IT 328 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric Overview.docx
- 1. IT 328 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric Overview The final project for this course is the creation of a risk analysis and mitigation memo. We all work on projects whether at work, at school, or around the house. Some projects are small and can be completed quickly; however, some take time, planning, and preparation. How can you make sure that a project is completed once it is started? How do projects in information technology really run behind the scenes? Project management provides a structured method to move through a project from the time it is created until the time it is completed and all the steps in between. In this project, imagine that you are team member for an IT development project. Your team has identified several risks the project faces that could negatively impact its outcome. You have been tasked with selecting one of those risks and analyzing it in order to determine the best solution to mitigate the risk and determine how your solution will affect the overall project. You will write a professional email memo to your project manager, with supporting documentation as attachments. The email will explain your analysis, recommendations, and the impact of those recommendations.
- 2. Your thorough analysis is critical to the project manager to help him or her make an informed decision about how to move the project forward. Use this reference as an example, to assist you with writing a business memo. In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes: project’s scope, budget, and schedule to determine how they impact one another -appropriate messaging for communicating an information technology project’s status and needs to project stakeholders -technology considerations for informing project risk-management response strategies Examine project management documents for key project data to promote successful information technology projects through development, testing, and production Prompt Your email memo and attachments should be drafted in a Word document with the project charter, RACI chart, and Gantt charts included in an appendix. In your memo, you will describe background information about the project that you are working on, detail information about a specific project risk, and propose a recommended risk mitigation strategy to your leadership team.
- 3. Your memo will make use of the following project scenario: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/professiona l_technical_writing/memos/sample_memo.html Regatta University is a leader in both traditional education and career-path development, including in emerging fields. The university prides itself on staying on the leading edge of curriculum and degree programs, learning methodologies and instructional technologies, student services, and demonstrated student success. “The future is here and now,” the university’s president, Martha Yoon, likes to say. Regatta serves approximately 8,000 students at locations including the original campus in Augusta, Maine, and satellite campuses in Ventura, California; Dayton, Ohio; and Hilo, Hawaii. In a typical term, approximately 40% of Regatta’s students take courses at a distance through the university’s online education hub. Enrollment growth has been strong, increasing by 4 to 8% each year for the last decade. You are a key member of the information technology team at Regatta, with a core specialization in student services. You are responsible for providing user- friendly interfaces connecting to a flexible, powerful information structure. Now you have a new project—working with colleagues to create a student degree
- 4. progress tool that students will use for accurate, instant information on their progress toward program and degree completion. As you may imagine, this tool is eagerly awaited by a variety of stakeholders, including Regatta academic advisors and the Office of Enrollment Management, as tracking and communicating student progress toward degree completion is vital for retention. “We need a tool that will be easy to use but also accurate. No misinformation!” your team manager says. Your memo will analyze and recommend mitigation strategies for one project risk. The risk you choose to focus on must come from the list of project risks in the provided Project Management Documents Excel worksheet. They are located in the tab titled Risk Matrix. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed in your memo: I. Introduction: Using the Student Degree Progress Project Charter document, the RACI chart in the Project Management Documents workbook, and the Gantt Chart document as guides, provide background information on the project you are working on. A. Describe the purpose of the project and the end objective, including where this information is documented. B. Identify the key stakeholders involved in the project, including an explanation of their roles and responsibilities. C. Describe your own role and responsibilities on the project team, citing specific information from the project’s Gantt chart. D. Explain the triple constraint relationship between the
