Establishing project aims, objectives and timeframes based on a chosen theme

Assignment to be submitted in the form of:

  1. A report covering Tasks 1, 2, 6 and part of Task 7.
  2. A presentation covering Tasks 3, 4, 5 and part of Task 7.
    Unit Learning Outcomes:
    LO 1: Establish project aims, objectives and timeframes based on a chosen theme
    LO 2: Conduct small-scale research, information gathering and data collection to generate
    knowledge to support the project
    LO 3: Present the project and communicate appropriate recommendations based on meaningful
    conclusions drawn from the evidence findings and/or analysis
    LO 4: Reflect on the value gained from conducting the project and its usefulness to support
    sustainable organisational performance.
    Assignment Brief and Guidance:
    Artificial Intelligence (AI) covers a broad range of technologies and applications. Artificial General
    Intelligence (AGI) technologies can be broad in its application where the technology is expected to
    perform ANY intellectual task a human can do. Conversely, there are “Narrow AI” technologies that
    perform single tasks. The project’s focus would be on narrow AI, with respect to its adoption within
    Assignment Brief (RQF)
    Prepared by: Higher Education Qualifications (HEQ) Approved by: HEQ, QDAM (HE)
    Version 1.0 – November 2017
    DCL 1 – Public (Unclassified)
    a tertiary level academic institution. Tertiary level institutions are already exploring AI applications
    that can improve student retention or enhance student learning experiences through adaptive learning
    and personalized teaching methods.
    Millennium Institute of Business and Technology (MIBT) is seeking to raise the quality of its
    education to a level that current standardized-curriculum and testing systems have not been able to
    achieve. There are several applications of AI within the education sector, which can be explored to
    enable this need. Currently MIBT employs the use of Moodle - a standard Learning Management
    System - to disseminate course content to its students. Notwithstanding their attempts to adopt and
    to integrate various technologies within its teaching paradigm, they have found that students are
    still not engaged in learning and that there is still much room for improvement in the students’
    overall performances in examinations. MIBT has therefore decided to invest in a project aimed at
    integrating AI within their current implementation of their Moodle platform – the required
    investigation, analysis and design activities would therefore need to be undertaken within the
    context of the upgrade.
    The board has appointed you, Head of IT Services, as the project manager. Your main duties would
    include undertaking the necessary project related activities required for initiating, planning,
    executing, monitoring & controlling and closing the MIBT Moodle-AI System Design Project.
    You will be required to present your approach and your recommendations to the project
    stakeholders / owner in the final close-off meeting at date to be determined by the Project Sponsor.
    TASK 1 – Initiating
    You have drafted the initial business case for the MIBT Moodle-AI System Design Project as
    seen in (Appendix A). You are now required to prepare the Project Charter which would outline
    your overall objectives and approach for the project to the main stakeholders, (i.e. Project Sponsor,
    Project Owner, System End Users).
    NOTE: All defined objectives must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and TimeBased (S.M.A.R.T.).
    Deliverable(s):
    A. Section of Report “Project Charter” outlining project objectives and approach, which
    must be signed off in your project status meeting with the Project Sponsor by Thursday
    15th August 2019.
    B. Critically evaluate and reflect on your project undertakings for this activity, documenting
    an update of Project’s Status in Project Logbook which must be signed off in your project
    status meeting with the Project Sponsor by Thursday 15th August, 2019 (Appendix B)
    TASK 2 – Planning
    You have acquired the necessary approval for the project which you must now start to plan. One of
    your major undertakings within this phase is the drafting of your plan for managing the scope, time,
    cost, quality, communication, risk and human resources for the MIBT Moodle-AI System Design
    Project. You are required to draft the report of your plan outlining the following sections:
    Deliverable(s):
    A. Section of Report documenting “Project Management Plan” including sub-sections
    outlining
    i. Scope Management Plan outlining the MIBT Alumni Project Work Breakdown
    Assignment Brief (RQF)
    Prepared by: Higher Education Qualifications (HEQ) Approved by: HEQ, QDAM (HE)
    Version 1.0 – November 2017
    DCL 1 – Public (Unclassified)
    Structure.
    ii. Time Management Plan documenting a comprehensive Milestone Schedule and
    GANTT Chart (Gantt Chart must illustrate realistic estimates for duration, assigned
    resources and task dependencies. Milestones must be shown on the GANTT chart and
    must be S.M.A.R.T.).
    iii. Cost Management Plan illustrating all project cost estimates.
    iv. Quality Management Plan briefly outlining the acceptable level of quality, which is
    typically defined by the customer, and describes how the project will ensure this level of
    quality in its deliverables and work processes.
    v. Communication Management Plan.
    vi. Risk Management Plan, itemizing a comprehensive Risk Register.
    vii. Human Resource Management Plan documenting an acceptable Role/Responsibility
    Matrix.
