Assessment Brief: BIS2003 IS Project Management Trimester 1, 2021
Assessment Overview
| Assessment Task | Type | Weighting | Due | Length | ULO |
| Assessment 1: Quiz 30 minutes test comprising of multiple-choice questions | Individual | 40% | Weeks 1- 10 | 30 mins | ULO-1 ULO-2 ULO-3 ULO-4 ULO-5 |
| Assessment 2: Case Study with presentation Undertake an analysis of the case, discuss reasons for failure and propose a solution how project management techniques can solve problems. | Group | 30% | Week 6 | 3000 words | ULO-1 ULO-2 ULO-3 ULO-4 |
| Assessment 3: Applied Project Apply and integrate project management concepts and tools to a specific IS development project. | Individual | 30% | Week 12 | 3500 words | ULO-2 ULO-3 ULO-4 ULO-5 |
Assessment 1: Quiz
| Due date: | Weeks 1-10 |
| Group/individual: | Individual |
| Word count / Time provided: | 30 minutes |
| Weighting: | 40% |
| Unit Learning Outcomes: | ULO-1, ULO-2, ULO-3, ULO-4, ULO-5 |
Assessment Details:
The weekly quizzes will assess your knowledge and understanding of key concepts in the Project Management Knowledge Areas. For successful completion of the quiz, you are required to study the material provided (lecture slides, tutorials, and reading materials), engage in the unit’s activities, and in the discussion forums. The prescribed textbook is the main reference along with the recommended reading material. By completing this assessment successfully, you will be able to identify key aspects of the best project management practices. This will then help in achieving ULO1, this in turn will help you in achieving CLO-1, which collectively with other unit learning outcomes will help in achieving GA2.
Marking Information: The quiz will be marked out of 100 and will be weighed 40% of the total unit mark.
Assessment 2: Case Study and Presentation
| Due date: | Week 6 |
| Group/individual: | Group |
| Word count / Time provided: | 3000 words |
| Weighting: | 30% |
| Unit Learning Outcomes: | ULO-1, ULO-2, ULO-3, ULO-4 |
SystemTech Case Study Background
SystemTech is an Australia-based travel agency that specializes in the rental of high-quality self- catering accommodation in Australia. For the summer months, it offers a wide selection of gîtes (holiday cottages) and, for the winter, apartments and chalets in various ski resorts. The company was founded by three friends who still own it, Emeka Steven, Daniel Okw and Ric Nelson, and the company has been in business since 2000. It has grown rapidly to achieve a turnover of some AU$25.75 million per annum and employs more than 170 staff at three offices, one in the Greater Sydney area, one in Melbourne and one in Melbourne. SystemTech has a website, but it is not functionally effective. SystemTech currently uses three main sales channels:
- Direct selling to customers through mailshots of its brochures and customer support centres (60 per cent of sales).
- Sales via high street travel agents (22 per cent of sales).
- Sales via phone calls (18 per cent of sales)
However, the company is aware from press coverage and from surveys on its own customers that there is a growing public demand to be able to book holidays via the internet. This is particularly true as its customers are precisely the sort of people who are ‘net aware’. SystemTech does have a website, but this is just its latest brochure in electronic format, and it does not have links to up-to- date availability data or the facilities for customers to make secure bookings online. Consequently, SystemTech has decided to implement a new internet-based booking system. This will be linked to its existing computerized booking system, which contains data on the availability of properties, and to its customer database as well as having secure links over which credit card data can be received. In
addition, the company wants its management information system (MIS) enhanced so that it can trawl its databases and send targeted information to customers on properties that are likely to be of interest to them.
SystemTech organization
The current organizational structure of the company is shown in Figure 1.1. The three founders have divided the business among themselves. Emeka Steven (who has a sales background) looks after the sales and operations side, Daniel Okw, an accountant, takes care of finance and administration and Ric Nelson who is a lawyer and experience in IT takes care of the IT and company’s legal matters. The small IT department within the administration function consists of the IT manager, Peter Clay, three analyst/programmers and a computer operator/trainee programmer.
| Diagram Description automatically generated |
Figure 1.1 Organization of SystemTech
The project
Because of the small size of its IT department, and since the department lacks skills in the design of e- commerce applications, SystemTech has decided to entrust the development of its internet service to a consultancy company, Eagles iTechnology. This firm has tendered for the following services:
- Analysis of the requirements.
- Production of a detailed requirements specification.
