Week 2 Seminar Learning Activities

In this seminar we use concepts from LM2, LM3, and the coursework brief to start defining and
planning your group projects. We also look at the Bath Spa case again.

Required preparation:
 Learning activities under LM2, and at least start LM3; in particular, read the group project
brief, the guidance on the method (Scrumish), set up your group in MS Teams (include your
tutor as a member), and read the Belbin role types. See the group work folder for further
guidance on team working.
 Read Bath Spa case chapter 3; if you haven’t already, watch the BBC video on the project.

Aim of the seminar

 Begin planning your project and organising your team.
 Become familiar with our Scrumish methodology.
 Identify what you need to do next to develop your plans further – we will plan in more detail
in Week 3 seminars
 Practice using frameworks for case analysis

Instructions: group project definitions and initial planning

Use the coursework brief and guidance documents to:

 Decide how you will use the Equity Share Model

 Decide (initially) what team roles you will assign; use the Belbin role types to help match
skills and interests to roles. See the role possibilities in the PID template.
 Develop an initial Sprint 1 backlog: what will you include from the Product Backlog?
 Decide what you need to do next to plan in more detail

Use brainstorming and discussion within your team and with your sponsor to decide what you need
to do to plan your project – this is the ‘fuzzy front end’, so you are grappling with significant
uncertainty here: the goal is to reduce uncertainty and develop your knowledge of what you need to
do, and how you will do it. At a minimum, your team should develop a clearer understanding of
what you are trying to achieve, and how; and you should develop your understanding of the method
we’re suggesting you use.

Your goal is to leave the seminar with clear ‘next steps’ for your team: what actions do you need to
take now to develop your project plan, including designing in more detail and then delivering your
Sprint 1 backlog? Make sure someone records the key actions from this session so you can start
producing artifacts, including fleshing out your PID, and using Planner in Teams.

Instructions: Bath Spa case

 Be ready to discuss in groups and with the whole class, Chapter 3, questions 1, 2, 3 (assume
we are at the planning stage, before construction work has actually begun)
1. How should the success of this project be judged, once it is complete? And by whom
should this assessment be made?
2. What are the constraints on this project so far?
3. At this stage, what risks should the project manager identify? Specifically, what
future possible events or conditions would, if they occurred, negatively impact the
project’s schedule, cost, or quality?

© University of Bristol, 2021 Project Management