Assessment tasks for MGT8022
Assignment 1
Word count: 2000 words approximately (excluding figures, tables and reference list)
The structure of your essay document is as follows:
Assignment Mark Sheet (download this from the Assessment tab on the study desk)
Title page (course details, author details, due date, etc. in the style of a professional
document)
Essay
The focus of this essay is the documented ‘business case’. Make sure you
clearly understand what a project business case is, and its contents, before you
try to complete this assignment.
Using a wide variety of academic literature, in the form of an essay critically
analyse whether your project’s documented business case fulfils the purpose
of a project business case as stated by the Association for Project Management
(2006, p. 129):
It has been suggested that a project business case provides
‘justification for undertaking a project, in terms of
evaluating the benefit, cost and risk of alternative options
and the rationale for the preferred solution. Its purpose is
to obtain management commitment and approval for
investment in the project. The business case is owned by the
(project) sponsor’.
(Source: Association for Project Management 2006, Body of Knowledge, 5th edn, APM,
UK)
Justify your critical analysis using evidence from the literature (the literature
includes text books, journal articles etc. that have some ‘academic validity’).
The body of your essay should compare the content recommended for a
project business case (as per the literature) with your documented project
business case.
Note: This is not a critical analysis on the actual feasibility of the proposed
business case. You are not judging whether the project should or should not
have gone ahead. You are judging whether this is a ‘good’ business case
document. And you are judging this based on your reading of the literature on
the purpose and content of a business case document.
It is expected that you would provide an introduction, the body of your essay,
and conclusion and recommendations in this section. You may use headings
for sections if you wish.
Even though assignment 1 is an essay format, you may use diagrams and
tables if necessary to reduce word count and to communicate your analysis
more clearly. Appendices would not normally be expected with an essay. If
you have any appendices, they should be attached to the essay after the list of
references. They should be numbered sequentially, e.g. Appendix 1, Appendix
2, etc.
Note: You do not need to include a copy of your project’s business case with
your assignment submission.
Reference list
It is recommended that you use at least 10 quality references in your critical
analysis. These should be resources you have actually cited in your essay. All
referencing in your assignment should comply with USQ Harvard. Refer
https://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing/harvard-agps-referencing-guide