- Design, development and implementation of the internet systems, including a new website and secure communications links.
- Training SystemTech staff in the use of the new systems.
- Specification of the interfaces required from SystemTech’s existing customer database and booking system (the development of the links at the SystemTech end to be done by its own IT department).
- Specification of the additional hardware required to support the new system (to be obtained from SystemTech’s usual suppliers, the procurement to be managed by the IT department).
- ‘Skills transfer’ to SystemTech’s IT department, so that ongoing maintenance and development of the new system can be handled in-house. The development of the MIS aspects of the new system will be dealt with by SystemTech’s IT department.
The date now is 1 November 2020 and SystemTech wants to have the new system up and running for
the start of the winter season’s bookings at the end of June 2021.
The internet booking project is a result of a recent strategic review of SystemTech undertaken by its senior managers – the three directors and their direct reports.
The SWOT analysis showed that SystemTech has a good reputation in its marketplace and a lot of ‘brand recognition’ by its target market. However, this target market (reasonably affluent professionals) does make extensive use of the internet and it was felt that being unable to offer this service would increasingly become a weakness. At least one of SystemTech’s competitors already has an internet booking service (albeit not a very good one) and others are sure to follow soon. Applying the internet to SystemTech’s position using Porter’s five forces model also produced some interesting results. The internet tends to increase the power of buyers (as they can shop around more easily) and lowers the cost of entry for new competitors. In addition, the suppliers (the owners of the gîtes and chalets) can also set up their own websites, thereby cutting out brokers like SystemTech and increasing their own relative power. The conclusion of the strategy review was, therefore, that not setting up an internet service was not a viable option. Also, since the competitors’ sites were not very good at present, it was felt that creating a very good and user-friendly site would provide a source of competitive advantage (at least in the short to medium term).
The SWOT analysis conducted by SystemTech has already shown that not having an internet service is not a viable scenario, since so many of the company’s customers now regularly use the internet. However, the issue still arises as to how much it would be worth investing in the project, and this means that the company has had to develop a business case for undertaking the internet development. Ric Nelson, as the accountant, has undertaken production of the business case and he has identified three main business options that could be considered:
- Building an internet booking system for SystemTech and interfacing that with the company’s
existing systems.
- Building a standalone internet system and operating the internet booking as, in effect, a separate subsidiary business.
- Finding a partner organization with an internet booking system and interfacing SystemTech’s system with that.
The third option is unattractive as the customers of the booking system would not be SystemTech’s own and this is considered very important. Daniel also rejected the second option as it is likely that the company’s customers would sometimes use the internet and sometimes book over the telephone and having two sales channels would go against the principle of being a ‘one-stop shop’ for all the customers’ requirements.
Consequently, the business case has been built around the first option, adding a web-based booking front-end to the existing booking system.
Daniel has used SystemTech’s salesforce to conduct a telephone survey of existing customers, and that has suggested that an additional AU$80,000 of business might be secured each year via the internet. Assessing the likely amount of additional business (from new customers) is more difficult but a recent travel industry survey concluded that firms could attract 10–15 per cent new customers through e-commerce. If true, this would mean that SystemTech could obtain between AU$78,000 and AU$120,000 per annum more business through web bookings, but the directors, wishing to be cautious, have opted for the lower figure. In total, then, it seems as if the internet booking system should secure an additional AU$178,000 worth of business annually. The directors want to break even on their investment in three years and so this suggests a maximum cost for the internet development of AU$384,000. Initial discussions with various potential software vendors, including their preferred partner Eagles iTechnology, suggest that a system could be developed for AU$376,000. On that basis, the directors approve the business case.
Eagles iTechnology, the consultancy firm engaged by SystemTech to develop its internet-based system, has recommended the use of a PRINCE2®-type structure to manage the project.
The project board will be made up of:
- Emeka Steven, one of SystemTech’s directors, as executive
- James Vic SystemTech’s customer services manager, as senior user
- Grace Moore, Eagles iTechnology’s account manager, as senior supplier.
The project board will meet on a Thursday afternoon every two weeks during the project.
There was some argument about how the role of project manager should be filled. Simon Nick, SystemTech’s IT manager, thought that he should take this position, with the Eagles iTechnology project manager being a team manager. However, Eagles iTechnology argued that, as it was doing most of the development work, it would make more sense for Eagles iTechnology to provide the project manager. In the end, Emeka Steven agreed with Eagles iTechnology and so the project manager will be Paul Johnson, an Eagles iTechnology principal consultant. He will manage two teams, one led by Simon Nick which will develop the MIS aspects of the new system and the other led by Eagles iTechnology’s Tim Cook which will develop the internet software.
