CourseWork

Module Learning Outcomes assessed in this piece of coursework

• Critically Analyse and explain the concepts, strengths, limitations and suitability of agile development techniques;

• Develop appropriate use of Project Management qualitative techniques within an Agile framework, such as Feasibility Study, Planning, Control and Estimating, Risk Management and Configuration Management and quantitative techniques such as PERT and CPN

• Apply management and team building techniques to appropriately managing an information systems development project

• Critically discuss social and professional issues associated with Information systems Project Management.

• Select and apply object-oriented development techniques within an agile development environment;

• Manage the development of a system by applying an agile framework.

Assessment 2 Brief and Assessment criteria

Assessment 2 Report will be submitted as 1 pdf document containing 3 parts

Part A will take the form of a PROJECT INITIATION DOCUMENT (PID) for a specific project, using the PRINCE 2 approach

Part B will take the form of using AgilePM in the development of the specific project chosen

Part C Will be a research paper comparing, contrasting and discussing the strengths and limitations of Prince 2 and AgilePM in context to the project chosen

Introduction

Technology and information technology in particular, can now provide help in many ways that were not possible in the past. However, as more and more information and business and personal transactions are delivered or managed online, so it is increasingly important to ensure that users are not disadvantaged by the technology. Indeed, there is legislation that now requires organizations to provide both physical and virtual access so that no special needs group is disadvantaged.

Yourproject should be a response to one of theissuesidentified on the next page, and should take advantage of some of your design and technical skills and should help a specific group or organization, for example, by raising awareness, increasing membership or activity, raising funds, or providing services, developing new products or interfaces, or training programs for users or their supporters or some combination of these. Interfaces to computer programs, or other IT tools are areas where there are many opportunities for small projects. It may also be possible for you to consider ways of developing these or exploiting new technological developments such as mobile computing, wireless communication, digital imaging, new media, or electronic business processes in appropriate ways. You should develop an application or website prototype that will allow users to benefit from your project.

You are invited to propose a project that will help a small organization, group of users, or people who support your users. For example, there are a large number of organizations that provide support or advice to people, attached to local or national health, educational or community establishments. You will need to do some research on your chosen organization or user group, but you are not required or expected to contact them directly.

One of the project criteria is to decide the scope of the project. You may decide to limit your project to a specific local organization, a specific group of users, or a national organization. You must identify a specific area where such a project development would be useful and feasible and justify your choice.

You are required to submit a Project Proposal and Project Initiation Document (PID). You will get feedback on your initial proposals during the sessions during the taught module, and you will then be expected to work these up into a full Project Plan, with illustrative supporting material. In addition to your PID, you will be asked to submit a small “look and feel” prototype or walkthrough, and slides for boardroom presentation that describe the business case for your deliverables.

Any proposal will need to be constrained within a small budget for startup funds and development costs of a nominal (virtual) £100K. It is expected that theproject, will be up and running within 6 months, and result in some sustainable benefit to the chosen users or organization within one year. It is expected that these startup funds, possibly with further funds from other identified sources, will enable any new long-term venture to become self-supporting after an initial period of up to 12 months. If you decide that your project will require additional funding beyond the £100K, you will need to show how this money might be raised and spent, and how it could be recovered over a two-year period. You can apply for further funding.

Consider a project related to ONE of the following issues:

(a) Changing UK demographics

“The population of the UK is ageing. Over the last 25 years the percentage of the population aged 65 and over increased. This trend is projected to continue. By 2034, 23 per cent of the population is projected to be aged 65 and over compared to 18 per cent aged under 16. The fastest population increase has been in the number of those aged 85 and over.

As people get older, many suffer from impairment in sensory, cognitive or motor skills – for example, from impaired hearing and vision, reduced dexterity or cognitive abilities, dementia or Alzheimer, and many other medical or psychological conditions that require specific support. In the current economic climate, a growing elderly population is also likely to experience, social isolation, and reduced access to local shops, libraries, health and social services.

(b) Graduate employment opportunities

In 2018-2019 there were 2.38 million students studying at UK higher education institutions, following a steady increase over the past decade. Identify a project to help these graduates find appropriate employment.

(e) Brexit

Will there be a smooth transition for the UK economy after Brexit. Will Brexit create the next UK recession or is there a way of benefiting from this and creating a time of prosperity for the UK. Could you develop some ideas to help the economy grow over the next few years.

(f) Student research funding and scholarships. Identify a project to create funding opportunities to carry out research at universities taking into consideration venture capitalists and innovative ideas.

(g) Volunteering and charity work – you may have further ideas which you are free to suggest

(h) Economic Recovery projects post COVID pandemic – Identify a project to get the nations economy back on track

Specification of Deliverables for Part A: Prince 2 

Marking scheme Criteria & Weightings Part A

You are required to produce a Project Initiation Document (PID) .

