Student assessment

workbook

Code
BSBPMG533

Unit Name
Manage project cost

Version 4 (January 2023)

BSBPMG533 Student assessment workbook BSB50820_02 version 4: 23 Janaury 2023 Page 1 of 13

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Version Control & Document History

Date Summary of Modifications Version
23 Introduction and instructions: Removed Bounce Fitness scenario project option. Included course 4
January introduction session information. Included examples of personal projects students could choose.
2023
20 May Removal of ‘Workplace Information’ table – not necessary and discriminatory to those students who 3.0
2023 are unable to access a workplace for this course.
Changes to instructions regarding Oral Communication skills requirements.
‘Introduction and Resources required for assessment’: Clearer explanation of expectations and
resources.
Renumbered tasks.
Updated templates to avoid duplication and better reflect current workplace templates.
Removal of copyright to Compliant Learning Resources, except where referencing the Bounce
Fitness scenarios.
Added a summary table of tasks and evidence required
24 Aug Instructions revised to refer to outcomes for BSBPMG533. Removed requirement to locate 2.0
2022 organisational structure (not required).
Project Information tables:
• Changed ‘Date scoping stage commenced‘ to ‘Project Start and End dates’ as more relevant
to project information required.
• Changed title of ‘Project Sponsor/Client’ to just ‘Project Sponsor’ as these are not the same
roles and causing confusion.
Removed lengthy templates from the workbook, referring students to complete these templates
separately and attach with their assessment submissions instead. Giving students option to use
excel and other project management software instead of the templates provided.
Inclusion of generic ‘Project Budget Planning and Management Policy’ for students to answer
questions 1 – 5, if they do not have a relevant policy within their own workplace. Revised the
questions to avoid duplication.
Task 1.1.1 Consult with relevant stakeholders on WBS – removed from assessment, not required
within unit criteria
Task 1.3 Removed requirement to complete a roles and responsibilities table as not in unit criteria.
Task 2.1 Combined with Tasks 2.3 & 2.4 Refer notes below
Task 2.2 Revised requirement for students to provide two project cost variations in line with unit
requirements
Tasks 2.3 & 2.4 Incorporated requirements into Task 2.1 to avoid duplication and better reflect
current workplace reporting activities. Removed meeting requirement - task still requires financial
reports to be emailed to project sponsor
Task 3.2 Review project outcomes – meeting and email requirements removed
30 Nov Version 1.0 released for publishing 1.0
2020
Feb Inserted coverpage with CQUniversity branding and additional PC and PE to meet requirements 1.1
2022

BSBPMG533 Student assessment workbook BSB50820_02 version 4: 23 Janaury 2023 Page 2 of 13

Introduction and Resources Required for this Assessment
To successfully complete the unit requirements, responses must be completed within the context of a
project you are managing (or simulating managing).
You will be required to demonstrate how you identify, analyse and refine project costs to produce a
budget, and to use this budget as the principal mechanism to control project cost.
All units within this course will take you through the full project life cycle, including the three main phases
of:
1. project initiation and planning,
2. implementation and monitoring, followed by
3. closure and evaluation.

You must fill the role of project manager and demonstrate your skills and application of knowledge for
your project/s throughout each of the above phases.
Whilst not compulsory, it is recommended to use the same project throughout your course to avoid
duplication of key documents which you continually are referring to (e.g. work breakdown structures,
stakeholder registers, budgets, risk and issue registers, etc.) and to be able to “build” on your set of
documents, plans, reports, etc. as you progress.
If you have not already done so, please attend one of the online course introductory sessions,
available under the ‘COURSE INTRODUCTION & ORAL COMMUNICATION’ tab within your first cluster
for your course on Moodle.
You only need to attend one session and you just need to click on the meeting link in Moodle to join.
These sessions cover the course structure, project management methodologies we will be covering in
the course, project options to focus on for your course, oral communication foundation skill
assessment, the support available to you throughout your studies, as well as any other questions you
may have.

To complete the assessment requirements, you will need to access the following information:
PROJECT OPTION 1:
If you are responsible for managing a project (whether employment or volunteer-based) within an
organisation:
You will need access to one project you are currently managing (or have managed, flagged to manage in
the future, etc.), and the initial business case (this could be an email, memorandum, purchase request,
and excerpt from your operational plan, meeting minutes, etc.) which kicks off your project, i.e. the
initial document (or set of documents) which causes you to start scoping out the project.
You may use your organisation’s templates in lieu of the ones provided within your assessment
resources. If there is information required for assessment purposes which is not covered within your work
documents, you will be requested by your assessor to provide this additional information.
PROJECT OPTION 2:
If you are not able to access a workplace project
You may base your assessment on another project you are familiar with (whether it is one you have
been involved with in the past for work or whether it is one you have a personal interest in) so as to gain
the best and most relevant learnings from this course. e.g. planning a wedding, planning a holiday,
renovating a room in your house, landscaping your garden, establishing a business, refurbishing a car,
etc.

