Reference no: EM133540418

Project Management: Quality Risk and Control

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools within Project Management core units

Tools such as ChatGTP present both benefits and complex challenges for students and staff. This unit will always adhere to current SCU policies regarding the use of any AI tools when undertaking your assessment activity. Unless individual assessment details expressly state whether you can or cannot use AI, you are free to choose. The use of AI may assist you in developing or improving your work. However, you will need to follow principles of Academic Integrity and accept accountability for any use and understand the possible consequences. Submitting an assignment that is not genuinely your work is never appropriate.

Consider the below so that you can make informed decisions about whether or when you use AI as a tool.
• While the AI may assist you in structuring or refining your writing or in creating a starting point, the assignment submission will still need you to draw on your critical analysis skills.
• Examine the accuracy of the information, the use of academic citations (plus references when required), and how well it addresses the assignment requirements.
• When you submit an assignment as a representation of your work, you should feel you can confidently assert that it is the culmination of your efforts.
• If you choose to use an AI tool, you are encouraged to retain a copy of the AI output. This can be compared to your final submission if questions arise around ownership or academic integrity.
• If you use an AI tool, you must include an acknowledgement on your title page, and cite appropriately in your Reference list per SCU guidelines.

Coversheets

The old-style university coversheets are not required and they drive up your Turnitin similarity score unnecessarily. The BlackBoard system tracks your submission without need for a coversheet. Unless there is a specific request, a professional-looking title page is satisfactory. It also helps to note your Word Count (when relevant).

Word Limits & Tolerances

For this unit, there is a pragmatic view of word length and limits. Please treat them as guides to help gauge your degree of effort. Tables, Exec Summary, References are not included in word counts (although please be sensible in the amount of text you place in a table, on a screen or slide). For Video activities, there is provided a range for the duration. Please remain within this timing to ensure there is enough time allocated to adequately assess your work.

Assessment 1: Project Report - Setting up a Quality Management Plan to support project success

Overview

Use one of the templates provided to build a quality management plan for your selected scenario. Look to define the desired quality objectives specific to the project scenario, identify the potential risks to the outcomes, and describe the possible tools to manage project quality and risk, including applicability and timing (linking theory and practice).

Assessment details

A quality management plan (QMP) is a tool needed to support successful project deliver. All projects have unique environments, therefore there are different risks and objectives specific to the particular piece of work. A QMP helps to identify the right aspects to focus on and the balance of effort to deliver the ‘right' things.

The project has been approved, but NOT yet started. You are presenting the QMP to your Senior Governance Group to show how you propose to support the project to stay on track once it starts e.g. this is about a future project and what you PROPOSE to do during the project (e.g. how often will you do audits, or when will you engage stakeholders, etc).

As the project has not commenced, you cannot / are not expected to populate or develop the details in the QMP.

1. Select one of the scenario options below. Note in the scenario, the project is approved but NOT yet started.
o *Note that you MUST use the same project scenario for A2 and A3.
o You may select your own organisation and consider a real or imagined project (but must be future facing).
o If you are not currently in a project role, you are welcome to imagine the typical projects in your business.
o Hint: Identifying a discreet, single project will be much easier both to demonstrate your understanding and to adhere to the word limits.

2. Create a QMP for the selected scenario, and identify at least 5 sections needed in your QMP.
o *Note that you MUST use one of the provided templates. (Industry specific templates are likely too complicated to meet the requirements of the assignment.)
o One section must include some aspect of risk (e.g. internal and/or external, or the most significant).
o One section must include some aspect of stakeholder analysis and/or communication.
o Hint: Before selecting, consider the particular industry and environment - the sections should make sense for the type of project approach and organisation.

3. Briefly explain your thinking for selecting the sections. Remember that your audience is the business executives. For each of the 5 quality aspect sections, clearly note:
o The advantages and/or limitations of the aspect within context of this particular project.
o At which point/s during the project the quality aspect be utilised and why, and who is responsible.
o How you think the quality aspect will contribute to the successful completion of the project
o Use current academic, peer reviewed references to support your explanation. Additional professional (PMBOK or industry bodies) and textbook (Kloppenborg) are welcome as additional sources.

Option 1: Your current organisation (if you can discuss details)
You can use your current organisation and identify a future project (real or imagined) that has NOT yet commenced / is not a project previously completed. You are welcome to embellish upon your current role or the scenario (e.g. pretend you know of an approved project) to help you demonstrate a higher level of learning and skills.

If using this scenario, this should be fully your own work and not an existing proforma developed by your business.

Option 2: At Home Therapy for Seniors
You have been engaged as the Project Manager by a company that provides support and therapy plans for seniors so that they are able to stay in their home longer. Although the business has an online booking system for their clients, they still use a paper to engage the individual providers and to record the service details provided at visit. The numerous government reviews, as well as privacy and safety expectations mean the operating requirements have significantly changed. As a result, their manual system has become unworkable and must be updated before the compliance deadline at the end of the calendar year.

The business leaders have concluded they need to implement a hand-held cloud-based management system to support the providers that go to the home. The system must provide time-tracking of the provider hours and location, adhere to the relevant standards, and enable the details on service provided to be integrated directly into the strict reporting requirements. The business leaders are aware that on top of the significant technical challenges in implementing such a system, there will be additional stresses on already busy staff as they learn and adapt to the new system and transfer information. All 50 staff will need to be trained by completing an online module and test, and then 3 monitored at home visits. There are limited trainers available with a general skills shortage in this field so staff cannot all be trained at the same time. The pressure is on you to deliver this crucial piece of software with minimal interruption to clients and 100% reporting accuracy.

