Assessment Information/Brief 2023-24
To be used for all types of assessment and provided to students at the start of the module. Information provided should be compatible with the detail contained in the approved module specification although may contain more information for clarity.
Module title
Project Management Practice
CRN
54071/54075
Level
7
Assessment title
Coursework
Weighting within module
This assessment is worth 100% of the overall module mark.
Submission deadline date and time
For coursework assessments only: students with a Reasonable Adjustment Plan (RAP) should check their RAP to see if an extension to this submission date has been agreed.
Module
Leader/Assessment set by
How to submit
You should submit your assessment electronically via Turnitin as a Microsoft Word formatted file by 4pm Friday 03 May 2024.
Please ensure you include your student roll number and not your name on your submission on the cover sheet.
Assessment task details and instructions
Mini-Case Study
You are a newly qualified project management professional working for a construction project management consultancy (Perfect Project Managers) that has been asked to make a bid for the professional project management services on a large project for an international oil marketing organisation. The oil company wishes to procure its own national headquarters building and other accommodations on a site acquired from a government department that has relocated to another city.
The company’s national headquarters office building will be a seven-storey steel framed building with glazed facades and a central atrium. The building will be finished to high specification levels. The company also wishes to develop residential accommodation for its staff and a multi-purpose hall for indoor sports which can also be converted to serve as an exhibition hall.
The office building will front an existing national highway. The residential accommodation will be in a six storey, concrete framed building that used to serve as the office of Regional Health Department. Therefore, the project will involve the restoration and refurbishment of the existing six-storey building that is located away from the headquarters building. This building has been unused for some time and has extensive dry rot and asbestos based materials within its structure and fabric. This existing building is to be retained and it will be renovated, refurbished, and converted to a block of high-quality residential flats. A heated swimming pool, sauna, gymnasium, and appropriate changing facilities are also to be developed as separate building to the new multi-purpose hall.
The proposed project’s location is immediately next to a wildlife sanctuary. The existing road and sewer network will need to be altered to accommodate the project. The local authority is insisting that separate road and pedestrian bridges should be constructed across the national highway to facilitate entry and egress from the site.
Given the nature of the client and the project’s location, sustainability is one of the success criteria for the project. To impress the community, the company insists that the project must be designed and constructed to achieve “Excellent” BREEAM rating. The owners are also insisting that a high security fence be erected around the perimeter of the site. The company also wishes to have the whole complex ready for the celebration of its 20th Year Jubilee approximately five years from today. It has always rented accommodation and, as such, wishes to have a big celebration.
The initial budget for the project has been informally assessed as being in the region of £420 million. As part of your organisation’s bid preparation process, you have been asked to consider issues related to the development of a draft Strategic Project Plan (SPP). The proposed project is expected to take 44-50 months to construct on site. Given the limited in-house expertise, it is clear that a complete design and construction team will need to be assembled.
Notes
You can make any assumptions that you wish, provided that the assumptions are reasonable and are clearly written down as part of your answer.
All questions must be answered in the context of the mini- case study. The mini-case study has provided information about a theoretical project. You should read the information very carefully before attempting questions.
Tasks
You have been appointed as the Project Manager for the project and your CEO has asked for a strategic report of between 3500 – 4000 word counts that satisfies the following:
With reference to the project described in the mini case study, critically assess the risks that emanate from the internal and external environment. Discuss the strategy and extent to which it is possible for the project team to mitigate the downside risks identified.
Based on the project described in the above mini-case study, critically discuss how can your project management company provide quality service and product to the client and other project stakeholders. You can propose any quality management approach you wish to adopt for the project throughout its life cycle.
Identify the internal and external stakeholders of the project described in the mini-case study. Fully evaluate how will these stakeholders influence on the project decision-making and how you would manage the stakeholders for the success of the project.
You are appointed by the Perfect Project Managers to construct a 3D interactive model using mixed reality. Critically discuss how mixed reality can be of value to the delivery of the projects described in the mini-case study to improve sustainability and use some examples of mixed reality technologies to support your answers.
