Assignment 1 Description Marks out of Wtg% Due date Assignment 1 – Essay 100 30 28 March 2017 Word count: 2000 approximately TOPIC: Critical analysis of a project business case For all PM assignments, it is highly preferable that you use a project from your own workplace, or one for which you have knowledge about the background so that you can discuss the 'why' of the project and not just describe 'what' happened. If you really cannot locate a project business case from your workplace that has meaning for you, you can search online to find a suitable one that is of interest to you if you wish. Make sure you read the requirements of assignment 1 and 2 carefully. The course team is not responsible for providing project business cases for students to analyse. However, we recognize that some students struggle to find suitable projects to analyse, so some sample business case are provided here for assistance. If you choose to use one of these projects, it is up to you to find the additional information that you may need to do the assignments, and you must find the original source of the document and cite it correctly in your assignment otherwise it may constitute breach of intellectual property rights. Reminder: • Assignments should be attached to the specific electronic mark sheet for this assignment. • All assignments are to be submitted through the online assignment submission facility on the Study desk. • Check the file types and maximum file sizes that can be submitted through the website. • Assignment 1 submissions that do not include an Originality Report generated by Turnitin will not be marked (refer previous instructions). Word length Assignment 1 should be 2000 words approximately, exclusive of tables, figures, appendices, etc. Software requirement to complete assignment There are no specific software requirements for this assignment, apart from word processing. You may wish to use software to create diagrams where they are of value Assignment requirements Refer to the Assignment Guidelines for assistance in completing this assignment. Remember to integrate academic theory into your assignment to support your arguments and proposals. Guidelines for preparation of assignments are provided on the StudyDesk for the course. These are in the form of short videos which explain how to carry out critical analysis of your selected project in relation to the topics for each assignment. You are strongly advised to watch these videos multiple times during the semester to ensure you have an understanding of the expectations of the course examiner. Read the requirements of assignment 1 (below) and assignment 2. Choose a project that you can analyse in both assignments if possible. Otherwise you can select different projects for each assignment Provide the following: Assignment 1 mark sheet: Download the MGT8022 electronic submission mark sheet from the StudyDesk. Electronic assignments should follow the correct file-naming guidelines and use the electronic submission mark sheet. Title page: Ensure that your essay includes a normal cover sheet or title page that would be expected of a professional document to provide details of essay title, author, date, student number, etc. (this is in addition to the electronic mark sheet discussed above). This assignment is a professional academic paper so should be presented as one. (Note: No executive summary is required for this assignment as it essay style). (Note: No table of contents is required as it is essay style). Critical analysis of a project business case (around 2000 words) Consider the following statement: It has been suggested that a project business case provides ‘justification for undertaking a project, in terms of evaluating the benefit, cost and risk of alternative options and the rationale for the preferred solution. Its purpose is to obtain management commitment and approval for investment in the project. The business case is owned by the (project) sponsor’. (Source: Association for Project Management 2006, Body of Knowledge, 5th edn, APM, UK, p. 129) (Note: bolding has been added.) Think about your chosen project for analysis in assignment 1 and/or 2. Write an essay about the following: • Is it important to have a business case for the project you have chosen? • If not, why not? • If it is important, why is it important? • What should be considered in the business case for your project? • In what way/s will it help to improve project outcomes? Justify your argument using evidence from the literature (the literature includes text books, journal articles etc. that have some ‘academic validity’). The focus of this essay is the 'business case'. Make sure you clearly understand what a business case is before you try to complete this assignment. Important note This essay is about the project business case and not just a discussion about the project itself. Refer to your Communication skills handbook to understand how to structure and write an essay. It is expected that you would provide an introduction, the body of your essay, a conclusion and recommendations, and a list of references. You may use headings for sections if you wish. You may use diagrams and tables if necessary to reduce word count and to communicate your analysis more clearly. This assignment is deliberately open-ended to give you an opportunity to do some research about project-related business cases in the context of project management. There are no right or wrong answers. This assignment will allow you to explore the text books, journal articles and other sources on the importance or otherwise of business cases in project management. There is not a lot of information about this topic so it will require you to access the e-Books and e-Journals in the USQ Library website and develop some research skills. See http://library.usq.edu.au/. List of references – (using the Harvard AGPS system): Provide a complete list of references providing full details of all citations used in the body of the essay. For a postgraduate assignment, if you have done sufficient research, there should be at least 15 references, many of which will be cited more than once. Remember to use the e-Journals and e-Books available from the Library website to research the literature on the topic (especially Books 24×7 and eBrary). Contact the Library staff if you need assistance to find these databases Appendices: Appendices would not normally be expected with an essay. If you have any appendices, they should be attached to the essay after the list of references. They should be numbered sequentially, e.g. Appendix 1, Appendix 2, etc. Turnitin Originality Report: Remember to submit a shortened version of your assignment (without the mark sheet and appendices) to Turnitin for checking and to submit a copy of the Turnitin Originality Report with your assignment. See ‘Course assessment’ above for more detailed instructions. Marking criteria for assignment 1 Marking criteria is included in the electronic mark sheet. Use only the MGT8022 mark sheet provided for assignment 1 for this course.