Option 3: New Distribution Centre
You are engaged as the Project Manager to successfully build a consolidated central distribution centre for a national organisation delivering raw materials to other businesses. Although the company has been operating for over 30 years, the high demand for delivery services due to COVID saw exponential growth in the last 4 years. There is little system documentation and the business has depended on the knowledge of long-term employees. The rapid grown has seen several errors due to poor communication, and recent cost increases means the business has recorded a loss for the first time.

Shareholders have told execs to optimise the business and be more efficient and environmental. The business has decided to build a central distribution centre and trial a new delivery system for better logistics. Local staff have been working (successfully) in the same way for many years and although there are no planned redundancies, the teams are not currently skilled in the new delivery system. It is anticipated that some may undermine a new system by reverting to old ways of operating or refusing to engage with a central operator. Others may be less able to adapt to the new technology and shorter lead times. There is pressure to implement this to budget and quickly to meet share- holder expectations.

Assessment 2: Poster - Designing a Project Status Report to assess risk to quality

Overview

The project from A1 scenario has now commenced and is about half-way through. Design a status report that will help the governance group see how the key risks are being monitored. They are particularly interested to understand the effectiveness of the controls that you noted in your QMP and if the anticipated outcomes are on track to the stated quality.

scenario as A1. Learning outcomes
This assessment task is aligned to the following learning outcomes:
• ... Verify the risk associated with project implementation and the quality of projects
• Control project performance...

Assessment details

Effective reporting is critical for ensuring that the project stays on track, risks are monitored before they become an issue, and decisions can be made early if there is an impending problem. However, simply listing data points is not the same as providing succinct, clear insights.

The project from A1 is now underway and about half-way through. You are expected to regularly present a report to your Senior Governance Group to keep them informed of the progress of the project.

1. Create a status report for your selected project in a poster format for your Governance Group.
• This should align with the key risks and measures you identified in your QMP.
• You must show the layout and key information, but can generic imagined information - You do NOT need to research realistic costings or estimations.
• The Governance Group knows the project, but may not be project people (e.g. CFO, Executives, etc)
• You can assume additional detail is available in other systems (e.g. Low Risks accessed via 123 system)

2. The status report must have key information about the project including:
• The intervals and time of the status reports (this should make sense within the context of the project)
• Baselines (if applicable) or targets, a legend or key, etc. that roughly aligns with A1
• At least 2 elements of data visualisation e.g. icons, graphs, tables, design, etc
• Indicate an impending decision that the Governance Group will need to make about the project
• Hint: Keep in mind the limited space and the audience - executives will likely want to know about the benefits and big picture, more than how you run your project team.

3. Write a brief paragraph supporting your layout. Remember your justifications from A1 and consider aspects about quality as well as data visualisation.
• You must use using at least 2 quality, peer reviewed, academic research articles published within the last 18 months to support your thinking.
• You may also use any references from your A1, PMBOK, Kloppenborg, or professional bodies in addition to the articles.

* Assessment 3: Create a Project Report to justify Scope Variation

Overview

The project has an issue with one of the identified quality measures and requires you to create a Scope Variation and supporting change plan in order to address the problem and ensure the delivery of the required quality outcomes.

Scenario as A1. Learning outcomes
This assessment task is aligned to the following learning outcomes:
• Assess and verify the risk associated with project implementation
• Assess and verify the quality of projects
• Undertake systems design and root-cause analysis
• Control project performance and update project scope in the implementation phase

Assessment details

If continuing the project without change will impact the current agreed to quality objectives, then a scope variation is needed. This could mean agreeing to no changes in time or budget and accepting a decreased level of scope (or lower quality outcomes), or providing additional time or resources and meet the initial requirements. Part of understanding what needs to change, is conducting a root-cause analysis when an issue occurs in order to minimise the likelihood that the same problem happening again. As a result, new quality measures or controls may need to be put in place.

The project nominated in A1 is nearing the end but has developed an issue directly linked to one of the quality objectives you have been reporting on in A2. Provide a project report to your Senior Governance Group that analyses the problem using a root cause analysis / tool, and justifies a scope variation.

1. Identify a likely issue from your selected scenario.
• This should be a new issue and is NOT the original reason for doing the project.
• NOTE: This assignment is not a theoretical report but instead pitched to support your decision makers. However, if you do draw from other sources, you must cite and include references. Use SCU Harvard formatting https://libguides.scu.edu.au/harvard
• You are welcome to embellish upon your selected scenario (e.g. creating further back story etc.) if this will help you to demonstrate a higher level of learning and skills.

2. Develop a succinct report that includes the sections listed below:
o Executive Summary (not to exceed 1 page)
o Table of Contents
o 1. Introduction and Background
- Refer to your A1 QMP and note the quality objectives and initial controls, known risks, etc.
o 2. Problem or Opportunity
- Refer to A2 Status Report and note the developing history of risk that you have been watching
o 3. Analysis of Problem
- Must include root cause or some form of analysis
o 4. Proposed Scope Change
- Must include high level timeline, costs etc. and justification
o 5. Recommendation how best to Implement the Scope Change
- Must include control measures, communication, people, etc (e.g. updates to QMP)
o Appendix 1 Change Request Summary (template provided)
- Must include quality, time, cost and end benefits)
o References (if required)

Note: need only Assessment 3