Week 2 Assignment: Business Case, Project Charter, and Stakeholder Analysis Grading Rubric Failing Below Average Average Above Average Superior 0 - 60 (F range) 70 - 79 (C range) 80 - 89 (B range) 90 - 93 (A- range) 94 - 100 (A range) Topical Content & Focus (60%) Templates submitted are either incomplete or do not address the required material in each respective section. Only a few stakeholders and/or stakeholder groups mentioned or referred to in case study are accurately identified. Templates submitted are mostly complete, but possibly lack a few key details or information required for a couple of sections. Most stakeholders and/or stakeholder groups mentioned or referred to in case study are accurately identified. Templates submitted are complete and each section, including an accurately performed financial analysis, is covered in a thorough and well considered manner, paying particular attention to the instructional prompts and questions in each section. Additionally, all stakeholders and/or stakeholder groups mentioned or referred to in Templates submitted are not only completed in an excellent manner but also show a deeper analysis and understanding of the nuances of the case through the use of evidence and support from the case study Templates submitted are completed in an excellent and thorough manner, show a deep analysis of the case study through support from the case study, and evidence strong business acumen and judgment evidenced through the analysis and recommendations being contextually relevant and linked to the details of the case study in a clear manner. case study are accurately identified. Personal Competencies (15%)  Critical thinking  Professiona l Writing  Problem Solving  Quantitativ e Analysis Submission reflects little to no applicable personal competencies Submission reflects a minimal applicable personal competencies Submission reflects both applicable personal competencie s in an acceptable manner Submission strongly reflects applicable personal competencies integrated throughout the assignment Submission reflects an excellent use of applicable personal competencies integrated throughout the paper in a way that synthesizes the personal competencies Grammar (10%) Writing contains numerous errors in spelling, grammar, sentence structure, etc. that interfere with comprehensio n. The reader is unable to understand some of the intended meaning. Frequent errors in spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and/or other writing conventions that distract the reader. Minimal errors in spelling, grammar, sent ...

1. Week 2 Assignment: Business Case, Project Charter, and
Stakeholder Analysis
Grading Rubric
Failing Below
Average
Average Above Average Superior
0 - 60 (F
range)
70 - 79 (C
range)
80 - 89 (B
range)
90 - 93 (A-
range)
94 - 100 (A range)
Topical

2. Content &
Focus (60%)
Templates
submitted are
either
incomplete or
do not address
the required
material in
each
respective
section. Only
a few
stakeholders
and/or
stakeholder
groups

3. mentioned or
referred to in
case study are
accurately
identified.
Templates
submitted are
mostly
complete, but
possibly lack
a few key
details or
information
required for a
couple of
sections. Most
stakeholders
and/or

4. stakeholder
groups
mentioned or
referred to in
case study are
accurately
identified.
Templates
submitted
are complete
and each
section,
including an
accurately
performed
financial
analysis, is
covered in a

5. thorough and
well
considered
manner,
paying
particular
attention to
the
instructional
prompts and
questions in
each section.
Additionally,
all
stakeholders
and/or
stakeholder
groups

6. mentioned or
referred to in
Templates
submitted are
not only
completed in an
excellent
manner but also
show a deeper
analysis and
understanding of
the nuances of
the case through
the use of
evidence and
support from the
case study
Templates submitted

7. are completed in an
excellent and thorough
manner, show a deep
analysis of the case
study through support
from the case study,
and evidence strong
business acumen and
judgment evidenced
through the analysis
and recommendations
being contextually
relevant and linked to
the details of the case
study in a clear
manner.
case study

8. are
accurately
identified.
Personal
Competencies
(15%)
thinking
l Writing
Solving
e Analysis
Submission
reflects little
to no
applicable

9. personal
competencies
Submission
reflects a
minimal
applicable
personal
competencies
Submission
reflects both
applicable
personal
competencie
s in an
acceptable
manner
Submission
strongly reflects

10. applicable
personal
competencies
integrated
throughout the
assignment
Submission reflects an
excellent use of
applicable personal
competencies
integrated throughout
the paper in a way that
synthesizes the
personal competencies
Grammar
(10%)
Writing
contains

11. numerous
errors in
spelling,
grammar,
sentence
structure, etc.
that interfere
with
comprehensio
n. The reader
is unable to
understand
some of the
intended
meaning.
Frequent
errors in
spelling,

12. grammar,
sentence
structure,
and/or other
writing
conventions
that distract
the reader.
Minimal
errors in
spelling,
grammar,
sentence
structure
and/or other
writing
conventions
but the

13. reader is
able to
understand
what the
writer
meant.
All work
grammatically
correct with rare
misspellings.
All work
grammatically correct
with rare misspellings.
Clarity (10%) Sentence
construction,
word choice,
lack of