    B. Work Breakdown Structure (included in Section A of report i.e. Scope Mgmt. Plan above).
    C. GANTT Chart (included in Section B of report attached in the Appendix for Time Mgmt.
    Plan above and zipped & submitted with assignment).
    D. Critically evaluate and reflect on your project undertakings for this activity and document an
    update of the Project’s Status in Project Logbook which must be signed off by the Project
    Sponsor on Thursday 29th August, 2019 (Appendix B).
    TASK 3 – Executing
    The project is aimed at integrating AI technologies into the existing Moodle platform at MIBT. This
    would entail producing the designs to illustrate how the problem can be solved to improve on the
    current process. To achieve this, it is necessary for you to carry out some research (both primary and
    secondary). You must select the most appropriate research methods (investigation tools) that would
    allow you to properly gather the data to understand the specific needs of the key stakeholders in the
    process. You are therefore required to:
  3. Identify the key stakeholders you need to investigate, the sample size for the investigation
    and the sample strategy to be employed
  4. Determine the most appropriate investigation tools needed to extract the necessary
    requirements from your stakeholders
  5. Design investigation tools i.e. interview or survey questions asked
  6. Carry out the investigation, recording the details of your survey, interviews or observations
    (Primary Research)
  7. Carry out small-scale research to understand how AI can be utilized in education to improve
    student’s learning experiences (Secondary Research)
  8. Evaluate the accuracy and reliability of different research methods applied i.e. compare and
    contrast the different research methods used and provide a brief discussion on the reliability
    and validity of the results.
  9. Critically evaluate the project management process and the research methodologies applied.
    The research methodology must be outlined and presented to the project stakeholders in the final
    close-off meeting at a date to be determined by your project sponsor.
    Assignment Brief (RQF)
    Prepared by: Higher Education Qualifications (HEQ) Approved by: HEQ, QDAM (HE)
    Version 1.0 – November 2017
    DCL 1 – Public (Unclassified)
    TASK 4 – Executing (continued)
    Further to the investigation carried out in Task 3, the project team is required to make use of
    appropriate tools to assist in the careful analysis of the data collected. You are to present a discussion
    of the tools used to analyse findings from the data gathered for the proposed system, along with
    supplementary examples of charts, graphs generated to present data and findings.
    Deliverable(s):
    A. Section in the MIBT Moodle-AI System Design Project Close-Off presentation titled
    “Tools and Techniques used in Data Analysis” outlining the tools the team made use of to
    analyse the findings from the data gathering process.
    TASK 5 – Executing (continued)
    Further to the investigation carried out with your stakeholders, you must communicate appropriate
    recommendations resulting from the research and data analysis, to draw valid and meaningful
    conclusions. You are therefore required to present your design concepts and recommendations
    outlining:
    A. The key requirements of the system with specific emphasis on how AI technologies would
    be utilized meet the defined objectives
    B. Proposed designs for the system: use-case diagrams; user stories; scenarios; storyboard UI
    screens depicting user interactions.
    C. Further to this, you are to present an evaluation on the selection of tools used to assist in the
    analysis of the data collected, showing how they support and justify your main findings for
    the proposed designs.
    Deliverable(s):
    A. Section in the MIBT Moodle-AI System Design Project Close-Off presentation titled
    “Requirement Specification for the MIBT Alumni System”
    B. Section in the MIBT Moodle-AI System Design Project Close-Off presentation titled
    “Proposed Designs for the MIBT Alumni System”
    i. Design illustrating the Use Case Diagram outlining the proposed user roles within
    the system and their intended functions
    ii. Designs outlining Expanded Use Case Scenarios for the proposed workflow of use
    cases illustrated in the Use Case Diagram above (optional).
    iii. Designs illustrating UI Screen Wireframes or Storyboards to demonstrate the user
    interaction / process workflow for the scenario defined above.
