MITS5001 IT Project Management Assignment 1
Case study and Presentation, and Research Report
PART A
Case Study and Presentation (Individual Assignment) – 10% (Due week 5, Sunday 11:55pm) Objective(s)
This assessment relates to the unit learning outcomes as in the unit descriptor. This assessment is designed to evaluate student’s ability to identify the key phases of projects and to successfully manage the projects by using various IT project management tools and techniques.
The following ULOs are assessed in this assessment.
LO1 Demonstrate ability to skillfully manage projects by putting to effective use various IT project management tools and techniques.
LO2 Critically analyze project parameters and identify the key processes from the available project management book of knowledge in practical case scenarios.
MITS5001 IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
In this assignment, you will use the IT project management knowledge area and the tools used in project initiation and planning to prepare a project charter for the Case Study below. Make sure to analyze the project management parameters and identify the actors relevant to the case study and mention the project scope, constraints and assumptions.
For this assessment, you will prepare a project charter based on the business case given below. Your report should be limited to approx. 1000 words. Use 1.5 spacing with a 12 point Times New Roman font. You can use other sources to support your claims. Citation of sources is mandatory and must be in the IEEE style.
The project charter must include:
- Project Title.
- Background (Why is the project is undertaken? Describe an opportunity or problem that the project is to address.)
- Project Goal/s (Not more than 3)
- Project Scope (What will be the end result of the project?)
- Key Stakeholders
- Project Milestones (Identify/assume the significant project milestones)
- Constraints and Assumptions
Submission Guidelines:
All submissions are to be submitted through turn-it-in. Drop-boxes linked to turn-it-in will be set up in the Unit of Study Moodle account. Assignments not submitted through these drop-boxes will not be considered. Submissions must be made by the due date and time (which will be in the session detailed above) and determined by your Unit coordinator. Submissions made after the due date and time will be penalized at the rate of 10% per day (including weekend days).
The turn-it-in similarity score will be used in determining the level if any of plagiarism. Turn-it-in will check conference websites, Journal articles, the Web, and your own class member submissions for plagiarism. You can see your turn-it-in similarity score when you submit your assignment to the appropriate drop-box. If this is a concern you will have a chance to change your assignment and resubmit. However, re-submission is only allowed prior to the submission due date and time.
After the due date and time have elapsed you cannot make re-submissions and you will have to live with the similarity score as there will be no chance for changing. Thus, plan early and submit early to take advantage of this feature. You can make multiple submissions, but please remember we only see the last submission, and the date and time you submitted will be taken from that submission.
SIGMA Consulting’s Business Case:
Introduction/Background
SIGMA Consulting’s core business goal is to provide world-class project management consulting services to various organizations. The CEO, Joe Fleming, believes the firm can streamline operations and increase business by providing information related to project management on its intranet site, making some information and services accessible to current and potential clients.
Business Objective
SIGMA Consulting’s strategic goals include continuing growth and profitability. The Project Management Intranet Site Project will support these goals by increasing the visibility of the firm’s expertise to current and potential clients by allowing the client and public access to some sections of the intranet. It will also improve profitability by reducing internal costs by providing standard tools, techniques, templates, and project management knowledge to all internal consultants. Since SIGMA Consulting focuses on identifying profitable projects and measuring their value after completion, this project must meet those criteria.
MITS5001 IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Current Situation and Problem/Opportunity Statement
SIGMA Consulting has a corporate Web site as well as an intranet. The firm currently uses the Web site for marketing information. The primary use of the intranet is for human resource information, such as where consultants enter their hours on various projects, change and view their benefits information, access an online directory and Web-based e-mail system, and so on. The firm also uses an enterprise-wide project management system to track all project information, focusing on the status of deliverables and meeting scope, time, and cost goals. There is an opportunity to provide a new section on the intranet dedicated to sharing consultants’ project management knowledge across the organization. SIGMA Consulting only hires experienced consultants and gives them the freedom to manage projects as they see fit. However, as the business grows and projects become more complex, even experienced project managers are looking for suggestions on how to work more effectively.
MITS5001 IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Critical Assumption and Constraints
The proposed intranet site must be a valuable asset for SIGMA Consulting. Current consultants and clients must actively support the project, and it must pay for itself within one year by reducing internal operating costs and generating new business. The Project Management Office manager must lead the effort, and the project team must include participants from several parts of the company, as well as current client organizations. The new system must run on existing hardware and software, and it should require minimal technical support. It must be easily accessible by consultants and clients and be secure from unauthorized users.
MITS5001 IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Analysis of Options and Recommendation
There are three options for addressing this opportunity:
- Do nothing. The business is doing well, and we can continue to operate without this new project.
- Purchase access to specialized software to support this new capability with little in-house development.
- Design and implement the new intranet capabilities in-house using mostly existing hardware and software.
Based on discussions with stakeholders, we believe that option 2 is the best option.
