UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK

Department Warwick Business School

Level 2
Module Code IB3820
Module Title Project Management
Exam Paper Code IB382-15
Exam Paper Title Summer Exam
Duration 2 hours
Exam Paper Type 24-hour window

STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS

1. Read all instructions carefully. We recommend you read through the entire paper at least
once before writing

2. There are 3 questions. All candidates should attempt every question

3. You should not submit answers to more than the required number of questions

4. All questions carry the same number of marks (30) unless otherwise stated

5. Where handwritten answers are permitted, please ensure you write legibly, preferably in
dark blue or black ink. If you use a pencil, please ensure it is not too faint to be captured by
scan or photograph. It is your responsibility to ensure your work can be read

6. If uploading photographs or scanned copies of your work, please check for legibility
before uploading. It is your responsibility to ensure your work can be read

7. Add your student number to all uploaded files

8. You are permitted to access module materials, notes, resources, references and the
internet during the online assessment

9. You must not communicate with any other candidate during the assessment period,
unless instructed to do so as part of the assessment requirement(s)

10. By starting this assessment, you are declaring yourself fit to undertake it. You are
expected to make a reasonable attempt at the assessment by answering the questions in
the paper

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• We strongly recommend you use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox to access the
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• Students with approved Alternative Exam Arrangements (Reasonable Adjustments) that

permit extra time and/or rest breaks will have this time added on to the stated duration

SUPPORT DURING THE ASSESSMENT

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 • If you experience technical difficulties with Questionmark Perception (QMP) please
contact eassessment@warwick.ac.uk

• If you experience technical difficulties with myWBS, please contact

exams@wbs.ac.uk

Technical support will be available between 09:00 and 17:00 GMT for each examination
(excluding Sunday)

Academic Support

• If you have an academic query, contact the invigilator (using the ‘Contact an
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at the discretion of the department.

Other Support

• Write to your department immediately if you cannot complete your assessment

for the following reasons:

o you lose your internet connection

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o you are affected by circumstances beyond your control

Your assessment starts below.

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University of Warwick
Summer 2021
Project Management (15CAT)

Instructions
This is an open book (UNRESTRICTED) examination.

TIME allowed: 2 hours

You should write ONE academic essay that responds to the THREE questions. The questions must be
answered in your main body and are weighted equally to make up 90% of the overall mark. The
remaining 10% is from your introductory and concluding paragraphs which are worth 5% each.

Read the case study below and write an academic essay that responds to the questions given at the
end.

CASE STUDY

This case study is about the music video for Avicii’s song ‘Wake Me Up’. You have had three weeks
to read this case in advance of the examination and to view the music video at the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcrbM1l_BoI

The Project Manager (PM), Deputy Project Manager (DPM) and Editor had previously worked
together on a number of small-scale music video production projects for a well-known rock group
and so they had a set of templates and processes that were ready to implement for this project and
were very confident that no adjustments to the templates or processes would be required. The PM
had already organised the human resourcing for the project via one of the standard agencies on the
procurement list, but she had left the financial details undefined, so that they could be confirmed
later on. Thus, in preparation for Day 1, as usual, the PM set up a meeting with the Client (Avicii) and
DPM in order to (1) confirm the details of the vision for the video and (2) agree what would be
possible to achieve within the scope of the project. An ambitious multi-location video and
reasonable budget were agreed, and a storyboard was produced. From the Client’s perspective, this
was a confident and productive start to the project, but he did wonder why none of the Technical,
Camera & Sound Team were there and why the Editor did not attend. The PM simply said that their
input was not necessary at this point. Next, as instructed by the PM, the overzealous DPM reviewed
the other project participants’ online information and job application submissions in order to create
the table below. For the groups represented by E, G, J and K, the DPM made assumptions based on
her previous experience of working with people in similar roles because she did not see the point in
making time to go through all the information available for the multiple individuals within each
group. After all, she was just going through the usual process of completing a template and had no
intention of using the analysis.
(continued overleaf)

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  start point Belbin start point
A. Project Manager (PM) TCQ Completer Finisher
B. Deputy Project Manager (DPM) TQ Co-ordinator
C. Young Woman QC Plant
D. Girl QC Implementer
E. People in small town street QC Resource Investigator
F. Horse Q Plant
G. People in city street QC Teamworker
H. Aloe Blacc (Singer) TQ Shaper
I. Avicii (DJ-Producer & Client) TQ Plant
J. Club Crowd QC Shaper
K. Technical, Camera & Sound Team QC Monitor Evaluator
L. Editor QC Specialist

The PM did not have time to review the table above and, instead, she asked the DPM if anything had
shown up in the stakeholder analysis that she should be aware of. Her question was this: “Hey,
DPM! There’s nothing to worry about in the stakeholder analysis, is there?” And the DPM replied:
“No, nothing to worry about, boss! We’ve got all the Belbin roles covered!”

The PM transformed the storyboard into a work breakdown structure, then made the list of tasks
below and, at the end of Day 1, she emailed it out to all the participants, apart from the Client. The
PM assumed that the Client would be too famous and not knowledgeable enough to deal with
administrative activities, and so would not be able to offer any useful feedback.