- 5. project’s scope, schedule, and budget. Support your response with examples from the project materials and your experience in adding the new element to your project during Milestone Two. II. Project Risk: Select a risk from the list in the Project Management Documents workbook. Using these project management documents as guides, provide detailed information about the specific project risk. A. Explain why this risk requires attention. Support your response with examples from the project management documents. B. Describe any dependencies within the project that may be affected by this risk. Provide specific examples from the project management documentation to support your response. C. Explain the implications for the project within the context of the triple constraint if this risk is not addressed. http://snhu- media.snhu.edu/files/course_repository/undergraduate/it/it328/it 328_student_degree_progress_project_charter.docx http://snhu- media.snhu.edu/files/course_repository/undergraduate/it/it328/it 328_project_management_documents.xlsx http://snhu- media.snhu.edu/files/course_repository/undergraduate/it/it328/it 328_gantt_chart.mpp
- 6. III. Risk Mitigation: Using all available project documents as guides, recommend a risk mitigation strategy. A. Explain the steps that need to be taken in order to mitigate the identified risk. B. Explain in detail how the proposed mitigation strategy will affect the project. Include any tradeoffs that must be made to accommodate the mitigation strategy, and consider the triple constraint and any other variables that you deem important. C. Defend why your proposed mitigation strategy is the best course of action for the project team. IV. Conclusion: Summarize the project needs in your project risk and mitigation proposal for your stakeholders. What are the most important pieces of information to take away? V. Communication: Your risk mitigation email memo attachments will be evaluated based on the following elements: A. Develop email communication in a clear and professional way, using language appropriate for the audience of stakeholders. B. Attach supporting documentation to aid in the communication of your mitigation strategy. Milestones Milestone One: Introduction, Stakeholders, and Roles In Module Two, you will compose a brief project description that summarizes the student degree progress project, including its purposes, objectives, and how and where to find further information about it. This milestone
- 7. will be graded with the Milestone One Rubric. Milestone Two: Your Role and the Triple Constraint In Module Three, you will take on one of the three technical roles on the project team. Using the Gantt chart, you will first describe the work assigned to your role. You will also list work performed by others that must be done prior to the tasks assigned to your role. In this milestone, you will also consider the implications for the project restraints with the addition of a new project component that you will create. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Two Rubric. Milestone Three: Project Risk and Mitigation In Module Five, you will draft two key sections of your final project. In this milestone, you will identify and describe a project risk from the list of risks included in the Project Management Document Excel workbook, then you will recommend risk mitigation strategies. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Three Rubric. Final Submission: Risk Analysis and Mitigation Memo In Module Seven, you will submit your final project. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Rubric.
- 8. Deliverables Milestone Deliverable Module Due Grading One Introduction, Stakeholders, and Roles 2 Graded separately; Milestone One Rubric Two Your Role and the Triple Constraint 3 Graded separately; Milestone Two Rubric Three Project Risk and Mitigation 5 Graded separately; Milestone Three Rubric Final Submission: Risk Analysis and Mitigation Memo 7 Graded separately; Final Project Rubric Final Project Rubric Guidelines for Submission: Your email memo and attachments should be 2 to 4 pages in length with double spacing, one-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font, and adherence to the latest edition of APA formatting. Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value Introduction: Purpose Meets “Proficient” criteria and description demonstrates an advanced ability to extract
- 9. accurate information from project documentation Describes the purpose of the project and the end objective, including where this information is documented Describes the purpose of the project and the end objective, but description is cursory, contains inaccuracies, or does not include where this information is documented Does not describe the purpose of the project and the end objective 6 Introduction: Stakeholders Meets “Proficient” criteria and response demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder within the project team Identifies the key stakeholders involved in the project, including an explanation of their roles and responsibilities Identifies the key stakeholders
- 10. involved in the project, but explanation is cursory, contains inaccuracies, or does not include stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities Does not identify the key stakeholders involved in the project 6 Introduction: Role and Responsibilities Meets “Proficient” criteria and cited information is especially well-suited for supporting the description of own role and responsibilities within the project team Describes own role and responsibilities on the project team, citing specific information from the project’s Gantt chart Describes own role and responsibilities on the project team, but description is cursory, contains inaccuracies, or lacks specific reference to the project’s Gantt chart
