BM522 Project management Assignment Brief 2026 | Buckinghamshire New University

Assignment task

UNDP’s AI-Driven Solar Microgrid Expansion in Energy-Deprived Regions.

Over 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia lack reliable electricity, forcing reliance on polluting biomass fuels. This energy poverty costs $9 billion annually in health and environmental damages (UNDP 2024) and impedes SDG 7 (Affordable Energy). A 2025 World Bank audit highlighted fragmented grid systems and funding misallocation as key barriers.

The UNDP has partnered with PennyTech Global to deploy AI-optimized solar microgrids in 10 high-need nations. The systems use weather-predictive algorithms to balance energy loads and blockchain for transparent donor fund tracking.

Phased Rollout:
2026: Pilot in Kenya’s arid counties (50,000 households).
2027–28: Scale to Nigeria, Bangladesh; train 2,000 locals in microgrid maintenance.
2029: Full deployment, targeting 5 million beneficiaries.

Budget: $75 million (50% from Green Climate Fund). Risks include land-rights disputes and cybersecurity in blockchain systems. Success metrics: 40% reduction in household energy costs, 15 million tons CO2 avoided by 2030.

The management has asked you to prepare a 1500 (+/- 10%) word report, the project titled “UNDP – AI for Inclusive Energy Access,” is expected to start on 11th Oct 2025. The project Plan report needs to be prepared and submitted by 23rd Mar 2025. The team includes engineers, local governance representatives, and ethicists addressing data privacy in rural communities.

Activity Scheduling Information

Task 1 [15 marks]

The project management plan must begin by providing a justification for the project, specifically a compelling business case that outlines the project objectives and deliverables. Next, compare various project methodologies, followed by a critical analysis of which methodology would be most appropriate for this project and why. This analysis should be supported with justification and examples of where the selected methodology has been successfully used in the past, as well as the benefits of using this methodology for your project.

Task 2 [25 marks]

(i) Develop a network diagram in MS excel or MS word or manually on paper as taught (activities on arrows) clearly showing the relationship between all the activities listed above, the dependencies, the likely duration for each activity, the likely completion date (expected total project time). Calculate the earliest starting time, the latest starting time (EST, LST) and the earliest finishing time and latest finishing time (EFT, LFT) for each activity including an outline description of the critical path, highlighting the critical activities and the shortest possible time in days in which the project can be completed as scoped above. (Give reasons for your choice).

(ii) Using Microsoft project i.e. MS Project, represent the activity list above in a Gantt Chart.

Task 3 [20 Marks]

Undertake a stakeholder analysis for this project. This analysis should clearly identify at least five internal and external stakeholders and group them according to their interest and power using a stakeholder management matrix. Additionally, develop communication strategies for each stakeholder group.

Task 4 [10 Marks]

Using the activity list above, develop a clearly numbered Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for this project.

Task 5 [15 Marks]

You are required to prepare a Risk Analysis for at least 15 different risks that could affect your project. Analyse the risks involved and develop strategies for dealing with them in detail. Present your Risk Analysis and Risk Management strategies/mitigations in the form of a table, as taught in class.

Task 6 [15 Marks]

You are required to determine at least 5 quality expectations, acceptance criteria, quality specifications, and the measures to control the event. This information should be organized in a table with the following four headings: Quality Expectation, Acceptance Criteria, Quality Specification, and Control Measures.

Getting Support for Your Assignment

Your first point of advice should be the person setting the assignment or the module leader.

If you need more general support with your studies (e.g. academic writing, referencing, critical thinking) then the Student Learning and Achievement Team can support development of your academic skills.

This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcomes:

• LO1: Evaluate and explain the major factors and performance requirements of project management.

• LO2: Plan projects using appropriate project management software.

• LO3: Analyse and critically evaluate projects using an appropriate industry standard methodology.

Practicalities: Referencing, presenting and submitting your work

Please ensure that your work is referenced in Harvard referencing style in the programme handbook style. Guidance on using this style correctly is available at https://www.citethemrightonline.com/

• Follow the course guidelines regarding submitting work, as below (e.g. electronic or paper copies).

• Pages should be numbered.

• All work to be submitted as Arial 11 font with line and a half spacing.

• All writing should be in the third person passive.

• Front cover, executive summaries, if used, contents pages, reference lists, all words in tables charts and diagrams are not included in the word count.

• Written work must be word-processed.

• The module title and code must be clearly marked on the report.

• Please reference your work using the Harvard system used to support your argument.

• The report should be professionally formatted and presentable to a business manager.

• Work you submit for assessment must be properly referenced – a guide to the Harvard system of referencing can be found on the Bucks website at bucks.ac.uk/referencing.

• You may seek clarification from the module tutor at any time.

• There is no excuse for failing to submit your work in accordance with the guidance, work that does not meet the necessary standards in that respect will be marked accordingly.

• No collaboration is allowed.

The work should be submitted electronically on LSST Connect using the submission point found under the ‘Upload My Assignment’ link in the relevant module folder.

Confidentiality

You should maintain and respect confidentiality in relation to the protection of personal, technical and/or commercial information of a sensitive nature in your assessed work.

For further information and guidance, please see the University Academic Confidentiality guidance.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity means taking responsibility for your own work and not acting in a way to give you an unfair advantage over another learner. This includes writing in your own words and acknowledging sources you have used. It also covers the appropriate use of Artificial Intelligence.

When you submit an assignment, you are making a declaration that it is your own work and that you have acknowledged the contribution of others and their ideas in its development (for example, by referencing them appropriately).

For further information, please see the following student facing guidance on the University website:

• BNU Student Academic Integrity Guidance

• BNU Artificial Intelligence Guidance for Students

There are also links to resources to support your understanding of Academic Integrity within your Blackboard module sites in the Assessment Information area.