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 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

1. 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.
2. 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. 

1. Promote continuous quality improvements for products, services, and processes.
2. Maintain project compliance with legal and statutory requirements.
3. Manufacturing Challenges - addressing challenges associated with coordinating production with construction project management, manufacturing process design and management, production flow management, and resource management.

1. Designing for Advanced Manufacturing - coordinating design, manufacturing and construction, design for manufacturing, design for assembly and design for sustainability.
2. Manage project handover; Obtain and evaluate project feedback information and make improvements;

Module Aims

1. Develop systematic understanding of knowledge and critical awareness of construction management practice issues.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of health, safety and welfare issues and the legal regulations for managing these on construction projects.
3. Develop a critical awareness of the role of standards and quality in successful project delivery and handover.
4. Demonstrate a practical understanding of the techniques used to manage risk and value on projects.
5. 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.

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%

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 

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

be clearly stated. Excellent and

effective use of good quality citations to

support discussion and correct use of

the requested reference style will be

evident.

Outstanding

90%-

Assignments in this mark range will

100

demonstrate outstanding clarity of

focus, include what is important, and

exclude irrelevant issues. Outstanding

understanding of the topics requested

in each task with critical awareness of relevance of issues will be evident as well as exceptional expression of ideas and evidence of originality. Outstanding ability to structure the report and to successfully allocate the available words to the requested tasks, by considering the assessment criteria, will be demonstrated. Outstanding levels of communication and contextualisation of the discussed information as well as outstanding levels of independent secondary research, which reflect knowledge of current practices and relevant theory will be demonstrated. Discussion will be conveyed lucidly.

Outstanding 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 be clearly stated.

Outstanding and effective use of good quality citations to support discussion and correct use of the requested reference style will be evident.