Describe the main procedures your company would adopt to manage the ‘close-out’ stage of the project in the mini-case study and indicate how your organisation could use such procedures to aid its organisational learning.
Please note the following:
The report should focus on the mini case study and in-depth analysis of range of literature. It should include a combination of synthesis of knowledge gained from existing texts and the author`s own opinions based on facts.
Students are required to acknowledge all sources from which they obtain information, by including in-text citations and references in The APA 7th (Harvard) Style of referencing (see guidance on blackboard).
The main emphasis in referencing should be on good quality secondary sources such as official reports, journal/conference articles, and relevant textbooks. Students can also cite good quality websites when discussing examples.
Format Students shall work individually to produce individual
Microsoft Word reports. All submissions should be in Times New Roman size 12 font and the lines spacing should be 1.5, well formatted using margin justification. Your report should have a cover sheet (identifying the module, the date, the student’s roll number). The total number of words included in the main body of the report should be specified in the cover page. The report should be clearly structured and presented by using relevant headings and sub-headings where necessary. A brief introduction, conclusion and a Reference List should be included. The inclusion of a Bibliography is optional.
Knowledge and Understanding
Assessed intended learning outcomes.
On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:
Assess risks and project impact factors on a project proposal, including environmental impacts. Identify and assess the factors and criteria, which will be used in the impact assessment and their significance, reviewing alternative solutions to improve environmental quality, and producing a report of the assessed environmental impact. Subsequently undertake a risk assessment to demonstrate the most appropriate methods to reduce the impact of risks on projects.
Maintain project compliance with legal and statutory requirement, develop, and implement monitoring systems to collect information regularly and evaluate this information effectively dealing with any situations, which do not comply with legal and statutory requirements quickly and efficiently.
Critically evaluate the efficacy of quality management and other relevant project management tools/techniques. Evaluate ways of integrating continuous quality improvements for products, services and processes by assessing the outcome of continuous monitoring, correctly identifying trends in the quality of services, to implement effective improvements.
Practical, Professional or Subject Specific Skills
Assess significant factors affecting project design, including the briefing process for clients and other stakeholders in the supply chain. Review and evaluate the findings of investigations, evaluating the information available to the project team and producing realistic design parameter and advising stakeholders on the most appropriate course of action.
Manage project completion processes, including inspection and handover processes; instigate project review processes and identify and document learning/lessons learned for improved future project performance.
Promote continuous quality improvements for products, services, and processes.
Maintain project compliance with legal and statutory requirements.
Manufacturing Challenges – addressing challenges associated with coordinating production with construction project management, manufacturing process design and management, production flow management, and resource management.
Designing for Advanced Manufacturing – coordinating design, manufacturing and construction, design for manufacturing, design for assembly and design for sustainability.
Manage project handover; Obtain and evaluate project feedback information and make improvements;
Module Aims
Develop systematic understanding of knowledge and critical awareness of construction management practice issues.
Demonstrate knowledge of health, safety and welfare issues and the legal regulations for managing these on construction projects.
Develop a critical awareness of the role of standards and quality in successful project delivery and handover.
Demonstrate a practical understanding of the techniques used to manage risk and value on projects.
Demonstrate a practical understanding of the tools and techniques for assessing the environmental impact of construction projects.
Word count/ duration (if applicable)
The report should be at least 3500 words minimum and a maximum of 4000 words excluding words in the cover sheet, figures, tables, reference list, bibliography (if any) and appendices (if any).
Penalties for exceeding word count/ duration Not applicable.
If you submit an assessment which exceeds the word count stated above the words/content beyond the specified word count will not be used for marking purposes. However, you may receive comments on your ability to appropriately summarise information, focusing on relevant issues, etc.
Feedback arrangements
You can generally expect to receive marks and feedback forms on Blackboard 15 working days after the submission deadline. You will need to log into the full site to access the written feedback form.
