BSB61218 Advanced Diploma Program Management

Task 2 – Performance and Skills Assessment

General instructions

This assessment task covers the 2 units:

·        BSBPMG612 Implement program governance

·        BSBPMG615 Manage program delivery

Choose an organization and industry that you are familiar with. You could choose, for example, an organization you worked or you work with or select an organisation listed in the Australian stock exchange or an organisation you can find extensive information about. Ask your trainer and assessor for guidance in your choice of organisation.

You are required to:

·        Prepare plans to secure program funding

·        Conduct negotiation to confirm and secure program funds and resources

·        Develop a program governance structure and outlines clear roles and responsibilities within the program

·        Document program decisions

·        Develop a resource plan

·        Develop a program compliance approach

·        Develop monitoring and control strategies and high-level plans

·        Develop a change management approach

·        Develop a risk plan

·        Develop and confirm program governance arrangements

·        Develop an overarching approach to program support services and systems

Provide a brief description of your organisation of choice, including the industry in which they operate and the service/product that they offer

1.     Program Funding

a)     Determine funding requirements for the program by completing the following:

·        Create a PWBS for the program. You can use the table function in word in the space provided or upload another document with this assessment.

·        Determine the overall program budget

·    Describe how funding requirements were determined (example: what techniques were used and/or what stakeholders were consulted) – Min. 70 words

·        Describe how funds were secured and how funding agent requirements will be met – Min. 50 words

b)     Develop a program financial framework using the template below.

Program financial framework

Purpose

Purpose of the financial framework.

Funding sources

List and description of funding for the program

Constraints and assumptions

Financial constraints and assumptions (example: funding payment schedule).

Known risks and issues

Known risks and issues at this stage.

Schedule

Schedule of cash inflows and outflows.

Financial metrics

Financial metrics used to track funding (example: expenditures).

Other consideration

This section may address, for instance:

–         Resource needed for financial management within the program

–         Stakeholders with influence on funding

Approval

2.     Program governance for decision making

a)     Outline how you will manage the program governance by completing the following:

·        Create a governance structure for the program to include clear governance lines to signify financial and resource authority in the structure.

·        Describe how the structure was developed and how roles and responsibilities agreed upon. For example: what stakeholders were consulted, what documentation was considered. (Min. 50 words)

·        Develop a RACI chart for the program.

·        Describe how the program governance structure and information on roles and responsibility within the program will be communicated. (Min. 50 words)

·        Outline how valid and reliable decisions regarding complex priorities and competing demands in the program will be made. (Min. 50 words)

b)     Consider that the program requires an increase of 10% in budget. The matter has been discussed in the latest program board meetings and the increase was agreed.

·        Develop and populate a document to record the decision. You could use for example: an email directed to the project managers to inform them of the decision; meeting minutes; a report to the CEO of the company or any other method that you find suitable and appropriate.

·        In the report, outline how the decision to increase the program budget compares to the program objectives and how it affects/influence them.

·        Outline how you will prioritise decisions that need to be made based on the scenario to manage complex and competing demands.

3.     Resource the program

a.     Develop a resource plan for the program using the template below.

Resource plan

Purpose

Purpose of the resource management plan.

Internal and external required resources

Internal and external resource required, for each resource requirement identified, include how the requirement will be met, cost associated with it, relevant constraints and assumptions, when the resource will be required.

Note: if external resources are required, the program manager should include the rationale for procuring those resources. The use of a table is recommended- Note that you could refer to the registers in point 2.

Policies and procedures

This section defines the organisational or program policies and procedure to follow for resource requirements, such as personnel and procurement policies and procedures, quality policies and standards or sharing resources within the sponsoring organisation.

Monitoring and control

This section describes how resources will be tracked and monitored throughout the program life cycle.

Resource prioritisation

Process the program manager will follow to prioritise the use of available resources. 

Approval

b.    Develop an asset register for the program using the following template.

Asset Register

Asset Category

Qty

Description

Location/

Department/

Project

Use

Office space

Office Equipment

Other (Specify)

c)     Develop a service register for the program using the template below.

Service Register

Service Category

Qty

Outsourced Y/N

Description and use – Specify what component of the program will utilize the service

HR

IT

Financial

Other (Specify)

4.     Negotiating funds and resources and confirming governance arrangements

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Ø This part of the assessment includes a classroom activity that must be observed by your Trainer.

Ø If you do not undertake this group work activity in class, you will automatically be graded as incomplete for this assessment.

Ø Only cases where a medical or family emergency prevented a student from attending class will be considered in an appeal.

Ø Make sure that the observation checklist provided at the end of this assessment is signed and uploaded with this assessment.

This task is a role play where you will have to present the draft financial framework for the program, the resource plan for the program and all three resource registers – this covers BSBPMG615; and the program governance framework that you have developed – this covers BSBPMG612. In your meeting, you will negotiate funding and resource requirements with the key stakeholder and confirm program governance arrangements.

Make sure you complete the following:

–      During class, break into groups of 3. 1 group member will play the role of a key stakeholder and one will be the observer. Alternate the roles until each member has completed their presentation. Each meeting will go for 10 – 15 minutes.

–      While preparing for your presentation, study Appendix A: Observation Report Checklist (which will also be used by the observer) to ensure you have met all the necessary criteria. Print one copy to provide to the observer.

–      Agree to 2 changes and record them in the following table.

Change/Feedback

Financial framework

Resource plan

Asset register

HR register

Service requirement register

Program governance framework

5.     Evidence support services

a)     Determine the program management and support requirements by completing the following:

·        Identify and describe management and program support needs for the program.

·        For each one of them develop a high-level strategy to enable support services to address those needs.

·        Use the table below to record your analysis. Add additional rows if needed.

Management and program support needs

High-level support services plan

b)     Identify the skills development needs and develop a high level strategy by completing the following:

·        Identify skill development support needs for the program and identify for what role they are needed.

·        For each skill development support need, develop a high-level strategy to provide training (formal and informal) to pertinent program personnel to meet program needs.

·        Use the table below to record your analysis. Add additional rows if needed.

Skill development needs

Roles

High level skill development strategy

c)     Identify the knowledge management needs and develop a high level strategy by completing the following:

·        Identify program knowledge needs to support current and future organisation requirements for program development.

·        Develop a high-level strategy to support the program knowledge needs.

(Minimum of total 100 words)

6.     Program compliance

a)     Identify program legislative, regulatory and compliance requirements and outline:

Identify program legislative, regulatory and compliance requirements and outline:

·        what areas of the program they do affect/interest

·        how they will be communicated to pertinent stakeholders across the program

·        how they will be implemented

·        how they will be monitored (include frequency of reporting)

·        how record keeping will be implemented

Your list should be as exhaustive as possible, strategies can be listed in dot points. Use the table below to record your analysis. Add additional rows if needed.

Requirement

Area

Communication strategy

Implementation strategy

Monitoring strategy

Record keeping

b)     Develop an audit plan for the program. Use the audit plan template provided below.

Audit Plan

Purpose

Purpose of the plan.

Objectives

Key objectives of the audit plan.

Roles and responsibility

Roles and responsibilities of the program management team and other pertinent stakeholders in preparing for an audit and during the audit.

Schedule

Schedule for program audits. Mention what audits will occur ad hoc.

Audit results

This section addresses:

–         how the audit results will be documented and made available to program stakeholders.

–         how audit recommendations will be implemented (process)

–         how documents will be updated as a result of the audit’s recommendations

Monitoring and tracking

Process to track the implementation of the recommendations from the audit.

Approval

c)     Choose one of the legal, regulatory and compliance requirements that you have listed in point 1 and consider that following a scheduled audit (according to the audit plan in plan 2), a non-compliance was identified. Develop an audit report addressed to the program board regarding the non-compliance. Use the audit report template provided below.

Audit report

Purpose

Purpose of the audit report.

Background information

Background information about the audit. Although this is a summary, provide as much information as possible, including information on how the audit was conducted, when it was conducted and how long it took, who was involved in the process.

Findings

Findings from the audit.

Recommendations

Recommendations based on the audit findings, in priority order. It is good practice to mention standards and regulations that were not met.

Appendices

Any relevant appendices.

Approval

d)     Develop a high-level record keeping policy for the program.

e)     In the form of planning notes that you write to be shared with the project managers, address the following points:

·        Taking into consideration the requirements identified in point 1, identify and outline actions that can be implemented to address and rectify non-compliant behaviours, processes and products/services in the program. It is recommended that you address the requirements one by one.

·        Identify what potential for conflicts may arise caused by regulatory requirements in the program. Outline how each of the potential for conflicts that you have identified, could be addressed.

7.     You are required to determine systems, policies and processes to meet program objectives.

a)     Identify, list and describe what:

·        Systems

·        Processes

·        Policies

Would support meeting program objectives, program implementation and ensure process efficiency.

b)     Develop a high-level policy that would support program efficiency.

8.     You are required to:

Address how program progress management will be approached in your program.

a)     Develop an introductory section to the table that follows below addressing all the following points (Min. 150 words):

·        Describe how monitoring and control systems have been established for the program

·        Describe how monitoring and control systems will support the delivery of expected benefits

·        Describe what software and data analysis methods are used to structure program data

·        Describe how performance of constituent projects and other program elements will be reported to pertinent stakeholders (specify stakeholders)

·        Describe how program delivery will maintain a sustainable pace to meet stakeholder requirements

b)     Develop high-level guidelines for each program management process in the table below that describe how they will be monitored and controlled.

