INFS6071:
Individual
Assignment One
Due: Week 9 (27 September
2024, 2359hrs)
The University of Sydney Business School
2024
INFS6071: Individual Assignment 1, S2-2024
1
Contents
Background .................................................................................................................. 2
Task ............................................................................................................................. 2
The Deliverable ............................................................................................................ 4
Submission Requirements ............................................................................................ 4
Assessment Criteria ..................................................................................................... 5
Marking criteria: Individual Assignment One ................................................................ 6
INFS6071: Individual Assignment 1, S2-2024
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Background
(Assesses: LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4)
The top reason for project failure is the project itself. Wrong
projects are ones that defy conventional business rationale,
creating outputs that either few people want, that add little to no
real value, or that undershoot the desired benefits because they
are so difficult to achieve. In short, they fail in rationale and
objective reasoning. They are sometimes called white elephants.
(Wu & Misra, 2023)
Task
Part A: Critical Path Analysis
Description of Requirements: You are employed as a Project Manager at
Comarda, and you have been awarded a contract to develop a new automated
inventory control system for Assum Pullum Express, a new fast-food chicken chain
opening several stores across New South Wales. The project's scope and work
breakdown structure have already been decided upon. Tasks and their contents,
durations, and resource requirements are shown in Table 1. Predecessors of tasks
imply which tasks must be conducted before the current task can be started.
Activity
Code
Task/Activity Duration
in days
Predecessors
A Start-up planning and design 5 -
B Equipment determination and planning 8 A
C Specific software determination 9 A
D Production line planning and determination 4 B
E Equipment planning 7 B
F Software planning 17 C
G Equipment documentation 10 E
H Documentation of operational system 13 F
I Detailed hardware blueprints 7 E
J Hardware component orders 1 I
K Hardware component delivery 6 J
L Integration of phase 1 12 D, G, H, K
M Prototype development 10 L
N Prototype introduction 6 M
O System evaluation and improvement 9 N
P Hardware assembly 18 N
Q Computer system installation 7 P
R Project documentation 4 O, P
S Integration of phase 2 12 Q, R
INFS6071: Individual Assignment 1, S2-2024
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a. Create a network diagram using the activity on node (AON) notation
representing the project, as presented in the unit. (2 marks)
Identify the Critical Path: Use the table to determine the task
sequence that forms the critical path.
Calculate Start and Finish Times: For each task, calculate the
earliest start (ES), earliest finish (EF), latest start (LS), and latest finish
(LF) times.
Calculate Slack Time: Determine the slack time for each task.
You may use PowerPoint to draw and copy the diagram into your
assignment document. You should not use Microsoft Project or
any other project management software for this part of the
assignment.
b. In the context of the above project with Assum Pullum Express, explain
possible key challenges in managing projects using its critical path. Please
use appropriate references to support your explanation. (3 marks)
Part B: Project Analysis
Project management is a critical discipline in business. It aims to ensure that projects
are within scope, completed on time, within budget, and to the desired quality
standards. However, not all projects succeed. Understanding why projects fail is
essential for future project managers to learn from past mistakes and improve their
skills. This assessment aims to provide students with a comprehensive
understanding of the complexities and challenges in project management by
analysing real-world examples of failed projects.
Importance of Analysing Failed Projects
Learning from Mistakes: Analysing failed projects helps identify common
pitfalls and mistakes, providing valuable lessons for future projects.
Risk Management: Understanding the risks that led to project failures can
improve risk management strategies.
Improving Processes: Insights from failed projects can improve project
management processes and methodologies.
Stakeholder Communication: Failed projects often highlight stakeholder
communication and management issues, offering lessons on how to handle
these aspects better.
Innovation and Adaptation: Learning from failures encourages innovation
and adaptation, helping project managers to be more flexible and responsive
to changes.
You are to conduct independent research and select a recent project (in the last 5
years) that can be considered a failure (from a project management perspective C time,
cost, budget).
To accomplish this,
1. Students are required to select one of the following recent failed projects,
conduct a detailed analysis, and present their findings in a report. The report
should cover the following aspects:
INFS6071: Individual Assignment 1, S2-2024
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Project Overview: Brief description of the context (country, industry,
markets, company, products/services), the project, its objectives, and key
stakeholders.
Potential Reasons for Failure: Detailed analysis of the key factors that
potentially led to the project's failure. There could be contradictory
indicators or varied ideas presented in the literature. These reasons
should be linked back to the Project Management Performance Domains
and Project Principles.
Impact: Examination of the impact of the failure on the organisation and
stakeholders.
