Reference no: EM133747864 , Length: word count:1800

Business Analytics Project Management

Part 1 - Your Task

Imagine you have been asked to set up a project to assess the upgrading of part of an online clothes retailer's website and app. This will include an initial analytical investigation into the usage of the current website and app and the subsequent managing of the redevelopment after the analytical investigation.

Assessment Description

PART 1

You will write a report describing the project set up, the project methodology and your personal recommendations about the methodologies used for the 2 phases of the project.

Business case study: How to improve a Retail Clothing Website and App

With the increasing use and clothing purchases made online, clothing retailers are making their apps easier and more engaging for their customers to use. Some retailers have even used the features of their apps as a point of difference to attract new customers.

You have been asked to initiate a project to analyse a clothing retailers website and application. This includes assessing where improvements may be made and then manage a project to upgrade some pages of the system.

Choose a real clothing retailer with an online presence and imagine you are working for that company; choose an application you are familiar with. Imagine you are a senior analyst within that company and run a project team to analyse and improve application design and function.

Phase 1: Analytical Project
Your first task is to analyse the current application. You will need to set up and manage a project to systematically analyse, monitor and feedback your results to provide recommendations to the executive about where to upgrade the website and app and why. As resources within your team are very limited, the initial analytical project will be completed by you alone. With only one resource on the project, you will adopt a Waterfall methodology to organise the project and timing.

Phase 2: Application development project
Following the successful completion and recommendations from the analysis phase of the project, you and your team, which includes app developers and analysts, will set out a project using an Agile type of methodology of your choosing to undertake the development of the pages of the app and their analysis.

The assessment is to describe and outline the different methodologies used for the two phases of the project (analytical project and application development) and apply them to the specific company and project you have chosen. This includes the benefits and potential issues the methodologies may have.

You will need to identify specific business problems to be solved for both projects, the stakeholders who may be interested in the outcome, their motivations for success and potential KPIs to determine the success of the analysis and development. To help with the assessment, use your chosen app and describe where specific changes could be made, how you would prove the decision to make these changes through analytics and how you would set up a project to update, test and monitor these changes.

Note that you need to demonstrate the ability to describe the project methodologies used and apply the theory specifically to your project. You are not expected to be an app develop but are project manager making the decisions to the best way to deliver a successful project.

Assessment Instructions

Part 1 - Case Study Written Paper

With the overall methodology in mind, answer the following questions and produce a written report covering both Phase1 and Phase 2 of the project.

Section 1 - Project Set-Up (5 marks) (500 Words)

Introduce the company and the project and define 3-4 key business problems to be solved in relation to the 2 phases of the project highlighting the key stakeholders who could be most interested in these specific business problems and why.
Set relevant KPI's for the project. These should be related to the business questions, and may be concerned with timelines, data collection, analytics methods or success metrics.
Describe the specific data required for the projects and how it will be used.
Section 2 - Project Methodology, Recommendations and reflections (15 marks) (1300 words)

Describe the features of the waterfall project methodology and how it would be specifically applied to Phase 1.
Describe the features of one of the newer Agile/Hybrid project methodologies (Scrum, Kanban,etc.) and how it could be specifically applied to Phase 2.
Describe the positive and negative aspects of the methodologies for the specific phases of the project with specific ideas on what could be enhanced or monitored to ensure project success.
Describe possible issues you may encounter collecting data and using analytics in this specific project.

What are the benefits of your chosen project methodology compared to other methodologies

What are the potential issues your proposed project methodology may encounter for this specific project

What is your personal recommendation and reflections on how to set up and run the phases of the project and why
Structure, Context and Referencing

Find and use at least five supporting references for your report, including at least 2 references from lecture slides. List the references in Harvard format. Structure your work as an executive report with clear headings, clear language and well thought through ideas presented and explained clearly.