Eagles iTechnology will also provide the project support functions, as it has a project support office that works with all its projects.
The project assurance functions will be discharged by a small team comprising:
- James Vic, one of Jean Hunt’s sales supervisors
- Tim Jones, one of the IT managers
- Rage Munde, SystemTech’ management accountant
- Jack Lukas, Eagles iTechnology’s quality assurance manager.
Assessment Details:
As a project management student at APIC, you are required to perform tasks and answer the following questions:
- Draw the SystemTech’s IT project organizational chart that will be implementing the project?
- What is the IT Project Management structure (functional, project and matrix)? Explain.
- What is the Project Proposal Life Cycle? Who is involved and how in the Cycle?
- Who are the stakeholders involved in the Information System Development project?
- How you would you describe the Initiating and Planning Information System Project Management Process Groups in relation to the Project Management Knowledge Areas?
- Provide a SWOT analysis of the Information System Development project.
Two documents should be submitted:
- MS Word document. You must follow the Harvard style sources references.
- MS Power Point presentation (up to 20 slides), One submission for each group
In your work on the assignment you need to use the following sources:
- SBM4305 Lecture Notes
· The prescribed textbook (Schwalbe 2018)
Please remember that this is a practical assessment and you are NOT required to write any general information, definitions and references to another books and articles. These items will not be marked.
Marking Criteria and Rubric: The assessment will be marked out of 100 and will be weighted 30% of the total unit mark
| Marking Criteria | Not satisfactory (0-49%) of the criterion mark) | Satisfactory (50-64%) of the criterion mark | Good (65-74%) of the criterion mark | Very Good (75-84%) of the criterion mark | Excellent (85-100%) of the criterion mark |
| Analysis of the FV (SystemTech) profile and business processes (5%) | Inadequate analysis of the FV profile and business processes | Basic understanding of FV profile and business processes | Exhibits breadth and depth of understanding of FV profile and business processes | Exhibits accurate and detailed breadth and depth of understanding of the FV profile and business processes | Displays exceptional understanding of the FV profile and business processes |
| Analysis of FV Project management structure (10%) | Inadequate understanding of FV Project management structure | Basic understanding only of FV Project management structure | Exhibits breadth and depth of understanding of FV Project management structure | Exhibits accurate and detailed breadth and depth of understanding of FV Project management structure | Displays exceptional understanding of FV Project management structure |
| Demonstrate understanding of What is the Project | Inadequate understanding of Project Proposal | Basic understanding of Project Proposal Life Cycle and | Exhibits breadth and depth of understanding of | Exhibits accurate and detailed breadth and depth | Displays exceptional understanding of Project Proposal Life |
| Proposal Life Cycle? Who is involved and how in the Cycle and stakeholder requirements (20%) | Life Cycle and Stakeholder Analysis | Stakeholder Analysis | Project Proposal Life Cycle and Stakeholder Analysis | of understanding of Project Proposal Life Cycle and Stakeholder Analysis | Cycle and Stakeholder Analysis |
| Demonstrate understanding of mapping of FV PM Process Groups on to Project Management Knowledge Areas(30%) | Inadequate understanding of mapping of PM Process Groups on to Project Management Knowledge Areas | Basic understanding of mapping of PM Process Groups on to Project Management Knowledge Areas | Exhibits breadth and depth of understanding of mapping of PM Process Groups on to Project Management Knowledge Areas | Exhibits accurate and detailed breadth and depth of understanding of mapping of PM Process Groups on to Project Management Knowledge Areas | Displays exceptional understanding of mapping of PM Process Groups on to Project Management Knowledge Areas |
| Demonstrate understanding of SWOT analysis and reasons of the project failure. (15%) | Inadequate understanding of SWOT analysis and reasons of the project failure. | Inadequate understanding of SWOT analysis and reasons of the project failure. | Exhibits breadth and depth of understanding of SWOT analysis and reasons of the project failure. | Exhibits accurate and detailed understanding of SWOT analysis and reasons of the project failure. | Displays exceptional understanding of SWOT analysis and reasons of the project failure. |
| Presentation Content. Understanding of the selected project case and of the project scope components (10%) | Lack of evidence of adequate understanding of the selected project case. Majority of information irrelevant and significant points left out | Evidence of basic knowledge and skills of developing project scope statement. | Has given a factual and/or conceptual knowledge and skills base in developing project scope statement and give a brief about the project background | Reasonable knowledge and skills of developing project scope statement. | Has excellent skills in developing project scope statement. The presentation was a concise summary of the selected project. All questions answered. Comprehensive and complete coverage of information |