- 11. Does not describe own role and responsibilities on the project team or cite specific information from the project’s Gantt chart 6 Introduction: Triple Constraint Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation demonstrates a complex grasp of the implications of the triple constraint relationship on the project Explains the triple constraint relationship between the project’s scope, schedule, and budget, supporting response with examples from the project materials and experience in this course Explains the triple constraint relationship between the project’s scope, schedule, and budget, but explanation is illogical, contains inaccuracies, or is not supported by examples from the project materials and experience in this course
- 12. Does not explain the triple constraint relationship between the project’s scope, schedule, and budget 8 Project Risk: Requires Attention Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation demonstrates a complex grasp of the project needs Identifies risk and explains why the risk requires attention, supporting response with examples from project management documents Identifies risk and explains why the risk requires attention, but explanation is illogical, contains inaccuracies, or does not include example from project management documents Does not identify risk and explain why the risk requires attention 8 Project Risk:
- 13. Dependencies Meets “Proficient” criteria and description demonstrates a complex grasp of the dependencies within a project Describes any dependencies within the project that may be affected by the risk, including support from project management documentation Describes any dependencies within the project that may be affected by the risk, but description is illogical, contains inaccuracies, or does not include support from project management documentation Does not describe dependencies within the project that may be affected by the risk 6 Project Risk: Implications Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of possible risk results Explains within the context of the
- 14. triple constraint the implications for the project if the risk is not addressed Explains the implications for the project if the risk is not addressed, but explanation is illogical or cursory or is not within the context of the triple constraint Does not explain the implications for the project if the risk is not addressed 8 Risk Mitigation: Mitigate Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of steps needed to mitigate the identified risk Explains the steps that need to be taken in order to mitigate the identified risk Explains the steps that need to be taken in order to mitigate the identified risk, but explanation is illogical, cursory, or contains inaccuracies
- 15. Does not explain the steps that need to be taken in order to mitigate the identified risk 8 Risk Mitigation: Affect Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation makes cogent connections between important project variables and the proposed risk mitigation strategy Explains in detail how the proposed mitigation strategy will affect the project, considering the triple constraint and any other variables deemed important including any tradeoffs that must be made to accommodate the mitigation strategy Explains how the proposed mitigation strategy will affect the project, but explanation lacks detail, is illogical, contains inaccuracies, does not consider the triple constraint and any other variables deemed
- 16. important, or does not include tradeoffs that must be made to accommodate the mitigation strategy Does not explain how the proposed mitigation strategy will affect the project 8 Risk Mitigation: Best Course of Action Meets “Proficient” criteria and defense makes cogent connections between the proposed mitigation strategy and the project goals Defends why the proposed mitigation strategy is the best course of action for the project team Defends why the proposed mitigation strategy is the best course of action for the project team, but response is cursory or illogical or contains inaccuracies Does not defend why the proposed mitigation strategy is the best course of action for the
- 17. project team 8 Conclusion Meets “Proficient” criteria and summary demonstrates an advanced ability to distill project information Summarizes the project needs for stakeholders Summarizes the needs for stakeholders, but summary is unclear or missing key components Does not summarize the project needs for stakeholders 8 Communication: Professional Meets “Proficient” criteria and email demonstrates an advanced ability to appropriately tailor communication to a specified audience Develops email communication in a clear and professional manner, using language appropriate for the audience of stakeholders
- 18. Develops email communication in a professional manner, but language is not appropriate for the audience of stakeholders or information is not clear Does not develop email in a clear and professional manner using language appropriate for the audience of stakeholders 8 Communication: Documentation Meets “Proficient” criteria and supporting documentation is especially well-suited to aid in the communication of the proposed mitigation strategy Attaches supporting documentation to aid in the communication of the mitigation strategy Attaches supporting documentation to aid in the communication of the mitigation strategy, but documentation is incomplete or contains inaccuracies Does not attach supporting
- 19. documentation to aid in the communication of the mitigation strategy 8 Articulation of Response Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas 4 Total 100%
