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School of Computing and Mathematics Examination Session X, 20XX School of Computing and Mathematics Examination Session X, 20XX ITC505 ICT Project Management This paper is for Distance Education (Distance), Study Centre Melbourne, Study Centre Sydney and Study Centre Brisbane students. EXAM CONDITIONS: This is a closed book exam Non-programmable calculator permitted Notes are NOT permitted in the Exam English Dictionary Permitted (printed copy only, unmarked and unannotated) The student may NOT retain the question paper

WRITING TIME:

2 hours plus 10 minutes reading time Writing is permitted during reading time

MATERIALS SUPPLIED BY UNIVERSITY: 2 x 12 page answer booklet

MATERIALS PERMITTED IN EXAMINATION: (No electronic aids are permitted e.g. laptops, phones) Ruler - any type

NUMBER OF QUESTIONS: VALUE:

Eight (8) Questions 50%

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES: 1. All questions should be attempted. Note that this is a closed book examination; therefore, no written material, reference books/e-books or notes will be permitted in the examination room. 2. The maximum possible mark for the paper is 100 marks. 3. This examination is worth 50% of the final assessment for this subject. 4. Complete the panel at the bottom of this page with your name and student number.

STUDENT NAME: …………………………………………. STUDENT ID: ………………………. SIGNATURE ……………………………………………………………………………………………. CALCULATOR USED (IF ANY) …………………...…………………………………………………

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PART A – 8 Short Answer Questions Question 1 (10 marks) A. Compare and contrast the advantages and limitations of using financial models in project selection to using scoring models in project selection. (7 marks) Key concepts to be covered in the response could include, but are not limited to: • Financial models are helpful because projects are investments. These models can help to ensure that selected portfolio of projects meets the organization’s requirements for revenue, costs and returns. • Organizations often temper financial analysis with non-financial factors, which are sometimes included with the financial factors in a weighted scoring model. • All financial analysis techniques have both strengths and weaknesses and on their own, and cannot insure alignment with the organization’s strategic goals. They must be tempered with other considerations. • Scoring models are helpful in selecting and prioritizing potential projects. They are useful if there are several criteria for project selection, and multiple projects to consider. • Project selection criteria should include how well each potential project fits with the organization’s strategic planning. The company’s leaders should agree on these criteria. • Mandatory “must do” criteria should be identified and all criteria should be assigned weights. • Projects can then be scored according to each criterion and assigned a weighted score. • When completed the weighted scoring models can serve as a starting point for project selection and order of priority However, other factors should be considered such as the urgency of each project, practical details concerning the timing, the cost of delaying expected benefits from selected projects, and conflicting resource needs. B. There are both financial and non-financial criteria that need to be considered when selecting which projects will be supported within an organisation. Give three reasons why an organisation may support projects that do not have high profit margins. (3 marks)

Financial reasons alone will not ensure that selected projects contribute to the mission and strategy of an organisation. Other considerations such as:

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•

Capturing market share, Making it difficult for competitors to enter the market,

•

To develop an enabler product,

•

Developing a new core technology ,

•

Developing projects that are for public relations, to restore corporate image or enhance brand recognition and brand loyalty,

•

Develop core technology that will be used in next-generation products,

•

To prevent government intervention and regulation

Question 2 (10 marks) A. List the main activities that are performed by the project manager in the executing stage. (4 marks) Project manager is responsible for: •

Monitoring and controlling all aspects of the project (schedule, budget, quality, risk, change management etc.).

•

He/she must therefore gather information for regular reviews to be able to compare actual progress with planned progress

•

where necessary taking corrective action

•

communication with all stakeholders,

•

Managing the team (organise resources, manage team motivation etc.)

B. Identify and describe the three steps that the team should follow in order to define project scope and create a project scope statement. (6 marks) Key concepts to be covered in the response could include, but are not limited to: In defining the project scope the project team is creating their response to the requirements gathered from stakeholders. The steps for defining scope and creating a scope statement are: 1) List deliverables and acceptance criteria. These should include not only the final deliverables but also any intermediate deliverables that need to be created. The project team should also define acceptance criteria for each deliverable. 2) Establish project boundaries. These include which features and work elements are included in the project (in scope) and which are not included in the

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project (out of scope). this information will be helpful in managing expectations regarding the project. 3) Create a scope description. This should be a few sentences that describe the work to be accomplished in order to create the project deliverables. Question 3 (10 marks) A. Discuss how the behaviours of a project manager might be different in an agile project life cycle, versus a plan-driven or traditional project life cycle? (6 marks) Plan-driven or traditional project life cycle: After project initiation, the project manager is responsible for overseeing the creation of a detailed project plan prior to any project execution. The project scope, schedule, cost, quality and other plans are fully developed. The project plan is a formal, detailed document that is signed off by the sponsor and key stakeholders prior to project execution. During project execution the project manager monitors progress, manages resources and communicates project progress against the plan. Their role is to manage and control performance and to provide overall direction when the project is underway. Change-driven or agile project life cycle: At the beginning of an agile project the overall project scope is unknown, and the project plan is created at a very high level. Detailed planning is done only for the work to be done in the short term. The majority of the project work is performed in short iterations, or sprints, of two or four weeks. The project team agrees to deliver something of value at the end of each iteration. Each iteration has initial planning, a brief daily planning meeting, a demonstration of the value at the end of the iteration, and a retrospective meeting at the end to learn and apply the learnings to the next iteration. In an agile project, the project manager is sometimes called a scrum master to emphasize that their role is to facilitate and remove obstacles rather than command and control. The team needs to be self-directed, with high trust. Customer and stakeholder involvement is also high. B. Describe the process of achieving stakeholder satisfaction. Why is it important to consider stakeholder satisfaction? (4 marks) • • • • •

Identify all stakeholders. Prioritize that group. Seek to understand the prioritized stakeholders’ requirements. Develop standards to ensure that their requirements are met. Make any necessary tradeoff decisions.

