Homework answers / question archive / Assessment Brief For this assignment you have to build a Project Management Consultancy Report based on the Smart City OS case study

Assessment Brief For this assignment you have to build a Project Management Consultancy Report based on the Smart City OS case study

Project Management

Share With

Assessment Brief

For this assignment you have to build a Project Management Consultancy Report based on the Smart City OS case study.

THE SMART CITY OS CASE STUDY

Hull’s journey to becoming a programmable city

Here’s how Hull is racing to become the UK’s first smart city.

For a city to become smart, it takes a combination of technologies and disciplines, seamlessly integrated, with an understanding of how a huge number of customers – the population of your city – with interact with it. In the UK, several cities are racing to become the nation’s smartest city, from London to Manchester to the country’s current leader, Bristol.

Against those larger cities, Hull might seem like the underdog, but it’s been making considerable in-roads over the past 12 months or so. In May last year, it was awarded £55,000 for smart solutions to reduce traffic congestion. Later in the year, it started a more ambitious project – to create a purpose-built, smart operating system (OS) for the city.

The project, Smart City OS is being delivered by Hull City Council, technology company Connexin and Cisco. Connexin has been working with cities such as Newcastle Upon Tyne to deliver smart city technologies, impacting on everything from lighting, mobility, security and waste. “Developing Hull as a Smart City will give us the opportunity to work with public and private sector partners to deliver real benefits to communities, businesses and visitors to Hull,” says Councillor Daren Hale, Deputy Leader of Hull City Council.

The objectives

Hull has been quietly upgrading itself over the past five years. Its small size – with a population of around 260,000 – has allowed it to make changes at a comparatively quick pace. This has allowed Hull to become the UK’s first full-fibre city – it has the fastest broadband of anywhere in the UK, according to broadband choices.

Hull City Council had already worked with Connexin on a long-range wide area network (LoRaWAN), allowing for better business connectivity and the facility of Internet of Things devices. Creating its own OS seemed the next logical step.

The aim of the project is to increase and enhance data sharing and decision-making, allowing the Council to deliver more effective services across the board, from traffic management to health and social care.

“The system pulls together information that currently sits within separate council computer systems to enable city-wide management of the city’s public assets in real-time using state-ofthe-art technology, says Hale. “Residents will receive better information to make choices about transport, traffic and parking. But this will be just the beginning of what is possible.”

Over the course of the project, it will drive new demand for a digitally skilled workforce, which will then boost Hull’s economy. The Council is investing in skills for its young people as a result.

The methodology

The OS uses Connexin tech, built on Cisco Kinetic for Cities platform. It will pull together 12 separate council IT systems. Each system will process data from a variety of sources, including city-wide sensors and Internet of Things devices. This data can be used to help facilitate various services. Connexin, with its experience in implementing smart city solutions, is taking a five-step process to the installation.

The first step is infrastructure: having the right level of area-wide connectivity to be able to deliver smart city services. This is a combination of high-speed fibre networks and LoRaWAN networks. Hull had a head start in this area – local telecoms company KCOM had invested £85m in the city’s full-fibre network, and Connexin’s LoRaWAN was already in place.

Second is the installation of sensors across the city, to collect real-time data. This is where the 12 systems come in. Connexin’s Smart Bins is one of them. The others include the Siemens Stratos platform for traffic management; the Bartec Auto ID system for managing waste; and the Datek streetlighting system.

The Vaisala IceCast program will help to predict the weather and plan road maintenance. The Teletrac Navman provides GPS technology, and the Citilogik system will monitor people movement. Pitney Bowes is providing asset-management software for street furniture. Elsewhere, Defra’s air-quality database, the Environment Agency’s flood monitoring platform, Hydro-Logic flooding alert sensors and the Astun iShare GIS web mapping portal – provide the rest of the data.

Stage three is the implementation of the platform and bringing all of the systems onto the OS. This is expected to take around a year. This allows for stage four – gathering insights. Stage five is about determining outcomes based on those insights.

“Our platform will enable Hull to become a “programmable city” and move from outdated siloed service driven technologies to a central platform to improve service delivery, reduce costs and to make the most of new technologies such as IoT, AI and machine learning algorithms,” says Furqan Alamgir, Founder and CEO of Connexin.

