BA Business Information Management

1
BABusiness Information Management

• Work-Based Project
• December 2002

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Session Objectives

• To give you a brief summary of the requirements
  on you for the assessment of your Work-Based
  Project Module, so that you understand what is
  required of you, and what sorts of things you
  need to do.

3
What exactly should I be submitting and when?

• You have already completed one element the
  Negotiated Learning Agreement.
• There are three other elements you need to submit
  by 10th January 2003
• Your Action Planning
• A Portfolio of Evidence
• A Project Report
• In addition you will be allocated a timetable
  slot during the week of 13th-17th January 2003
  when you will be required to attend a face to
  face session with tutors.

4
What weightings do these elements carry?

• Your NLA has already attracted a grade out of 10
• The other 90 will be allocated according to your
  performance on each of the other three elements
• In your NLA you declared how these weightings
  would be allocated.

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How are these elements related?
Action Planning File Evidence that you have been
able to plan and execute a complex project
Project Report Detailed account of the project
demonstrating that you have achieved all of the
Learning Outcomes in the Negotiated Learning
Agreement.
Negotiated Learning Agreement Learning Outcomes
Portfolio of Evidence Documents related to the
project itself exemplifying what you have achieved
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What do I need to submit for the Action Planning?

• The Action Planning file is submitted as evidence
  that you have been able to plan, organise,
  manage, monitor and evaluate your own performance
  effectively.
• The Action Planning Documents you submit should
  be a record of what you have done, what changes
  you have made, and present snapshots of the
  process.
• Full details are given in Section 7 of the
  Handbook

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Action Planning The Initial Elements

• Original Terms of Reference
• List of Tasks Derived from the original Terms of
  Reference with estimated completion times
• Original Planning Chart or Document showing what
  will be done and when. (i.e. Gantt Chart or
  equivalent)
• Initial weekly logs (i.e. details of what exactly
  is to be done in each week, how long it will take
  and what is the proposed outcome.)

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Action Planning The Final Elements

• Current or Final Terms of Reference
• Final List of Tasks Derived from the Terms of
  Reference with actual completion times
• Completed Planning Chart showing what was
  actually done (i.e. Gantt Chart or equivalent)
• Completed weekly logs (i.e. what was actually
  achieved for each of the the planned activities
  with evaluations)

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Action Planning A Cautionary Note

• What was described on the previous slides was a
  minimum. In order to achieve a good honours grade
  your action planning will need to demonstrate
  that you have planned and monitored effectively,
  including a critical evaluation of the results of
  activities.
• In order to achieve the maximum grade you will
  need to ensure not only that you have met the
  criteria to on the next slide, but that what you
  submit clearly shows this.

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Action Planning Criteria For Assessment

• Ability to create well-defined and credible Terms
  of Reference with clear targets
• Ability to derive from this detailed planning
  with sensible and realistic projections
• Ability to prepare for and use meetings
  fruitfully
• Ability to organise effectively, manage time and
  keep to targets set
• Ability to monitor progress and rectify slippage
• Quality of Documentation including quality and
  depth of evaluation and reflection

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What do I need to submit for the Portfolio?

• The Portfolio is submitted as the major part of
  the evidence evidence on which you will draw to
  demonstrate that you have achieved the learning
  outcomes related to of the workplace project.
• The Portfolio you submit should contain work from
  almost all the stages of your project, from the
  initial planning to the completed items.
• In addition it should go beyond what you might
  have done in the workplace to evaluate the worth
  of the project.
• Full details are given in Section 8 of the
  Handbook

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What should be the contents of the Portfolio?

• It is difficult to state clearly what will be the
  content of your portfolio. It will depend on the
  project that you have done, and your learning
  outcomes.
• You need to make sure that the contents of the
  portfolio are comprehensive enough to meet two
  sets of criteria
• The assessment criteria for the portfolio itself
• The base of evidence you need to support your
  claim that you have met all the learning outcomes
  of the module.