DAY 1: Vision and scope (£1000)

Storyboarding (£1000)
DAY 2: Equipment identification and quotation collection (£1000)
Financial planning (£1000)
DAY 3: Risk analysis (£1000)
Procurement of equipment (£1000)
DAY 4: Equipment testing and locations set-up (£2000)
DAYS 5-7: Rehearsals (£9,000) – Actual spend at end of Day 5 was £12,000
DAYS 8-11: Filming (£20,000)
DAYS 12-13: Editing (£1000)
DAY 14: Launch (£5000)

(continued overleaf)

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That evening, all of the responses to the email related to money with multiple questions from the
participants around how the budget allocations for each day were being split between staff,
resources and overheads. The PM phoned the DPM, who was still in the office but working on a
different project, at 11pm telling her to reply to all the negative emails from the project participants
before 9am the next day. However, the DPM challenged her saying: “You did the WBS by yourself,
you decided on your own how to organise the work packages and you alone decided how to allocate
the budget, so you should answer the emails!” The DPM then walked out of the office and was never
seen again. Closely following the exit of the DPM was a resignation letter from the Editor, who left a
simple note on the PM’s desk which she discovered at 8.55am on Day 2 when she entered the office
with her morning coffee: “You didn’t give me a proper contract and leveraged our long-standing
professional relationship in the guise of asking for a favour. Now that I see the impossible timeframe
and insulting pay assigned to Days 12 and 13, I understand what you really think of me. I’ve made
my decision and you’ll never change my mind. Good luck finding a replacement editor!”

This dramatic start to Day 2 meant that the PM completed the work packages for that day and for
Day 3 alone, and did not have time to find replacements for the DPM or Editor. She did, however,
manage to arrange what she believed to be appropriate equipment to be sent to each of the eight
locations in time for Day 4. When the Technical, Camera & Sound Team arrived at each location,
they found that the lights provided were not suitable and so they spent most of the day driving back
and forth between locations swapping the lights and struggling to make decisions on what was best.
Eventually, by midnight on Day 5, they had everything tested and set-up, but they were not confident
about the decisions they had made and some of them complained on social media about what they
had experienced. The rest of the project participants joined in with this social media frenzy and the
gist of the posts related to the PM’s lack of consultation with participants, disrespect for participants’
opinions and expertise, lack of interest in risk, and mismanagement of project funds making high
quality work impossible to achieve. The PM did not see the social media updates on her phone
because she had turned it off to concentrate on working on her forecasting template which she had
always completed at the end of Day 5 for all her previous projects. The forecast looked terrible and
the PM had no templates suitable for solving the problems the project was now facing, so she
decided to resign by the end of Day 6.

On the morning of Day 6, seeing the explosion of negativity on social media, the Client realised that
the project was now in trouble and behind schedule, and he contacted the Singer to say that the
planned filming for Day 10 would probably have to be cancelled because the delay would mean a
clash with their live concert performance of the song that was organised for Day 14. The Client had
intended to have the video launched during the live stage performance and shown on a screen
behind himself and the Singer, but now this would not be impossible. The Client sacked the PM
before she could resign and then he took over the management of the project and used live footage
from the stage performance in the video. The Client also realised from the PM’s scruffy notes that
there was no stunt double for the horse-riding scenes and he knew from a brief coincidental
conversation in the corridor on Day 1 that the actress playing the Young Woman was afraid of horses

(continued overleaf)

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and would not be able to ride the horse herself, so he immediately contacted someone he had
worked with in the past and was able to pay them the double rate up-front to take on the stunt work
at short notice. Having edited his own videos in the early days of his career, the Client also took on
the role of the Editor. In the end, the video was released four days late and was slightly over budget,
which does not sound like too much of a failure, but the PM was never employed in the creative field
again.

QUESTIONS

In response to this case study, write an academic essay consisting of an introduction (5% of the
overall mark), main body (90% of the overall mark) and conclusion (5% of the overall mark).
Answer ALL THREE questions below in your essay.

Question 1:
In what ways could the Project Manager have initiated and planned the project more effectively, in
order to avoid the problems complained about on social media? Demonstrate application of at least
one appropriate tool to the case study for this question.

Question 2:
From the case information provided and by comparing the Client’s final time and cost overruns with
the PM’s End-of-Day-5 forecast, in what ways do you think the Client was able to reduce the worst-
case scenario figures that the PM predicted? Demonstrate application of at least one appropriate
tool to the case study for this question.

Question 3:
How could the PM and DPM have worked together to improve their communication with all the
other project participants? Demonstrate application of at least one appropriate tool to the case
study for this question.

GUIDANCE

Make recommendations for the most suitable tools and techniques explored during the module that
should have been applied in the case project. Remember to give reasons why other tools and
techniques may not have been so suitable. Use examples from your own experience and
understanding of the tools and techniques to help you explain your reasons for choosing them.
Support your rationales by citing relevant literature from the module. Think critically. Think SMART.

FORMULAE

Cost performance indicator = earned value/actual spend

Schedule performance indicator = earned value/planned spend
Estimated cost at completion = original budget/cost performance indicator
Estimated time of completion = original time estimate/schedule performance indicator

End of Paper

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