Engaging the public and managing stakeholders

While the data will be used by Hull City Council to improve its services across the board, the aim is to provide insights to businesses and the public too. As the systems are integrated with the OS, they will be exposed to Hull’s business and private residents. This, it is hoped, will encourage start-ups to create new technologies that the city can then pull into its Smart City OS. “For us, it is not just about smart cities,” says Mike Kenworthy, assistant director of digital and ICT for Hull City Council, who is managing the project. “We are looking at utilising IoT and data – that we potentially collect from other sources as well – to find innovative approaches to any problem.”

One of the biggest challenges for the project is managing the stakeholders, who are spread across various departments within the council, plus other organisations such as Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, and the University of Hull.

Hull City Council is taking a ‘one council’ approach to managing it all. People see the council as ‘the council’ not as a series of separate services. Constant engagement with stakeholders across all service sectors is crucial.

The end result

Due to its size, strong digital infrastructure, and lessons learned from other smart city projects, Hull City Council has been able to skip the pilot phase and roll out Smart City OS across the city.

This could potentially cause Hull to leap up the UK smart city league tables.

Hale and Kenworthy are confident that it will bring considerable economic benefits to the region, making the city particularly attractive to tech firms. While the council has a lofty ambition to make Hull the world’s smartest city, the objective is primarily to benefit the people of the city. “We do not want to be a smart city because it is cool,” says Kenworthy. “We have to be sure that what we are doing is for the benefit of the city.”

Source: Association of Project Management (APM)

Link: https://www.apm.org.uk/resources/find-a-resource/case-studies/case-study-smart-city-oshull-s-journey-to-becoming-a-programmable-city/- accessed 5/10/20

It is recommended that you should also conduct your own independent research to strengthen your knowledge of this project.

END OF CASE STUDY

THE SMART CITY OS CONSULTANCY REPORT

In the role of a Project Consultant, you are required to develop a project report for the Smart City OS project by leveraging on the techniques and concepts you have covered in the module. The report has to include the following tasks:

Task 1 – The Project Manager (12 Marks)

Critically discuss what skills the project manager of the Smart City OS project needs to develop to be effective and reflect on possible actions the project manager of the Smart City OS project should take to develop those skills. Support your arguments with academic literature and references to other similar real projects.

Task 2 – Problem Solving & Decision Making (12 Marks)

Identify relevant stakeholders and create a stakeholder influence map for the Smart City OS project and discuss why these are the most critical stakeholders emerging from your analysis. Afterwards, by leveraging on the academic literature and similar real projects, critically discuss how you engage the stakeholders you have identified with the Smart City OS project.

Task 3 – The Project Triangle (12 Marks)

Critically discuss the importance of the various project triangle parameters that will need to be managed by the Smart City OS project manager over the course of the project, and how they may inter-relate to each other. Discuss the impact of possible changes to this project. Support your arguments with academic literature and references to other similar real projects.

Task 4 – Managing Finances (12 Marks)

Provide advice to the project manager on what resources may be required for this project and what could be an effective cost estimation technique for the Smart City OS project and explain why. Support your arguments with academic literature and references to other similar real projects.

Task 5 – Risk Management within the Project (12 Marks)

Develop a risk analysis by constructing a risk register for the Smart City OS project. You should identify at least ten risks that the Smart City OS project should be aware of by using the appropriate categories (e.g., environmental, operational, financial, strategic, reputational, compliance, etc…). For this analysis, an appropriate risk register format should be used.

Task 6 – Conflicts and Negotiation (12 Marks)

Identify at least six conflicts that may arise when running the Smart City OS project and their sources. Once you have identified those potential conflicts, critically discuss which actions can be taken by the project manager to resolve them and suggest appropriate conflict management and/or negotiation strategies to address these. Support your arguments with academic literature and references to other similar real projects.

Task 7 – Teamwork (12 Marks)

Critically discuss what the project manager can do to build a highly successful team for the Smart City OS project. In particular, focus on the importance of how a diverse team can increase project performance., Critically reflect on what actions the project manager can take to build a diverse team for the Smart City OS project, and what are some of the challenges of working in diverse teams.

Presentation and Structure (10 Marks)

Assessment Self-Evaluation (6 Marks)

You must self-evaluate each single task of your report by using the rubric provided in the marking guide and attach it to your report. The template for this can be found in the marking guide section.