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Some possible contents of the Portfolio

• Work you have undertaken in the workplace
• Material related to the organisation and
  management of the business
• Material you have completed as part of your
  workplace tasks
• Material that you have studied in order to
  enhance your knowledge and skills
• Authoritative academic material you have
  consulted
• Notes and other evidence

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How should the the Portfolio be presented?

• You should present
• A coherent file, fully labelled, well-sectioned
  with dividers and a contents page.
• Each section should have a clear purpose and
  should have a focussing introduction or running
  commentary in order that the markers can make
  sense of its place in the project and the
  rationale behind its inclusion.

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How should the the Portfolio be presented?

• You should not present
• Rewrite handwritten working notes, type up
  results of interviews etc.
• Include everything but the kitchen sink by, for
  example including a copy of every completed
  questionnaire that you might have used, or every
  exercise that you did towards achieving your
  current level of HTML
• Photocopy lots of journal or trade articles that
  you have not read or not consulted, or include
  hundreds of screen dumps of websites just to pad
  out the file.

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Portfolio Assessment Criteria

• Evidence of sustained and fruitful contact with
  the working environment
• Ability to apply problem solving skills in a
  modern business setting
• Ability to apply practical and analytical skills,
  meeting of agreed targets
• Academic and professional rigour of the work
  carried out, including
• Application and evaluation of research material
• Critical evaluation of IT practices
• Critical evaluation of business practices
• Overall quality of the documentation
• Evidence of self-motivated learning

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What do I need to submit for the Report?

• The Report is the most important element of the
  three pieces of work that you will submit.
• It will be the most heavily weighted
• It will have a form chosen by you
• It will have a written element and a verbal
  element

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The Three Forms of Reporting

• In your NLA you were asked to choose one of
• A written report
• A poster-presentation
• A verbal presentation
• Each form of reporting will have a part-written,
  part spoken element.

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The Three Forms of Reporting

• The written report requires you to produce a
  professional document in WORD, using Report
  Format. You will then be called to a 5-10 minute
  viva where you will be asked questions on your
  project.
• The poster-presentation requires you to produce a
  poster of professional standard. You will then
  talk to the material contained on the poster,
  leaving some time for questions
• A verbal presentation will be in PowerPoint, of
  professional standard, possibly including some
  demonstrations of the material produced. Allow
  time for questions.

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The Purpose of the Report

• The purpose of the report is to demonstrate how
  effectively that you have addressed of the
  learning outcomes of the module.
• In doing this you need to be aware that the
  manner of presentation of the report addresses
  several of the modules learning outcomes.
• Both the style and content of the report will be
  assessed.

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The Audience for the Report

• You will have two markers one of whom is your
  project supervisor, and another course tutor who
  is unfamiliar with your project.
• To ensure that the second tutor is familiar with
  the project, you will need to clearly define the
  project setting and the parameters for the
  project, as well as what you have ultimately
  produced.

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What elements should the report include?

• A brief summary of the project, its context and
  some evaluation of its worth.
• An analysis of how well you have achieved the
  learning outcomes
• An analysis of what you personally have achieved
  from undertaking the module

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How should I structure the Report?

• The way you present and structure the report is
  entirely up to you.
• There are some guidelines within the
  documentations, and some guidance is given in the
  next few slides.
• However it is guidance, and not a requirement.

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Addressing the Learning Outcomes

• There are effectively two ways to demonstrate
  that you have achieved the learning outcomes of
  the module
• The head-on approach
• Take each of the outcomes in turn and point to
  where the evidence is in the documents you have
  produced that you have achieved them, and to what
  extent.
• The subtle approach
• Present the report as a narrative account of a
  project undertaken. Along the way, consider in
  producing what you have done, the extent to which
  you have fully met the outcomes.

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Addressing the Learning Outcomes

• Whatever you do, addressing the learning outcomes
  is not simply a matter of ticking them off on a
  list.
• You may have done them well or not so well the
  level of attainment may be different for
  different outcomes.
• The evidence produced may be stronger or weaker
  depending upon how ell you have achieved them
• If you claim too much for yourself, without
  sufficient evidence, then you will lose marks on
  the academic rigour of the report criteria.
• Clearly, you will wish to draw on evidence from
  all the project elements in compiling your report.