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Stakeholders typically actively participate in determining quality standards. They will be looking at the products/services and make judgments of the quality of the processes in the project. Therefore, the stakeholders’ opinion of the quality is vital in order to get repeat business and/or to keep vital project members on board. Question 4 (10 marks) A. Describe the 4 phases of a Change Management Plan and give one tip for success in each phase (6 marks)

1. 2. 3. 4.

Assess Willingness, Readiness, and Ability to Change Develop or Adopt a Strategy for Change Implement the Change Management Plan and Track Progress Evaluate Experiences, Develop Lessons Learned, and Communicate Best Practices

There are many possible tips for each phase so any tip that relates to the correct phase is fine. B. Explain the role of Emotional Intelligence in Project Management and how Project Managers can improve their emotional intelligence (4 marks) Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage our relationships and ourselves better. It includes: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social skills. EQ allows PMs to be able to read their own and others emotions as well as realistically evaluating their abilities. This allows them to set high standards for their team, be a visionary leader, be able to understand other people’s needs and concerns, communicate well and lead and manage teams effectively through conflict management and building bonds. This can be developed through feedback from peers and superiors (a 360-degree review), an honest assessment of your own strengths and weakness and creating a plan for how you can improve in key areas through experience and training.

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Question 5 (20 marks) The data identified below was listed in a project’s latest status report: Budgeted cost work schedule = $ 36,000 Budgeted cost of work performed = $ 30,000 Actual cost of work performed = $ 33,000 BAC = 120,000 Original length of the project is 10 months. Using these data, calculate the following: A. What is the value of CPI and SPI? CPI = EV/AC = 30000/33000= 0.91 SPI = EV/PV = 30000/36000= .83 B. What is the expected cost at completion?

(4 marks)

(4 marks)

= BAC/CPI = 120000/.91 = $131868.13 C. How much money will be needed from the time of the report to complete the project? (4 marks) 131868.13-33000.00= $98868.13 D. What is the cost variance at completion?

(4 marks)

131868.13 - 120000 = 11868.13 E. How is the project tracking? Is it ahead of schedule or behind schedule? Is it under budget or over budget? (4 marks) The project is not doing very well as CPI and SPI both are less than 1. The project is behind schedule and over budget.

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Question 6 (10 marks) The table below shows a number of tasks required for the successful completion of a project. Task

Duration

Dependencies

Successors

ES

EF

LS

LF

Critical Path

A

10

None

B, C, D

0

10

0

10

Y

B

4

A

E

10

14

18

22

N

C

12

A

E

10

22

10

22

Y

D

3

A

F

10

13

23

26

N

E

4

B, C

F

22

26

22

26

Y

F

3

D, E

G

26

29

26

29

Y

G

4

F

None

29

33

29

33

Y

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A. Draw a network diagram for this project hi-lighting the critical path and complete the table. (4 marks)

10 8 18

14 B 4 22 22

26 E 4

22 0

10

10

A 10 0

25

22

26

C 12 10

10

29

29

F 4

22

26

10 13 23

33 G4

29

29

33

13 D3 26

B. Which task(s) in this project is/are not on the critical path?

(2 marks)

B & D are not on the critical path C. Calculate the free slack for the task(s) you identified in part B (2 marks) A,C,E,F,G – all have zero float and are on the critical path B has 8 days slack and D has 13 days slack D. Calculate the total duration of the project

(2 marks)

33 days total duration

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Question 7 (10 marks) A. Identify and describe three risk identification techniques. Describe some of the benefits of each technique? (6 marks) Describe three of the following and describe their benefits • Brainstorming ▪ The Delphi Technique ▪ Interviewing ▪ SWOT analysis B. Identify and describe two leadership styles. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each of the identified leadership styles. (4 marks) Describe two of the following leadership styles and discuss their advantages and disadvantages; coercive, authoritative, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, or coaching

Question 8 Case Study (20 marks) In this scenario: You are the owner/manager for a small local IT business, employing 5 fulltime staff and 2 part-time staff in total. You have been approached to undertake a large project, involving the installation of 150 new desktops for a new wholesale distribution centre in the local area. As part of the contract you would be expected to provide ongoing hardware and software support in a timely manner. Based on this introduction, answer questions A, B and C : A. Identify 4 stakeholders and indicate the influence they have on the project (4 marks) ½ mark per stakeholder + ½ mark for influence (see table 8.1 pg 208 of text as a guide)

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B. Develop a stakeholder communications analysis for this project. Your answer should include all stakeholders you mentioned in question 1. Outline the communication mechanism you use with each individual stakeholder, its frequency, along with a short description of the content of the communication. (4 marks) See table 8.2 page 210 of text as a guide C. Briefly outline 2 quality control issues that could influence project success. (4 marks) Issues include but are not limited to: Process adjustments may need to be made throughout the project to ensure sufficient bandwidth is available to each computer. Performance of each computer may need to be monitored once installed, and upgraded/reworked as appropriate or required. Acceptance levels or support set by the school may be higher than the company can provide given their small work force. D. Briefly describe 4 risks that may impact this project and the risk response you might implement. (8 Marks)

1 mark per risk + 1 mark for response

End of exam

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