FIT2002 IT Project Management

FIT2002 IT Project Management

Summer Semester B 2024

Assignment Three – Team Assignment

Due Dates:

●    Team presentation (15%): Team presentation in the form of a Stand-up Meeting to be conducted

during the Week 5 and 6 Applied sessions. And, Submission of a Scrum or Kanban board (as a team) to Moodle, before the deadline 23.55 Tuesday, 20 February 2024.

●     Individual submission (75%): Deliverables 1-4 as an individual using Moodle before the deadline: 23.55 Monday, 19th February 2024.

●    Group submission (10%): Team reflection and review deadline 23.55 Tuesday, 20 February 2024 Value: 40% of overall unit assessment

Mode of Submission: Online on Moodle

TEAMS

WHAT IS A TEAM PROJECT?

A “Team Project” is NOT the same as a traditional “Group Project”.

In a “Team Project” the members of a team work on closely related problems (in this case projects within a portfolio of maximum 4 projects). Students submit some work as a team, in this case, (a) the “Team Charter”. Students also submit other work as an individual, in this case, (b) the “Main Submission” (that is, all other components of the assignment).

Even though the “Main Submission” is an individual piece of work, you are expected to work alongside the other members of your team in the unit’s applied sessions as a number of elements of the individual “Main submission” depend upon decisions that you make collectively as a team (e.g. how to navigate your projects towards the success of your portfolio).

If, after reading the above, you are still unclear about the difference between a “Team Project” and a traditional “Group Project” then contact your tutor and/or Chief Examiner ([email protected]).

This assignment requires a collaborative effort by a team of students that was formed for Assignment 2, and includes both a team submission and an individual submission.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The aim of this assignment is to provide students with the opportunity to learn and demonstrate their adaptive project management skills through the development of an information technology (IT) project management case study. The assignment aims to assess the following aspects of student  learning about project management:

●   Skills and knowledge in the Software Development Life Cycle through Adaptive Methodologies

●   Skills and knowledge of the responsibilities and characteristics of an effective Scrum Master

●   Skills and knowledge in collaborative teamwork, coupled with the ability to facilitate constructive reflections to enhance team performance.

THE CONTEXT

This assignment is based on the specifications outlined by the Student Services professional services function of the Faculty of Information Technology (FIT) at Monash University, acting as the client in the  project previously selected for Assignment 2. Building on the scenario established in Assignment 2, where detailed project planning has been undertaken, we are now transitioning into phase 3 which is the execution phase. Following a thorough Stacey  Diagramming Analysis, the  decision  has  been  made to  implement the Agile Methodology for the Software Development Life Cycle, specifically  utilising the Scrum framework.  In this context, you,  as the  assigned  Scrum  Master,  are leading  a  project  team  that  is  new  to  the  Scrum/Agile paradigm.

Note: you can change your work from Assignment 2 when and as needed to address the requirements in Assignment 3. There won’t be any penalties for making necessary changes.

SPECIFICATION AND DELIVERABLES

Deliverable 1 requires you to support the team  and the newly added Product Owner by creating Scrum Personas and crafting a high-level stakeholder vision statement. Now, with a deeper understanding of the client's requirements in the execution phase as per the client’s interviews, you have the opportunity to refine and update information from  Assignment 2 to enhance your stakeholder vision statement. This refined information will serve as a foundation for developing the backlog and user stories in Deliverable 2.

As we progress to Deliverable 3, your Scrum team is nearing the completion of the third sprint, but challenges have arisen. As the Scrum Master, you are preparing for a sprint retrospective and will present a well-prepared retrospective analysis document to facilitate the ceremony.

Deliverable 4 is unrelated to your project but will assist in extending your skill as a Scrum Master and Project Manager. You will be conducting research and analysis on these roles as per current industry requirements. You will reflect (as an individual) on your current skill set upon completion of Deliverable 1 to Deliverable 3 and develop an improvement plan.

The final deliverable is a group submission. You will be reflecting as a group on your teamwork experience throughout the project. This holistic review offers valuable insights into the collaborative dynamics of the team, fostering continuous improvement and shared learning.

Note: Similar to in Assignment 2, students will not be required to develop a product as part of this process.

INSTRUCTIONS

1.    The  workshop  topics will  address  different  components  of  the  assignment  and  you  should  actively participate and engage in the classes, discuss and work on these as a team. Where required, present your progress to the tutor, who will provide support and advice.

2.    There are two group submissions (reflective report and presentation/Kanban demonstration) and one individual submission:

a.    Team Presentation:

i.  Team presentation in the form of Stand-up Meeting to be conducted in Week 5 and 6 Applied sessions. There is no alternative assessment or extension to the time for this task.

DELIVERABLE 1: Scrum Persona and Stakeholder Vision Document

Task 1.1 Scrum Persona

Create four Scrum personas for the project that you have been working on in your Assignment 2. Please use the template in Moodle for this task. Scrum personas are fictional characters created to represent different user types within a project team's target audience. These personas help the Scrum team understand the diverse needs, goals, and behaviours of end users, enabling them to design and prioritise features that cater to a broad range of user requirements. Include the following in your submission:

● The end user's name and photo.

●     Describe  the   individual  -   identify  key  information  about  the  customer/end   user  including  the demographic, age, skill level, intended use for the product, occupation, character description, needs and wants.