    C. Section in the MIBT Moodle-AI System Design Project Close-Off presentation titled
    “Evaluation of Tools and Techniques Used in Analysis” identifying how they support and
    justify the recommendations made
    D. Critically evaluate and reflect on your project undertakings for this activity and document an
    update of the Project’s Status in Project Logbook which must be signed off by the Project
    Sponsor on Thursday 12th September, 2019 (Appendix B)
    TASK 6 – Monitoring and Controlling
    One of the main responsibilities of the Project manager during the execution phase of the project is
    the ongoing monitoring and controlling of the planned activities against the actual outcomes. As part
    of this process of monitoring and controlling the MIBT System Design Project, you are required to
    Assignment Brief (RQF)
    Prepared by: Higher Education Qualifications (HEQ) Approved by: HEQ, QDAM (HE)
    Version 1.0 – November 2017
    DCL 1 – Public (Unclassified)
    update your logbook (Appendix B) of activities – providing a reflection on your undertakings in the
    project on a weekly basis. Your reflection should provide an indication of: whether planned
    objectives have been met; your lessons learnt; as well as the overall status of the project.
    Deliverable(s):
    A. Appendices within the Report illustrating Project Logbook Updates for Tasks 1B, 2D, 3D
    and 5D.
    TASK 7 – Closing
    The Project Closure Phase is the last phase in the project life cycle. In this phase, the project
    manager is required to formally close the project and then report its overall level of success to the
    Project Sponsor. You are required to reflect on the value of undertaking the research to meet stated
    objectives and own learning performance.
    You must present your overall research methodology and design recommendations to the project
    sponsor for signoff on Monday 23rd September 2019.
    Deliverable(s):
    A. Section in the Report documenting the “Performance Review of the MIBT Moodle-AI
    System Design Project” utilizing the Performance Review Template (Appendix C of
    Assignment Brief). This must be submitted by Monday 23rd September 2019.
    B. Close-off Meeting - Presentation outlining documented activities and outcomes for Tasks 3,
    4 and 5, to be held on during the week of September 23rd to September 27th 2019
    Assignment Brief (RQF)
    Prepared by: Higher Education Qualifications (HEQ) Approved by: HEQ, QDAM (HE)
    Version 1.0 – November 2017
    DCL 1 – Public (Unclassified)
    Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria:
    Learning Outcome Pass Merit Distinction
    LO1: Establish project
    aims, objectives and
    timeframes based on the
    chosen theme:
    P1: Devise project aims
    and objectives for a
    chosen scenario.
    P2 Produce a project
    management plan that
    covers aspects of cost,
    scope, time, quality,
    communication, risk and
    resources.
    P3 Produce a work
    breakdown structure and
    a Gantt Chart to provide
    timeframes and stages
    for completion.
    M1: Produce a
    comprehensive project
    management plan,
    milestone schedule and
    project schedule for
    monitoring and
    completing the aims and
    objectives of the project.
    D1: Critically evaluate
    the project management
    process and appropriate
    research methodologies
    applied.
    LO 2: Conduct smallscale research,
    information gathering
    and data collection to
    generate knowledge to
    support the project.
    P4 Carry out small-scale
    research by applying
    qualitative and
    quantitative research
    methods appropriate for
    meeting project aims
    and objectives.
    M2: Evaluate the
    accuracy and reliability
    of different research
    methods applied.
    D1: Critically evaluate
    the project management
    process and appropriate
    research methodologies
    applied.
    LO3 Present the
    project and
    communicate
    appropriate
    recommendations
    based on meaningful
    conclusions drawn
    from the evidence
    findings and/or
    analysis.
    P5 Analyse research and
    data using appropriate
    tools and techniques.
    P6 Communicate
    appropriate
    recommendations as a
    result of research and
    data analysis to draw
    valid and meaningful
    conclusions.
    M3 Evaluate the
    selection of appropriate
    tools and techniques for
    accuracy and
    authenticity to support
    and justify
    recommendations.
    D2 Critically evaluate
    and reflect on the
    project outcomes, the
    decision-making process
    and changes or
    developments of the
    initial project
    management plan to
    support justification of
    recommendations and
    learning during the
    project.
