction section to your PMP that demonstrates a direct link between the project benefits,
its major deliverables, stakeholders, and the strategic objectives of the client organization.
Include baselines and management plans for the five PM knowledge areas covered by the C3PE
methodology shown in week 1, which are the management of Stakeholders, Scope, Risk, Schedule, and
Cost.
Page 2
To further strengthen your plan, include two further PMBOK knowledge areas. Communications and
Resources management are covered briefly in the lectures. You can alternatively spend some further
time researching other knowledge areas, represented by the PMBOK chapters, on your own or with
your group.
To demonstrate your application of the PM knowledge areas, you can include content in your
subsidiary management plans that relate to the following categories:
1. Baselines Results of work done by your team, to develop the plan. This is the most direct and simplest kind of
work to include because it forms your actual baseline project plan. Eg, your project baseline schedule,
project risk register and baseline budget would be examples of this.
2. Methods Descriptions of PM methods used by your team, to develop the project plan. Eg, describe how you
analyzed stakeholders, how you decomposed the WBS, or how you ranked risks and opportunities for
your project. While these accounts are not your actual plan, they show how you have applied PM
methods, and why you selected them.
3. Plans Guides to how to manage the project – for your team, or the PM who executes the project if this is not
you to successfully complete the project. Eg, describe how the project team should continue to iterate
scope, elicit requirements from stakeholders or continue to develop the project plans. How should they
evaluate progress and close out the deliverables? This category shows what management tasks will
need to be continued after the start of project execution and shows that you understand what this work
is.
Wk 6 Individual Progress Check
Learning outcomes Group/individual Weighting Open Hand-in
CLO-1,2,3,4 Individual 5% Week 6
Meeting with
Demonstrator
One minute
presentation
per student
w6 tutorial time,
no submission
required
In the week 6 meeting with demonstrators, student teams are requested to present an overview of all
parts of their PMP project, in which each team member will spend one minute to show and summarize
the work that they have completed for the PMP. This activity is provided as an opportunity for students
to receive final guidance on how to improve integration between different parts in their PMP
assignment.
Crucially, the group presentation also gives demonstrators a clear overview of the contribution of
different team members, and this insight becomes a part of the grading of the PMP assignment. For
this reason, full participation is strongly recommended for everyone in the team. This will happen
during your tutorial session and attendance will be recorded.
Page 3
Task 3 – PMP Integration (interview assessed)
Learning outcomes Group/individual Weighting Deadline Hand-in
CLO-4 Group n/a Week 9 Mon
28th July 17:00
Moodle
assignment
box
Change
After you hand in Task 2, you will be asked to make a change to your PMP. The requested change may
be tailored to your project and so it is not possible to list all possible options for change in advance. By
way of example, this change could include, but is not limited to, the following possibilities:
• Changes in the budget • Changes to scope • Changes to assumptions and risks Integration
Review and update your PMP, with a particular focus on implementation of your change request and
full integration between the different parts of the plan. You may change the PMP as much as you like.
You must hand in your updated PMP before your interview. The updated PMP+change will not be
graded as a separate assignment, but this document will be referred to by the assessor in your
interview and you will need to be able to answer questions about its content.
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GSOE9820 Assignment Tasks 1-3
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
Assignment Task 1
5% of overall grade
Poor
(0-25%)
Insufficient
(25-50%)
Developing
(50-75)
Accomplished
(75-100)
Project purpose – does
the purpose of the
project convey why we
are doing it?
1/5
Not attempted, or
hard to understand
what has been
written.
Outcomes to be
delivered by project
unclear.
Project defined in terms of
various outcomes but
can’t find an overall
purpose
The purpose statement connects the
project’s main outcomes to the
benefits that they deliver.
WBS – Is the WBS
constructed correctly?
2/5
Limited evidence of
work done, or content
obviously reproduced
from templates with
limited
customisation.
WBS thrown together
without using correct
guidance. Strange
connectors, loops or
flowchart features;
omissions in scope.
