Group Assignment – Process modelling
Document and Workflow Management 6388 / Enterprise Workflow Systems PG 9669
Due Date: Week 7 Monday 25/03/2019 9:00am
Why 9am? Because I would otherwise make it due the Friday before, but I figured you would all appreciate the extra weekend to work on it and marking probably won’t start until Monday anyway.
This assignment will be marked out of 30 marks and is worth 30% of the overall mark for the unit. Please check the unit outline for late penalties. This assignment is a group assignment. In addition to the group report, each individual should also submit an individual peer assessment report to rate the contribution of their peers to the group assignment.
In order to recognise the contributions of individual members in a team environment, the following process will apply:
1. This assignment is group based and marked for the whole group. This initial mark for the assignment is known as the “group mark”.
2. Each individual member of a group will receive a different mark that is calculated from the group mark. These marks are known as the “individual mark”. The individual mark is equal to 50% of the group mark, plus 50% of the group mark adjusted by a scaling factor. This scaling factor is calculated from the ratings provided by other members of the group in the peer review report.
a. Individuals who are rated as contributing more relative to their group members will receive a scaling factor of greater than x1, meaning that they will receive an individual mark that is higher than the group mark.
b. Individuals who are rated as contributing less relative to their group members will receive a scaling factor of less than x1, meaning that they will receive an individual mark that is lower than the group mark. Note that as only 50% of the group mark is adjusted by the scaling factor, the lowest possible mark an individual can receive is 50% of the group mark.
The individual mark has a maximum of 100% of the available marks for the assignment (in other words, you cannot be scaled to above the maximum marks available for this assignment).
Choosing a group for the assignment (before Week 3 Friday 01/03/2019)
To sign up for a group on Canvas, follow the instructions here: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10516
The groups for this assignment are under the “Group Assignment Groups” category on Canvas.
Note that it is mandatory for all group members to be in the same tutorial class, as your tutor will be marking your group assignments.
Self sign up for groups will be closed on the day listed above. If you have any issues with sign up or your group composition, please contact the unit convener as soon as possible. The longer you delay, the less that can be done to resolve any issues!
Groups for this assignment are limited to a maximum of 5 students per group, with no exceptions. Please note that this assignment is intended for groups of 4-5 students, so students in groups smaller than 4 students should expect that more effort and time is required to accomplish equivalent grades. No consideration will be given for groups comprising less than 4 students.
Contents
Due Date: Week 7 Monday 25/03/2019 9:00am 1
Choosing a group for the assignment (before Week 3 Friday 01/03/2019) 2
Submission 3
Maximum submission size: 30 pages 3
Choosing a business process or case for this assignment 4
Contents of group report 5
Cover page 5
Executive summary 5
Process description 5
Process model 6
Formatting and style 6
Contents of individual peer assessment 7
Marking 8
Mark breakdown 8
For all passing grades 8
For a pass 8
For a credit 8
For a distinction 8
For a high distinction 8
Submission
All submissions need to be electronic submissions through Canvas before the due date.
Two submissions are required for this assignment. These should be submitted in the two separate submission boxes on Canvas.
1. One group submission, containing the group cover sheet and group report. Each group needs to submit only once – once one member of the group has submitted, all members of that group should be able to see the submitted files in the Canvas submission box.
• The group cover sheet is to be submitted as either a .docx or a .pdf file, following the “Group Assignment Cover Sheet” template available in the Assignment Resources module on Canvas.
• The report is to be submitted as either a .docx or a .pdf file.
• A larger copy of the process model can also be submitted as additional, separate files in .docx, .pdf, .png, or any other common image file format.
• Additional reference material may also be submitted if needed, but this should be clearly linked to and referred to in the relevant sections of the report.
2. One individual submission for each member of the group, containing the individual peer assessment. Each group member should submit this separately.
• This individual peer assessment report is to be submitted as either a .docx or a .pdf file, using the .docx template provided on the Canvas site.
Maximum submission size: 30 pages
The maximum size for the group report section of the assignment is 30 pages, inclusive of all content (including the cover page, executive summary, contents, etc).
Note that most assignments are expected to be shorter than this 30 page maximum. The limit is a maximum, not an intended assignment size!
Any content past the maximum of 30 pages will not be read by markers and will not be considered when marking the report.
The optional components of a larger copy of the process model and additional reference material will not be counted towards this maximum size.
Choosing a business process or case for this assignment
The assignment should describe the workflow of a business process or case. The process you choose must meet the following criteria:
1. Must be a business process
2. Must involve business-side processing
3. Must involve user or client interaction with the business
4. Must involve at least one decision point during the process
These criteria must be clearly met through the description and model for the process. Assignments that do not meet the above criteria will be penalised -25% of the available marks of the assignment (-7.5 marks) for each criteria not met.
Although they satisfy the criteria above, you cannot choose one of the following examples as the business process or case for this assignment:
• Drive through fast food ordering (as this is the simple example referred to often in lectures)
• Time off / leave requests (as this is the example used in lectures)
• Expense reports (as this is the example used in some of the workshops)
• Onboarding (as this is the other example used in some of the workshops)
Assignments which use these or significantly similar business processes or cases will receive 0 marks for the entire assignment.