    LO4 Reflect on the
    value gained from
    conducting the project
    and its usefulness to
    support sustainable
    organisational
    performance.
    P7 Reflect on the value
    of undertaking the
    research to meet stated
    objectives and own
    learning and
    performance.
    M4 Evaluate the value
    of the project
    management process
    and use of quality
    research to meet stated
    objectives and support
    own learning and
    performance.
    D2 Critically evaluate
    and reflect on the
    project outcomes, the
    decision-making process
    and changes or
    developments of the
    initial project
    management plan to
    support justification of
    recommendations and
    learning during the
    project.
    Assignment Brief (RQF)
    Prepared by: Higher Education Qualifications (HEQ) Approved by: HEQ, QDAM (HE)
    Version 1.0 – November 2017
    DCL 1 – Public (Unclassified)
    APPENDIX – A
    1.0 Introduction/Background
    The Mission of the Millennium Institute of Business and Technology (MIBT) is to position the Institution
    as the preferred provider of business and technology studies with a core focus on enhanced learning. This
    endeavour seeks to produce work ready graduates that are highly skilled, critical thinkers and innovators.
    The Institution’s primary goal is to foster improved teaching and learning relationships between MIBT
    faculty and the student body. To this end, the Institution is seeking to develop and maintain an enhanced
    learning environment that integrates secure AI technologies. The learning portal should allow students the
    ability to access personalized learning instruction and provide an avenue for them to learn at an appropriate
    pace. It is expected that these measures would improve learning for the student whilst ensuring student
    performances improve within the various professional programmes e.g. ACCA, ABE, CIPS, etc.
    2.0 Business Objective
    MIBT’s strategic goals include improving student performances within professional programmes with a view
    to improving the overall quality rating of the institution. This will support the projected growth and
    profitability of MIBT. It is expected that the increased improvement in student performances within the
    various professional programmes would boost enrolment for the various programmes, as the student body
    would share their experiences about the Institution and their learning. Students would also become allrounded professionals able to make valuable contributions to industry in their careers.
    3.0 Current Situation and Problem/Opportunity Statement
    MIBT currently utilizes the Moodle platform as a repository for programme course content. The existing
    method of disseminating learning content to the students is impersonal and is not specifically tailored to an
    individual’s preferred learning style. This has resulted in groups of students not understanding and engaging
    with the content in the manner intended. Consequently, the academic performances of students have
    diminished in external examinations thereby reducing the quality rating of the Institution.
    The existing method of accessing learning content has a range of issues which need to be addressed.
  10. Course content is bland and unengaging generic and not tailored to accommodate specific learning
    styles.
  11. There is currently no way to determine whether students understand the learning content provided
    through the portal. Albeit the ability to access course content outside of defined class times and at
    the student’s convenience, there is no way for the student to address or clarify personal
    misunderstandings with the content provided.
  12. Students need to be manually attached to a course to access learning content – this could be
    automated during registration to the course.
  13. Students are not detached from courses that they have already completed, which eventually clutters
    their course navigation section.
  14. All students do not make full use of the learning portal to access content for courses – the proposed
    system could intelligently identify these students and provide notifications reminding students to
    access content for pre-reading before classes to enrich discussions within the classroom.
    4.0 Critical Assumption and Constraints
    MIBT recognizes the importance of keeping its students engaged in learning and its direct correlation to
    defined quality standards of the institution which are maintained by its overall pass-rates in professional
    programmes. The proposed Moodle-AI add-ons must be a valuable asset for MIBT. All stakeholders must
    actively support the project and it must pay for itself within one year by increasing enrolment and generating
    new business. The Project Manager must lead the effort, and the project team must include participants with
    Assignment Brief (RQF)
    Prepared by: Higher Education Qualifications (HEQ) Approved by: HEQ, QDAM (HE)
    Version 1.0 – November 2017
    DCL 1 – Public (Unclassified)
    multidisciplinary skillsets that can make valuable contributions to the endeavour. The upgraded Moodle-AI
    learning platform must run on existing hardware and should require minimal technical support. It must be
    easily accessible yet secure from unauthorized users.
    5.0 Analysis of Options and Recommendations
    There are three options for addressing this opportunity:
  15. Do nothing. Although MIBT’s enrolment has dropped within recent years and current academic
    performances in examinations is waning, their current position is sustainable with their present
    enrolment and they project that operation can continue for at least the next 2 years.
