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Sixbert SANGWA, R1508D964268 BS4D03-V1/Module Assignment

University of South Wales

School of Business and Society
MBA-Masters in Business Administration

December 2018

Management Project (BS4D03-V1)

Reflective Portfolio

Tutor: Dr. Evangelia KATSIKEA

Student: Sixbert SANGWA
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SUMMARY

The current document consists of a reflective portfolio for the management project module. As
part of the module assessment students were requested to act as consultant and produce a 12,000
word bid report for a client project of their choice. To do so, they have gone through different
steps starting from:

 Identification of the aims and objectives that satisfy client requirements,

 Searching for industry information to provide supportive evidences to their suggestions,
 Using an A3 map and draft a Gantt chart that summarize the problem, solution and
communication tools as well as improvement suggestions.

My consultancy work concerned the development of a bid proposal for the client project, the
company X, which was looking for a consultant to conduct a scoping study that determines the
necessary requirements for development and implementation of a B2B mobile application.

This reflective portfolio focuses on how the process of completing my dissertation that included
the above brief main steps will assist me to apply this knowledge to my business’ future
operations as well identify how this learning process expanded my thinking as well developed
my skills as future business leader.

The portfolio consists of five major chapters: an introductory chapter presents the project,
discusses the learning goals and expectations as well as the learning methodologies applied
throughout the course. While the second chapter discusses the potential of identifying clear
business requirements, the third chapter indicates how I was able to apply my ethical principles
and values in identifying the client specific aim and objectives as well as how these objectives
reflect corporate social responsibility. In the fourth chapter, you will read the importance of a
Gantt chart and lastly, my learning from experience will be reflected in the fifth chapter. The
later indicate my future actions and my way forward.

Key words: Learning reflection, B2B mobile application, requirement elicitation, Business
requirements identification process, Gantt chart, project consulting.
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Table of Contents

SUMMARY...................................................................................................................................2
Table of Contents.........................................................................................................................3
1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................4
1.1. Learning goals and expectations.........................................................................4
1.2. Learning Methodologies.......................................................................................5
2. ASSUMPTIONS.....................................................................................................................5
3. ETHICS AND VALUES..........................................................................................................7
4. TIME MANAGEMENT............................................................................................................8
5. LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE AND MOVING FORWARD............................................9
5.1. Learning from experience...................................................................................10
5.2. My actions and next steps..................................................................................11
6. CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................12
REFERENCE..............................................................................................................................13
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1. INTRODUCTION

The management project module builds on the research methodology skills and requirements of
critical debate, explored in the previous modules, to enable students to better understand project
management and consulting skills and to demonstrate how critical these skills are in a business
context to ensure rigorous decision-making. The course also aims to enable an evidence-based
approach to problem solving within an organization, focusing on the ability of participants to
manage complex projects in various dynamic business environments in entrepreneurial contexts,
leadership and management of change.

While students remained engaged through the VLE discussions, the platform provided the
necessary documents for the course arranged in a progressive order within 16 weeks. As part of
evaluation, students were requested to act as consultant for a client project of their interest
among the provided samples or to identify an area of study within their organization and then set
out the report to show the objectives of the work and the way that they would suggest completing
the study. Developing a consultancy bid report and a reflective portfolio were the module
assessment deliverables. After examining my company needs and reflecting on my business
future aspirations, I had to choose a project with similar needs, hence the choice of project 5
requesting to develop a bid proposal for conducting a scoping study that determines the
necessary requirements for development and implementation of a B2B mobile application for my
client, the company X. In order to meet the client requirements, I was tasked to carefully
identify the client’s project aims and objectives, propose the study methods and techniques based
on industrial information as supportive evidences, introduce an A3 map summarizing the
problem and solution including the study Gantt Chart and finally demonstrate the contribution of
my suggestions for improvement to management. As I have taken a number of steps to achieve
the desired results, this experience has allowed me to accumulate a great deal of knowledge and
skills in management and consulting that will be reflected in this document.
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This document serves as a reflective portfolio on my learning steps, discussing the way I acted as
a consultant to bid for the client project. It focuses on how the process of completing my project
that included the above brief main steps will assist me to apply this knowledge to my business’
future operations as well identify how this learning process expanded my thinking as well as
developed my skills as future business leader.

1.1. Learning goals and expectations

At the beginning, my major expectations were to understand step by step on how to bid and work
on a client consultancy project. As much as the module outcomes were concerned, the module
attracted my interests due to my enthusiasm to become a consultant, hence my learning goal was
to master the principles of applied management research as well as be able to critically apply
range of business related tools, frameworks and concepts in the solution of a business issue.