- 20. Regatta University IT Project Charter For Student Degree Progress Version 1.0 Table of Contents Document History 3 Executive Summary 4 Project Purpose/Justification 4 Project Description 4 Preliminary Scope Statement 4 Out of Scope 4 Project Objectives and Success Criteria 4 Constraints 4 Assumptions 4 Project Deliverables 5 Project Resource Estimate 5 Summary Milestone Schedule 5 Summary Budget 5 Project Approval Requirements 6 Project Organization 6 Authorization 6 Project Team 6 Directors of Assigned Resources 6 Project Sponsor 6
- 21. Document History Document Revision/Release Status Revision Date Description of Changes Author / Editor 0.1 6/29/15 Initial format Jane Smith 1.0 8/31/15 Initial draft John Doe Executive Summary Students leverage a web portal to access university-related information and resources. Content within it can be targeted to all users or to those within a pre-specified role (e.g., students at a particular campus) or it can be user-specific. As an academic institution, one piece of information critical to students is their current progress in their degree program or programs. The purpose of the student degree progress project is to create an area to display user-specific academic progress. Project Purpose/Justification University leadership requested this project to promote student
- 22. awareness and provide students easy access to their degree progress. Project DescriptionPreliminary Scope Statement The purpose of this project is to create an area that displays user-specific academic progress within the appropriate roles, leveraging data through a back-end system. This project will include the necessary modifications to the back end to relay this information. More specifically, this project will include the following: · Creating the graphical elements in a web-friendly format · Creating the necessary web view to accommodate the graphical elements · Creating the necessary changes to the back end to prepare data supporting the student information · Creating the necessary web service to securely expose the student’s information to the graphical elements and web view Out of Scope Due to business-specific processes, some students, particularly those who have been pursuing a degree for over four years, may not be able to see their academic progress using the deliverables of this project. Changes to the back end to expand this functionality are out of scope, as are any changes intended to enhance functionality to provide additional data beyond the academic progress already captured in another system. Project Objectives and Success Criteria · The project will provide the functionality described within the preliminary scope statement. · The project will be delivered without incurring any additional expenses. · The project will be delivered free from any significant defects or without causing any down time. · The project will be delivered no later than two weeks from the target time frame defined within the milestone schedule below. Constraints · Additional funding is not available.
- 23. · The information available to students is derived from data within the back end and is as accurate, timely, and available as the source data and its structuring. Assumptions · No major changes in formatting or scope will be presented during the life of the project.Project Deliverables · Project Charter · Project Management Plan · Design · User Interface Mockup · Architectural Design · Test Plan · Test Scenarios Project Resource Estimate The student degree progress project is estimated to use the following resources: Project Resource Estimate Resource Estimated Work Hours Project Manager 48 Hours Systems Analyst 12 Hours Middleware Applications Developer 44 Hours Backend Systems Analyst 50 Hours Total: 154 Hours Summary Milestone Schedule Summary Milestone Schedule – List key project milestones relative to project start Project Milestone Target Date
- 24. Project Start September 1 Graphical Component Unit Complete September 23 Web View Unit Complete September 25 Backend Unit Complete October 7 Integration Testing Complete October 14 Submit to Leadership October 26 Leadership Acceptance November 2 Transition to Production November 5 Project Closeout November 13 Summary Budget Fiscal Year Summary Budget – List component project costs Project Component Component Cost Hardware $0 Software and Licensing $0 Vendor N/A Total $0 Project Approval Requirements The project will be completed once all requirements are met and all deliverables have been received and approved by the client. Project Organization Role
- 25. Name(s) – Department(s) Project Sponsor Jane Smith Project Manager John Doe Core Stakeholder Arthur Bowman Vendor Resources None Project Team Members Shila Cole, Ana Fischer, John Jones Authorization Approval of this project charter provides authorization to move forward in accordance with the information contained in this document. Project Team 1 John Doe, Project Manager Shila Cole, Systems Analyst Ana Fischer, Middleware Application Developer John Jones, Backend Systems Analyst Date: Date: Date: Date: Directors of Assigned Resources Michael Erdmann, Middleware Director Amber McLedon, Applications Director Cynthia Carmom, PMO Director/Acting Student Systems Director
