SEMESTER 2 21/22
Jan 2022-v1 ©Ramesh Vahidi -2021-2 MANG6312
Faculty of Business, Law & Art
COURSEWORK BRIEF:
Module Code: MANG6312 Assessment: Individual Coursework Weighting: 100
Module Title: Decision Making and Analysis in Projects
Module Leader: Dr Ramesh Vahidi
Submission Due Date: @ 16:00 Tue 24th May 22 Word Count: 3,000
Method of Submission: Electronic via Blackboard Turnitin ONLY (Please ensure that your name does not appear on any part of your work)
Any submitted after 16:00 on the deadline date will be subject to the standard University late penalties (see below), unless an extension has been granted, in writing by the Senior Tutor, in advance of the deadline.
University Working Days Late: Mark:
1 (final agreed mark) * 0.9
2 (final agreed mark) * 0.8
3 (final agreed mark) * 0.7
4 (final agreed mark) * 0.6
5 (final agreed mark) * 0.5
More than 5 0
This assessment relates to the following module learning outcomes:
A. Knowledge and Understanding
A1. Appreciate the significance of decisions, specifically strategic and critical decisions, in project success or failure. A2. Appreciate the significance of decision making skills for project managers; A3. Demonstrate knowledge of various theoretical and practical approaches to making project decisions; A4. Understand and distinguish between the traditional and contemporary approaches to fundamentals of decision making in projects; A5. Appreciate the features of project decisions and their impact on the selection of appropriate decision making and analysis methods; A6. Appreciate the value of decision making approaches in the acceptability of a decision’s outcome.
B. Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
B1. Critically analyse the approaches, methods and styles of analysing and making project decisions; B2. Select appropriate decision making approaches and involve stakeholders in decision process based on specific project situations.
C. Transferable and Generic Skills
C1. Apply an analytical, reflective and critical approach to problem analysis and formulation; C2. Work effectively in project teams as a team member or a project manager; C3. Report and present ideas in writing or orally.
3
Coursework Brief:
1. Introduction to the Coursework
This coursework is worth 100% of the total mark for the module. It aims at ‘helping you to demonstrate your
overall appreciation of decision making in PM and the extent and quality of your background studies’. To
achieve this ‘aim’, you should demonstrate the breadth and depth of your:
– Ability to identify, make sense and define project decisions and their main elements;
– Appreciation of decisions impacts on and significance in project success/failure;
– Exploration and retrospective analysis of project decision(s) (e.g., being able to answer WH questions
or Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?);
SEMESTER 2 21/22
Jan 2022-v1 ©Ramesh Vahidi -2021-2 MANG6312
Faculty of Business, Law & Art
– Identification, selection and implementation of appropriate concepts and tools for decision
exploration and analysis;
– Capability in learning lessons (do and don’t) from decision analysis;
– Capability in generating new, creative, practical and impactful ideas for improving decision making in
a project;
– Ability of developing decision making skills for your future practice based on theories and lessons
learned from the practice.
To demonstrate the above, you need to analyse a major decision in a large project deemed as a full or partial
failure (consult Ramesh, if in doubt) from multiple relevant decision making perspectives. Note that normally
a major decision is comprised of some smaller (or a set of) related decisions, identifying and considering such
decisions will add to the depth and breadth of your analysis and will provide a more comprehensive picture.
For the purposes of this coursework, a ‘large project’ means project duration should be more than two years,
the budget should be over two million pounds and it should have multiple external stakeholders at national
and preferably at international levels (i.e., multiple countries or multiple companies from different countries).
Key Advice:
To avoid rework, last minute changes and rushed through analysis, do NOT start detailed analysis before
making sure you: have studied subjects/concepts/tools covered in the module, fully appreciate the
coursework purposes and instructions and have checked and explored appropriateness of your selected
project and decision(s).
2. Project Selection
Project selection directly affects the quality of your coursework and is one of the first and key decisions you
will make in preparation for your coursework. You should select a fully or partially finished, large project and
aim at analysing it from multiple decision-making perspectives. For your own benefit, the project and/or the
decision should generally be perceived as a failure (based on literature, public opinions and/or your
perception based on your knowledge of DM in PM). Select a problematic and controversial project! Given the
size and context of the project, a partial failure (for example, failure in a major phase of the project) might
also be an appropriate option.
SEMESTER 2 21/22
Jan 2022-v1 ©Ramesh Vahidi -2021-2 MANG6312
Faculty of Business, Law & Art
It is strongly advised that you use a more recent project, which the literature is not saturated with its
publications and analysis. Analysing a widely published project, it is highly likely your coursework will end up
being a report on data collection and reporting back on other people’s reflections rather than demonstrating
your own capabilities and unique reflections/approaches to DM in PM.
2.1 Assignment workshop and Q&A
An assignment workshop and Q&A session will be announced to discuss the coursework. You should attend
these and are highly advised to ask your questions and pay full attention to others’ questions. Asking questions
and checking the appropriateness of your project without providing enough info, without a very clear
question, very close to the submission deadline, via emails over the weekends and University closure dates
are NOT acceptable, ideal or to your benefit.
Please note, any given feedback on your selected project/decision would be provisional as I would only have
your initial thoughts and general ideas, which might later change during the cw preparation. Taking the
feedback further based on all the available sources and guidance through the report preparation process
would be your responsibility. Draft of the coursework will not be reviewed.
2.2 Sources for project selection
Examples of common sources for projects could be websites such as: World Bank
(http://www.worldbank.org/projects/); UNICEF; United Nations; public or large private organisations; project
management professional bodies or a known organisation (e.g., an infrastructure ministry in your own or
other countries). You could think of and explore other sources for more creative project selection.
In any case, for a good analysis you should make sure that you are able to access enough data and information
from valid sources in “public domain”.
There is no restriction on the industry, e.g., infrastructure (transportation, utility, …); digitisation; cultural;
arts; education; tourism; construction; modernisation projects … all could be good choices.
2.3 Project NOT to Select
Do NOT select projects that fall in any of the following categories:
1) Do NOT SELECT: Very well-known projects, especially from a long time ago, that have already
become published as case studies (for example, their stakeholders or PESTEL analyses widely
SEMESTER 2 21/22
Jan 2022-v1 ©Ramesh Vahidi -2021-2 MANG6312
Faculty of Business, Law & Art
published in journals/websites and easily appear in a Google search) are NOT appropriate or
acceptable. These will not let you demonstrate your own capabilities and at the best, your essay will
become only a description collection of others’ analysis and insights rather than your own reflections.
2) Do NOT SELECT projects that fall in any of the following categories:
– Projects discussed in any of these modules MANG6310, MANG6311, MANG6312 and Project Risk.
– Projects on Airports, Airplanes, Olympics, World Cups, NHS, O2, Scottish Parliament, Channel Tunnel,
NASA, Three Gorges Dam, Grenfell Tower, Garden Bridge, Bicycle sharing, Uber, Disney, Tesco in
China, M&S, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, online education in China, India’s Statue of Liberty and
demonetisation in India.
– Projects that were finished more than 8 years ago.
3. Report contents
Initially, familiarise yourself with your selected project through a comprehensive and overall search and
reflection on its appropriateness. Then, identify one of the key decisions, (or a set of interconnected
decisions), which seems to have had a high impact on the project full/partial failure from: your own point of
