Unit Synopsis
The unit introduces you to a wide range of important topics in project management including but not limited to the benefits of project management; project manager's role, responsibilities, organisational strategy, structure and culture; project governance, portfolios and project selection; and project initiation pre-requisites (e.g. business case). You will also learn the foundational elements and definitions within the project management domain (e.g. project life cycle) and analyse factors that contribute to project success in different contexts. The unit exposes you to various aspects of project success and its impacting factors in different contexts.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 1 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 4 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
There are no pre-requisites for the unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026
Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Written Assessment | 50% |
| 2. Practical Assessment | 30% |
| 3. Online Test | 20% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site.
Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 83.33% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 54.55% response rate.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: Student and Unit Teaching Evaluation
One student commented that team assessments are not a good option for an online course, given the geological spread of the team members.
Team based assessments are necessary to assess team working skills which are an essential Learning Outcome in Project Management, as is the ability to work in virtual teams. In future this will be made more explicit in the theory and in the introduction to the group assessment to better prepare students for the challenges of virtual teamwork.
The importance of group work was strongly emphasised and clearly linked to students' future employability and the nature of project-based work in the industry. The Unit Coordinator organised weekly two-hour workshops to support collaboration and group progress. Students who were less engaged were proactively identified, and the UC communicated directly with them to encourage participation. As a result, no further complaints about group work were received.
Source: Student and Unit Teaching Evaluation
Students felt it would be helpful if the assignments could be spread across the term to align with other subjects, and if marking matrices were released with the assignment.
Marking criteria were withheld for two weeks to allow students to approach the assessments task in a holistic way but will be released with the assessments in future. Due dates will be discussed with students to avoid submission clashes with other subjects.
In response to student feedback, marking rubrics have now been released alongside the assessment tasks to provide clearer guidance and expectations from the outset. While the previous approach aimed to encourage a holistic understanding of the task, timely access to criteria was recognised as more beneficial for student learning. Additionally, assessment due dates were discussed with students early in the term to help minimise clashes with other units and better support workload planning.
Source: UC observation
One student experienced an IT problem during the online quiz and could not complete the last three questions.
While the student's grade was not affected, an option for a re-take will be provided in future.
In the future, an option to re-attempt will be made available in cases of verified technical difficulties during online assessments, to ensure fairness and maintain assessment integrity.
Source: SUTE
Some students expressed concerns that attendance would contribute to grades, particularly those enrolled in distance education who valued flexibility.
The Unit Coordinator should review assessment design to ensure flexibility for distance learners and explore alternatives to attendance-based grading.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Group assignments were challenging and perceived as unfair in a distance education format.
The Unit Coordinator should evaluate group assessment requirements for online cohorts and provide enhanced support where group work remains essential.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Students found it difficult to understand many new terms and concepts introduced early in the unit and requested more real-world examples to clarify abstract ideas.
The Unit Coordinator should collaborate with teaching staff to integrate relevant project-based examples and case studies into learning materials.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Students requested that weekly learning materials, including videos, readings, and resources, be released at least one week in advance to allow for better preparation and deeper engagement during sessions.
It is recommended that the Unit Coordinator work with teaching teams to release materials earlier, wherever feasible, to support student preparation and engagement.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Analyse the importance of project management in various organisational contexts
- Identify the project components and processes essential to successful project implementation
- Identify organisational, strategic and resource-related factors important to project selection and prioritisation
- Evaluate and recommend an appropriate project management strategy for a project considering organisational context and stakeholders' expectations.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Practical Assessment | • | • | • | |
| 3 - Online Test | • | • | • | |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | ||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | ||
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | ||
| 5 - Team Work | • | |||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |