UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

EXAMINATION FOR INTERNAL STUDENTS

MODULE CODE

MSINM001

ASSESSMENT PATTERN MODULE NAME

MSINM001A Project Management (Masters Level)

DATE

07-May-10

TIME
TIME ALLOWED

10:00 2 Hours 0 Minutes

2009/1 0-MSINM001 A-001-EXAM-20

2009 University College London

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MSINM001: PROJECT MANAGEMENT EXAMINATION PAPER APRIUMAY 2010
The examination will last TWO (2) hours. There are THREE (3) sections: you are required to answer ALL THREE (3) sections.

Section A:

Consists of FIVE (5) questions from which you much answer THREE (3). If you answer more than THREE (3) questions, only the first THREE (3) answers will be marked. Total value of Section A: 30 Marks

Section B:

Consists of ONE (1) compulsory question. Candidates should attempt all parts of this question. Total value of Section B: 20 Marks

Section C:

Is based on the Mod IV Product Development Team case study which was issued to you prior to the examination. If you have not been issued with a fresh copy of theCase Study at the start of the examination, please request a copy from the invigilators. The section consists of THREE (3) questions C.1, C.2, and C.3. Answer ALL THREE (3) questions. Total value of Section C: 50 marks

You are advised to allocate your time as follows Section A Section B Section C - answer three (3) out of five (5) questions - answer one (1) compulsory question - case study: answer all three (3) questions 40 minutes 20 minutes '60 minutes

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MSINM001: Project Management

Section A This section is worth THIRTY (30) marks. Answer any THREE (3) of the questions A.1 to A.5 below. All questions are worth TEN (10) marks. If you answer more than THREE (3) questions, ONLY the first THREE (3) answers will be marked.

A.1 Explain the principal nature and purpose of: a) A risk management plan b) A risk register Give examples of the contents of each to explain your answer. (5 marks) (5 marks)

A.2
A part-time member of your project team is clearly not doing her fair share of the work. You need to tackle the problem quickly as her late delivery is delaying and de-motivating other team members. a) State five possible reasons for this team member's under-performance. (5 marks) b) State what actions you could take to resolve each one of the problems you identified in (a). (5 marks)

A.3
a) Briefly describe three methods that might be employed to estimate the cost(s) of a project. (6 marks) b) Briefly state two factors that the project manager should take into account when estimating project costs, and say why it is important to consider each ofthese. (4 marks)

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MSINM001: Project Management

A.4
a) Sketch and label a typical project life cycle, including the extended life cycle. (4 marks) b) What activities might be undertaken within each phase for a project to construct a 3-dimensional scaffolding to advertise and promote a new car? (6 marks)

A.S

a) Briefly outline five main benefits of proper planning in the context of project management. (l! marks)
b) State five factors that should be taken into consideration when determining (5 marks) the level of planning for a project.

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MS1NM001: Project Management

Section 8 This section consists of ONE (1) compulsory question worth a total of TWENTY (20) marks. Candidates should attempt all parts of the question. Answer question 8.1 below.

8.1
A company is considering developing a new range of products based on a new emerging technology to replace an existing product range which is profitable, but uses older technology. The company won't keep both the new and existing ranges in its portfolio, and will choose between them. You have the following information: The new range will cost 1 Om to develop. It will have a market life of 5-6 years, after which it will be replaced by the next generation of products which will have their own business case at the time. If the new range is not developed successfully, the company will have lost the money it spent on-development, and will receive no income. The company estimates a 60% chance of developing the new product range successfully. The new range's revenue over its life: 80m The new range's production I sales costs over its life: 40m The forecast profit from the company's existing product range is 15m over the same period. a) Draw a decision tree and evaluate the decision based on EMV. On this basis, what would you recommend to the company? (8 marks) b) Outline four reasons why the company might not select the option recommended in (a). (12 marks)

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MSINM001 Project Management

Section C This section is worth FIFTY (50) marks. All the questions are based on the Mod IV Product Development Team Case Study which was issued to you prior to the examination. If you have not been issued with a fresh copy of the Case Study at the start of the examination, please request a copy from the invigilators. Answer all parts of all questions.

C.1
a) What is project scope? (2 marks)

b) What was the 'scope creep' that the Mod IV project suffered from? (5 marks) c) State two negative effects that this 'scope creep' would have had on the project. (3 marks)

C.2
Teamwork on the project was clearly a problem, and it could be argued that this might be due to the introduction of new ways of working. The case notes that: "As people gradually adapted to parallel development and teams, they continued to struggle with their expanded roles and responsibilities. [page 4) a) What other problems were there in the way in which the organisation worked that contributed to the lack of teamwork on the project? Categorise your points using headed paragraphs. (25 marks) b) In your opinion, were the conflicts that arose on the Mod IV project primarily due to people struggling to adapt to new ways of working (e.g. parallel development and teams), or was it something else? Briefly explain the principal reason(s) for your view. (5 marks)

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MSINM001: project Management

C.3
Engineering asked Marketing for an extension to the Mod IV project's schedule, which was refused [page 6]. Imagine you are a design engineer working on the Mod IV development, and have arranged a meeting with Marketing to try to persuade them to extend the schedule. What arguments would you put forward to Marketing at the meeting to persuade them to your view? (10 marks)

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MSINM001: 2009/10

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