Assessment Item 4: a 2500 word project plan
Assessment item 4 (Project Plan) is intended to expose you to the task of planning the work required to execute a project. While completion of the project business case (assessment item 3 – attached to this order) was about deciding what is to be done, preparation of the project plan (assessment item 4) is about identifying the work required to actually do it. The connection between business objectives and project outcomes is settled in the project plan.
In preparing Assessment Item 4 (Project Plan), you should review the feedback on Assessment Item 3 (Project Business Case – attached to order). You should then familiarise yourself with Zwikael & Smyrk’s description of project planning (pp181-223 of the course text book (Zwikael, Ofer and Smyrk, John: Project Management for the Creation of Organisational Value. Springer, London, 2011, ISBN: 978-1-84996-515-6.)). In preparing your Project Plan (assessment item 4) you should be guided by the suggested template for a project plan provided in the Appendix below. This suggested template for a Project Plan is based on that proposed by Zwikael & Smyrk at pages 185-186 of the text book but modified to take into account the 2500 word limit for the project plan. The criteria for assessment item 4 (Project Plan) is provided in Appendix below.
Project Plan is the third of three individual written assessment items, to be prepared in accordance with the guidance in Chapter 5 of Zwikael & Smyrk. Assessment item 4 requires you to adopt the role of project manager and in that role to translate the business case you developed in assessment item 3 into a plan for realising the project you championed in assessment item 2 (project brief –attached to order). For assessment item 4, you are to write a 2500 word project plan for realising the project you initiated in assessment item 2 and advocated in assessment item 3. The project plan for assessment item 4 encompasses a plan for identifying and managing project stakeholders, a description of project governance arrangements, a plan for conducting the work, a plan for allocating the requisite resources and a plan for managing risks and issues.
The intent of assessment 4 is for you to demonstrate your grasp of what is involved in preparing, along the lines advocated in the text book and having regard to the templates provided in the assessment brief, a project business case and a project plan respectively. To achieve this intent I do not need you to read the project management literature exhaustively. What I do need is for you to reflect carefully about the generic approach suggested in the text book and how, perhaps with the aid of some carefully chosen articles, that generic approach might be adapted to the specific requirements of the project you have chosen. You should acknowledge (I suggest in a footnote) when you use the literature to inform their preparation of your project brief, business case and/or project plan.
Appendix
Indicative template for Assessment Item 4 (Project Plan)
For assessment item 4 you are to write a 2500 word Project Business Case. In real life, the project plan for most projects of the substance required to realise business objectives would be much longer. The purpose of this indicative template is to suggest a structure for assessment item 4 that enables you to demonstrate your grasp of the principles underpinning development of the project plan without grossly exceeding the word count.
To this end the following indicative template for Assessment Item 4 (Project Plan) is structured around a modified version of Zwikael & Smyrk’s template for a project plan set out at pages 185-186 of the text book. In preparing the Project Plan in accordance with the following indicative template, you should aim to provide the bones of your Project Plan in 2500 words and include any additional detail you consider necessary in attachments to the main body of your Plan. If using attachments for additional detail, you should take care to indicate in the main text where the reader should look for supporting detail by using a formulation like “(see appendix xx to this Project Plan for supporting detail)”.
A key difference between the Project Business Case (Assessment Item 3) and the Project Plan (Assessment Item 4) is the maturity of the work breakdown structure, schedule and budget. You should consider using the basic tools and techniques to present this information clearly and succinctly. Videos provide guidance in using such tools and techniques and you are free to use other material you find on the web.
A project to develop & acquire hovercraft for maritime surveillance: Project Plan.
1. Introduction
1.1. Purpose of document: This will refer the reader back to the business case (assessment item 3), confirm that the document seeks to augment the business case, provide the information required for a reliable decision to start work, brief key organisational stakeholders and outline next steps.
1.2. Relationship to the business case: This might indicate points of congruence with the business case (eg reaffirmation of the project rationale) and points of difference (eg provision of mature WBS, schedule resource and budget information).
1.3. A summary of the project plan: This is simply to help the reader grasp the content of the plan; given the 2500 word count, it should be no more than a paragraph.
2. Stakeholder Management
2.1. Indicative Stakeholder Register
2.2. An engagement plan for, say, five stakeholders, perhaps in an attachment to the main project plan;
2.3. A communication Plan, if appropriate, provide a summary in the main project plan and detail in an attachment to the main project plan.
3. Project Governance: Describe proposed governance model, membership roles, responsibilities& management arrangements.
4. Work Plan
4.1. Work breakdown structure (see text book pp195-196) ;
4.2. Outputs: Provide a simple list of outputs. For each output provide:
4.2.1. Critical fitness-for-purpose features (perhaps in an attachment to the main body of the project plan);
4.2.2. Quality criteria for each fitness for purpose feature (perhaps in an attachment to the main body of the project plan);
4.3. Gantt chart (see text book pp196-201);
4.4. Schedule of milestones;
4.5. Quality management: outline the approach you propose to quality assurance and control (feel free to place detail in an attachment to the main body of the project plan);
4.6. Project management & reporting (Indicative schedule of meetings for key forums, describe project monitoring arrangements);
5. Resource Plan
5.1. Schedule of financial outlays;
5.2. Human resource plan;
5.3. Organisational impact: Discuss how the work of the project will impact the organisation and how those impacts will be handled;