14. Sentence
construction
and word
choice
Minor
sentence
construction
and word
Expresses ideas
and opinions
clearly and
concisely in a
Expresses ideas and
opinions clearly and
concisely in a manner
transitions,
and/or

15. sequencing of
ideas makes
reading/unders
tanding
difficult. Style
and/or format
are
inappropriate
for the
assignment.
interferes with
clarity.
Transitions
between
paragraphs
may be
choppy and
difficult to

16. follow.
choice issues
sometime
interfere
with clarity.
Transitions
between
paragraphs
are generally
easy to
follow.
Appropriate
conventions
of style and
format are
used
consistently.
manner

17. appropriate to
the assignment.
appropriate to the
assignment.
Formatting
(5%)
NOTE: Gross
failure to
provide
PROPER
citations and
references –
particularly
with regard to
direct quotes –
will result in
sanctions as

18. outlined in the
academic
honesty policy.
Multiple
errors in
formatting and
document is
not formatted
in a manner
consistent
with the
template
provided.
A few errors
in formatting
and
presentation
of material is

19. mostly
consistent
with the
template
provided. Or
assignment
instructions
are left in
submission.
Rare errors
in formatting
and
formatting is
consistent
through the
submission
and in
alignment

20. with the
template.
Virtually no
errors in
formatting.
Virtually no errors in
formatting.
Project Charter template (contains Scope Section): project
name:Executive Summary
Where did this project come from?
Why is it being done?
What impact will the project create (internally, externally)?
What strategic plan does it contribute to?
What does the customer receive/not receive by project end?
What key assumptions are driving this project?
What risks could challenge project success?Goals
What business/organization goal(s) does this project support?
What business need is being satisfied by this project?Objectives
What, specifically, needs to be done to meet project/customer
requirements/expectations/goal?
What is the target of the project?
Note: Ensure each objective contributes to the goal. Check to
satisfy the "SMART" criteriaScope:
What does the work of the project to meet goal include/not
include?Work IncludesWork does not IncludePhases ⁄

21. Deliverables:
What are the major components of work to meet the
goals/objectives/scope?
What are the customer, process, and project deliverables within
each phase?
Phase
Description of Phase
Deliverables
Internal
External
Assumptions:
What unknowns are being made known in this project?
What uncertainties are considered true, real, or certain for
planning purposes?
What trial balloons are being floated to verify information?

22. Assumption
Rationale
Probability of Assumption being True
Impact to Project if Assumption is not True
Risks:
What events could jeopardize this project's success?
Risk
Supporting Detail (Analysis to be continued in Risk
Management Plan/ Register)

23. Constraints:
What is restricting this project?
What standards, regulations, technologies, resource availability
impact this project?
Constraint
Supporting Detail
Initial Project SizingBudget:
What are the estimated costs to complete this project (document
variability, range, precision at this point)
What is the financial justification for this project?
(i.e. Benefit Cost Analysis, Return on Investment, NPV . . .)
What financial gains are there to doing/not doing this
project?High Level Schedule:
When are the phases/deliverables planned to begin/end?
Phase/Deliverable
Time

25. Milestones:
What major points are important to communicate/measure
against?

26. When should/will they occur?Resource Requirements:
What specialized resources are necessary to complete this
project?
Team Member
Role
Responsibility
Sponsor
Project Manager
Management Approaches:
How will status be taken?
How will project be communicated?
How will change be managed?
How will issues be escalated?
How will the risk be managed?
Communication Type
Stakeholders
Frequency
Agenda/ Content
Responsible
Distribution Media

27. Note: These may be separate plans within the context of the
integrated project planSign-offs/Reviews:
At what points will management/customer/team/peer reviews be
conducted? For what purpose?
Who signs off on the project reviews?

28. Reviews
Sponsor
Customer
Project Manager
Acceptance Criteria:
What measurements will be used to determine customer
acceptance?
What performance criteria define project success (i.e. time,
cost, resource, quality prioritization)?
What check points are in place to ensure the right product is
being delivered in the right way?

