Assessment Brief

Module Code

Module Name Critical Issues in Project Management

Level 7

Module Leader Miss Gosia Plotka

Module Code BSOM074

Assessment title: PS1 Group Project Poster and Presentation

Weighting: 40%

Submission dates: 06th August 2023

Feedback and
06th September 2023
Grades due:
Please read the whole assessment brief before starting work on the Assessment Task.

The Assessment Task

This is a hands-on assignment aligned with Changemaker Certificate Level 2 – Changemaker
in Practice that aims at equipping you with skills that will help your transition into a new
career following completion of the module. In a nutshell, your task is to produce a poster that
demonstrates a practical experience you and your team gained through work-related
learning. Applying knowledge is essential aspect of this assessment.

More specifically, as a group, you will follow one of the two pathways described below to find
an opportunity that suits your development goals as a future Project Manager:
 Community Engagement – volunteering in the community (that includes but is not limited
to charity initiatives, work with your local community, religious groups, or activities),
allowing you to contribute to an existing organisation that is creating positive impact in a
community.
 Changemaker Initiatives – the opportunity to develop and deliver a project or campaign
that creates a positive social impact relating to an identified social or environmental
problem.
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and summarise your achievements on a poster (please see assessment breakdown below for
the details). You will be asked questions about your project via a formal presentation to your
tutors who will be marking your work and observing Changemaker Team member. Please
note, to be awarded Changemaker Certificate Level 2 your team needs to complete
Changemaker Certificate Level 1 first and follow Changemaker Team on guidance.
Group formation and signing the contract: Following industry standards, teams of four will
be formatted based on your individual strengths. You will be required to complete the HIGH5
test and share your results via a dedicated form with your module leader. Once they put you
into a team you will be required to get in touch with your peers to agree and sign the contract.
The presentation: Each group will have 20 minutes including 10 minutes to present their
poster and 10 minutes allowed for questions. All members of the group must be present. A
last-minute cancellation by one member is acceptable and this will not affect the overall grade
for those who attend. For a pass mark, the absence that falls within the spirit of Mitigating
Circumstances (see below) must be CLEARLY EXPLAINED (in email to the module leader) and
the contribution to the group’s work demonstrated. If not, they may fail the assessment with a
mark of G. If more than one person is not present, the tutor will recommend that the
presentation is postponed until all members are available.
Group Collaboration Documentation: The group representative must submit the AGREED
and COMPLETED evidence of group collaboration (e.g., team contract, project plan, minutes,
the number of hours and where you have volunteered) based on the tutor-created template.

Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:

Subject-Specific Knowledge, Understanding & Application

a) Critically explain the value and importance of an integrated approach to
organisational issues when designing and planning projects;
b) Identify and apply appropriate analytical models and conceptual tools and
techniques in the analysis of the project environment;
c) Critically evaluate a given theory and its applications in project management and
produce evidence-based arguments and conclusions.
Employability & Changemaker Skills
e) Perform, function and/or lead effectively and collaboratively in a course context.
Your grade will depend on how well you meet these learning outcomes in the way relevant for
this assessment. Please see the final page of this document for further details of the
criteria against which you will be assessed.

Assessment Support
Specific support sessions for this assessment will be provided by the module team and
notified through NILE. You can also access individual support and guidance for your
assessments from Library and Learning Services. Visit the Skills Hub to access this support
and to discover the online support also available for assessments and academic skills.

Academic Integrity and Misconduct

Unless this is a group assessment, the work you produce must be your own, with work taken
from any other source properly referenced and attributed. This means that it is an
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infringement of academic integrity and, therefore, academic misconduct to ask someone else
to carry out all or some of the work for you, whether paid or unpaid, or to use the work of
another student whether current or previously submitted.
For further guidance on what constitutes plagiarism, contract cheating or collusion, or any
other infringement of academic integrity, please read the University’s Academic Integrity and
Misconduct Policy. Other useful resources to help with understanding academic integrity are
available from UNPAC - the University of Northampton’s Plagiarism Avoidance Course.
N.B. The penalties for academic misconduct are severe and include failing the
assessment, failing the module and even expulsion from the university.

Assessment Submission
To submit your work, please go to the ‘Assessment and Submission’ area on the NILE site and
use the relevant submission point to upload the assignment deliverable. The deadline for this
is 11.59pm (UK local time) on the date of submission. Please note that essays and text-based
reports should be submitted as word documents and not PDFs or Mac files.
Written work submitted to TURNITIN will be subject to anti-plagiarism detection software.
Turnitin checks student work for possible textual matches against internet available resources
and its own proprietary database.
When you upload your work correctly to TURNITIN you will receive a receipt which is your
record and proof of submission. If your assessment is not submitted to TURNITIN, rather than
a receipt, you will see a green banner at the top of the screen that denotes successful
submission.
N.B Work emailed directly to your tutor will not be marked.

