Delete this page before submission
Reminder! You need to include a coversheet.
The assignment tab (course site) has a copy for download.
Replace this page with your completed coversheet
[Title Page]
Include the organisation, your name, student ID and this course code at a minimum.
You can customise the title page beyond this minimum :) Word has templates you may wish to use to improve the title page appearance (yes it can look better than this! :)
Delete this page before submissionThe report length needs to be as follows:
Overview of Key Priority: At most 3 paragraphs where 1 paragraph is 6-8 sentences.
· A well-formed priority will contain a “WHAT” followed by a combination of “HOW” and/or “WHY” for a total of 3 components.
· The priority should be written as a single sentence, not in parts. See the workshop and tutorial for examples of how a priority is written in full.
· The priority should be clearly presented on its own line (not embedded in a paragraph).
Dashboard Questions: a maximum of 1 page of writing.
· Each question should be clearly presented followed by a maximum 1 paragraph explanation (per question) to indicate insights gained by this question/capability it offers, the level of management it is aimed at (Strategic, Tactical, Operational) and whether the question is Elementary, Intermediate or Overall level. The layout is further explained in the Dashboard Questions section in this template.
Data and Data Sources: fill in the data table as provided in this template (see the Data and Data Sources section).
· You can customise the table visually as you like, however the column headings and column order should remain unchanged.
Reference list and Word Count: Use the Harvard style of referencing in-text citations. Refer to section on ‘Harvard Rules’ and ‘Harvard Guide’ here
http:
www.unisa.edu.au
eferencing
Include the word count of the submission excluding the title page and references.
Ensure you stay within these limits.
Font Type: up to you, but keep in mind it should be easy to read – make it easy for us to give you marks!
Font Size: minimum 11pt (it shouldn’t look smaller than this!)
Any text or font size smaller than this sentence will incur 0 marks.
(this is too small! Don’t make your text this small!!! )
Delete this page before submissionSuggested Assignment Work Timeline
If you’re not sure how to start the assignment,
a suggested work
eakdown schedule is here.
· Week 1: Write the priority and supporting questions after the Week 1 workshop.
· Follow the requirements in the Presentation Structure and Contents table on p. 12 of the assignment guide. I have further details in the gold box Overview of Key Priority in this template (see the next page).
· Week 2: Write 5 supporting questions after the Week 2 workshop
· Follow the requirements in the Presentation Structure and Contents table on p. 12 of the assignment guide (Insights to be gained from the Dashboard).
· A poorly-written question will make it very difficult for you to find data. See the tips on how to write good questions in this template (gold box, Dashboard Questions section).
· Week 3: Search for reputable supporting data
ewrite questions
· Finding data requires perseverance and thinking outside the box by trying different sites and search terms. I have provided a full page of starting points for data sources (see p. 10 of the assignment guide) which you may find helpful.
· I also have a list of sources to not use on the same page.
· The data you use does not have to be Australian and it does not have to be for the organisation specifically.
You can use sector data or data for a similar organisation (or anything else that you believe is relevant). The point is to show the client what is possible if they use their own data because we do not have access to their internal data warehouse. Sometimes they don’t even have that data themselves, so you’re also educating them on what data they should collect!
· Week 4: Sample Dashboard & References. Write up report in this template.
· Follow the requirements in the Presentation Structure and Contents table on pp XXXXXXXXXXof the assignment guide.
· Finalise your report and SUBMIT!
You have submitted with time to spare and you’re a lot more relaxed aren’t you? I knew you could do it!
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Overview of Key Priority
Provide 2-3 paragraphs, where 1 paragraph is 6-8 lines.
The paragraphs should motivate the priority so by the time the client reads it, they have a clear understanding why this is important and relevant. This is a great place to reference sources to back up your argument
The priority should have at least 3 components (WHAT, WHY and/or HOW). A WHAT component is required, however you can use WHY and HOW as needed. A priority could be WHAT/WHY/WHY, WHAT/WHY/HOW, WHAT/HOW/HOW for example.
Present the priority on a separate line after presenting the motivation for it – do not embed as part of a paragraph – this way it stands out and the client sees it easily.