1.2. Learning Methodologies

Richardson (2005) discussed three types of learning approaches that are mostly applied by
students: Surfaced learning where students attempt to memorize the course materials for
assessment purpose; the Strategic learning approach where they focus on marking criteria with
the aim to score higher in exam; and Deep learning approach that is based on understanding the
course materials and seen as the most recommended. Given my curiosity in picking up the key
module concepts due to its perceived importance in shaping up my career as a business
consultant, I have chosen to adopt a deep learning from the beginning to the end of the module.
This has been achieved by careful reading of course materials and following instructions,
researching industry-related projects and reports, reading relevant studies, papers and articles as
well as discussing with my peers through the USW’s VLE and other self-managed platform such
as WhatsApp and Facebooks etc. Finally, I used reflective learning to internalize my learning as
advised by Boxer (1978) and Mezirow, (2011, p.1) who recognizes that learning and reflecting
increases professional effectiveness.

2. ASSUMPTIONS
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After reading the course materials available in the USW’s VLE, I clearly understood that every
business has different activities, products or projects that are intended to respond to a business
need. The B2B mobile app is one of the company X's new projects, which aims to promote the
visibility of the company, create a direct marketing channel, bring value to its customers, create a
brand and recognition , improve customer engagement and help the company compete and
cultivate customer loyalty (Dan, 2017; Rose, 2017).

In discussions with my peers in a separate WhatsApp group, one of our colleagues said that
defining project requirements is the next step after setting project goals. This led us to conclude
on the potential for clarity of business requirements. Our idea was completed by Stroud (2018)
who points out that “One opportunity for improvement involves making reasonable estimates of
how big a project is and how much it is going to cost”.
Going through the readings, I realized that once company’s requirements are not clearly defined,
we can spend tremendous time and resources but fail to respond to the exact business needs as
argued by Faisal (2018) who claimed a risk of mismatch between what has been designed and
what is actually needed.
As I wish to embark on a business-consulting career, it has been very beneficial for me to note
that the requirements of the clients must be clear so that I can work to meet their professional
objectives. Otherwise, if the requirements are not predetermined, it is important to start by
identifying them according to the goals and objectives of the company. This necessities a
business analysis to identify the requirements that, when identified for the first time, are really
presented as business needs, desires, suggestions or ideas, as Kupersmith et al.(2018) has pointed
out.
In conducting a business analysis, I will always make sure to focus on the main categories of
requirements - business requirements, stakeholder requirements, solution requirements, transition
requirements, and technology requirements (Kupersmith et al., 2018).
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Illustration by Wiley, Composition Services Graphics

Because these requirements are conditions or capabilities needed to achieve a business objective,
to satisfy standards or to solve a problem; I learnt that it’s important to provide a documented
presentation of these requirements to help analysts or stakeholders understand the requirements
of the solution, as well as the components they are responsible for creating.

Insofar as the business requirements documentation details the business solution for a project,
including documentation of the customer's needs and expectations (Bia, 2018), I realized that it is
potential to define the scope of activities, to evaluate the time and resources needed to complete
a project. As a consultant, Thomas (2018) and Bpayne & Watt (2018) advised using
collaborative discovery sessions, observations, stakeholder discussions, interviews, tangible and
prioritized business / user requirements, a documented scope to prevent scope creep, a definition
of target audience, use cases for solution; and finally use a series of facilitated workshops
involving system stakeholders to analyze identified needs. With that in mind, I now believe I am
able to identify or assume what is needed to improve a business and summarize all the necessary
information.

3. ETHICS AND VALUES

A careful reading of the client project during the second week of the course helped me to better
understand the purpose of the company X to create a B2B mobile app with the goal of increasing
its competitive advantage by improving customer-business interactions. By understanding the
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aim of the client and the rationale for the project, I could then understand the project
deliverables. In analyzing the client issues that need to be answered / solved, I followed
Stephens' (2018) tips to summarize the project's objectives in several clear bullet points. The
recommended requirements investigation methods were based on industrial studies and case
studies.