6. Risk & issue management
6.1. Risk register
6.2. Issue register.
Criteria for Assessment Item 4 (Project Plan)
Task: Prepare a Project Plan of 2500 words;
Project Plan elements Requires development Sound Good Very Good Excellent
Introduction Fails to convey document purpose Conveys project plan purpose Explains project plan purpose and links to business case Explains project plan purpose & places it in context of the project brief & project business case. Provides a clear, succinct & convincing statement of project plan purpose & relationship to project brief and business case
Stakeholder management Fails to identify key stakeholders and provide plans Identifies key stakeholders and provides appropriate plans Identifies key stakeholders & provides plans for engaging & communicating with them Identifies key stakeholders & provides clear & succinct plans for engaging & communicating with them Provides a clear, succinct & convincing description of stakeholders, their interests & plans for engaging them
Project Governance Fails to describe governance arrangements Describes governance arrangements Explains governance arrangements Explains clearly & succinctly the governance model, roles of key actors & management arrangements Provides a clear, succinct & convincing explanation of project management arrangements, governance & key roles
Continued over
Continued over
Continued over
Continued over
Continued over
Continued over
Work Plan Fails to provide a satisfactory work plan Provide a satisfactory work plan Provides a comprehensive work plan, Sets out a comprehensive work plan clearly & succinctly Provides a clear, succinct & convincing statement of the project work plan
Resource Plan Fails to provide a satisfactory resource plan Provides a satisfactory resource plan Provides a comprehensive resource plan Sets out a comprehensive resource plan clearly & succinctly Provides a clear, succinct & convincing statement of the project work plan
Risk & Issue Management Fails to explain risk & issue management Explains risk & issue management Provides comprehensive plans for risk & issue management. Identifies key risks & issues & provides clear & succinct plans for managing them Provides a clear, succinct & convincing statement of key risks & issues & plans for managing them
Additional info regarding References for footnotes, word count and appendixes:
I am not setting a minimum requirement for references in the assessment items. This is because the focus of the assessment is on your capacity to demonstrate the grasp of what is involved in preparing a plausible project brief, persuasive business case and robust project plan.
With regard to including references that might help the project funder/project sponsor’s understand/interpret the project brief, project business case and project plan. I assume this would mean, for example, you’re including a footnote reference to the Defence White Paper for a more detailed discussion of a capability requirement (thereby conserving the word count in the main text). I like this idea, provided that (1) the associated footnotes don’t develop into a separate narrative running in parallel to the main text. (2) I can access the material so referenced and (3) the main text retains its coherence on a standalone basis.
I do not intend to include footnotes in the word count for the main assessment text. But the above caveat applies: this is not an invitation to construct an unconstrained sub-text.
You also made the point that 2500 words is a tight constraint and sought confirmation that the appendixes are not included in the word count. The appendix is a device to enable students to provide supporting detail which, if contained in the main text of their project brief, business case or project plan would hinder the project funder/owner in grasping the point of the student’s argument and blow out the word count without adding materially to the case being argued. Hence I do not intend to include the words in the appendices in the overall word count for the assessment. Again, however, students should not bury their argument in appendices: The main text needs to stand as a coherent integrated document.
Extra guidance from online forum regarding assessment criteria:
A: Fitness-for-purpose features (FFPs) & quality
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o By way of background, what is an FFP? FFPs appear as a simple list of characteristics that an output must have if it is to be successfully utilised by project customers. Examples; maximum mass of 1500kg, 18/8 stainless steel frame, to comply with ISO NNNN, …
o We say that an output is “defined” when its FFPs are listed.
o Please separate the coverage of FFPs from the WBS. I suggest that you show lists of FFPs for a selection of outputs following the scoping statement (where all outputs are identified for the first time).
o How many outputs should be defined in this way? I suggest up to five if you have more than five outputs.
o As far as the coverage of quality goes, could I suggest that you take a selection of, say, five FFPs, and in one sentence outline the test you apply to confirm compliance with the FFP?
B: The WBs
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o You are required to develop only a “fragment” of the complete WBS for your project. This is just enough to confirm that you understand how to develop, what is termed, a “hierarchical model” of the work involved in your project–without putting you through (what would otherwise be) a large, laborious and somewhat tedious clerical exercise.
o Incorporate all Outputs from your Scoping statement into the WBS (Level 1).
o For up to three of these Outputs, show the Phases of the work involved (WBS Level 2). Let’s say you have five Outputs. Two of these will have no further detail, but the other three will each have “7-ish” Phases–giving us “21-ish” Phases displayed in the WBS.
o (I explain the Rule of “7-ish” in one of the course videos)
o Focus on ONE Output for which you are showing Phases. For only THREE of these Phases (not all 21) show all of their Activities (WBS Level 3). Again using the “rule of 7-ish”, at this point, your WBS will be showing only about 21 Activities.
o There is no need to go any further–you need not show any Tasks (which would have been displayed as WBS Level 4).
o How many elements (rows) will you finish up with in your WBS “fragment”?
Each Output will appear as one element. If your project has, say, seven Outputs, then at this point your WBS will have seven elements (one per output).
Three of these Outputs will now each show 7-ish Phases–(about another 21 elements).
Three of these Phases will now show “7-ish” Activities–(about another 21 elements).
In this case there will be in total 7+21+21 = 59 elements.
C: The Gantt Chart
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o Generate a Gantt chart for all the (“59-ish”) elements showing in your WBS.
D: The schedule of milestones
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o Pick a selection of activities shown in your Gantt chart that you believe would be useful to judge progress when the project gets underway–say 12 or so–and show these in a table.
We will exclude the WBS, Gantt chart and schedule of milestones from the word count.