Word count: 5000 words

Your report structure should include the following sections:

Cover page (University cover sheet)

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations (if appropriate)

Introduction

Task 1 – The Project Manager

Task 2 – Problem Solving & Decision Making

Task 3 – The Project Triangle

Task 4 – Managing Finances

Task 5 – Risk Management within the Project

Task 6 – Conflicts and Negotiation

Task 7 – Teamwork

Concluding remarks

References

Assessment Self-Evaluation

Appendix (if appropriate)

Word count – only applies to the main body (shown in bold); i.e., cover page, table of content, list of abbreviations, references, assessment self-evaluation and appendix are not part of the 5000-word count.

If you have any further questions about this coursework assignment, please contact the module leader or the tutor.

Tip for Mapping the Assessment towards Module Topics and Module

Learning Outcomes (LOs)

Assessment Task	Module Topic	Marks	Module LOs
Task 1 – The Project Manager	The Project Manager	12	Critically evaluate how project management behaviours can promote organisational success.
Task 2 – Problem Solving and Decision Making	Problem Solving and Decision Making	12	Strategically apply relevant project management practices within organisations
Task 3 – Project Triangle	The Project Triangle	12	Critically appraise project management principles and environmental contexts in which projects can be delivered.
Task 4 – Managing Finances	Managing Finances	12	Critically appraise project management principles and environmental contexts in which projects can be delivered.
Task 5 – Risk Management Within the Project	Risk Management Within a Project	12	Critically appraise project management principles and environmental contexts in which projects can be delivered.
Task 6 – Conflicts and Negotiation	Conflicts and Negotiation	12	Strategically apply relevant project management practices within organisations
Task 7 – Teamwork	Teamwork	12	Critically evaluate how project management behaviours can promote organisational success.
Presentation and Structure		10
Assessment Self-Evaluation		6
Total		100

3. Marking Guide (Student Version)

Highlight in the rubric what level you believe you have met each task (fail, pass, merit, distinction)
Assignment Mark Distinction Merit Pass task					Fail	Explain why you feel you have met the task to the level you indicate (not part of maximum word submission)
The Project Manager	12	Critical discussion of the key skills needed by the project manager for running the project and how to develop these skills. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study. Discussion is supported by strong evidence from academic literature and by the comparison with at least one other similar real project.	Good discussion of the key skills needed by the project manager for running the project and how to develop these skills. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study. Discussion is supported by solid evidence from academic literature.	Basic discussion of the key skills needed by the project manager for running the project and how to develop these skills. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study. Discussion is supported by some basic evidence from academic literature.	No critical discussion. No leverage on the concepts presented in the module. No application of the module concepts to the case study.
Problem Solving and Decision Making	12	Detailed stakeholders influence map, critical discussion of the projects’ key stakeholders and of the stakeholder engagement techniques that can be adopted by the project manager. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study.	Good stakeholders influence map, good discussion of the projects’ key stakeholders and of the stakeholder engagement techniques that can be adopted by the project manager. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the	Basic stakeholders influence map, basic discussion of the projects’ key stakeholders and of the stakeholder engagement techniques that can be adopted by the project manager. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the	No critical discussion. No leverage on the concepts presented in the module. No application of the module concepts to the case study.
		Discussion is supported by strong evidence from academic literature and by the comparison with at least one other similar real project.	module and is applying them to the case study. Discussion is supported by solid evidence from academic literature.	module and is applying them to the case study. Discussion is supported by some basic evidence from academic literature.
Project Triangle	12	Critical discussion of the importance of the project triangle parameters and their interrelation. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study. Discussion is supported by strong evidence from academic literature and by the comparison with at least one other similar real project.	Good discussion of the importance of the project triangle parameters and their interrelation. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study. Discussion is supported by solid evidence from academic literature.	Basic discussion of the importance of the project triangle parameters and their interrelation. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study. Discussion is supported by some basic evidence from academic literature.	No critical discussion. No leverage on the concepts presented in the module. No application of the module concepts to the case study