●     Identify their goals or needs that they wish to have achieved or considered by the product.

●    At the end of the task, you should feel as if you have described a real person.

Some additional resources that may be helpful:

➔ To generate persona’s image: https://generated.photos/faces

➔ Examples of personas: https://www.vistaprint.com/hub/how-to-create-user-personas

Task 1.2 Stakeholder Vision Document

Based on the persona in Task 1.1, develop a comprehensive stakeholder vision document using the template in Moodle for the project. This document serves as an initial common agreement on concepts like the high- level scope, the release plan, who the consumer is, how will your team gather feedback, and acceptance criteria, before the team commences software development.

●     Project Scope: Clearly define the project's objectives and outcomes.

●     Release  Plan:  Outline  agile  phases  -  build,  test,  feedback,  launch  -  prioritising  swift  delivery  and iterative enhancement based on user input.

●     Project Consumers: Identify those utilising the product.

●     Feedback Gathering: Specify methods for continuous user feedback.

●    Acceptance Criteria: Define a set of predefined requirements that must be met in order to mark that something (in this case, your product) is complete.

Deliverable 1: structure & requirements

DELIVERABLE 3: Analyse a Scenario - Develop a Retrospective

In this deliverable you will develop a retrospective worksheet (with template in Moodle) from the following scenario:

Your Scrum Team, under your guidance as a Scrum Master and led by Product Owner Farheen, comprises skilled members such as a software engineer, front-end developer, educational technology specialist, quality assurance analyst, instructional designer, and a project manager. With a history of effective collaboration, the team initiates the third Sprint for the Moodle extension project.

However, the team encounters challenges as the project progresses. Despite the initial enthusiasm, collaboration within the team diminishes, leading to sluggish progress. Team members invest long hours but their energy wanes due to other projects and daily challenges.

Alex, the educational technology specialist,  advocates for additional design tools to enhance the user interface. Unfortunately, their manager, Yilin, denies the request citing budget constraints. This denial adds to the team's frustration, and daily stand-ups reveal minimal engagement and collaboration. Moreover, the absence of the QA analyst - Juan - due to personal reasons, exacerbates challenges which leads to a backlog of testing activities.

Reflect on the impact of these retrospective actions on team dynamics and consider the continuous improvement aspect of Agile principles. Using the provided template, discuss how these measures contribute to a more cohesive and efficient team, emphasising the importance of open communication and understanding diverse perspectives.

●     Define Objectives: Start with clear retrospective objectives aligned with the scenario. Specify them in the provided template to guide the evaluation process.

●     Evaluate Performance: Identify successes and challenges from the Sprint, using the scenario description to pinpoint positive aspects (column 2) and areas for improvement (column 3).

●     Identify Improvements: Determine actions the team could have executed better and document them in column 4 of the template, fostering accountability and learning from past experiences.

●     Root Cause Analysis: Identify potential sources of confusion or issues (root causes) in column 5, promoting a deeper understanding of challenges for targeted improvements.

●     Brainstorm Innovations: Encourage creative thinking in column 6 by brainstorming new ideas that can propel the team towards improvement and success.

●    Create Forward-Looking Plan: Synthesise retrospective analysis into a comprehensive plan for    moving forward, aligned with the continuous improvement goal. This plan should address team functionality, product quality, and overall velocity.

The retrospective aims at holistic assessment and actionable insights. You are asked to consider all aspects   of team functioning during the sprint. In this way you extract lessons for tangible adjustments that enhance team functionality, product quality, and velocity.

Key self-reflection questions include assessing the clarity of lessons learned and evaluating whether these insights translate into practical team adjustments.

Deliverable 3: structure & requirements

DELIVERABLE 5: Team reflection and review

In this group work, you and your team will submit one Reflective Report (peer feedback and collaboration) on:

●     how closely did you follow through with your Team Charter;

●     how you incorporated peer feedback into your work;

●     how you managed conflicts and issues with your team (if any) - or

○     If there were no conflicts experienced in your team: Why do you think there has not been any conflict during your collaboration?

●    Were there any challenges with your team communication?

Important Note:

This is a group assessment. You should all work collaboratively to come up with one document addressing all requirements.  When  aiming  for  submission, one of the team members uploads the document/file  and everyone is required to accept the student statement and submit. Make sure you communicate this requirement with all team members before the due date.

Deliverable 5: structure & requirements:

HOW TO APPROACH THE REFLECTIVE REPORTS

Reflective writing in IT necessitates not just recounting experiences, but analysing them  deeply. Analysis entails examining how experiences  were, one's emotional responses,  lessons learned,  and strategies for improvement in similar situations.  Despite its importance, students often struggle with reflective writing, often merely describing experiences rather than engaging in deeper reflection. In the Faculty of IT, a common mistake is the absence of true reflection, which can hinder learning and growth. Utilising frameworks like Gibbs’s Reflective Cycle can aid in structuring reflections effectively, enhancing learning outcomes.

To be successful at these tasks, you will need to use reflective thinking and specific writing style

●    See the “Resources for Reflective Writing”

○ https://www.monash.edu/learnhq/write-like-a-pro/how-to-write.../reflection ○ https://www.monash.edu/learnhq/write-like-a-pro/annotated-assessment-

samples/information-technology/it-reflective-writing