Present the priority as a single sentence - see the workshop and tutorial for examples. You do not need to write “WHAT”/”WHY”/”HOW” – this is to help you formulate your priority, however the client will only see the final product (a fantastic priority they didn’t think of themselves which is why they need to hire you )
Dashboard Questions
A maximum of 1 page of writing.
Each question should be clearly presented as indicated below:
Question 1
State the question and explain the insights gained/capability it offers, the level of management it is aimed at (Strategic, Tactical, Operational) and whether the question is at the Elementary, Intermediate or Overall level.
Question 2
State the question and explain the insights gained/capability it offers, the level of management it is aimed at (Strategic, Tactical, Operational) and whether the question is at the Elementary, Intermediate or Overall level.
Continue this structure for Questions 3 – 5. You are welcome to rename Question 1, Question 2 to something more meaningful if you wish.
Tips on how to write good questions!
Tip #1 There should be one question per priority component. E.g. if your priority is made up of WHAT-WHY-HOW, there should be one question addressing WHAT, one addressing WHY and one addressing HOW. The remaining two questions can be used to further support the priority as you think necessary (e.g. you may wish to focus on 2 more WHY questions, or 1 WHY and 1 HOW, for instance).
Tip #2 A good question is written as either something that can be measured (including time and money) or counted. If you can’t picture what is being counted or measured, then rephrase or replace the question with something you can picture being counted or measured, and you will have less difficulty with the data section. (continued over)
E.g. questions such as
What are the impacts of the new training program?
are hard to find data for – how do you measure impacts? What would the visualisation look like? I don’t know what to picture in my mind – if you can’t picture it in your mind, you will have a hard time finding data for it.
Questions such as:
How much is spent each year on training programs in across Australia?
can be visualised with a graph because it contains something we can clearly measure (amount spent). E.g. it is easy to picture in our minds – we could use bar charts, we could use map and markers to indicate amount spent at different locations …
Similarly, the question
How many people participate in training programs?
can also be easily visualised as it is something we can count – bar charts, bu
le chart with bu
les by program type, maps …
Data and Data Sources
Present the data as a table following the layout as shown below. You are welcome to customise this table however it is expected these two columns will be presented in your submission.
Each entry under the column Data Item and Data Sources should clearly state which question the data source will support (it is fine to support multiple questions with one data source).
Sample Dashboard
Search on the web for images of a dashboard to include in the proposal to give the CEO/Owner an idea of what you will build. Alternatively, mock one up using Word, PowerPoint or any other software you like. Include captions and explanation of the dashboard.
A full list of requirements can be found in the Assignment Guide (see the table in the Section Written Proposal for Steps 1, 2 + 3: Presentation + Structure).
Sample dashboards are shown on the following pages to inspire your own dashboard design.
References
Follow UniSA standards for all referencing including Harvard style of referencing. This may be different to what you have seen elsewhere, so if you are unsure check your reference following this guide: www.unisa.edu.au
eferencing
Further information is in the Assignment Guide, in the Referencing Guide section (p. 14)
General Presentation Tips:
The marking criteria has allocated 10% of the final mark to presentation.
At a bare minimum we require:
1, The title page should be on a separate page.
2. The overview of the key priority should start on a separate page after the title. All other sections after this overview should flow continuously from one another. Don’t start a new page for any of these sections (4 mark penalty).
We’re looking forward to seeing your own personal style with your final submission
Checklist before submission:
1. You have checked the contents/layout of this report against the Presentation Structure and Contents table in the Assignment Guide (pp XXXXXXXXXXincluding the referencing style.
2. You have checked the contents of this report against the marking guide against the Assignment Part 1 Marking Criteria table (Assignment Guide, p. 5).
3. You have checked the word count is 1200 words +/- 10% XXXXXXXXXXwords). For a full list of what is and is not included in the word count see p.11 of the Assignment Guide.
4. You have deleted all gold boxes (including this one!), the sample dashboards on the following pages as well as the pages explaining the report length page and suggested work timeline.
Remember to delete the gold boxes with instructions before submitting.
We need to remove all evidence of our behind-the-scenes work so the client receives a smooth and professional document.
We can’t give away all of our secrets
Delete this page before submission
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Sample Dashboards!
To help you think about how to clearly present the dashboard capabilities to your client, I have included two examples of dashboards we have seen in the past. You don’t have to follow these exactly, however they may inspire you to think about how you would like to clearly present data