Late submission of work

For first sits, if an item of assessment is submitted late and an extension has not been
granted, the following will apply:
 Within one week of the original deadline – work will be marked and returned with full
feedback and awarded a maximum bare pass grade.
 More than one week from original deadline – grade achievable LG (L indicating late).
For resits there are no allowances for work submitted late and it will be treated as a non-
submission.
Please see the Assessment and Feedback Policy for full information on the processes related
to assessment, grading and feedback, including anonymous grading. You will also find
Guidance on grades and resit opportunities from the main University website. Also explained
there are the meanings of the various G grades at the bottom of the grading scale including
LG mentioned above.

Extensions
The University of Northampton’s general policy about extensions is to be supportive of
students who have genuine difficulties in meeting an assessment deadline. It is not intended
for use where pressures of work could have reasonably been anticipated.
For full details please refer to the Extensions Policy. Extensions are only available for first sits
– they are not available for resits.

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Mitigating Circumstances
For full guidance on Mitigating circumstances please go to Mitigating Circumstances where
you will find information on the policy as well as guidance and the form for making an
application. Please also see Extensions & Mitigating Circumstances guide 22_23 that
compares your options.
Please note, however, that an application to defer an assessment on the grounds of mitigating
circumstances should normally be made in advance of the submission deadline or
examination date.

Feedback and Grades

These can be accessed through clicking on the “Gradebook” on NILE. Feedback will be
provided by a rubric with summary comments.

Rubrics
Distinction Merit Pass Fail
An excellent degree of A very good A satisfactory A poor or lack of
Critically explain the understanding of the understanding of the understanding of the selection of an issue with
value and importance of context of the context of the context of the very unclear (or lack)
organisational issues organisational issues organisational issues background research
an integrated approach encountered proven by encountered, partially encountered but presented that may be
to organisational issues the problem selected, supported, or background research result of rushing out
concisely introduced, incomplete background shows some flaws, e.g., project at the very last
when designing and planned, and supported research, planning in project planning or minute or failure to
planning projects by the background and/or importance of justification importance agree/ commit to a
research presented. the project not justified. of the project. common goal as a team.

An excellent example of A clear connection to UN Weak connection to UON Not relevant

Identify and apply
implementing of UN Changemakers Changemakers information, connection
appropriate analytical Changemaker Commitments/UON SDG Commitments/UN SDG to UON Changemakers
models and conceptual and other relevant tools/ made or other relevant
Commitments/UN SDG Commitments/UN SDG
techniques to analyse tools/ techniques to
tools and techniques in and other tools/ or other relevant tool/
project environment analyse project
techniques to analyse techniques normally
the analysis of the with areas for environment that
project environment improvement limited to demonstrates gaps in expected at level 7
project environment resulted from CPD. content covered in class. problem understanding. project management.

Distinguished work A very good but luck An approach to planning A poor or lack of
Critically evaluate a evidenced by an creativity approach a problem-solving that understanding of the
given theory and its authoritative taken to plan a problem led to failure in task demonstrated by
applications in project comprehensive, solving and/or the achievement or approach taken that led
results received with
management and interesting, creative
slight issues in the work,
obtaining some of the to no obtaining expected
produce evidence-based approach to problem- usually expected results, results, e.g., not applying
e.g., the positive impact
arguments and solving with positive could be maximised with e.g., omissions in theories into practice
impact achieved through a bit better planning application and/or turning the project in
conclusions
measurable goal setting. or/and research. positive impact. desktop research.

Excellent and well A very good group A satisfactory group A poor or lack of group
evidenced group collaboration sufficiently collaboration was collaboration. Lack or
collaboration with a evidenced and presented. A correct but very unclear and
Perform, function degree of problem- demonstrated with good not very compelling uninteresting
and/or lead effectively solving. Elements of presentation requiring and/or clear presentation and
storytelling included in clarity improvements presentation; some
and collaboratively in a members of the team
the presentation and all and/or the members important pieces of
are unable to answer
course context members can answer cannot fully answer documentation missing;
questions regarding questions regarding members struggle to questions regarding
their own contribution their own contribution to prove their contribution their own contribution
into the project. the project. to the project. into the project.