ITEC303 - Managing Data Analytics Projects

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

ITEC202 Data Management and Visualisation

Teaching organisation

150 hours over a twelve-week semester or equivalent study period

Unit rationale, description and aim

Data analytics initiatives are project-oriented because they have a defined start and end. As such, it is necessary for data analytics practitioners to have a comprehensive knowledge of project management to be able to organise, plan, implement, and control tasks to achieve an organisation's schedule, budget, and performance objectives.

The unit covers project management theory, techniques, and tools, particularly agile project management, and provides students with the opportunity to apply the theory to practice. This unit provides students an opportunity to demonstrate their project management knowledge and skills through undertaking a data analytics pilot project management, business analysis, and business case development for addressing the business problem. Students will be placed into a project team on the basis of their skills and experience, and each team will be assigned a business problem.

The aim of the unit is to equip students with practical skills in project management that are aligned with organisational mission and objectives as well as the responsibility to the common good, the environment, and society. 

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Explain the fundamentals of project management in the context of data analytics projects. (GA4, GA5)

LO2 - Critically reflect on and interpret existing knowledge, investigate alternatives, and synthesise diverse approaches to generate and evaluate new ideas, taking into account how the existing and new ideas benefit the common good; (GA2,  GA5)

LO3 - Collaborate effectively to produce a coherent and consistent set of project documents embedding the principles of effective written communication skills (GA5, GA7)

LO4 - Apply the knowledge and skills learned in the course to demonstrate their understanding and achievements utilising relevant tools and technologies (GA5, GA10)

Graduate attributes

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA7 - work both autonomously and collaboratively 

GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.

Content

Topics will include:

• Project lifecycle 
• Overview of Project management knowledge areas 
• Professional code of ethics  
• Agile project management (e.g. SCRUM) 
• Project management tools 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Students should anticipate undertaking 150 hours of study for this unit over a twelve-week semester or equivalent study period, including class attendance, readings, online forum participation and assessment preparation.

This unit is offered in two different modes (“Attendance” mode and “Online” mode) to cater for the learning needs and preferences of a range of participants and maximise effective participation for isolated and/or marginalised groups.

Attendance Mode

In attendance mode, students will require face-to-face attendance in blocks of time determined by the School. Students will have face-to-face interactions with lecturer(s) to further their achievement of the learning outcomes. This unit is structured with required upfront preparation before workshops. The online learning platforms used in this unit provide multiple forms of preparatory and practice opportunities for you to prepare and revise.

Online Mode

This unit utilises an active learning approach whereby students will engage in e-module activities, readings and reflections, and opportunities to collaborate with peers in an online environment. This can involve, but is not limited to, online workshops, online discussion forums, chat rooms, guided reading, and webinars. To deliver core content, pre-recorded lectures will be incorporated within the online learning environment and e-modules. In addition, electronic readings will be provided to guide students’ reading and extend other aspects of online learning. 

Assessment strategy and rationale

The aim of these assessment items is to test students’ critical ability to apply and synthesise their project management and business requirement analysis knowledge and skills in deeper levels. The last assessment is a project proposal presentation where students will present their project design.  Peer assessment of group work will be adopted so that students will be marked based on the contributions to the group project. 

To pass this unit, students are required to achieve an aggregate mark of at least 50%. Marking will be in accordance with a rubric specifically developed to measure the level of achievement of the learning outcomes for each item of assessment. Students will also be awarded a final grade which signifies their overall achievement in the unit.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Agile Practice Guide, 2017, Project Management Institute.  

IIBA, 2015, A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge®, International Institute of Business Analysis.  

Agile Extension to the BABOK® Guide: Version 2, 2017, International Institute of Business Analysis.  

Schwalbe, K 2018, Information technology project management, 9th edn, Cengage Learning, USA