PPMP20008 - Initiating and Planning Projects

General Information

Unit Synopsis

The Initiating and Planning Project unit will equip you with the knowledge and skills required to effectively initiate and plan projects in challenging environments. You will study different standards, frameworks and practices with the opportunity to apply these by utilising relevant tools and techniques to enhance project initiation and planning. On successful completion, you will have prepared a range of project management artifacts that underpin effective initiation and planning of projects.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 8
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2025

Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Sydney
Term 3 - 2025 Profile
Melbourne
Online
Sydney
Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Sydney
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Sydney
Term 3 - 2026 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Sydney

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Online Quiz(zes) 20%
2. Reflective Practice Assignment 30%
3. Written Assessment 50%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 92.59% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 50.47% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: SUTE students feedback
Feedback
Some unit assessments are scheduled during the same week, creating a challenging situation for students to manage their workload during this busy period.
Recommendation
The assessment calendar should be communicated clearly to students from Week 1 and periodically reinforced throughout the term. To prevent multiple assessments from different units being due on the same day, unit coordinators should collaborate with the head of courses to align and manage the assessment schedules effectively.
Action Taken
In response to SUTE student feedback, the assessment calendar was clearly communicated from Week 1 and consistently reinforced throughout the term. This proactive communication ensured that students were aware of key deadlines well in advance, allowing them to manage their workload more effectively. To further strengthen this approach, we propose formalising the early release and reinforcement of the assessment calendar as a standard unit delivery procedure. This would involve embedding the assessment schedule within the unit coordination checklist and including it in unit moderation documentation to ensure consistency across all offerings and terms.
Source: The coordinator's reflection and lecturer's feedback
Feedback
The PMBok 7ed excludes artifacts, case studies, methods, etc as they are made available on PMIstandards+ which requires PMI membership to access
Recommendation
The tutorial materials should be updated by adding artifacts, case studies, methods
Action Taken
Tutorial materials were updated to include additional artifacts, case studies, and practical methods. These enhancements provided students with more applied learning opportunities and improved their understanding of key concepts. This approach will be maintained and further developed in future terms.
Source: Feedback from the student evaluation survey
Feedback
The lecturer was always available to provide useful and quick feedback on the unit and assessments criteria.
Recommendation
To ensure continuous and timely provision of feedback on all assessments to support ongoing student learning and development. Also, to encourage students to seek clarification when needed to reinforce understanding of the unit content and requirements.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Feedback from the student evaluation survey
Feedback
Class discussions and quiz really helped us to engage and understand the content better. These activities made the class more interesting and encouraged everyone to participate
Recommendation
To continue incorporating class discussions and quizzes to enhance student engagement and understanding.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Lecturers' feedback and reflection
Feedback
Although group formation was done early, some groups faced issues with non-contributing members who did not participate or attend tutorial discussions
Recommendation
The assessment structure has been designed to ensure both fair evaluation of teamwork and individual contribution. It consists of two components: Part A: A group-based submission Part B: final presentation, which is individually marked. This dual-component structure helps recognise collaborative efforts while also assessing each student’s individual understanding and input. To support effective group collaboration, student participation and engagement will be actively monitored during tutorials. Students will be encouraged to contribute meaningfully to discussions and group activities, and tutors will provide guidance and support when challenges arise.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Analyse the underlying project need and justification
  2. Apply contemporary techniques to identify and analyse stakeholders
  3. Analyse, define and effectively decompose project scope
  4. Apply appropriate project estimation techniques
  5. Critically analyse and define actions to address project uncertainty.

This unit will satisfy one of the requirements for Australian Computer Society (ACS) accreditation in the postgraduate ICT courses.

The unit contributes to the required number of academic study units for students wishing to undertake profession certification with the Project Management Institute's (PMI) professional qualifications, such as CAPM or PMP.

The ACS recognises the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). SFIA is in use in over 100 countries and provides a widely used and consistent definition of ICT skills. SFIA is increasingly being used when developing job descriptions and role profiles. ACS members can use the tool MySFIA to build a skills profile at https://www.acs.org.au/professionalrecognition/mysfia-b2c.html

This unit contributes to the following workplace skills codes as defined by SFIA:

  • Business Analysis (BUAN),
  • Project Management (PRMG),
  • Stakeholder Relationship Management (RLMT),
  • Systems Integration (SINT),
  • Change Management (CHMG),
  • Release and Deployment (RELM),
  • IT Operations (ITOP),
  • Problem Management (PBMG).

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • • •
2 - Reflective Practice Assignment • •
3 - Written Assessment • • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Knowledge • • • • •
2 - Communication • • • •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills • • • • •
4 - Research • • • • •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility • • • •
7 - Leadership • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8