Assignment Information
Part 1 (1500 Words): Best Practice Project Management Report
You work for a project management consultancy firm and have been approached by Department of British Airports to provide them with a 1500-word report on what can be learnt from the Heathrow Airport Terminal 1 refurbishment project. Your report should focus on two elements of project management which you have covered on the module, and should critically analyse the tools or frameworks that may/ should have been used on the project, underpinned by relevant theory.
The report should also provide SMART recommendations for other organizations based on your main discussion. A suggested structure is outlined within this assignment brief.
“Refurbishing Heathrow Airport Terminal 1,
On Time, On Budget, With No Disruptions to Travelling Public
BAA Airports Ltd. was tasked with the refurbishment of Terminal 1, a 40-year-old building within Heathrow Airport, the busiest international airport in the world, whilst constantly keeping the terminal open to the 20 million annual travellers.
Heathrow Airport Terminal 1 was completed on time in September 2008. The project involved more than 500,000 working hours and kept within its £57.6 million budget.
The project delivered on time and within budget despite the numerous problems that arose, especially the unexpected extra work that could have caused major delays to the project delivery.
The project had a good health and safety record with no reported incidents, despite dealing with serious hazards like asbestos.
There was effective team work between the numerous contractors, suppliers, stakeholders, and various support functions.
All challenges were successfully met by the project team including £6.3m of unexpected out-of-scope work that was engineered into the final solution without an increase to the approved project budget.
(PMI)
Part 2 (500 Words) Lecture learning diary
You are required to write a 500-word learning diary on one (1) of the lectures given during 345SAM module. Please note that this learning diary can be based on any of the lectures given within this module.
The aim of a learning diary is to summarize, analyse and comment on the lecture. The key to writing a learning diary is to draw on the lecture, however instead of just repeating what the lecturer has said, the students should speak with their own voice. A diary is a subjective view, and should reflect what the student has heard and learnt. It is the student’s own analysis and insights that count. The teacher’s ideas may even be taken further and elaborated on.
What the lecture has taught may have some relevance for you. Can you identify what this is? Make note of and reflect on the thoughts that emerge as especially important.
These following guidelines will give you pointers to writing a reflective academic learning diary.
• First of all put the lecture into perspective: how did the classes relate to your prior learning and life/work experience? Secondly, you should state the main points of the lecture, but a mere summary is not enough. The teacher would like to learn of the trains of thought that teaching session has set in motion.
• You do not necessarily have to use complementary literature to write a learning diary, but you may wish to make use of both prior learning and relevant academic literature to enhance your description. In this case add another reference list dedicated to your learning diary. You may wish to take note of the literature recommended by the teacher on the lecture.
• It is recommended that you write a brief summary of the thoughts raised by the lecture soon after the class. It may prove hard to go back to the lecture notes weeks after the lecture. Reflect on the contents of the lecture both during and after class in relation to your own views of the issues at hand.
Structure
Your assignment should be presented as a report, using the following structure:
Report section Recommended word count
Part 1: Best Practice Project Management Report
(approx. 1500 words in total for this part)
Executive summary Not included in word count
Introduction to the report 150-200 words
Main discussion on two topics 1000 words
Recommendations 250-300 words
Reference list Not included in word count
Part 2: Learning diary(approx. 500 words in total for this part)
The word count for the whole assignment is 2000 words.
There is a 10% word limit tolerance. (Maximum/minimum range: 1800 to 2200 words.)
Tables, diagrams, appendices and references are omitted from the overall word count:
Sections contributing to the word count are indicated. You may also include tables, diagrams and models. These do not count towards the word count. Ensure that all tables, diagrams and models are labelled, include a citation and are discussed in the text. Appendices and reference list are also not included in the word count.
You must state the number of words used on the front cover of the assignment.
Source material
You are required to research project management theory in order to successfully complete this assignment. You will need to use a minimum of 10 separate sources. An initial reading list will be provided on Moodle.
How to submit your assessment
The essay must be submitted via Turnitin. No paper copies are required. You can access the Turnitin link through the module web.
• Your coursework will be given a zero mark if you do not submit a copy through Turnitin. Should you submit work on time but fail the assignment, you will be offered a resit opportunity but the resit mark will be capped at 40%.
• All work submitted after the submission deadline without a valid and approved reason (see below) will be given a mark of zero. Please note that a non-submission is not the same as a failed submission; a failed submission counts as an attempt whereas an absent mark does not necessarily allow you to resit the coursework.
• Short deferrals (extensions) of up to three calendar weeks can only be given for genuine “force majeure” and medical reasons, not for bad planning of your time. Please note that theft, loss, or failure to keep a back-up file, are not valid reasons. The short deferral must be applied for on or before the submission date. You can apply for a short deferral by submitting an Examination/ Coursework Deferral Application Form. Application Forms along with the supporting evidence should go to the relevant Student Support Office (WMG08). For a longer delay in submission a student may apply for a long deferral.
• Students MUST keep a copy and/or an electronic file of their assignment.
• Checks will be made on your work using anti-plagiarism software and approved plagiarism-checking websites.
GUIDELINES AND BACKGROUND TO THIS ASSIGNMENT
This assessment will assess the entire module learning outcomes and makes up 50% of the overall module mark.
Word Count Limit
Your word count includes in text citations but not the final references or appendices. If you are more than 10% over or under the word count limit you will receive a 10% penalty.
We recommend that you only use Appendices for supporting material and not for the substantive part of your work.
Plagiarism
As part of your study you will be involved in carrying out research and using this when writing up your coursework. It is important that you correctly acknowledge someone else’s writing or thoughts and that you do not attempt to pass this off as your own work. Doing so is known as plagiarism. It is not acceptable to copy from another source without acknowledging that it is someone else’s writing or thinking. This includes using paraphrasing as well as direct quotations. You are expected to correctly cite and reference the works of others. The Centre for Academic Writing provides documents to help you get this right. If you are unsure, please visit www.coventry.ac.uk/caw.
Turnitin includes a plagiarism detection system and assessors are experienced enough to recognise plagiarism when it occurs. Copying another student’s work, using previous work of your own or copying large sections from a book or the Internet are examples of plagiarism and carry serious consequences. Please familiarise yourself with the CU Harvard Reference Style (on Moodle) and use it correctly to avoid a case of plagiarism or cheating being brought. Again, if you are unsure, please contact the Centre for Academic Writing or a member of the course team.
Return of Marked Work
You can expect to have marked work returned to you 2 weeks after the submission date. Marks and feedback will be provided online. As always, marks will have been internally moderated only, and will therefore be provisional; your mark will be formally agreed later in the year once the external examiner has completed his / her review.