  16. Outsource a developer to build the required software module add-ons to integrate the AI capability
    into the current Moodle platform.
  17. Design and implement the new Moodle-AI add-ons in-house utilizing staff internal to the MIBT and
    already existing hardware.
    Based on discussions with stakeholders and calculated projections to determine best Return on Investment,
    Option 3 was selected.
    Based on discussions with stakeholders and calculated projections to determine best Return on Investment,
    Option 3 was selected.
    6.0 Initial Requirements
    The main features of the MIBT Moodle AI System should include the following:
  18. Branching and personalized learning paths. It should allow course administrators to personalize
    sequence of courses that students see based on how they perform in assessments or which courses
    they have completed in the past.
  19. Adaptive and personalized display. The system should display course content specific to a student’s
    preferred learning style.
  20. The system should personalize the navigation, such that students have ease of access to courses they
    are currently enrolled in i.e. students should not have to search through courses they have already
    completed in past programmes or semesters to find current course links.
  21. The system should provide student notifications and reminders e.g. disengagement notifications (i.e.
    students that have not accessed the learning portal in 7 days); submission deliverable dates and precourse readings.
  22. Integration of virtual teaching assistants that have the capability of answering 50% of students’
    routine questions.
    7.0 Budget Estimate and Financial Analysis
    A preliminary estimate of costs for the entire project is $645,000. This estimate is based on the project
    manager working on the project for 40 hours per week for the duration of 6 weeks and other internal staff
    working for the duration of the project. The course administration and student services personnel would not
    be paid for their assistance in the investigation phase.
    The project manager would earn $80 per hour on the project. Other auxiliary staff salaries and resources
    would be negotiated within the allotted budget.
    Assignment Brief (RQF)
    Prepared by: Higher Education Qualifications (HEQ) Approved by: HEQ, QDAM (HE)
    Version 1.0 – November 2017
    DCL 1 – Public (Unclassified)
    Appendix B – Project Logbook Template
    Name:
    Project Title:
    Date:
    Update on weekly research / tasks achieved:
    (Points to consider)
    What have you completed?
    Did you fulfill task requirements?
    Are you on track and within deadlines set? (Review your milestones)
    Did you need to make any changes to your project management plan?
    Any risks and/or issues identified?:
    (Points to consider)
    Did you identify risks/issues with a lack of skills required for undertaking research/tasks?
    Did you identify any additional risks/issues that have an impact on the project management plan?
    Problems encountered:
    (Points to consider)
    What barriers did you face this week?
    How did you overcome them?
    Any new ideas and/or change of project direction?
    What have I learnt about myself this week?
    (Points to consider)
    How did I feel when I had to deal with tasks/problems?
    Did I find it useful to complete the tasks?
    How well have I performed? What did I contribute?
    What can I improve on next week?
    How might this learning apply in the future?
    Project plan status:
    (Document whether you are on schedule, ahead of schedule or behind schedule)
    Tasks planned for next week:
    (Points to consider)
    Based on status documented above, what is your plan for the next week?
    Which tasks are priority?
    Review the duration estimates. Are the duration estimates realistic?
    Have you set aside sufficient time for completion?
    Supervisor Comments to address
    Assignment Brief (RQF)
    Prepared by: Higher Education Qualifications (HEQ) Approved by: HEQ, QDAM (HE)
    Version 1.0 – November 2017
    DCL 1 – Public (Unclassified)
    Signoff:
    Project Sponsor Project Manager
    Date(dd-mm-yyyy) Date(dd-mm-yyyy)
    Appendix C – Performance Review Template
    Your review should attempt to reflect on and provide a discussion for the following questions.
    Performance Review
     What was the project supposed to accomplish?
     Did the project succeed in its aims? How do you know this? Specifically outline any evaluation and
    assessment undertaken.
     What things do you think worked well and why? Evaluate all aspects of the project (e.g. initial
    inception, project activities and project outcomes) from a range of perspectives.
     What problems emerged during the project and how were they tackled? Was there timely
    identification of issues and resolutions during the project process?
     What did you learn from undertaking the project?
     How would you rate your performance as project manager?
     What strengths and weaknesses of your performance did you identify?
     How will this inform and support your continuous professional development?

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