MITS5001 IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT
PART B
Research Report (Individual Assignment) – 10% Objective(s)
This assessment item relates to the unit learning outcomes as in the unit descriptor. This assessment is designed to improve student presentation skills and to give students experience in researching a topic and writing a report relevant to the Unit of Study subject matter.
The following ULOs are assessed in this assessment.
LO2 Critically analyze project parameters and identify the key processes from the available project management book of knowledge in practical case scenarios.
LO5 Carry out research studies to provide expert judgment on the project progress and strategize contingency and fall-back plans to ensure project deliverables are met as planned.
MITS5001 IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
For this component, you will prepare a report or critique on an academic paper related to IT Project Management. The paper you select must be directly relevant to one of these major topics:
Project Life Cycles, Integration Management, Scope Management, Schedule Management, Cost Management, Quality Management, Resource Management, Communications Management, Risk Management, Procurement Management, Agile Project Management, Change Management, Earned Value Management, Resource Management, and Stakeholder Management.
The paper can be from any academic conference or other relevant Journal or online sources such as Google Scholar, Academic department repositories, etc. All students must select a different paper, thus the paper must be approved by your Lecturer, Instructor, Tutor before proceeding. Each student must choose a research paper and inform the Lecturer or Instructor via email as soon as possible. Your email must contain the title, authors, and/or the pdf/Microsoft word file of the selected paper. In case two students are wanting to report on the same paper, the first who emails the Lecturer, Instructor, or Tutor with their choice will be allocated that paper (provided it is acceptable). Note: popular magazine articles, websites, and blogs are not academic sources.
Your report should be limited to approx. 1500 words (not including references). Use 1.5 spacing with a 12 point Times New Roman font. Though your paper will largely be based on the chosen article, you can use other sources to support your discussion. Citation of sources is mandatory and must be in the IEEE style.
MITS5001 IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Your report or critique must include:
- Title Page: The title of the assessment, the name of the paper you are reviewing and its authors, and your name and student ID.
- Introduction: A statement of the purpose for your report and a brief outline of how you will discuss the selected article (one or two paragraphs). Make sure to identify the article being reviewed.
- Body of Report: Describe the intention and content of the article. If it is a research report, discuss the research method (survey, case study, observation, experiment, or another method) and findings. Comment on problems or issues highlighted by the authors. Discuss the conclusions of the article and how they are relevant to what you are studying this semester.
- Conclusion: A summary of the points you have made in the body of the paper. The conclusion should not introduce any ‘new’ material that was not discussed in the body of the paper. (One or two paragraphs)
- References: A list of sources used in your text. They should be listed alphabetically by (first) author’s family name. Follow the IEEE style.
- The footer must include your name, student ID, and page number
MITS5001 IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Resources:
There are a number of resources you can utilize for finding academic articles and you should make the most of these resources.
- The VIT Library has access to an extensive array of online journals including IEEE and ACM journals. You can access these online Journals through the library’s subscription to the ProQuest platform. You can access this platform by finding the ‘ProQuest academic platform’ link on the StudyBoard@vit home page, towards the bottom of the page in the left column under the heading Resources & Services.
- Please also refer to the link in the same section on ‘Scholarly Article Searching’. This will show you how to search for articles of the type required for this assignment.
- In the same section, additionally, refer to the link ‘VIT Library Referencing’. This link discusses a number of referencing styles. Different types of Journals will require different styles of referencing and citation, but this assignment requires the IEEE style. Commonly associated with Engineering and Science disciplines. This style is discussed in the document and provides examples and links to further resources.
- Google Scholar ‘https://scholar.google.com.au/’ is a separate google search engine that will help you search for scholarly articles (Journal articles and conference papers etc..). It will generally not have access to the resources that Proquest above does as these are usually paid sites. However, Google Scholar does index an extremely large number of scholarly articles located in open access conferences, Journals, and academic websites. Please go through the above notes ‘Scholarly Article Searching’ to find out how to use Google Scholar.
Submission Guidelines:
All submissions are to be submitted through turn-it-in. Drop-boxes linked to turn-it-in will be set up in the Unit of Study Moodle account. Assignments not submitted through this drop- boxes will not be considered.
Submissions must be made by the due date and time (which will be in the session detailed above) and determined by your Unit coordinator. Submissions made after the due date and time will be penalized at the rate of 10% per day (including weekend days).
The turn-it-in similarity score will be used in determining the level if any of plagiarism. Turn- it-in will check conference web-sites, Journal articles, the Web, and your own class member submissions for plagiarism. You can see your turn-it-in similarity score when you submit your assignment to the appropriate drop-box. If this is a concern you will have a chance to change your assignment and resubmit. However, re-submission is only allowed prior to the submission due date and time. After the due date and time have elapsed you cannot make re-submissions and you will have to live with the similarity score as there will be no chance for changing. Thus, plan early and submit early to take advantage of this feature. You can make multiple submissions, but please remember we only see the last submission, and the date and time you submitted will be taken from that submission.
Your document should be a single word or pdf document containing your report.
Visit At : – Humber Blackboard