| Presentation visual appeal. Presentation slides, clarity, grammar, spelling and engaging (10%) | Lack of evidence of written presentation skills (no visual appeal). The slides were difficult to read and too much information had been copied onto them. There are many errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation | Evidence of basic skills of communicating (writing) in project environment. Minimal effort made to make slides appealing | Has given a factual and/or conceptual skill base in communication (writing) in project environment. There are some errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation. In some slides, too much information on two or more slides. good visual appeal. | Has very good skills in communicating (writing) a project report There are few errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation. very visual appeal. | Has excellent skills in communicating (writing) in project environment There are no errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation. Information is clear and concise on each slide. Excellent visually appeal that is engaging. |
Assessment 3: Applied Project
| Due date: | Week 12 |
| Group/individual: | Individual |
| Word count / Time provided: | 3500 words |
| Weighting: | 30% |
| Unit Learning Outcomes: | ULO-2, ULO-3, ULO-4, ULO-5 |
In this assignment, you will continue working on the SystemTech project. The Applied Project assignment includes the following tasks:
- Based on case study provided, explain phases of the Project Life Cycle (PLC)
- Create a Stakeholder Register (SR) and Communication Management Plan (CMP)
- Create a Project Charter (PC) that would approved/signed
- Create a Project Network Diagram (PND)
- Calculate the project cost and the Net Present Value (NPV) – download the project costs and examples from Canvas
- Create the Project Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
The submission should include 2 files:
- MS Word file that includes items 1 – 4, 6
- MS Excel file with the calculations of the project cost and NPV
Please remember that this is a practical assessment and you are NOT required to insert any general information, definitions and references to books and articles. These items will not be marked.
Marking Criteria and Rubric: The assessment will be marked out of 100 and will be weighted 30% of the total unit mark.
| Marking Criteria | Not satisfactory (0-49%) of the criterion mark) | Satisfactory (50-64%) of the criterion mark | Good (65-74%) of the criterion mark | Very Good (75-84%) of the criterion mark | Excellent (85-100%) of the criterion mark |
| Demonstrate an understanding of project life cycle (10%) | Inadequate understanding of the life cycle | Basic knowledge only of the understanding of project life cycle | Exhibits breadth and depth of understanding of the project life cycle | Exhibits accurate and detailed breadth and depth of understanding of project life cycle | Displays exceptional understanding of project life cycle |
| Produce a Cost analysis document and NPV using Excel spreadsheet (30%) | Inadequate understanding of cost calculation and NPV; cannot use Excel for producing NPV | Basic understanding of cost calculation, NPV and Excel features | Exhibits breadth and depth of understanding of cost calculations, NPV and Excel features | Exhibits accurate and detailed breadth and depth of understanding of cost calculations, NPV and Excel features | Displays exceptional understanding of cost calculations, NPV and its practical application. Produces exceptional knowledge of Excel features to calculate NPV. |
| Demonstrate understanding of communication management and ability to create PC, PS and CMP (40%) | Inadequate understanding of appropriate techniques and tools for creating Project Charter, Project Stakeholder and Communication Analysis | Basic knowledge only of appropriate techniques and tools for creating Project Charter, Project Stakeholder and Communication Analysis | Exhibits breadth and depth of understanding of appropriate techniques and tools for creating Project Charter, Project Stakeholder and Communication Analysis | Exhibits accurate and detailed breadth and depth of understanding of appropriate techniques and tools for creating Project Charter, Project Stakeholder and Communication Analysis | Displays exceptional understanding of concepts and their practical application of appropriate techniques and tools for creating Project Charter, Project Stakeholder and Communication Analysis |
| Produce a PND and WBS (20%) | Inadequate understanding of PND diagram cannot discuss concepts in own words | Basic knowledge only of PND diagram; limited depth of basic concepts | Exhibits breadth and depth of understanding of MND diagram | Exhibits accurate and detailed breadth and depth of MND diagram | Displays exceptional understanding of concepts and their practical application of PND diagram |
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