Professional Engineering Management

Assignment - Risk Evaluation & Services Delivery Plan

Topic - Based on a theme provided by Pearson. The theme set by Pearson is: ‘Sustainability'

Research Proposal: 2500 - 3500 words

Ethics Form
Your report should be written in a concise, formal style using single spacing and font size 12. You are required to make use of headings, paragraphs, and subsections as appropriate. Use Moodle for resources to support the production of your Research Proposal and Ethics form.

Structurally, you should submit a report with the following sections: -
Cover page - This should feature your name and assignment title - perhaps a nice graphic, if you like (no page number on this sheet).
Contents page - Lists each section in the document and the page number where that section begins (these pages are numbered i, ii, iii etc).
Introduction - An introduction states the purpose and goals of your report. A few sentences will suffice here (this is always section 1, and numbered page 1).
Sections - sections 2, 3 etc. This is the main body of the report.
Bibliography - A bibliography lists all the sources you used when researching your assignment, but you have not referenced.
References - List of all the sources that you have referred to in your text, using either the Harvard or Vancouver referencing system, should be listed fully here. Do not use Wikipedia as a source.
Appendices - If required.

Selected assignments will require a video conference to assess understanding before final grades are issued.

Learning Outcome 1: Evaluate the risk evaluation theories and practices associated with the management of projects for the production of current and developing technology

Learning Outcome 2: Produce an engineering services delivery plan that meets the requirements of a sector-specific organisation.

Assignment Brief:

Case Scenario
You are employed as an engineer in a large multi-disciplinary engineering company "Quark & Jones Ltd". The company prides itself on providing very high-quality engineering products and services, making use of current and emerging technologies, with a high emphasis on Sustainability. As part of the company's mission, the engineering department aims to transform business processes by utilising new and emerging digital technologies, ultimately resulting in opportunities for improved efficiency and increased revenue, in a bid to remain a competitive player in their respective markets.

You have recently been identified as a potential candidate for promotion to a project engineering position. The company wishes to find out more about your existing skills and technical knowledge, to evaluate your potential for promotion. To take advantage of this opportunity, you will need to demonstrate your familiarity with the professional standards and skills required for producing a professional engineering services delivery plan.

As part of this assignment, you will need to address the following key areas through a combination of research and your own relevant experience:

The importance of your company's use of and your own commitment to professional engineering standards.

Sustainability as a core value in relation to current and developing technology.

Specific project risks and how they are managed.

Conventional Project Management methods and techniques

Managing your project team.

Evidence of entrepreneurial & innovation skills using original thoughts and ideas where possible.

Your line manager has requested that you produce a professional engineering project in the form of a comprehensive report which will address the above areas and those set out in the task on the following page:

Task:

Your project will require you to complete the following:

A written project proposal & ethics approval form (tutor to authorise, you can access the Research Ethics Approval form through Moodle).

Provide a fully detailed professional engineering services delivery plan, including a task breakdown, responsibilities determination, performance measures and resource and time management methods. You should aim to address the core theme of Sustainability and demonstrate how the developed plan and its constituent steps meet the intended objectives and goals. You should also consider any eventualities which may hinder the plan in meeting those objectives and goals and give a critical account of these potential eventualities and their effects.

Note that you are advised to make use of an industry standard project plan template, or one based on your own experience.

Explain and provide details on the feasibility of your project, considering engineering industry regulations and requirements, internal & external pressures, along with research to be carried out and including any ethical considerations.

Give an account and justification of the relevant engineering management tools which you intend to use, along with some alternative methods.

Consideration of several risk evaluation theories used in engineering project management and provide an evaluation of each, evidencing which theory/theories you will use in your project and why.

Give an appraisal of the range of factors which can influence successful management of engineering activities. Aim to give a veritably critical view of this, concentrating on the practices of risk evaluation and the issues which impact the success of these engineering activities. Try to show your thorough understanding of managing engineering activities, giving specific examples of the challenges that you have experienced previously and the methods of overcoming those challenges, providing examples on how you can use these experiences to benefit your project.

Assignment - Developing Skills & Commitment

Learning Outcome 3: Develop effective leadership, individual and group communication skills.

Learning Outcome 4: Develop personal commitment to professional standards and obligations to society, the engineering profession, and the environment.

Assignment Brief

Case Scenario
As part of your engineering role in Quark & Jones Ltd, you have been put forward as a candidate for promotion to a project engineering position. You have successfully submitted your engineering services delivery plan to your manager, as part of a process to assess your credentials for the promotion.

The next stage is for you to carry out the project and produce a report on the findings, showing how you have used effective leadership and communications skills, as well as developing your own commitment to professional standards and obligations. Remember that the company mission is very important in this stage which highlights the engineering department's aim to transform business processes by utilising new and emerging digital technologies Your project must also show that you have investigated the core theme of Sustainability and that this has been addressed and implemented within your project.

Your manager has therefore presented you with a specification, which states what is to be included within your project report, details of which are as follows:

Produce a written project report that details the project's findings, milestones completed, and change management required. You must also address the core theme of Sustainability and explain the importance of leadership styles with examples of how you have adopted good leadership and communication skills throughout your project. Also, you will show how you have had to effectively persuade and negotiate, giving a detailed description of the steps you took or would take in the future, to manage meetings successfully.

Present a recorded presentation (PowerPoint or similar) giving an overview of the project and its findings.

Provide a separate explanation and discussion on the theory that you have used, and which underpins the successful delivery of this presentation. Are there other steps you could have taken to make it more effective? You should also aim to prove your competency in leadership theory, give a professional evaluation of different leadership styles and communication skills, providing different examples. Consider how you have, or would in future, ensure that your team remains focussed in achieving the desired goal(s), coaching, and mentoring any poorly performing or disillusioned factions.

Demonstrate how you have considered your own social responsibility as an engineer throughout the project, what sort of professional commitment have you demonstrated and how will you take this forward? Consider the reasons for keeping abreast of new developments and discoveries within engineering, how would you advocate the importance of this to others?

Show how you can participate in continuing professional development, taking forward any lessons that you have learned in this project. You should endeavour to display your knowledge of professional engineering ethical standards and behavioural patterns here.

Complete a self-evaluation form (available within the suite of U35 documents within Moodle). When completing this form, you will provide a separate statement which specifically addresses Sustainability in relation to your completed assignment/project.