PROJ420 - Course project w/ Risk Management Plan

PROJ 420

Individual Course Project – Risk Management Plan

Objectives

For this course, you (this is not a team assignment) will complete a weekly assignment and compile a Course Project paper and narrative PowerPoint presentation. The paper involves the development of a risk management plan, commonly called an RMP, throughout the course. The presentation will present the paper to management.

While the weekly assignments are the basis for what you will be doing for the RMP, they are not the RMP itself. Your weekly assignments will assist in the development of an RMP by completing some of the essential parts of the final paper. These various sections, which will follow your weekly assignments, have been developed per the Deliverables schedule below.

Remember that your weekly assignments are built around the project that you will choose during Week 1.

The assignments for Weeks 1-6 are the basis of your project; the final paper, however, which is due in Week 7, will be built following the template on page 209 in Appendix A within the Practical Project Risk Management: The ATOM Methodology text. In addition, your final paper will focus on the top 20 risks you have identified.

Deliverables

Week 1: Selecting a Project (40 points)

During Week 1, the you will select a project for your risk management plan Course Project. All students will work on the same project. The focus of the project is to build a community sports fields / center. You can define what is included in your project (e.g. baseball / soccer fields, community garden, dog walking / play area, swimming pool(s), classroom for dance or craft classes – these are ideas that could be included, but it is up to you to decide what is included.)

To select your project, submit a description of it using the Week 1 Course Project Proposal & Outline Template (PROJ420_W1_ProposalAndOutline.docx) in Files.

This submission must be well presented because this is a required assignment that will receive a grade in Gradebook. The project paper is a required item for successful completion of this class. If you do not submit a project selection, you will not be able to proceed with assignments, because each week builds upon the last. We will discuss the various steps in developing the RMP for your project in our weekly discussions. All submissions for a grade will also be evaluated for grammar and spelling.

Week 2: Project Sizing and Stakeholder Analysis (40 points)

Your Course Project milestone for Week 2 will be to develop your project sizing and stakeholder analysis.

To do this, use the Week 2 Course Project Assignment Template (PROJ420_W2_AssignmentTemplate.docx) in Files.

Week 3: Project Risk Breakdown Structure (40 points) & “Peer Review” (30 points – write a paragraph or two on how you feel you are performing on the course project and what you can do to improve going forward)

For your third Course Project milestone, develop a risk breakdown structure.

To do this, use the Week 3 Course Project Assignment Template (PROJ420_W3_AssignmentTemplate.docx) in Files.

In order to keep the RBS manageable, identify 10 risks from your project to be included in your RBS.

Week 4: Probability-Impact Matrix (40 points) & “Peer Review” (30 points – write a paragraph or two on how you feel you are performing on the course project and what you can do to improve going forward)

This week for your Course Project milestone, submit a Probability-Impact Matrix for the project based on the top 10 risks the team identified in your RBS in Week 3.

To do this, use the Week 4 Course Project Assignment Template (PROJ420_W4_PIMatrixTemplate.xlsx) in Files.

Week 5: Risk Register (40 points)

Develop and submit a risk register based on the 10 risks that has been assessed within the project. Your register should have four sections.

1. Project title

2. Risk description

3. Impact and probability rating

4. Planned response

Note that there is no template for this week's assignment.

Week 6: Summary Risk Report (40 points)

This week, you must develop a summary risk report based on the project you have selected and have been assessing.

Refer to Figure B-12 in Appendix B on page 233 in your Practical Project Risk Management: The ATOM Methodology text. The report is a summary, so please keep your assignment in that format. Five pages is the suggested maximum length.

Submit your assignment to the Week 6 Course Project Dropbox, located at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read these step-by-step instructions (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

Week 7: Course Project Final (The RMP) (175 points) & “Peer Review” (30 points – write a paragraph or two on how you feel you are performing on the course project and what you can do to improve going forward)

Your final paper for the Course Project (the RMP) is due in Week 7.

Your presentation of the paper results to management in a narrative PowerPoint format are due in Week 7.

Please reference the template found in Appendix A, page 209, of the Practical Project Risk Management: The ATOM Methodology text.

The course project paper is your risk management plan (RMP).

Note the Guidelines section below for additional requirements for your final paper and presentation.

Guidelines

Just a few reminders on your final Course Project paper.

• You will be using the information that you have obtained in the weekly assignments to complete the paper, but you should not simply copy and paste the weekly assignments into each section of your final paper.

• Ensure that each of your weekly assignments has been submitted and graded. Remember that the paper is only one part of your weekly work and that your weekly assignments make up critical information that the team will use to write your final Course Project paper.

• Follow the format as indicated in the Deliverables section above.

• One of the most important steps that you can take: proofread your paper! Have someone else who does not know about the project read the paper. If he or she can read and fully understand what you're saying, you probably have a good paper. Remember: You know what you're saying, but does the reader understand the message that you're trying to convey? This one element will save the team the time and the grief of a poor grade for grammar and readability.

• Papers must be 15 to 20 pages in length (this would be roughly one page per area included in the report), using 10-point font, double-spaced, and must include a cover page, table of contents, introduction, body of the report, summary or conclusion, and works cited.

• Even though this is not a scientific writing assignment and is mostly creative in nature, references are still very important. At least six authoritative, outside references are required (anonymous authors or web pages are not acceptable). These should be listed on the last page, titled Works Cited.

• Appropriate citations are required.

• Presentations should be 5-10 minutes in length. Record your audio narrative in the PowerPoint slides.

• All DeVry University policies are in effect, including the plagiarism policy.

• Papers and presentations are due during Week 7 of this course.

• This paper is worth 100 total points and will be graded on quality of research topic, quality of paper information, use of citations, grammar, and sentence structure.

• The presentation is worth 75 points and will be graded on the topics in the rubric that follows. The goal of the presentation should be to convince management that you have adequately analyzed risks for your project.

Submit your final Course Project paper to the Week 7 Course Project Assignment.

Submit your final Course Project Presentation PowerPoint to the Week 7 Course Project Assignment.

Grading Rubrics

The following is the grading rubric for the final Course Project paper.

Presentation Grading Rubric:

Best Practices

The following are the best practices in preparing this paper.

• Cover Page—Include who the team prepared the paper for, who prepared it, and the date.

• Table of Contents—List the main ideas and sections of your paper and the pages on which they are located. The illustrations should be included separately.

• Introduction—Use a header on your paper to indicate that the team is introducing it. An introduction or opening

• Body of Your Report—Use a header titled with the name of your project. Example: "The Development of Hotel X—A World Class Resort." Then proceed to break out the main ideas. State the main ideas, state major points in each idea, and provide evidence. Break out each main idea the team will use in the body of your paper. Show some type of division, like separate sections that are labeled, separate groups of paragraphs, or headers. The team will include the information found during your research and investigation.

• Summary and Conclusion—Summarizing is similar to paraphrasing; it presents the gist of the material in fewer words than the original. An effective summary identifies the main ideas and major support points from the body of your report. Minor details are left out. Summarize the benefits of the ideas and how they affect the project.

• Work Cited—Use the citation format as specified in the Syllabus.

Following are additional hints on preparing the best possible project.

1. Apply a three-step process of writing: Plan, Write, and Complete.

2. Prepare an outline of your research paper before you go forward.

3. Complete a first draft and then go back to edit, evaluate, and make any required changes.

4. Use visual communication to further clarify and support the written part of your report: Example graphs, diagrams, and photographs.