29. Acceptance Criteria
Detail
Priority
Requestor
Impacted ⁄ Interdependent Projects
What projects connect to this project via inputs/outputs?
What products are impacted by this project/how?
What other projects are addressing related issues?
Project
Interdependency Relationship

30. PJM Case Study
Case Study Background:
Ms. Deidre Jackson, the CEO of Acme Company, was recently
given a report published by the Project
Management Institute called the Pulse of the Profession.1 In the
report, she learned a startling statistic.
PMI® reported that when projects are poorly managed,
approximately $122 million is wasted for every
$1 billion spent (12.2%). Now, her company’s annual expense
for projects is much smaller
(approximately $3 million expected in the next 12 months), but
if she could experience even a partial
amount of that savings, she could reinvest those savings in
future growth.
In order to accomplish this, she believes that she needs to adopt
a more formal or mature approach to
managing projects, and she needs to professionalize the project
management teams and, specifically, the
project managers. She has a colleague, Xin Xue, from a
previous company who was the internal project
management expert in the company who she believes might be
able to help, so she gives her a call to get
her take.
Ms. Jackson just finished a long conference call with Ms. Xue,
and she now has a better idea of what this

31. might take in terms of effort and resources to move forward. In
short, in Ms. Xue’s opinion, there is a way
to experience the savings that Ms. Jackson hopes for, but it will
take some time and investment, so she
thinks they should move forward with maturing their team and
management approach, but, as noted, it
will take an investment, so Ms. Jackson needs to be certain that
the savings will deliver sufficient
business value. In short, is there a solid, defensible business
case for such a project?
Present Situation:
Ms. Jackson emailed you the Pulse of the Profession report over
the weekend, and you are now sitting in
her office at 9:00 am on Monday morning. She wants you to
develop a business case for implementing a
training program that will lead to maturing the organization’s
project management practices. Based on her
work over the weekend to see where some monies may be
available for the unexpected project and her
conversation with Ms. Xue, she provides you with the following
information:
• The company expects to spend approximately $3,000,000 on
project related work over the next
12 months (year 1) and $3,500,000 over the following 12
months (year 2).
• Based on her conversations with Ms. Xue, she believes the
cost of training and implementing a
more mature model will be approximately $175,000 as an initial
investment
• Conservatively, she believes that the company will experience
a savings of 3 percent in the first

32. year and 4.5 percent in the second year
• Although the company will experience these savings for many
more years in her opinion, she
wants to show that the company will receive a sufficient savings
within the first 2 years to justify
this investment within the business case
• On most investments, the company would expect to see a
return of 11½ - 12 percent (internal rate
of return), and the cost of money (discount rate) is 6 percent.
1 Including in assigned reading for Week 1.
Ms. Jackson has to prepare a business case to share with her
Board of Directors at the next quarterly
board meeting. There are seven board members including the
Chairman, Vice Chair, Secretary, and
members of the Compliance Committee, The Chairman of the
Board, Lou Jackson, is typically resistant
to investing money in these types of initiatives so it is
important that the business case is well defined.
Ms. Jackson is considering having Jaitan Darshana, her internal
PM who has a long tenure with the
organization, assist her with the preparation of the business case
but she is concerned that Jaitan may be
resistant to the idea.
Business Case Assignment Instructions & Considerations

33. You have been tasked by Ms. Jackson with drafting a business
case for this potential initiative, and she
has provided you with a template to use (see template attached
to assignment instructions). She provides
you with the following comments related to each section of the
template, but she tells you that you will
need to sharpen and expand on the ideas that she has provided.
She expects your final draft to be ready to
take to the company’s Board of Directors for review and
approval by week’s end.
• Background and Business Problem
o She believes this has been covered in the contents of your
initial conversation, where she
provided you with background information (see above case
study material)
• Strategic Case
o She states that this is strategically tied to the company’s goal
of becoming more project
oriented, as they believe this will allow for more efficient and
effective work, leading to
the company being able to grow in a more scalable manner.
• Project Overview
o In addition to what she has stated above, if the business case
is approved, then she
believes the basic project would be an 8 – 10 week training
program for all project
managers and team members that would train them in the
adoption of a more mature
project management model, and it would include some
mentorships by the trainer. She
believes this would cost a total of $175,000.

34. • Expected Benefits
o The expected benefits would be increased efficiencies and
effectiveness, as noted above.
• Financial Considerations
o She has provided you with the investment amount to provide
financial support for the
investment
• Risks
o She has asked you to look at primarily risks associated with
the overall initiative, not
necessarily those focused on the training aspect of the project.
The CEO is concerned
about potential disruptions to current projects that are already
in flight.
• Timeline
o Based on her conversations with Ms. Xue, she believes the
project execution could begin
within 60 - 90 days, depending on the path chosen for moving
forward
• Recommendations and Next Steps
o She has asked you to consider all the relevant data you have
collected and put into the
business case, and then provide a succinctly stated and well-
supported recommendation
and concrete next steps if the proposal is accepted

35. General Case Considerations for Business Case:
o It is expected that you will need to make reasonable
assumptions in completing the
business case, so rely on the case study as guide. This is similar
to how projects are
conceived in the real world. We have a basic set of factors, and
then we must make
reasonable assumptions as we progress forward.