| Unit name | Business Analytics Consulting Project |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EFIMM0144 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Mr. Ola |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Management - Business School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
This unit is important because students will experience many challenges faced when applying business analytics in practice. From working with clients, to identifying suitable problems, dealing with team issues, and convincing people your solution has value. These are skills, beyond the many technical skills you will learn in the MSc Business Analytics programme, which are necessary for applying business analytics effectively and having a positive impact on businesses and organisations.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit compliments the other units in the programme by giving students an opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills to solve a client’s business problem. It exposes students to the messy, uncertain, and unpredictable practice of working with clients; and the challenges of working in a team. For those who choose it, the experience of overcoming such challenges and working as a team to produce a solution (which could never be achieved alone) will prepare students for applying business analytics in practice in a way like no other unit in this programme can.
An overview of content
This unit will provide students with experience in the design and execution of a consultancy/research project in business analytics. Students will develop knowledge of business analytics consulting methods and skills for working with a client, working in a team, managing business analytics projects, and communicating project findings effectively. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to learn the technical knowledge and skills required to develop data analytics solutions for a client’s business problems.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
Upon completion of this unit, students will have formed a deep understanding and appreciation of the challenges of applying business analytics in practice and approaches for overcoming these challenges effectively. Students will be better equipped to deal with uncertainty in project specifications, unpredictability in changing requirements, and the challenges of working with others and selling their ideas to clients and peers. Furthermore, students will be better equipped to successfully select, apply and evaluate business analytics solutions to organisational problems
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit, students will be able to:
ILO 1 - Identify a business problem with the potential to make an original contribution to practice.
ILO 2 - Design a consultancy project that is achievable within the limits of time and resources available and in line with ethical principles.
ILO 3 - Justify and apply appropriate methods to address a business problem.
ILO 4 - Work effectively in a team on the development of a business problem solution that involves the deployment or use of business analytics.
ILO 5 - Justify a workable solution to a problem and illustrate team project findings effectively in spoken and written communication to a range of non-specialist audiences.
Teaching will be conducted over 10 teaching weeks (total 10*3 = 30 hours) across TB2, each week consisting of 1hr asynchronous learning (reading, planning, or analysis tasks) before a 2hr on-campus lectorial or problem-solving workshop. The on-campus sessions will be an opportunity to practice many of the skills required for the summative assessment and will involve deep discussions, case studies, debates, tasks, as well as interesting talks from people in industry. Optional advice and feedback hour sessions for additional support are also available.
Students will be required to do the preparation activities before the on-campus sessions. All learning material will be available on the unit’s Blackboard page. Additional readings and videos will be provided on Blackboard to support students who wish to acquire a deeper understanding of business analytics consulting. The discussion board on Blackboard will also be used to strengthen peer interaction and for students to ask any questions about the unit.
Students are advised to set aside time to review the weekly materials and plan when they will work through them. Good planning will allow students to learn in an efficient and organised manner and can prevent them from stress and anxiety in the long-term run.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Students will receive feedback on their understanding of the unit contents through in-class discussions of reading, planning, and analysis tasks which students will need to complete before each session. Based on the preparation tasks, students will reflect on and communicate strategies and approaches to identify and solve business problems involving the use of business analytics (ILO 1). Students will receive feedback on proposals and designs of their consultancy projects (ILOs 1 and 2), and their ability to justify and apply appropriate business analytics methods through in-class practical exercises (ILO 3). Groups will write provide updates about their project activities to receive feedback about their teamwork (ILO 4) and feedback on students’ ability to communicate effectively will be provided through mock group presentations (ILO 5).
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
1000-word Group Project Plan (20%): Students will need to work in a team to identify and refine a business problem with the potential to make an original contribution to practice, select and justify appropriate methods to address a business problem, and design a consultancy project that is achievable within the limits of time and resources available and in line with ethical principles (ILO1 - ILO4).
3000-word Group Project Report (50%): Students will need to work in a team to develop a business problem solution that involves the deployment or use of business analytics and justify the methods chosen and the workability of the solution to the business problem (ILO3 - ILO5). As part of the project report, students will also need to reflect as a team on their experiences of the group projects and discuss the challenges they faced, how they overcame them, and what they learned. 10-minute Group Project Presentation (30%): Students will need to work in a team to illustrate the team project findings effectively and justify their approach to a range of non-specialist audiences through the medium of a recorded presentation (ILO3 - ILO5). Your final mark for this unit will be based on group work assignments. It is important all team members contribute to the group work, and that this is recognised within the marks. To do this we will use an approach where each group agrees on a distribution of “equity” between group members for each assignment. While it is important to note that this peer assessment may impact your individual grades for this unit, it is anticipated that most functioning groups will distribute the equity equally across group members.
When assessment does not go to plan
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EFIMM0144).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