When identifying the client requirements, I was inspired by Kahler (1975) and Marianna (2018)
who discussed the key drivers and ethical conducts on the workplace, especially on a consulting
project. They held me responsible for the client's project by applying an aggressive, fast and
action-oriented attitude in order to provide a perfect job within the given deadlines. The fact that
I could not be satisfied with what I had already done but rather constantly reviewed in the
interest of my client, this behavior contributed a lot in identifying the client objectives and
requirements (Authenticity Consulting, 2018). My intention was to make enough discoveries to
further investigate the problem reported by the client so that my recommendations would not
cause any harm or be destructive to my client due to inadequate information-based advice. As an
advisor, I knew that I could neither hide some potential discoveries for my client nor push my
point of view, which goes far beyond what the evidence of the discovery process revealed in the
client's organization (Vallini, 2007). Because I was appointed to help the client, I understood that
I have to keep client information confidential; hence, my bid report contained different
monitoring and evaluation meetings with the Company X’s executives rather than with entry-
level employees to avoid creating a climate of trust by sharing confidential impressions of what I
might conclude about the CEO. In all cases, I made sure not to advise beyond my expertise/
industry evidences, avoided anything that could create conflicts of interest or create a
dependency on my client or my client towards me (Vallini, 2007; Marianna, 2018; Stephens,
2018).

It was therefore, believed that all the principles and values that governed my practices in order
to avoid decisions that could harm the client, reflect the corporate social responsibility.

4. TIME MANAGEMENT
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From the early beginning I considered my course as a new project whose activities must be
completed on schedule and balanced with my normal professional activities. Despite some
difficulties, I managed to devote an hour and a half a day to all school activities and to leave the
rest of my time to my normal work. Failure to follow my plan has always resulted in multi-
tasking and skimming which reduced my efficiency and effectiveness. This experience has
taught me a lot about how important it is for project leaders to plan and schedule their activities,
one major tool being a Gantt chart.
Reflecting on the role of the Gantt chart, Noah (2016) inspired my thoughts: "By not getting
ready, you are preparing to fail." “A Gantt chart is an assurance that we have a plan,” he added.
Taylor & McDonough (2013) and Margaret (2007) emphasized the need for a Gantt chart;
pointing out that a project may have several activities and tasks spanning several months and
depending on another. Since some tasks cannot start until others are completed, I learned that
managers can write them down, but it can sometimes be difficult to understand the meaning of a
document describing a project of this type. Therefore, using a pectoral method such as the Gantt
chart to manage the project would be more efficient.
Reflecting on the benefits of a project Gantt chart, I realized that it is a coordination tool, which
helps to break down projects into manageable sets of tasks and reduce the potential of
overburdening teams as suggested by Taylor & McDonough (2013). This saves time by
replacing meetings because of the ability of the Gantt chart to provide clarity that allows team
members and project stakeholders to easily understand the task progress and their role in a
process, while apprehending how the independent elements work together to complete the
project.

On the other hand, a reflection on my previous experience with the Gantt chart reminded me of a
moment when my team was disappointed due to feeling control over the plan, which led me to
think that the definition of certain deadlines for future actions may have a negative impact on
how to handle tasks, depending on the team. My other observation concerns the difficulty of
Gantt chart to appear on a sheet of paper, the way it can become extremely complex, the size of
the bar that does not indicate the amount of work and its need to be constantly updated as
recommended by Tomek (2016).
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In all, I found the Gantt chart as a time-saving tool because of its ability to break down activities,
to indicate the sequence and duration of each task, to determine who will be responsible for each
task and to visualize in advance the resource usage as well as identify problems that project team
may encounter to make relevant decisions.

5. LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE AND MOVING FORWARD

At the beginning of this course, I had never submitted a bid for a consultancy work but I had
worked on some consultancies such as developing a strategic plan and proposals for some
organizations. Passionate about consulting, I was very happy to learn that I would act as
consultant and develop a bid report, which I had never done before.

Reading the nature of the module and available course materials in the Virtual Learning
Environment (VLE) depicted my first step into the course. However, having worked with
nonprofits and being familiar with business strategies, I thought that identifying relevant need in
my organization could work best for me; but given my recent commercial real estate initiative, I
was advised to work on the” Client Project Five” " so that my experience could further my future
business aspirations. Discussed below is my learning experience.

5.1. Learning from experience

My chosen client project was to develop a consultation proposal for conducting an exploratory
study that determines the necessary requirements for the design, development and
implementation of a B2B mobile application for the client, company X. The choice of project
was based on the perceived future needs of my recent entrepreneurial real estate initiative, where
the current needs are to develop a mobile business application in line with the current market
situation. In this regard, I needed the experience that could help me to learn more about the
project requirements. I therefore noted the invaluable importance of choosing this project, which
will undoubtedly contribute to my business.