Managing Finances	12	Critical discussion and justification of what can be the cost estimation approach appropriate for the case study. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study. Discussion is supported by strong evidence from academic literature and by the comparison with at least one other similar real project.	Good discussion and justification of what can be the cost estimation approach appropriate for the case study. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study. Discussion is supported by solid evidence from academic literature.	Basic discussion and justification of what can be the cost estimation approach appropriate for the case study. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study. Discussion is supported by some basic evidence from academic literature.	No critical discussion and justification. No leverage on the concepts presented in the module. No application of the module concepts to the case study.
Risk Management within the Project	12	Detailed presentation of at least 10 risks. Risk register used. Identified risks are specific to the case study and leverage on the risk categories seen in the module	Good presentation presentation of at least 10 risks. Risk register used. Identified risks are specific to the case study and leverage on the risk categories seen in the module	Basic presentation of at least 10 risks. Risk register used. Identified risks are specific to the case study and leverage on the risk categories seen in the module	Less than ten risks identified. No use of the risk register. No use of risk categories seen in the module No leverage on the concepts presented in the module. No application of the module concepts to the case study
Conflicts and Negotiation	12	Detailed presentation of at least six conflicts and their sources. Critical discussion of actions that can be taken to resolve those conflicts. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study. Discussion is supported by strong evidence from academic literature and by the comparison with at least one other similar real project.	Good presentation of at least six conflicts and their sources. Good discussion of actions that can be taken to resolve those conflicts. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study. Discussion is supported by solid evidence from academic literature.	Basic presentation of at least six conflicts and their sources. Basic discussion of actions that can be taken to resolve those conflicts. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study. Discussion is supported by some basic evidence from academic literature.	Less than six conflicts identified, and source of the conflicts not specified. No conflict management techniques/negotiation strategies presented. No leverage on the concepts presented in the module. No application of the module concepts to the case study
Teamwork	12	Detailed discussion of what can be done to build highly successful teams, diverse teams and the challenges of working in diverse teams. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study. Discussion is supported by strong evidence from academic literature	Good discussion of what can be done to build highly successful teams, diverse teams and the challenges of working in diverse teams. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study.	Basic discussion of what can be done to build highly successful teams, diverse teams and the challenges of working in diverse teams. Student is leveraging on the concepts presented in the module and is applying them to the case study.	No critical discussion. No leverage on the concepts presented in the module. No application of the module concepts to the case study
		and by the comparison with at least one other similar real project.	Discussion is supported by solid evidence from academic literature.	Discussion is supported by some basic evidence from academic literature.
Presentation and Referencing Presentation (5 marks) Referencing (5 marks)	10	For a distinction the report will use a consistent approach to headings, tables and graphs. Sources will be correctly cited and there will be a complete set of references in the correct format and in alphabetical order. There is evidence of extensive independent reading and research. Formatting and presentation is professional throughout.	Referencing has few if any errors. The report is reasonably well presented but could be improved by greater attention to detail. There is evidence of wider reading and research.	There is a limited number of references, but the correct format is used, albeit with some errors. There may be some errors in formatting and presentation, but the report is reasonably professional in appearance.	References are inappropriate, irrelevant and/or incorrectly formatted. The references themselves suggest they have simply been copied from another source without accessing the material by the student.
Assessment Self-Evaluation	6	Student has highlighted which level she/he believes have met each task and provided a basic explanation.			No self-evaluation. No explanation.
Total	100

