The major term paper is to take the form of an initial business case (NOT a project plan) for a project selected as an individual case study by each student. (The difference between a business case and project plan will be discussed in considerable detail during the course). A business case draws on most of the core concepts covered in the course and so this assignment allows students to show how all these elements fit together and inter-relate.
Students have considerable freedom in selection of a case study for the business case including:
- A hypothetical project.
- A real project (proposed, under way or completed).
- A project in which the student has a particular interest.
- Many students adopt a real project being undertaken by their employer-thus serving two purposes (meeting the requirements of MFBP and assembling a document that can be employed in a business setting). This approach is strongly encouraged.
The precise structure may vary from student to student-but in most cases it will be based on the templates discussed in the lecture dealing with Initiation. While there is no universally "correct" structure for a business case, there are grades of suitability. Some elements would be regarded as absolutely essential in all cases (such as a thorough and complete coverage of target outcomes), while the detail provided for other elements (such as a proposed governance model) would vary according to the project in question.
Minor term paper
The minor term paper is to take the form of a detailed report on one or two of the core concepts covered in the course and so this assignment allows students the opportunity of examining in depth a narrow selection of MFBP elements.
You are encouraged to propose your own topic-however your discussion must draw heavily on the material covered in the course. Some students have run into difficulty in the past because they have not established strong (or in some cases, any) connections between their paper and the concepts discussed in the course.
Possible candidate topics for minor term papers include:
• Discussion of how one of the concepts from the Course could be applied to a real life project (completed, current or proposed).
• A critique of selected elements of a live project-using concepts covered in the Course.
• A critique of an element found in an existing methodology-using concepts covered in the Course.
• An appraisal of the existing approach to project management in a (real life) organisation-using a narrow selection of concepts covered in the Course.
• Comparison of a selected technique from the Course with an alternative treatment from another source (reference book or methodology).
• A discussion of a concept covered in the Course-illustrated with real life examples.
• A discussion of the relationship between two or more Course concepts
Minor term papers should recognise a structure of headings such as that suggested here-or a variant appropriate to the agreed topic. In the past, some grades have suffered because assignments have not included essential sections-such as the statement of purpose.
A. Purpose.
A short statement about the purpose of your paper. This may take any one of a number of forms such as:
• Supporting a particular proposition.
• Explaining a concept.
• Illustrating the application of a tool or technique.
• Offering a critique of a view, approach, concept or technique.
• Summarising the learnings from a case study.
• Making some recommendations.
B. Audience.
To what type of audience is the paper is directed: a novice, a senior manager who knows nothing about projects management, a PM practitioner ...?
C. Context.
Briefly explain why the topic you are discussing is important to the management of business projects.
D. Summary.
Provide a short executive summary of the way you have structured the main discussion in your paper and the conclusions you have reached.
E. Discussion of the topic.
Ensure that this is logical, clear and readable. Don't be afraid to supplement your text with diagrams.
F. Appendices.
Keep these to a minimum. Only include material that is directly relevant to the logic of your paper.