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A Possible Reporting Structure

• Project Narrative Summary Evaluation
• A brief summary and evaluation of the Project.
• 2. Reflections on Process Practical Analytical
  Skills
• An analysis of what practical and analytical
  skills you have developed or enhanced through
  undertaking the project.
• Reflections on Self Personal Development
• An analysis of how you personally have developed
  and what you have achieved.

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Elements of the Report Summary Evaluation

• Description
• A brief summary and evaluation of the Project.
• This a narrative of the study, explaining its
  context, why it is useful, the processes you went
  through and the final outcome. It will also
  contain an evaluation of its worth.

• Learning Outcomes Addressed
• B1, B2, B3
• What you did
• This addresses the learning outcomes related to
  the project, (the ones you wrote) and whether or
  not you have achieved what you set out to do, and
  to what extent you have been successful.

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Elements of the Report Practical Analytical
Skills Developed

• Description
• An analysis of how your problem-solving,
  analytical and evaluative skills have developed
• To some extent, this theme runs through the
  whole of the report however, there are certain
  required outcomes built in to the module which
  you need to address explicitly.

• Learning Outcomes Addressed
• A3, A4, A5, A6, A8
• How You did it
• This addresses the majority of the required
  learning outcomes of the module as a whole, and
  not necessarily related to the project itself.

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Elements of the Report Personal Skills Developed

• Description
• An analysis of your personal development on this
  module.
• Again there are recurrent themes here, but there
  are specific personal achievements which you may
  have addressed and achieved.

• Learning Outcomes
• A1, A2, A7, B4
• What you have learnt
• This addresses those learning outcomes which
  refer to your personal development. In examining
  these you should draw on all elements.

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Learning Outcome A9Achieving the Learning
Outcomes

• in order to demonstrate attainment of Learning
  Outcome A9, somewhere in your report you should
  provide a table which allows an at-a-glance
  summary of each of the other learning outcomes
  and to what extent they have been achieved.

• Element
• A brief summary and evaluation of the Project.
• An analysis of how well you have achieved the
  learning outcomes
• An analysis of what you personally have achieved

• Addresses Learning Outcomes
• B1, B2, B3
• A3, A4, A5, A6, A8
• A1, A2, A7, B4

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A note on the use of Academic Source Material

• One of the important criteria in assessing the
  report is its academic rigour, which includes the
  use of academic source material to critically
  evaluate the worth of your project.
• There is an entire section on the MCC devoted to
  this, how you should use such material and
  present it in an academic context.

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Academic Source Material

• It is to be expected that you will have used
  academic source material during at least two
  phases of the project
• During the development phase, when you were
  trying to find out what to do, or learning new
  skills.
• During the evaluation phase when you are
  assessing whether or not what you have produced
  is any good.

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Assessment Criteria for the Report

• Overall quality of the report its presentation
  and rigour
• Ability to reflect accurately on the experience
• Academic rigour of the report, including
• Quality and depth of the arguments
• Sourcing, referencing and bibliographic details
• Critical use of external material
• Quality of evidence produced for each of the
  learning outcomes
• Overall level of achievement of the learning
  outcomes

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What do I do now?

• Firstly, get on to the MCC and read the sections
  on presentation of your action planning,
  portfolio and report thoroughly.
• Secondly ensure that you meet with your project
  tutor to discuss what will go where, and how you
  will present your evidence.
• Thirdly ensure that you have addressed every
  single one of the learning outcomes in your NLA.

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The Timetable for Presentations and Vivas

• This has now been published, and you should
  ensure that you attend the session at the correct
  time and place.
• This time is allocated as part of your
  assessment. If you fail to turn up without
  medical evidence you will definitely lose marks
  and may fail the module as a result.
• While we will make every effort to keep to time,
  the times allocated can only be approximate.

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Finally

• Merry Christmas
• and good luck in finishing your project.
• Submission Deadline
• 3.00pm Friday 10th January 2003