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Please discuss this with your teacher during your oral communications/course introductory
conversation.
Assessment Submission
The evidence you submit must be your own, except where due reference is made and where you are
required to submit supplementary workplace documents such as organisational policies and
procedures.
When completing the assessments included in this workbook:
Read the instructions provided in each task carefully before attempting to complete the task. The
instructions will guide you on how to answer the question or complete the task satisfactorily.
Please note the online learning platform has a 20-file limit for each submission – if you have more than
20 separate documents in your unit submission, please zip/compress some of them (a zip is counted as
one file).
Please also note that as soon as you submit your assessment for this unit, you will be locked out of your
submission. If you need to upload more documents, please email us at pmg@cqu.edu.au and request we
unlock your submission.
You will need access to:
 computer with Internet, email access, and a working web browser
 installed software: MS Word, MS Excel, Adobe Acrobat Reader (as a minimum)

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Your tasks for this assessment are:

Task Requirement Evidence to submit

Project Phase: Initiation and Planning

Task 1 Reviewing organisational Responses to questions

policies and procedures
applicable to financial
management.

Task 2 Identify activities and Project WBS and Budget

estimate costs

Task 3 Develop a cost- Cost-management plan

management plan

Project Phase: Implementation and Monitoring

Task 4 Monitor actual project a) 2 x financial reports

expenditure against budget. b) 2 x emails

Task 5 Evidencing of cost 2 x documents (minimum) evidencing

monitoring across the monitoring activity
project’s life cycle.

Project Phase: Project Closure and Evaluation

Task 6 Conduct project financial 2 x documents evidencing project

closure activities closure activity

Task 7 Evaluation and Lessons Learned Report

recommendations for
improvement

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Project Phase: Initiation and Planning
Task 1: Reviewing organisational policies and procedures applicable to financial
management.
Refer to your own workplace’s policies and procedures for managing budgets and costs to
assist with the following questions.

Note 1: If you are referring to your organisation’s documentation, please submit copies as
attachments to your assessment submission.

Note 2: Please refer to the generic ‘Project Budget Planning and Management Policy’ within
the assessment resources section on Moodle to assist with the following questions
if:
• your organisation does not have relevant policies or procedures,
• you are delivering a personal interest project

Submit your reviews as a separate attachment in Moodle, ensuring your document is labelled
‘Task 1_analysis’

In a separate Word document (with your name on it), please:

• include the title of the documents reviewed for this task, and
• provide at least one paragraph response for each of the following questions:

1. Briefly describe all the policies and procedures in your organisation that are relevant to
the cost management duties of a project manager.

2. Based on the these policies/procedures, identify one tool to be used when identifying
cost variations on a project.

3. Outline the procedure followed in your organisation for evaluating cost variations on a
project.

4. Do the policies/procedures mention contingency planning? If so, what is described?

5. Why do you think it is best practice to keep any contingency allowances within your
budget confidential?

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Task 2: Identify activities and estimate costs
You are required to identify the resource requirements for each task included in the project’s
work breakdown structure (WBS) and estimate costs based on these identified requirements.
Complete the Project WBS & budget template, located within your assessment resources on
Moodle.

Note: You may use a workplace template or other Project software instead of the template
provided and submit as an attachment with your assessment if you prefer.

Submit your Project WBS and budget as a separate attachment in Moodle, ensuring your
document is labelled ‘Task 2_ WBS and budget’.

You will be assessed on your practical skills and application of underpinning knowledge in
relation to:
 Reviewing and interpreting information related to budgets,
 Using mathematical formulae to calculate costs associated with resources and activities,
 Appropriate budgeting processes, tools and techniques,
 Methods and tools for estimating costs, and
 Planning and organising.

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Task 3: Develop a cost-management plan
Develop a cost-management plan for the project.
Complete the Cost Management Plan template located within your assessment resources on
Moodle, or access and complete a template from your own organisation.

Submit your Cost Management Plan as a separate attachment in Moodle, ensuring your
document is labelled ‘Task 3_ Cost Management Plan’.

You will be assessed on your practical skills and application of underpinning knowledge in
relation to:
 drafting and developing documents using appropriate format and language for context,
 determining financial processes and procedures required for effective project pkanning
and management,
 understanding responsibilities of own role as project manager, and
 developing a cost-management plan.