5. Appendix A - General Grading Criteria (Level 7)

Criteria	Pass Grades				Referral/Fail Grades
	High Distinction 85-100%	Distinction 70-84%	Merit 60-69%	Pass 50-59%	Referral/Fail 30-49%	Referral/Low Fail 0-29%
	The work displays:	The work displays:	The work displays:	The work displays:	The work displays:	The work displays:
Knowledge & Understanding Systematic Understanding Emerging Thought	(a) Strong evidence of a comprehensive and systematic understanding of an extensive range of appropriate issues, concepts, theories and research	(a) Clear evidence of a comprehensive and systematic understanding of a considerable variety of issues, concepts, theories and research	(a) Clear evidence of a comprehensive and systematic understanding of all major - and some minor - issues, concepts, theories and research	(a) Evidence of a systematic understanding, which may contain some gaps, of all major - and some minor - issues, concepts, theories and research	(a) Evidence of an understanding of an appropriate range of issues, concepts, theories and research but has significant gaps or misunderstandings.	(a) Evidence of a limited understanding of issues, concepts, theories and research either major and/or minor.
	(b) Sustained excellence in the application of thoughts and practices at the forefront of the discipline	(b) Precise and welljudged application of thoughts and practices at the forefront of the discipline	(b) Some clear evidence of the application of thoughts and practices at the forefront of the discipline	(b) Clear evidence of an understanding of thoughts and practices at the forefront of the discipline.	(b) Unclear or imprecise understanding of thoughts and practices at the forefront of the discipline.	(b) Significant gaps in the understanding of the debates at the forefront of the discipline.
Argument Analysis, Synthesis & Evaluation Numerical Analysis (c) Argumentation (d) Independent Research	Consistently precise, accurate and reasoned analysis, synthesis and/or evaluation; addressing issues with insight or originality Numeric analysis that is complete and free from errors with	Consistently precise, accurate and reasoned analysis, synthesis and/or evaluation addressing all issues, some with creativity Numeric analysis that is complete and mostly free from errors	(a) Precision, accuracy and clear reasoning throughout the analysis, synthesis and/or evaluation addressing all issues appropriately (b) Numeric analysis that is complete and mostly free from errors	Broad levels of precision, accuracy and reasoning in analysis, synthesis and/or evaluation, and addresses all key issues Numeric analysis that is mostly complete and free	Errors which affect the consistency of the analysis, synthesis or evaluation and/or key gaps in the issues addressed Numeric analysis that is mostly complete but contains	(a) A lack of precision, accuracy or reasoning in analysis, synthesis or evaluation with significant gaps in the issues addressed (b) Numeric analysis that is incomplete or contains errors which
	application of methods that may be insightful or original	with fluent and appropriate application of methods.	with relevant and effective application of methods.	from significant or critical errors with appropriate application of methods.	errors with significant effect, or methods that are applied inappropriately	have critical effect, or methods that are applied inappropriately
	application of methods that may be insightful or original	with fluent and appropriate application of methods.	with relevant and effective application of methods.
	(c) Extremely strong and consistent argument making a convincing whole with evidence of originality. Impressive dexterity in the use of information gathered to support the argument.	(c) Extremely strong and consistent argument that convincingly addresses issues including uncertainties and conflicts. Excellent use of information gathered which to support and further the argument	(c) Evidence of an argument that is generally convincing with a good internal consistency and addresses most issues. Very good use of information gathered to support the argument.	(c) Evidence of an overall convincing argument but may have weaknesses, gaps or inconsistencies. Clear use of information gathered but may have some weaknesses in the integration into the argument.	(c) Evidence of a consistent argument but may have weaknesses, significant gaps or be unconvincing. Clear use of information gathered but may not be sufficient to sustain the argument.	(c) Lack of consistency or structure in the argument. Serious weaknesses in the integration of evidence and/or no awareness of the limitations or weaknesses of the research.
Argument (continued) (d) Independent Research	(d) Evidence of an innovative or original use of extensive personal research which has been thoroughly critically evaluated both conceptually and methodologically	(d) Substantial research and evidence of an innovative use of a wide range of personal research with clear and consistent critical evaluation both conceptually and methodologically	(d) Clear evidence of considerable personal research and the use of a diverse range of appropriate sources but may contain problems with consistency in the conceptual and methodological critical evaluation	(d) Appropriate use of a wide range of personal research which is critically evaluated for key conceptual and methodological issues although this may not be consistent throughout	(d) Evidence of a range of personal research but evidence of methodological or conceptual evaluation may be limited, inconsistent or inappropriate	(d) Over reliance on very restricted range of personal or secondary research much of which may not be evaluated and may not be directly related to the question or area

Presentation Structure Referencing Use of Language	(a) Excellent structure and presentation	(a) Excellent structure and presentation	(a) Good structure and presentation	(a) Adequate structure and presentation	(a) Adequate structure and presentation	(a) Poor structure and presentation
	(b) Precise, full and appropriate references and notes.	(b) Precise, full and appropriate references and notes.	(b) Full and appropriate references and notes with minor or insignificant errors	(b) Good references and notes with minor or insignificant errors or omissions	(b) Competent references and notes but may contain inconsistencies, errors or omissions	(b) Poor references and notes with multiple inconsistencies, errors or omissions
	(b) Precise, full and appropriate references and notes.	(b) Precise, full and appropriate references and notes.
	(c) Subtle use of language expressing highly nuanced thought with clarity and precision to a level appropriate for submission for publication.	(c) Precise use of language expressing complex thought with clarity, accuracy and precision which furthers and enhances the argument	(c) Clear and precise use of language allowing a complex argument to be easily understood and followed	(c) Generally clear use of language sufficient for arguments to be readily understood and followed	(c) Generally understandable use of language but significant errors in expression affecting overall clarity	(c) Serious errors in the use of language which makes meaning unclear or imprecise

Option 1

Low Cost Option

Download this past answer in few clicks

24.99 USD

PURCHASE SOLUTION

Already member? Sign In

Option 2

Custom new solution created by our subject matter experts

GET A QUOTE

rated 5 stars

Purchased 4 times

Completion Status 100%