You will receive an email as soon as the marks and feedback forms will be available on Blackboard. In case, after receiving the email, you do not find/cannot open the feedback form, you should contact the module tutor (S R Akoh), via email to request a copy of your feedback form. Please remember that feedback is about far more than the mark you receive. The mark reflects the quality of the specific assignment. The comments in the feedback form, however, are designed to help you reflect upon and improve your performance more generally. Please take the time to consider your feedback carefully.
Formative feedback will be provided during the coursework consultation session and via draft review. The lecturer will be available to review your coursework via email, you will receive a reply within five working days. The deadline to show a draft of your work to the module lecturer is one week before the submission deadline. Drafts to be reviewed should be sent to the lecturer via email.
Support arrangements
Support will be available during the coursework consultation session. Information on the assignment will be provided and specific questions will be answered/discussed.
The module tutor can be contacted via email regarding any aspect of the assignment. A reply can be expected within 3 working days, if you do not receive a reply, please email again stating that the email is a second request for support.
Drafts will be reviewed via email. It is your responsibility to send a draft to the lecturer within the specified timeframe.
Further information is available under Assessment on Blackboard (e.g., referencing guidelines).
askUS
Good Academic Conduct and Academic Misconduct
The University offers a range of support services for students through askUS.
Students are expected to learn and demonstrate skills associated with good academic conduct (academic integrity). Good academic conduct includes the use of clear and correct referencing of source materials. Here is a link to where you can find out more about the skills which students need https://www.salford.ac.uk/library/skills- for-learning.
Academic Misconduct is an action which may give you an unfair advantage in your academic work. This includes plagiarism, asking someone else to write your assessment for you or taking notes into an exam. The University takes all forms of academic misconduct seriously. You can find out how to avoid academic misconduct here.
Assessment Information Personal Mitigating Circumstances
Personal Tutor/Student Progression
Administrator
If you have any questions about assessment rules, you can find further information in Blackboard in the Assessment Support area.
If personal mitigating circumstances may have affected your ability to complete this assessment, you can find more information about personal mitigating circumstances procedure here.
If you have any concerns about your studies, contact your Personal Tutor or your Student Progression Administrator.
Assessment Criteria
Your assignment will be marked according to the following criteria: Understanding and Reading: The depth of your reading (number, range, and quality of sources) and understanding of it. You are expected to read the essential and further readings to support your argument/discussion; you cannot rely on opinion or unsupported statements.
Critical Analysis: The level of critical analysis in your writing and the quality of the argument developed. You cannot rely on simple description but must apply knowledge and theory from the readings to critically engage with the material.
Structure: Your ability to develop a clear, logical structure for your coursework which addresses the required points of the task and guides the reader. Your coursework should include a clear introduction, a cogently argued main body, and a conclusion that summarises the argument and answers the overall question.
Presentation and Referencing: Your ability to express yourself clearly in English using appropriate terminology, correct spelling, and grammar. The extent to which your coursework is correctly referenced using the Harvard system of referencing in-text and with a reference list.
You should look at the assessment criteria to find out what we are specifically looking at during the assessment.
Item
Mark
Introduction, Conclusions, & Recommendations
10%
Critical assessment of risks that emanate from internal and external environments and their mitigations strategies.
15%
Critical discussion of how your project management company can provide quality services and products to the client and other project stakeholders.
20%
Identification of the internal and external stakeholders of the project described in the mini-case study. Full evaluation of how these stakeholders will influence on the project decision-making and how you would manage the stakeholders for the success of the project.
15%
Construction of a 3D interactive model using mixed reality. Critical discussion of how mixed reality can be of value to the delivery of the project described in the mini-case study to improve sustainability and use some examples of mixed reality technologies to support your answers.