Please also note that groups should choose different business processes or cases for this assignment. As this is a group assignment, it is inappropriate for two or groups to collaborate using the same business process or case. Any assignments that use the same or significantly similar business processes or cases as another will be questioned and potentially dealt with under the University’s academic misconduct policies.
Contents of group report
Cover page
This should be the first page of the submitted report.
The cover page should contain the following elements:
• Student ID numbers for all group members
Executive summary
The executive summary should cover all the main points in the report. Note that an executive summary is not an introduction, and it is not just a summary. The executive summary is to be read on its own and should stand by itself as a succinct version of the complete report. A good way to think about the executive summary is that it is a cover letter or cliff notes version of the report – containing the main and important details of the full report.
The executive summary should be a maximum of one (1) page in length. Given the requirement for an executive summary to be readable by itself, I strongly advise that you use all this available length.
The executive summary is not marked separately from the remainder of the assignment and is primarily used as a marking aid so that markers know what to expect in the remainder of the report. The overall quality of the executive summary will be considered in the formatting and style marks.
For this assignment, a good way of writing the executive summary may be to briefly describe the chosen process and how it meets the criteria.
Process description
The report should provide a description of the business process. This should include description, detail, examples, and explanation of the following aspects:
1. An overall summary of the business process, outlining the process and its overall structure
2. Any assumptions made regarding the business process that have influenced the description or model of the process
3. The type of businesses or organisations that the process applies to or could apply to
4. The role of the process in the business or organisation
5. The actors and customer of the process
6. The physical objects of the process - if there are no physical objects, this should be clearly explained and justified
7. The informational objects of the process - if there are no informational objects, this should be clearly explained and justified
8. The outcome(s) of the process
Any potentially questionable or disputable inclusions in your process description should be explained and justified, potentially with reference back to the assumptions made in the process description.
You may also like to submit or link to additional reference material to support your process description,
however any such material should be referenced appropriately in your report.
Process model
The report should provide a model of the previously described process in BPMN format.
The process model should include the following elements at minimum. All elements should be labelled clearly and appropriately.
1. The events, activities, and sequence flows in the process
2. Who the responsible person, people, or party is for each activity in the process
3. A description of what information and other input is required throughout the process, including where the information comes from and when it is used
4. A description of the decision points or branches in the process, the nature of those decisions, and how those decisions are made
5. The ‘primary path’ or ‘expected path’ through the process
The process model, including all details and labels, should be clearly readable in the report. However, you may also like to submit a larger copy of your process model as a separate file, but you should ensure that the process model is readable in your report without resorting to the separate file.
Any potentially questionable or disputable inclusions in your process model should be explained and justified, potentially with reference back to the assumptions made in the process description.
Formatting and style
The assignment should be well-presented, consisting of a logical and well-laid out structure that makes it easy for the marker to find the relevant parts of the assignment. It should have an appropriate cover page. It should have a table of contents and page numbers. It should be easy to read, with correct
spelling and grammar, and use professional language appropriate for a business setting. The executive summary should be appropriately written and within the specified length.
Contents of individual peer assessment
The individual peer assessment must use the .docx template provided on the Canvas site.
Peer assessments which do not follow this template will be ignored.
Individuals who do not submit a valid peer assessment will be considered to rate all of their group members equally (that is, everyone in the group contributed equally to the assignment).
Please note that the individual peer assessment is, by itself, not worth any marks. It will only be used to adjust the individual marks of group members.
Marking
The following is not a formal marking rubric. The following information is provided as a guide only, to assist your study and efforts to complete this assignment.
Mark breakdown
The following outlines the relative weighting of each part of the assignment:
• 40% - Process description
• 40% - Process model
• 20% - Formatting and style (including cover page and executive summary)
For all passing grades
The chosen process is not the same or significantly similar to the examples used in lectures or workshops, or another group’s submission. The chosen process satisfies the criteria as set out in the “Choosing a business process or case for this assignment” section.
For a pass
The required elements for the description and model are all included in the report and are described to a basic standard that includes the necessary information. The report is presented in a readable format without excessive errors in formatting and style.
For a credit
The required elements for the description and model are all included in the report and are described clearly in some detail for the necessary information. The report is presented in an easily readable format without many errors in formatting and style.
For a distinction
The required elements for the description and model are all included in the report and are described in detail, with clearly described examples used to illustrate key elements. At this level, there will be very few remaining ‘unanswered questions’ or concerns regarding the content of the report. The report is presented in an easily readable format with few errors in formatting and style.
For a high distinction
The required elements for the description and model are all included in the report and are clearly and unambiguously described in detail. Clearly explained and described examples are used to illustrate elements and provide additional clarification and justification of design choices. At this level, there will be no remaining ‘unanswered questions’ or concerns regarding the content of the report. The report is presented in an easily readable format with no errors in formatting and style.