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Project Phase: Implementation and monitoring
Task 4: Monitor actual project expenditure against budget

a) You are required to complete two financial reports for the project which show actual
expenditure against initial estimated cost :
 one at the project’s midpoint, and
 one at the end of the project.
Note: for each report above, include at least one variation (where the actual expenditure
is more or less than the estimated cost).
Submit these financial reports as separate attachments in Moodle,
ensuring your documents are labelled ‘Task 4_ Financial Report v1’ and
‘Task 4_ Financial Report v2’.

b) You are required to email each financial report to your project sponsor, to include the
following:
i. requesting approval of the financial reports,
ii. providing a summary of each report, including an explanation behind each of the
cost variations,
iii. whether each variation:
• will be allowed for (either by absorbing it within the budget contingency
amount, swapping expenditure amounts between items or making an
additional funding request), or
• will be corrected (by communication / negotiating directly with the
supplier, changing or returning the purchase, for example).
i.e. you will need to draft 2 emails (one to send off with the midpoint financial report and one to
send off with the end of project financial report).

Submit these emails as separate attachments in Moodle, ensuring they

are labelled ‘Task 4_ Email 1’ and ‘Task 4_ Email 2’.

You will be assessed on your practical skills and application of underpinning knowledge in
relation to:
 financial reporting,
 uses mathematical formulae to calculate resources against predetermined budgets,
solve variances and finalise project costs,
 planning and organising,
 identifying cost variations and evaluating alternative actions,
 implementing financial-management processes and procedures for monitoring actual
expenditure against budget,

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  implementing and monitoring agreed actions to help the project maintain its financial
objectives,
 interpreting and anlysising information related to budget,
 using analytical skills to review and evaluate process and decide on future
improvements, and
 selecting and using appropriate conventions and protocols when communicating with
internal and external stakeholders to confirm requirements, seeking guidance and
sharing information.

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Task 5: Submit documentation evidencing how you monitored costs across the project’s
life cycle.
PLEASE SUBMIT A MINIMUM OF TWO (2) DOCUMENTS AS EVIDENCE OF YOUR
MONITORING ACTIVITY.
You may have performed activities such as:
 regular review of the project’s performance, e.g.: reviewing hours spent on the project
 reviewing project progress against schedule
 tracking expenses and project performance using spreadsheets or project management
software, etc.
 communicated closely with your project team and your finance department
 requiring all contractors and suppliers to submit invoices to you for approval prior to
them being forwarded on for payment

The documentation you submit as evidence may include, for example:

 project status reports which document the outcomes of your monitoring of the project
expenditure,
 copies of minutes from project team meetings or screenshots of online chat
conversations with your project team, referring to the budget and individual expenses,
 copies of supplier invoices which include your signoff approving payment,
 issues log capturing where you have managed financial issues within the project,
 email correspondence to suppliers.

Submit your documents (either separately or in a Zip folder) in Moodle, labelling each
document ‘Task 5_ Monitoring 1’ and ‘Task 5_ Monitoring 2’, etc.

You will be assessed on your practical skills and application of underpinning knowledge in
relation to:
 planning and organising,
 implementing financial-management processes and procedures for monitoring actual
expenditure against budget,
 managing, monitoring, and controlling project costs,
 identifying cost variations and evaluating alternative actions,
 implementing and monitoring agreed actions to help the project maintain its financial
objectives,
 interpreting and anlysising information related to budget,
 Review cost-management issues and document improvements, and
 adhering to organisational policies and procedures.

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Project Phase: Project Closure and Evaluation
Task 6: Conduct project financial closure activities
You are required to conduct two project financial closure activities for this task.
Project financial closure activities you will conduct will depend on the requirements of the project
as well as the scope of your role and responsibility as the project manager of the project.
These activities may include but are not limited to:
 sending official communication to all vendors, contractors, and suppliers advising the
deadline for the completion of all financial transactions and closing of financial accounts
 verifying acceptance criteria in the project statement of work has been met before
processing payments to vendors and contractors, and closing financial accounts
according to the organisation’s policies and procedures.
The documentation you submit may include email correspondence or other forms of
communication (e.g. conversation notes, meeting minutes) with vendors, suppliers, contractors.
It may also include any checklists you have completed to verify acceptance criteria have been
met.

Submit your documents separately in Moodle, labelling each document

‘Task 6_ Project Closure 1’ and ‘Task 6_ Project Closure 2’.

You will be assessed on your practical skills and application of underpinning knowledge in
relation to:

• Conducting activities to signify financial completion,

• Drafting and developing documents using appropriate format and language for
context,
• Selects and uses appropriate conventions and protocols when communicating with
internal and external stakeholders to confirm requirements, seek guidance or share
information, and
• Plans and schedules complex activities, monitors implementation and manages
relevant communication.

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Task 7: Evaluation and Recommendations for Improvement
Assuming your project has now ended, and you are reviewing what went well and what
didn’t…
You are required to complete the Lessons Learned report, identifying and
documenting any cost management issues encountered during the project as well as
recommendations to address these issues, for future projects.

Note: Lessons Learned is also about capturing the positives for you to implement next time –
lessons learned does not have to always be negative, we need to also recognise what went
well and try to repeat it.

Submit your Lessons Learned report as a separate attachment in Moodle, ensuring your
document is llabelled ‘Task 7_Lessons Learned’.

END OF DOCUMENT

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