15%
Description of the main procedures your company would adopt for the ‘close-out’ report and how your organisation could use such procedures to aid its organisational learning
15%
Depth and breadth of study/extent of research demonstrated in the report, good use of citation of quality references & quotations & use of APA 7th (Harvard) Style of referencing, good grammar, presentation, writing and clarity of expression (well structured, fluent writing)
10%
MARKING SCALE
At Level 7 the following marking scale shall be used:
Extremely Poor
0% – 9%
Fail
Very Poor
10% – 19%
Poor
20% – 29%
Inadequate
30% – 39%
Unsatisfactory
40% – 49%
Satisfactory
50% – 59%
Pass
Good
60% – 69%
Merit
Very Good
70% – 79%
Excellent
80% – 89%
Distinction
Outstanding
90% – 100%
Extremely Poor
0%-
9%
Assignments in this mark range will show no awareness of scope of topic or any relevant issues. The report will show significant misunderstandings which prevent coherent discussion and analysis of the requested topics.
Extremely poor knowledge and understanding of the requested topics, with major relevant elements omitted will be evident. No ability to discuss all the requested tasks will be demonstrated. Lack of communication skills. Discussion will be extremely brief or difficult to understand and will demonstrate no meaningful use of any secondary source material. No attempt to present work in acceptable format.
Very Poor
10%-
19%
Assignments in this mark range will show significant misunderstandings which prevent coherent discussion and analysis of relevant topics. Discussion will be irrelevant or extremely brief and vague with various contradictions/errors/omissions. Very poor knowledge and understanding of the discussed topics, with relevant elements omitted, will be evident. The report will be very poorly structured and will demonstrate lack of ability to cover all requested tasks. Extremely limited communication skills will be demonstrated. Discussion will be difficult to understand and will demonstrate no meaningful use of any secondary source material. The report will be very poorly organized and presented.
Poor
20%-
29%
Assignments in this mark range will demonstrate poor knowledge and understanding of the requested topics, with no awareness of relevance of issues. Relevant discussion will be very brief with some significant misunderstandings which prevent coherent discussion. Extremely limited and largely unsuccessful attempt at analysis. Poor levels of communication will be demonstrated, discussion will lack clarity and contextualisation. Discussion will be generally vague, displaying lack of focus. The report will be poorly structured and will demonstrate lack of ability to cover all requested tasks. Major deficiencies in terms of layouts, relevant chapters and sections, informative titles/headings, relevant tables and figures will be evident. The report will demonstrate poor/no research or inclusion of irrelevant/inappropriate sources. Poor use of citations and/or reference style. Major omissions or unnecessary issues will be evident.
Inadequate
30%-
39%
Assignments in this mark range will be inadequately scoped and focused, with major omissions and unnecessary issues. Relevant discussion will tend to be very brief with no adequate analysis.
Inadequate knowledge and understanding of the discussed topics, lack of awareness of relevance of issues will be evident. Unsatisfactory levels of communication will be demonstrated, discussion will lack clarity and adequate contextualisation. Discussion will be generally vague, displaying lack of focus. Although some relevant elements might be discernible. The report will show evidences that structure as well as clarity and precision of communication need to be strengthened. Lack of ability to allocate the available words to the requested tasks will be generally demonstrated. The presentation and structure of the repost will need major improvements. Deficiencies in terms of layouts, relevant chapters and sections, informative titles/headings, relevant tables and figures will be evident. The report will demonstrate inadequate levels of secondary research, with major deficiencies in number, choice and synthesis of secondary sources.
Inadequate use of citations and/or reference style will be evident as well as major omissions or unnecessary issues.
Unsatisfactory
40%-
49%
Assignments in this mark range will not be appropriately scoped, with significant omissions and/or unnecessary issues. Unsatisfactory knowledge and understanding of the requested topics, with little awareness of relevance of issues will be evident. The level of analysis will need major improvements. Lack of adequate expression of ideas will be generally evident. Unsatisfactory levels of communication, with limitations in terms of contextualisation and clarity of discussion, will be demonstrated.
Discussion will not show acceptable awareness of relevance of issues.