The PID document should contain information to be used as part of a business and project case to the chosen organization, plus any other potential partners who might support your venture. You should make a plausible and convincing case with a well-specified project plan.

A good submission will have:

Project Title

Aims and Objectives of Project: This should indicate [8%]

1 the objectives, and the deliverables of this project

1 the expected sustainable benefits that will result from the project

1 any assumptions on which the plan is based

1 what measures that you might use to enable your you to demonstrate the success of the project

1 Legal, Social and Ethical issues that might effect the project and how you would address these issues.

Summary of Project Justification and anticipated Outcomes. [8%]

1 reference to any relevant research performed and criteria used to select the project

1 A brief outline of how the results will be achieved, and explanation of the choice of approach.

1 A brief description of the methods to be used to develop the final applications.

Detailed analysis or system design is not required.

1 TotalBudgetrequested – Thisshouldexplainbriefly how fundswould be allocated and scheduled over the lifetime of the project. Where other funding or resources are relevant, they should be mentioned in the bid.

1 Detailed Costs and Benefits You should identify main costs and benefits, showing development, start-up, and operational costs for the first year, with indications of where

extrafunding(if needed) willcomefrom.Youshouldalso show any director indirect benefits. You may comment on any intangible benefits of the project.

Product breakdown structure and Product Descriptions: [8%]

1 a top-level breakdown by Product (Deliverable)

1 A full product description, including quality criteria and an outline of how quality is assessed

1 a detailed Product breakdown that should show lower level details of three of the main products and their associated resources

Project Activities plans: These should include [8%]

1 A product flow diagram, showing the sequence in which products will be produced

1 A Gantt chart and a Critical Path Analysis to show the overall project plan, including Prince2 stages, as appropriate. The main activities should take place in the 6 months from January to June after the initial planning period.

Risk Analysis & Contingency plans: these should include [8%]

1 An evaluation (in terms of likelihood and impact) of any internal factors (project risks) and external factors (business risks) that may affect the project (at least 3 of each)

1 risk handling and mitigation plans – and an indication of the steps or procedures you would recommend to reduce the likelihood of each of these risks should they occur.

1 contingency plans – showing how you would reduce the impact of each of these risks or recover from them should they occur.

END of Part A

Specification of Deliverables for Part B : Agile Development of your project

Marking scheme Assessment Criteria & Weightings Part B

After several facilitated workshops some useful information has been put together as described in your PID above. From those sections above you must submit a report that includes the following:

A good submission will have:

o Explanation of why Moscow technique is used. Present a list in a table format of high-level MoSCoW prioritised business process requirements in a table format (Prioritised Requirements List [PRL]). Include estimates for each requirement as number of days. The requirements should form the basis for four separate High Level Use Case Diagram, including the users of the system. [10 %]

o Total of 4 users stories based on the MUST HAVE requirements. One User story for each of the 4 subsystems for the use cases identified. Use the template: “As a <role>, I want <goal/desire> so that

<achievement/benefit>” and the associated Acceptance Criteria for each user story. [8 %]

o Choose 2 user stories to focus on from the 4 user stories above. Develop two paper prototypes, one for each of these 2 user stories. [8 %]

o For 1 of the prototypes present a description of the iterative development that takes place. Show the time-box planning or sprint planning for the development of this prototype. Show some changes to prototypes as a result of user feedback. Include filled in change request form. Also show the final prototype after the changes. [9 %]

o A first cut class diagram showing only the class names and attributes and relationships that will form the basis of the database for the information system that will be developed. [5 %]

END of Part B

Specification of Deliverables for Part C : Research Paper

A short academic research paper (approx. 4 pages) comparing, contrasting and discussing the strengths and limitations of Prince 2 and Agile and suggesting which approach is best for this project or is a hybrid approach Marks will be based on:

o Appropriate content, criticalevaluation of theliterature and forming your ownconclusions.

o Academic journals, conference papers, appropriate books and Internet site with clear standard referencing style and citation. [5%]

Higher marks will be achieved for:

o depth, detail, accuracy, succinctness, completeness, academic vigor, writing style

o referringdirectly to your specific project throughout. [5%]

END of Part C Brief

Overall Quality of the whole report:

o Language (Spelling, Grammar, Style) – Are spellings and use of grammar correct?

o Is writing style clear and concise?

o Logical Coherence and flow (Clarity of Expression and Explanations)

o Quality of Formatting, structure – Is title page, headings and sub-headings font and line spacing consistent?

o Quality of Diagrams – Are diagram readable, clearly labelled?

10%