Program management process

Monitoring and control guidelines

Stakeholder management

Governance management

Scope management

Schedule management

Financial management

Resource management

Risk management

Communication management

c)     Develop a program status report based on the following scenario:

·        One of the projects is experiencing HR shortage due to illness (seasonal flu)

·        One of the projects is two weeks behind

·        One of the projects is running under budget by 15 %

·        A critical incident occurred in one of the projects (specify what incident)

Use the template provided in your booklet.

9.     Develop a change management approach for the program.

a)     In the form of planning notes to be shared with the project managers, address the following points – Min 100 words in total:

·        Describe how the internal and external program context will be monitored for circumstances that may require changes. Also describe how those circumstances, once identified in the monitoring process, will be evaluated.

·        Describe how changes and their implications will be communicated to pertinent stakeholders (specify the stakeholders)

b)     Develop a change management plan for the program. Use the template below.

Change management plan

Purpose

Purpose of the plan.

Change process

The change process to be followed in the program.

Include: process (a flow chart would be ideal), key stakeholders to consider, communication process to follow, how to prioritise changes, escalation processes, key roles and responsibilities for the change management process, how the changes will be recorded and tracked.

Change type

List, categorise and describe the types of changes that may affect the program and their possible impact on the program.

Controlled/configuration items

What items in the program should be controlled (forms or records for example; regulatory requirements, compliance, contracts, some program artefacts such as the program charter, the PWBS, the risk register or the business case).

Updates to other documents

This section describes other program documents that may require following changes.

Approvals

c)     Consider that the following has happened: you are six months into your program and you need an increase of 5% budget for one of your projects (specify which project and why). Address all the following points:

·        Develop a change request form to be addressed to a pertinent stakeholder (mentioned which one) according to your change management plan)

·        Develop a change request log and log the change that has been requested.

·        Describe how the change will be implemented.

10. Develop and document a risk management approach for the program and its constituent projects and components.

a)     Risk register

Develop and populate a risk register for the program. To do so, you will need to identify, analyse risks for the program and to determine strategies to address each risk.

The risk register must contain: Risk ID, Risk description, Identified by, Date ,Risk type ,Root-cause, Probability and Impact, Risk owner, Symptoms/ warning signs, Proposed response, Actual response, Approved by, Date, Subsequent impact, Residual risk, Date closed, Notes

b)     Risk breakdown structure

Develop a risk breakdown structure for the program. Minimum three levels of risks are represented.

c)     Risk management plan

Develop a risk management plan. A template is provided below.

Risk management plan

Purpose

Purpose of the risk management plan

Approach

This is the approach to risk management within the program, it outlines: risk management methodology, including tools and techniques.

Strategies to minimise additional risks are also described in this section, an example would be the use of a change management process to identify possible new risks.

Risk categories

Specific risk categories as identified in the RBS.

Roles and responsibilities

Roles and responsibilities of the program management team regarding risk management planning, identification, analysis, response planning, and monitoring and control.

Decision making process and escalation process should also be addressed in this section.

Probability/Impact matrix

Probability and impact as outlined in the risk register against each risk that has been identified.

Contingency

The process followed to allocate contingency budget and resources to respond to risks.

Schedule

Specific risk management activities that should be included in the program’s schedule.

Organisational tolerance for risks

Organisation’s culture around risk management (risk management policies and procedures, relevant training of personnel, specific tolerance of key stakeholders etc.).

Reporting

Risk reporting process.

Tracking

Process to monitor identified risks. It also describes how and when the identified risks will be audited, as well as the process to document lessons learned based on the program’s risk management activities.

Approval of the risk management plan by pertinent stakeholders.

d)     Risk management

Consider that the following happened: two of the highest priority risks occur (specify the risks).

Address all the following: (Total of min. 200 words)

·        Describe what monitoring activities were implemented to monitor those two risks

·        Describe how the program risk management strategies will be implemented for those two risks according to the risk management plan. Describe them in terms of prioritised actions.

·        What stakeholders will be consulted according to the risk management plan

·        What resources will be allocated to respond to the risks according to the risk management plan

·        What impact the two risks that occurred will have on the program (benefits realisation, schedule, budget, resource management for example)

·        Develop a report directed to the program board where you inform them about the two risks that have occurred, what plans have been put in place to manage them and any other information that you believe should be included in the report. The report could be in the form of an email or a formal report. The format should follow a professionally developed report with purpose, background information, main content (risk management strategies, impact analysis) and conclusions.

End of Assessment.