Assessment instructions
Select a project within your degree enrolment and/or current workplace (actual, completed, to be completed or under planning – this may include a project you are actually working on or one you are thinking of implementing).
Many thousands of example projects are available in the literature and online. Examples of potential projects done by previous students include construction and home refurbishments, a product launch, training program, business and social events, marketing campaign, updating a restaurant menu etc.
*You are to take the position of a consultant proposing and making the case for this project to a client, project sponsor, executive team or other approving stakeholders. Be sure to end your proposal report with a request for approval and support. Your aim is to convince your audience that this is the right project to undertake now.
You need to develop a project definition document which includes the following components:
• Project title
• Contextual information (the project’s context and explain why this project is required).
• Project Selection and Prioritization Criteria (explain why this project is required, how does it fit with the strategic priorities of the organisation)
• Organizational structure culture and roles (focus on the capacity for this particular team or organisation to deliver on this project in the present time).
• Identify key stakeholders (who are the key stakeholders and what are their expectations of the project’s purpose)
• Project priorities (establish and justify the project’s priorities)
• Appendix Item – Project charter (use the provided project charter templates or a more suitable one found online to initiate this project).
Readings for the assessment
What Successful Project Managers Do
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1058.1621&rep =rep1&type=pdf
Project Success in a Global Context
https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/BEP479-PDF-
ENG?Ntt=project+management&itemFindingMethod=Search
Planning a Project https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/BEP460-PDFENG?Ntt=project+management&itemFindingMethod=Search
Project Management Institute (2013). A guide to the Project Management
Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). (5thed.). Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute. ISBN: 9781935589679
Stackpole, C. (2013). A user’s manual to the PMBOK Guide. Hoboken, NJ:
Wiley. ISBN: 9781118431078
Grading Criteria / Rubric
Page 2 of 5
Assessment?2 Project Proposal Report – Marking Rubric
Criteria HD (85-100) D (75-84) CR (65-74) PASS (50-64) FAIL (0-49)
Project
Management
Knowledge
30% Understands and identifies key strategic elements of small to project projects and sets goals and deliverables.
Ensures resources are available, and where change is needed expertly negotiates adjustments to milestones and deliverables.
ncorporates sustainability into
the project implementation.
Communicates all updates effectively to all stakeholders.
Harnesses information and foresees new opportunities. Demonstrates capability to manage larger, more complex projects, including:
• Identifies required resources and can effectively manage these.
• Undertakes risk identification and mitigation.
Communicates updates effectively to one or more stakeholder. Demonstrates capability to manage small to large projects, including:
• Monitors progress.
• Manages change.
• Manages resources
including utilisation of technology.
Communicates updates to stakeholder. Develops project plans.
Prepares business cases. Tracks progress. Takes corrective action as needed. Ensures quality outcomes. Reviews projects. Limited knowledge, skill and/or experience in project management, including progression of project, changes required to a project, assurance of quality and needed communication.
Strategic
development
20% Develops, implements and communicates strategy. Creates a compelling vision.
Benchmarks strategies.
Contributes to the organisational Corporate Plan and key strategic initiatives. Anticipates future trends.
Identifies strategic issues.
Includes other stakeholders to achieve strategic initiatives.
Undertakes environmental scanning analysis. Demonstrates the ability to ‘see the big picture’. Focuses on long term.
Integrates the corporate vision, plan and objectives of the organisation.
Undertakes environmental scanning.
Demonstrates the ability to ‘see the big picture’.
Focuses on long term.
Plans for a short term rather than long term vision or incompletely satisfies the full scope of environmental scanning.
Evaluation of information selected to support
the proposal
20% Systematically and critically discriminates between assertion of personal opinion and information substantiated by robust evidence from the research/course materials and extended reading.
Information is taken from sources with a high level of interpretation/evaluation to develop a comprehensive critical analysis or synthesis.
Identifies gaps in knowledge.
Exhibits intellectual independence, rigor, good judgement and adaptability. Discriminates between assertion of personal opinion and information substantiated by robust evidence from the research/course materials and extended reading.
Well demonstrated capacity to explain and apply relevant concepts.
Analysis and evaluation reflect growing judgement, intellectual independence, rigor and adaptability. Supports personal opinion and information substantiated by evidence from the research/course materials.
Demonstrates a capacity to explain and apply relevant concepts.
Identify logical flaws.
Resembles a recall or summary of key ideas.
Often conflates/confuses assertion of personal opinion with information substantiated by evidence from the research/course materials.
Limited understanding of key concepts required to support the proposal.
Confuses logic and emotion. Information taken from reliable sources but without a coherent analysis or synthesis.
Effective
Communication
15% Expertly presented; the presentation is logical, persuasive, and well supported by evidence, demonstrating a clear flow of ideas and arguments.
Engages and sustains audience’s
interest in the topic, demonstrates high levels of
cultural sensitivity
Effective use of diverse presentation aids, including graphics and multi-media. Information, arguments and evidence are very well presented; the presentation is logical, clear and well supported by evidence.
Demonstrates cultural sensitivity. Information, arguments and evidence are well presented, mostly clear flow of ideas and arguments.
Line of reasoning is easy to follow. Information, arguments and evidence are presented in a way that is not always clear and logical.
Line of reasoning is often difficult to follow. Difficult to understand for audience, no logical/clear structure, poor flow of ideas, argument lacks supporting evidence.
Audience cannot follow the line of reasoning.
Correct citation of key resources and evidence
15% Demonstrates use of highquality, credible and relevant resources to support and develop arguments and position statements. Shows evidence of wide scope within and without Demonstrates use of good quality, credible and relevant resources to support and develop arguments and statements. Shows evidence of wide scope within the Demonstrates use of high quality, credible and relevant resources to support and develop ideas. Demonstrates use of credible and relevant resources to support and develop ideas, but these are not always explicit or well developed. Demonstrates inconsistent use of good quality, credible and relevant resources to support and develop ideas.
the organization for sourcing evidence organization for sourcing evidence