Student No(s)

Project Name:

Student No(s)

Project Overview:

Project Description

This should include a basic description of what you will do in this project to deliver the intended project outcome (i.e. the what and how of the project)

Project Background

You will need to expand upon the detail provided in the project description. Describe your understanding of the type of current business conditions that appear to have created the requirement for the project. Explain what factors or features of the industry partners organization appear to be significant to the industry project.

Context

Put your understanding of the project into context. Whether you think it is part of a wider industry sector transformational process, whether the problem being addressed is part of a wider organizational change process, whether this is part of responding to changes in the external and internal environment specific to the industry partners organization. How do you think the nature of the industry sector, or organization is going to shape the nature of the project (e.g. corporate branding in an organization that does not have a corporate brand in a small to medium sized not-for-profit organization).

Project Objectives:

Where possible, expand on what is shown in the project specification and follow the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-related) method. In many but not all industry projects a major objective is to use industry better practice research to identity opportunities for practice improvement in the industry partners organization.

Project Scope & Boundaries:

Expand on what is shown in the project description. Show the boundaries that define the project, explain the specific inclusions and exclusions to the project scope regarding services, activities, products, business processes, resourcing, organizational units that are in or out of scope. Remember this is a 12-week project so do not be too ambitious. Be realistic.

Specific Inclusions:

Specific Exclusion:

Benefits:

At a minimum state the perceived benefits to both the industry partner, its customers/clients and its employees without actually trying to quantify the perceived cost savings or additional revenue unless this is a requirement of your project as may be the case in a Master of Professional Accounting students industry project.

Stakeholders:

List the categories or types of stakeholders that may be affected by this industry project it the recommendations in your Industry Project Report were to be implemented. Who stands to benefit? Who will be affected directly or indirectly?

Key Milestones:

List the key milestones associated with the project. At a minimum address the assessment tasks, but where possible identify other related milestones such as diagnosis, problem identification, identification of key research themes, literature identification and analysis process.

Deliverables:

Address the main assessment tasks (the project plan, the pitch for change and the industry project report). Identify the perceived benefits for the industry partner (i.e., a report on research relating to an issue or concern identified by the industry partner) and the deliverables for the student (e.g., core knowledge acquired, skill enhancement).

This section of the template also requires you to think about the likely impact on the organisation if the recommendations in your Industry Project Report were to be implemented. The deliverable is not the report itself but what impact the report has.

Data Collection Approach

For most industry projects, the source documents on the industry partners organisation and the research literature used are the main data used in the project. However, in some projects you may be collecting primary data. If so, make this clear in the project plan. Note you will not have the time or have access to respondents in the industry partners organisation for these projects so do not identify surveys and interviews with staff in the industry partners organisation.

Project Coordination Mechanisms:

Where there is a project team involved, detail how the project team will manage the various stages of the project and whether there will be any delineation of roles. How will the project team coordination their efforts and how will they liaise with the industry partner and the Unit Convener where required.

In all projects you should identify how you will ensure you meet the milestones required for each assessment task as well as the deadline required to ensure your literature review phase is completed on time to be used in the Pitch for Change.

Risk Management:

Identify the main types of risk to project success and the ways in which high risks will be mediated. Note that not being able to obtain access to source documents on the industry partners organisation or getting a response to questions about the project topic will not be an acceptable excuse for not meeting an assignment deadline. This is a risk you need to manage.

Quality Assurance Mechanisms:

At a minimum you are required to self-assess each assessment task using the relevant rubric.

In addition, how will you use information about the industry partners organisation and the nominated project topic you are undertaking (source documents, recorded interviews) at various stages of the project to will also need to ensure you understand the importance or significance of your key findings and conclusions from the literature review that you will use in the Pitch for Change and the Industry Project Report.

References:

What literature has been reviewed to help develop the project plan that is directly relevant to the project topic? A minimum of 3 to 6 journal articles that are relevant to the industry project topic. This component of the project plan (perhaps a page or so) can be an attachment to the project plan and should identity the key features of the literature that have been used to shape the scope of the project to this stage. It is envisaged that the mini-literature review used to prepare your project plan will be extended as part of your main literature review.