Vague discussion displaying lack of focus. Although some relevant elements discernible The report will show evidences that structure as well as clarity and precision of communication need to be strengthened. Insufficient ability to allocate the available words to the requested tasks will be generally demonstrated. The presentation and structure of the report will need major improvements. Deficiencies in terms of layouts, relevant chapters and sections, informative titles/headings, relevant tables and figures will be evident. The report will demonstrate lack of satisfactory independent secondary research, with major deficiencies in choice and synthesis of secondary sources. The use of citations to support discussion and/or reference style will
need major improvements. Relevant assumptions will be generally missing or not clearly stated.
Satisfactory
50%-
Assignments in this mark range will
59%
demonstrate evident and satisfactory
scope, with some omissions and
unnecessary issues. Satisfactory
understanding of the topics requested
in each task, with some awareness of
relevance of issues, will be evident. The
level of analysis will need
improvements. Generally adequate
expression of ideas will be evident.
Satisfactory levels of communication,
with possible limitations in terms of
contextualisation and clarity of
discussion, will be demonstrated.
Adequate ability to structure the report
and to allocate the available words to
the requested tasks, by considering the
assessment criteria, will be
demonstrated. The report will be
adequately presented and structured.
Although, some deficiencies in terms of
layouts, relevant chapters and sections,
informative titles/headings, relevant
tables and figures might be evident.
Limited independent secondary
research, with deficiencies in choice
and synthesis of secondary sources. The
use of citations to support discussion
and/or reference style will need
improvements. Some assumptions will
be stated.
Good
60%-
Assignments in this mark range will
69%
demonstrate clear scope and focus,
with some minor omissions or
unnecessary issues. Good
understanding of the topics requested
in each task, with some awareness of
relevance of issues, will be evident. The
level of critical analysis will need
improvements. Generally good
expression of ideas, with some possible
minor limitations will be evident. Good
ability to structure the report and to
allocate the available words to the requested tasks, by considering the assessment criteria, will be demonstrated. Good levels of communication and contextualisation of the discussed information, with possible limitations, will be demonstrated. Discussion will be generally clearly conveyed. Good structure and convincing argument will be evident. The report will be well presented and structured by using good layouts, relevant chapters and sections, informative titles/headings, some relevant tables and figures. Good independent secondary research will be expected, with possible deficiencies in choice and synthesis of secondary sources. Good use of citations to support discussion and generallym correct use of the requested reference style will be evident. Assumptions will be generally clearly stated.
Very Good
70%-
79%
% Assignments in this mark range will demonstrate very good clarity of focus and include most of what is important. Very good understanding of the topics requested in each task will be evident.
The level of critical analysis might need improvements. Very good expression of ideas, potential for originality. Very good ability to structure the report and to allocate the available words to the requested tasks, by considering the assessment criteria, will be demonstrated. Very good levels of communication and contextualisation of the discussed information will be demonstrated, with possible minor limitations. Discussion will be conveyed lucidly. Very good structure and generally persuasive argument will be evident. The report will be very well presented and structured by using very good layouts, relevant chapters and sections, informative titles/headings, relevant tables and figures. Very good independent secondary research will be
expected. A wide range of sources will be evaluated and synthesized. Very good and effective use of good quality citations to support discussion and
correct use of the requested reference style will be evident, with possible minor limitations. Appropriate assumptions will be clearly stated.
Excellent
80% –
Assignments in this mark range will
89%
demonstrate excellent clarity of focus,
include what is important, and exclude
irrelevant issues. Excellent
understanding of the topics requested
in each task with critical awareness of
relevance of issues will be evident as
well as excellent expression of ideas
and evidence of originality. Excellent
ability to structure the report and to
successfully allocate the available
words to the requested tasks, by
considering the assessment criteria, will
be demonstrated. Excellent levels of
communication and contextualisation
of the discussed information as well as
high levels of independent secondary
research, which reflect knowledge of
current practices and theory will be
demonstrated. Discussion will be
conveyed lucidly. Excellent structure,
compelling and persuasive argument
will be evident. The report will be
exceptionally presented and structured
by using effective layouts, relevant
chapters and sections, informative
titles/headings, relevant tables and
figures. Appropriate assumptions will