- 26. Date: Date: Date: Project Sponsor Jane Smith, Project Sponsor Date: Project Scenario Project Scenario Regatta University is a leader in both traditional education and career-path development, including in emerging fields. The university prides itself on staying on the leading edge of curriculum and degree programs, learning methodologies and instructional technologies, student services, and demonstrated student success. “The future is here and now,” the university’s president, Martha Yoon, likes to say. Regatta serves approximately 8,000 students at locations including the original campus in Augusta, Maine, and satellite campuses in Ventura, California; Dayton, Ohio; and Hilo, Hawaii. In a typical term, approximately 40% of Regatta’s students take courses at a distance through the university’s online education hub. Enrollment growth has been strong, increasing by 4 to 8% each year for the last decade. You are a key member of the information technology team at Regatta, with a core specialization in student services. You are responsible for providing user-friendly interfaces connecting to a flexible, powerful information structure. Now you have a new project—working with colleagues to create a student degree progress tool that students will use for accurate, instant
- 27. information on their progress toward program and degree completion. As you may imagine, this tool is eagerly awaited by a variety of stakeholders, including Regatta academic advisors and the Office of Enrollment Management, as tracking and communicating student progress toward degree completion is vital for retention. “We need a tool that will be easy to use but also accurate. No misinformation!” your team manager says. RACI ChartSteps will be highlighted if A and R are not assigned.R:Does the step RACI ChartA:Accountable for the stepC:Consulted with before the stepI:Informed when the step is completedProject:Student Degree ProgressDEPARTMENTInformation TechnologySTEPDESCRIPTIONJane SmithJohn DoeArthur BowmanShila ColeAna FischerJohn Jones1Create the project charterIA/R2Develop the project management planA/R3Define the project scopeA/RCC/III4Create a formal budget and budget planC/IA/RI5Fill in a Gantt chart with the project schedule and milestonesIA/RIC/III6Develop a user interface mockup for reviewA/R7Create the architectural design for the front end of the application (user-facing)A/R8Create the architectural design for the back end of the application (for data processing)A/R9Develop the graphic user interface (GUI) for the degree trackerA/R10Develop the web code to receive data from the back end and place data within the GUIA/R11Develop the back-end code to process data and send it to the web applicationA/R12Create a defined test plan for all system componentsA/RC/IC/I13Test the scenarios defined in the test plan for proper application behaviorA/RRR14Perform integration testing to ensure that the front-end components and back-end components speak to each other as well as integrate seamlessly with the rest of the web applicationIA/RRR15Transition web application into production environment (go-live)C/IA/RA/R16Monitor project progress throughout its life cycleA/RI17Manage project deliverables for records and hand-offA/RI18Assess and manage risks throughout the project life cycleA/RRRR19Develop the final project
- 28. reportIA/RI20Perform project reflectionsA/RCCC Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) 1.0 Student Degree Progress Project 1.1 Initiation 1.1.2 Project Management Plan 1.2 Planning 1.3.1.1 User Interface Mockup 1.3.1.2 Architectural Design - Main Application 1.3.2 Implementation 1.3.3.2 Test Scenarios 1.3.3.3 Integration Testing 1.3.4 Transition to Production 1.5 Project Closeout
- 29. 1.3.3 Testing 1.3.3.1 Test Plan 1.3.2.1 Graphical Component Unit 1.3.2.2 Web View Unit 1.3.2.3 Backend Unit 1.1.1 Project Charter 1.3 Execution 1.2.1 Scope Definition 1.2.3 Scheduling (Gantt Chart) 1.3.1 Design 1.2.2 Budget Plan 1.4.1 Final Project Report
- 30. 1.4.2 Project Reflections (Lessons Learned) 1.4 Controlling 1.4.1 Monitor Project Progress 1.4.2 Manage Deliverables 1.4.3 Assess and Manage Risks 1.3.1.3 Architectural Design - Backend
- 32. Risk MatrixProject Risk LikelihoodImplicationsThere is a risk that severe weather in Sailcloth, Maine (the main campus that houses the development team), will close the campus and impact
- 33. progress.MediumThere is a risk that the ambiguity in the project scope (it only defines "graphical element" but not what type) will lead to requirement changes by the stakeholder during development, affecting both the budget and schedule.HighThere is a risk that sign-off on project deliverables (charter, Gantt chart, product approval, etc.) from project sponsors and stakeholders exceeds the allotted time. This decision delay will impact the progress schedule.LowThere is a risk for rollout issues when deploying to production due to complexity of merging code with the "go-live" of another project on the same system.HighTwo projects are currently being developed at the same time in the same code base. Delays to the secondary project will cause delays to the Student Progress go- live.HighThe student portal where the project will be deployed is a high-availability system and is expected to be accessible for students 24/7. There is a risk that the large number of changes occurring during go-live could take the system offline, temporarily impacting system availability. LowThere is a risk that an interpersonal conflict will arise within the team, impacting the human resources assigned to the project and potentially impacting the allotted schedule.Low Team Member InfoRoleNameRole DescriptionJane SmithJohn DoeArthur BowmanShila ColeAna FischerJohn Jones