WBS provides a loose
description of the project,
possibly with some minor
errors such as not always
following 100% rule.
WBS has no mistakes and provides
confidence that you have found a
practical solution to deliver the
project.
Scope Statement – does
it describes the main
deliverables, related
work, and provide clear
project boundaries?
2/5
May be hard to
understand, or not
correctly understood
what scope is. Obvious
reproduction of text
from the project brief.
Project is loosely
described leaving several
uncertainties about what
needs to be undertaken.
May devote significant
space to describe
project attributes other
than scope.
Scope statement provides a clear
summary of the deliverables and the
project boundaries, and is fully
consistent with the WBS and the
project purpose. Near entirety of
scope statement is about scope.
Page 2
Task 2 grading rubric
45% of overall grade
Poor
(0-25%)
Insufficient
(25-50%)
Developing
(50-75)
Accomplished
(75-100)
Is the student on track to
successfully delivered their
parts of the PMP with their
group? (Week 6 Progress
Check)
5/45
Student has not made any
progress to date. Their
plan for delivering
components before the
deadline is not convincing.
Student is not engaging
with their team members
sufficiently.
Student has not made
much progress to date and
there is uncertainty around
delivering their
components before the
deadline. Student is not
engaging with their team
1.
Student has made some
progress to date and has a
high-level plan to deliver
their components before
the deadline. Student is
engaging with their team
members.
Student has made
significant progress to date
and has a clear and
achievable plan to deliver
their components before
the deadline. Student is
also actively engaging with
their team members.
Is there a project charter
page that demonstrates
how this project will
deliver on organisational
strategy?
6/45
No Unclear what is the
connection between the
project and the
organisational strategy
Charter describes
connections between org.
strategy and project
outcomes, but not at an
individual stakeholder/
benefits level
Provides a systematic
connection between
organizational strategy,
deliverables, benefits, and
stakeholders including a
written description that
makes this easy to
understand
Does the PMP
demonstrate the
successful application and
sufficient scope of PM
Methods? (PMBOK Tools
&Techniques)
15/45
[Baselines & Methods]
Very limited evidence of
work done, or content
reproduced from other
sources with limited
customisation. Borderline
plagiarism.
Application of PM methods
haphazard, may be gaps in
knowledge areas, and/or
generic content not
specific to your project.
PM methods applied with
specificity to the project,
with representation across
5-7 PM knowledge areas.
PM methods applied with
specificity, across 7 (or
more) PM knowledge
areas, and a significantly
higher level of attention to
detail and effort in
evidence.
Page 3
Do the plans provide
guidance for the PM team
during project execution?
8/45
[Plans]
No – just the baselines.
Risk/opportunity
Management plan does not
provide a basis for future
action.
The risk register provides
some options for dealing
with future events but the
risk descriptions will leave
uncertainty whether risks
have triggered; risk
responses are vague about
what to do if they have.
Risk register indicates
plans and clear decision
points for dealing with
future events.
Risk register indicates
plans and clear decision
points for dealing with
future events. Includes
contingencies for some
threats and opportunities.
And a descriptive summary
for the executing team on
how to manage the project.
Are the PM methods
described and referenced?
5/45
[Methods]
No Sometimes. No
referencing.
Yes, but not always, or
vaguely. Some referencing.
Yes – it is clear from the
PMP that the team have
produced this work using
guidance from PMBOK &
course materials; includes
reflection on some of the
methods, and why
appropriate.
Are the risk responses
integrated with the PMP?
3/45
n/a
No, they seem to be added
on at the end
Incomplete integration Yes – It is clear they have
has been considered as part of
scope, scheduling, and
budgeting.
Does the budget table(s)
demonstrate integration of
all areas of the PMP?
3/45
Seriously incomplete
No, incomplete, has
mistakes, or
misunderstanding the
meaning of reserve funding
Yes, and the budget
correctly differentiates
between the types of
project reserve funds
Yes – the budget summary
table provides a concise
overview of the PMP,
linking all the parts
together and correctly
distinguishing between the
project reserve funds.