In this assignment you are expected to produce a PID (Project Initiation Document). So you will need to produce a Work Breakdown Structure, Four Field maps with Gateways, and a Gantt chart.

Plus a written description to fill out the proposal (not exceeding 2000 words of 1.5 line spaced text), which should also list the key stakeholders. This is an individual assignment and the marks scored will count towards your grade for this module.

The Brief

Made in Middlesex has received a sum of money (7,500) from five wealthy Middlesex Alumni, all of whom, coincidentally, were born in countries whose name ends in .stan.

The money is to sponsor a student travel experience to promote the University. The aim is to travel somewhere unusual and challenging (but, of course, ending in .stan). Students will report back to the sponsors every 3 days via an online blog, and keep a good photographic record for a presentation in the University after the travel is completed. The blog will be made available to all Middlesex Alumni who have featured in the Made in Middlesex promotion (approximately 30 people). These Alumni will also be invited to attend a fund-raising dinner reception in London to accompany your presentation (via video conference, which the University will provide), thereby recouping a major portion of the sponsorship money.

The sponsors have specified that the money is to cover the cost of you and two other students aged 20-25. Students must be physically fit and capable of walking/hiking long distances (which might be necessary if your transport fails!). The trip must include the following:

A visit to Kazakhstan, including a visit to Charyn canyon and a viewing of a rocket launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. If the Cosmodrome visit is not achievable you must at least stay close enough to see a launch (and on a day when a launch is due to take place). Kazakhstan is home to several environmental catastrophe areas caused directly by their former Soviet rulers. You must select and visit one of these.

You are further required to visit ONE other country ending in stan. You should aim to see at least one of the major tourist attractions in that country, including a visit to the capital city. You must promote Middlesex University in some way during the trip. You may need to go via other (nonstan) countries.

Your starting point is your home campus (London, Malta, Mauritius or Hong Kong). You are only allowed to use air flights for the initial outward and final return journey from/to your starting point.

Known Constraints

Visas are required in most of the .stan countries. UK government (Foreign Office) issues travel advice for all these countries. Your holiday must be not less than 2 or more than 6 weeks. You must plan to use public transport where possible. Car rental is also possible in some countries, as is hitch hiking, but not air travel other than as specified above. You will have to exclude Afghanistan: it is just too dangerous to travel there. Wi-Fi and cell phone connections are limited in remote regions. You will need to consider whether to take camping equipment.

Unknown constraints and risks

You will have to consider what these are.

The Budget

Obviously the main items of expenditure are going to be travel, food and accommodation. Assume that the planning and management of the presentation dinner will be handled and paid for by the University. You are not allowed to use the services of a travel agent. You will need to give indicative costs for each phase of the project/ travel sector in the PID. It should be possible to achieve the objectives for considerably less than the sponsorship money available, and you should try to avoid spending the full amount available.

Some guidelines for a Project Initiation Document

The Project Initiation Document (PID) is effectively the "contract" for the project (between the project manager and the project board.) It should set out, as a minimum:-

• What the project is aiming to achieve?
• Why it is important to achieve it?
• Who will be involved in managing the process and what are their responsibilities?
• How and when will the project be undertaken?

The PID has to answer the above questions to a sufficient level of detail to help maintain control of the project. You will need to think about timing of all activities. You will need to think about what to pack and who is going to carry any items the use of which are shared.

The aim of this coursework is for you to demonstrate your knowledge of Project Management techniques which we have covered in the course so far.