Reflecting on my current business needs in relation to the client project, I have identified similar
project requirements. Going through the readings, especially the software industrial case studies
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and research findings, I understood that I would use the same process and study method
recommended in my management project report. My assertion to take the recommended process
while investigating the business requirements, is based on the fact that my propositions were
based on approved requirements elicitation methods that collect information from different users,
customers and stakeholders by organizing meetings, interviews, questionnaires, brainstorming
sessions, prototypes, etc. (Rafiq et al., 2004). Given that industry experts, such as Dunne &
Brooks (2004), have advocated the use of case studies, my study will also draw on them to help
me analyze and criticize in a meaningful way the problems or risks of previous projects, the
analytical tools used in terms of quantity and quality, make decisions on complex situation and
easily copy with ambiguity.

Furthermore, as a business consultant, bidding on client project depicts the primary step in
getting a job. Stephens (2018), who highlighted the consulting steps and procedures, inspired me.
In this regard, and particularly in software development, the recommended requirements
elicitation methods will be central in the identification of the functional, structural and resource
requirements of B2B applications. Although this is not a single answer to all the questions, I
learned that all three types of requirements are important for different business analyzes and I
will make sure to identify them before different undertakings.

Going back to my current business, which presents similar needs for B2B application, I was not
able to understand the project requirements before and had never thought of a necessity to
conduct such a scoping study. My work on the BS4D03 will now serve as a reference point in
conducting a study by my own, which will help me to determine the necessary project requirements prior to
hiring a software developer who will be required to definitely implement my recommendations. The clarity
and similarity of our business goals as well as the requirements investigation methods approved and
recommended by reputable industry experts and case studies, allow me to no longer wonder about the study
methods beyond those proposed in my bid report. I will immediately conduct the study through the same
process and once the requirements are determined, they should be communicated to the software developer,
should we decide to hire an external freelancer.
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Beyond my business situation, the course informed me on the proper way to write a winning bid for client
projects and on the key requirements that I need to investigate or analyze. I will make sure to adapt the
process to the nature and situation of my client’s business project. I will also do the same process if I come
across similar client project in my usual business.

5.2. My actions and next steps

While I believe to have strong takeaway from this very important course, I intend to devote
myself fully to business and project consultancy with full confidence of knowing the entire
process. I am also open to gaining and consolidating my knowledge and experience from this
course by enrolling in relevant online training, participating in professional workshops to
improve my skills, and trying to apply the learning to my daily work routine to successfully bid
for and work on my future projects.

The findings and proposed study methods will be used to investigate my B2B mobile application
requirements, which is believed to comprehensively inform our project implementation in real
estate industry. The same requirements elicitation methods are also believed to be referred to
when conducting a scoping study for my upcoming e-commerce project.

6. CONCLUSION

This course built on my previous knowledge of the key business functions (Finance, Marketing
and Operations) to prepare me for business consulting career and as the future business leader. I
understood the important steps and procedures relating to project bidding/tendering, the key
projects requirements and the underlying study methods.

As a consultant and the future business leader, the clarity of project aims and objectives depicts a
potential starting point, especially in determining the business requirements. The use of industry
information will help me to provide evidence of my suggestions and convince clients about my
ability to satisfy their business needs by applying a comprehensive and holistic approach.
Furthermore, an A3 map and Gantt chart are important communication tools that summarize the
client problem, solutions and improvement suggestions as well as the project’s important steps
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and timeframe. In reflection of my learning experience, I can see clear evidence of improvement
in my ability to critically appreciate different principles of applied management research as well
as the ability to apply a range of business tools, frameworks and concepts in the solution of a
given business issue.

REFERENCE

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Bia (2018). Business Analyst Learning Programs. Identifying, Collecting, Analyzing and
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programs/business-analyst-learning-programs/identifying-collecting-analyzing-and-
documenting-business-and-customer-requirements/ [Accessed on 14 October 2018]
Bpayne and Watt A. (2018). Project Management. Scope Planning. [Online]. Available from:
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Dan S. (2017). 7 Reasons Why Small Businesses Need Mobile Apps. [Online]. Available from:
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September 2018]
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Dunne, D. and Brooks, K. (2004).Teaching with Cases (Halifax, NS: Society for Teaching and
Learning in Higher Education), ISBN 0-7703-8924-4
Faisal E. (2018). Business Requirements Analysis. Clearly agreeing what you are going to
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John T. E. Richardson (2005) Students’ Approaches to Learning and Teachers’ Approaches to
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Thomas D. (2018). Requirements Analysis Consulting. [Online]. Available from:

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