Submission of Assessment:

Electronic Management of Assessment (EMA) applies – please note that assignments will need to be submitted electronically by the given deadline via Turnitin. The Turnitin link will be made available on the module’s eLP (Blackboard) site.

Hand in Dates & Weightings:

BI Assignment 1 (component 2 for overall module assessment, and worth 20% of module mark) -presentation in final teaching week

BI Assignment 2 (component 3 for overall module assessment, and worth 50% of module mark) –hand-in date is published by the faculty office (hand in before 12 noon on date published)

General Information

Further information about general assessment criteria, ARNA regulations, referencing and plagiarism can be found on the e-Learning Portal (Blackboard) site for the module. Students are advised to read and follow this information.

These components of the assessment are for the BI strand of the module with a total weighting of 70%. The assignments for this strand of the module (Business Intelligence – BI) will consist of 2 parts – a group presentation and an individual report – further detail on each is below. The assignments are designed to allow students to demonstrate skills learnt in both strands of the module and to be delivered using methods commonly used in the workplace. Note: all components of the assessment must be attempted (component 1 is for E&CI and components 2 & 3 are for BI and covered in this document). A referral will be required for any component that is failed or not attempted.

As the assessment includes group work it is important that students familiarise themselves with protocols for these activities and follow these during the course of the assessment. The document can be found on the e-Learning Portal (Blackboard) site for the module.

Module Learning Outcomes (MLOs)
At the end of the module the student will:

1. Critically analyse and communicate complex issues effectively (BI Strand – assessed in this assignment) [MLO1]
2. Demonstrate decision making, problem solving and project management skills (BI Strand – assessed in this assignment) [MLO2]
3. Have identified their strengths, weaknesses and subsequent areas of development in relation to what employers’ seek in postgraduate students and have demonstrated their capability through professional CVs, application forms and a professional online presence (Emotional & Cultural Intelligence Strand) [MLO3]
4. Critically review and develop their inter-personal and intra-personal skills (E&CI Strand) [MLO4]

Assessment Overview
Assignment 1 (20% of module mark): Group Assessment – Teams (of 4 or 5 students) will be formed at the beginning of the semester and students will remain in these teams throughout the semester for this part of the summative assessment. Once the teams have been created each team will select an organisation (as their client) that they would like to base their work on (the choice will need to be agreed by all team members and the tutor), and will act as a team of consultants who will present their findings to the client in the final presentation. An outline brief is shown below, which is generic in that it applies to whichever organisation the team chooses, but each team must tailor their findings appropriately. Whilst the organisation chosen must be real, teams will not perform primary research with them, but will use secondary sources when carrying out their investigations. In line with this, the presentations will be to members of the teaching team who will act as representatives of the chosen organisation. In other words, the involvement of the organisation is not required, but ethical considerations must be adhered to. It is hoped that this approach will provide flexibility for teams to choose an organisation that is perhaps more closely related to their discipline and/or interests.

Assignment 2 (50% of module mark): Individual Assessment – this is an individual assignment (2000-word report). The report will be a critical appraisal of project management and planning skills required for the implementation and deployment of a Business Intelligence / Data Analytics System; and a critical appraisal of the skills needed by a Data Analyst to make effective use of the system implemented.

Assignment 1: Outline Brief (Group – 20% of module mark) [assessing MLO3]

Your team of consultants has been contracted by an organisation (the one you and your team choose) to investigate their current situation regarding the potential implementation and deployment of a Business Intelligence (BI) / Data Analytics (DA) system. Your team must investigate the situation with the ultimate aim of considering the feasibility of such a solution using SAS business analytics software, particularly the GUI (Graphical User Interface) frontend – SAS Enterprise Guide (SAS EG). In order to do this, you will need to develop the following documentation in support of the implementation – a business case (with a comprehensive benefit appraisal) and a project charter. You are also required to use SAS EG to demonstrate the capabilities of a BI system.

The company has requested that you deliver your findings to them in a short presentation, which must include the following elements:

A. Intro / Overview giving background and context in relation to the organisation [10%]
B. The business case and project initiation plans supported by appropriate documentation i.e. business case, project
charter and an outline Gantt chart [50%]
C. A data analysis model developed using SAS Enterprise Guide software to demonstrate the capabilities of a BI / DA
system e.g. queries, reports, graphical outputs. Note – as stated, this is a demonstration of the capabilities of the
BI / DA software and is not an attempt to build a specific model for your client. However, it would be useful to
demonstrate reports and outputs that have some relevance and context for your client, and the potential benefits
you have promoted. The data you use for the demonstration may be from the sample data sets provided for the
workshops or other external sample data sources. You do not need to generate your own data or get data from the
client [30%]
D. A conclusion providing an overall summary of the key points made and a summing up of the business case
provided [10%]

The presentation will be to two representatives of the organisation (2 tutors in our case), who will appraise and evaluate your findings, recommendations and accompanying documentation. You should consider the presentation to be like a pitch, where you are trying to demonstrate to the organisation that the proposed implementation will be managed professionally and bring measurable benefits.

The group presentation will take place in the final teaching week workshop sessions. All teams will deliver a 15-minute presentation to at least 2 members of the module team, who will act as representatives of the organisation selected by the team, followed by 5 minutes of questions. Deliverables should include all of the elements mentioned above and any other element deemed appropriate (this will become apparent during the module teaching sessions). Teams should provide appropriate paper handouts at the beginning of the presentation (at least a copy of the slides) and be dressed in a professional manner.

Assignment 2 Brief (Individual – 50% of module mark) – [assessing MLO3 & MLO4]
As an individual you will write a 2000-word report that must include the following:

A. A short introduction giving background, context and an outline of the report [10%]
B. A critical appraisal of the project management and planning skills required for the implementation and deployment of a core business information system in an organisation. You should base your report on the implementation of a Business Intelligence / Data Analytics solution. You may choose to refer to some examples from your group work i.e. skills and documentation used, but [40%]
C. A critical appraisal of the skills needed by a Data Analyst within an organisation to make effective and efficient use of the BI / DA system implemented. [20%]
D. A conclusion providing an overall summary of the key points made and any recommendations for the successful
implementation and use of a BI / DA solution in an organisation [20%]
E. The report must be supported by academic references and examples and include a single reference list. See below
for further guidelines on formatting and word limits [10%]

Your report should conform to the following specification:
• Word-processed in Arial 11pt, 11⁄2 spacing
• Pages should be numbered
• If possible, please print the assignment double-sided
• Do NOT staple the sheets together.
• The assignment should be submitted in a single polypocket.