Lessons Learned and Recommendations: Key lessons that can be
learned from the project failure. Suggestions for how the project could
have been managed differently to avoid failure.
Notes
1. Have a proposed project management case study to present to your tutor in
your week 6 tutorial.
2. All requirements about the case under investigation should be clearly
addressed (Support your argument using appropriate references Ce.g. news,
trade press and academic).
3. You may investigate a problem that occurred anywhere in the world, but all
references, including the incident's source of information, must be available in
English.
The Deliverable
Total written report: 2000 10% words (excluding in-text references and reference
list).
Part A: Critical Path Analysis ? 400 words
Part B: Case Study Analysis ? 1600 words
Note: Please use tables, diagrams, and charts to prepare a
concise response.
Submission Requirements
Submit your report (Individual Assignment 1) by the due date shown on Canvas.
You will find the link to submit the report in the Assignment section of Canvas.
The report should be formatted using A4 paper size, 1.5 line spacing, 2.5cm margins,
and a sans-serif font size of at least 12pt (e.g., Arial, Helvetica, Calibri, Aptos).
INFS6071: Individual Assignment 1, S2-2024
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Late submissions will be penalised in accordance with the University and Business
School Policy as set out in the UoS outline.
Artificial Intelligence
This assignment is considered a Lane 2 C Examples of human-AI collaboration in
assessment as learning assessment type.
You are permitted to use generative AI to help you; this use must be
acknowledged. For example, you may use AI tools such as (ChatGPT, Google
Gemini, and Microsoft CoPilot) to brainstorm ideas for your assignment. You may
use AI tools such as (Grammarly, Notion AI, ChatGPT, etc.) to directly suggest
readability improvements to your text in terms of grammar and expression.
Do not post confidential, private, personal, or otherwise sensitive information into
these tools. If you use these tools, you must be aware of their limitations, biases, and
propensity for fabrication. Your use of AI tools must adhere to the Student Charter
2020, including upholding honesty, ethics, professionalism, and academic integrity.
Acknowledgement of AI
If you use any AI tools, you need the following:
1. An acknowledgement:
I acknowledge using [insert tool name] to [what the tool did] on <>. With the
<>. What then happened?
For example, I acknowledge using ChatGPT (https://chat.openai.com/) to refine the
academic language of my own work. On 1 July 2024, I submitted my entire essay to
refine the academic language of my own work. The original essay can be found here
[link]. With the prompt: For the following essay, can you improve the academic tone
and accuracy of language, including grammatical structures, punctuation and
vocabulary? . The output [link] was then modified further to better represent my tone
and style of writing.
2. Copies of the work before and after using the AI tools C see above for links in
the acknowledgement.
3. The output produced by AI tools is non-deterministic (i.e., another person
cannot obtain the same information as you did); thus, citing AI tools is not a
source and is inappropriate for an assignment.
Assessment Criteria
The individual assignment weighting equals 25% of your final grade.
General explanation of standards: Please refer to the grade descriptors located on
Canvas. These grade descriptors are used to construct marking schemes for all
assessment items.
INFS6071: Individual Assignment 1, S2-2024
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Marking criteria:
Individual Assignment One
Criteria Marks allocated
Part A: Critical Path Analysis
Marks for (a) of the assignment are awarded for the diagram's
design and the answer's correctness.
Marks for (b) are awarded in the context of the project, how you
explain key challenges in managing a project using its critical path.
Part B: Case Study
Content, knowledge, and originality of analysis
Demonstrates detailed knowledge of the topic and awareness of a
variety of ideas/contexts based on a wide range of sources that
have been thoroughly analysed, applied, and discussed.
Application and integration of appropriate project management
knowledge, innovative, and insightful, with an appreciation of
disciplinary gaps, limitations, and inconsistencies shown in key
areas of the discussion. The analysis is original and can develop
and justify students' ideas.
8
Critical thinking and reasoning
Analytical and clear conclusion provided that is well-grounded in
project management theory and the literature. A critical review of
evidence supports the development of the recommendations and
their significance from a project management perspective,
including contradictory information/gaps identified and reasons for
contradictions/limitations.
6
Information literacy/Use of Literature
Relevant and innovative choices of information sources,
demonstrating well-designed search strategies.
An upper limit of ten (10) references (both industry [grey] and
academic) is recommended.
3
Communication and professional presentation (written)
Communicates meaning competently; in own words, structuring and
organising ideas logically, clearly, concisely, and cohesively. The
purpose of the assignment is addressed comprehensively and
imaginatively. Appropriate referencing and referencing style used
(APA 7th). Fluent writing style appropriate to report. Grammar and
spelling are accurate.
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