Students
BUSA8031 – Business Analytics Project
2021 – Session 1, Special circumstances
Notice
As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.
To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.
General Information
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| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Babak Abedin
|
|---|---|
| Credit points |
Credit points
10
|
| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
40cp at 8000 level including BUSA8000
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| Corequisites |
Corequisites
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| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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| Unit description |
Unit description
This unit provides a platform for students to exercise the knowledge and skills that they have gained in previous units in the Master of Business Analytics. The major component of the unit is a project, where students will actively engage with a significant problem or set of problems in the area of analytics. Group work engages students in the challenges of interpersonal communication, task allocation, coordination and control. Students will gain an insight into the analytical problems faced by organisations and be able to contextualise their graduate capabilities into the final business project. The unit will consider key issues, concepts and frameworks of analytics ethics, and social responsibility, and how these can be applied to policy and practice. The class is conducted through lectures, workshops and discussions where students will develop an analytical solution around the client partner's specified information-based problem. Throughout the unit, the emphasis is on the analysis process: identifying information needs, acquiring the necessary information, interpreting it and using it as the basis for strategic recommendations. |
Important Academic Dates
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- ULO1: Successfully work in teams and reflect on teamwork strategies in achieving group objectives.
- ULO2: Recognise and apply different perspectives on organisation problems in order to best frame possible solutions.
- ULO3: Design and conduct an organisational and industry analysis to assess and resolve contextual constraints of a client organisation.
- ULO4: Deliver an effective and well-justified data analytic solution.
- ULO5: Examine Business Analytics contribution to individuals, organisations and society and predict the ethical implications relating to the use of data analytics for these stakeholders.
General Assessment Information
Assessment criteria for all assessment tasks will be provided on the unit iLearn site.
It is the responsibility of students to view their marks for each within-session-assessment on iLearn within 20 days of posting. If there are any discrepancies, students must contact the unit convenor immediately. Failure to do so will mean that queries received after the release of final results regarding assessment tasks (not including the final exam mark) will not be addressed.
Late submissions and extensions
Tasks 10% or less – No extensions will be granted. Students who have not submitted the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved.
Tasks above 10% - No extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission – 20% penalty). This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved. No submission will be accepted after solutions have been posted.
Assessment Tasks
| Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Report | 30% | No | 05/03/21, 02/04/21, 21/05/21 |
| Client briefing report | 10% | No | 23/04/21 |
| Client Report and Presentation | 60% | No | 01/06/21 |
Personal Report
Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 05/03/21, 02/04/21, 21/05/21
Weighting: 30%
Students will reflect and write three short reports, worth 10% each, regarding the impact the following experiences/topics have had on them: 1) Learning experience across their Master of Business Analytics. 2) Teamwork. 3) Ethics.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Successfully work in teams and reflect on teamwork strategies in achieving group objectives.
- Deliver an effective and well-justified data analytic solution.
- Examine Business Analytics contribution to individuals, organisations and society and predict the ethical implications relating to the use of data analytics for these stakeholders.
Client briefing report
Assessment Type 1: Professional writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 23/04/21
Weighting: 10%
Students will provide a report on their individual interpretation of the briefing, recognition of potential problems and perspectives on potential solutions, for the client organisation.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Recognise and apply different perspectives on organisation problems in order to best frame possible solutions.
- Deliver an effective and well-justified data analytic solution.
- Examine Business Analytics contribution to individuals, organisations and society and predict the ethical implications relating to the use of data analytics for these stakeholders.
Client Report and Presentation
Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 55 hours
Due: 01/06/21
Weighting: 60%
Students will be required to work in teams on a client organisation issue. Students will be required to: 1) Submit a short group progress report on their progress to date, any issues that have been dealt with and the likely outcomes of their analysis, in the weeks preceding the Client Report and Presentation. 2) Write a professional group report for the client organisation. 3) Deliver a formal presentation to the client organisation. Each student will be individually assessed for their presentation skills (worth 10%).
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Successfully work in teams and reflect on teamwork strategies in achieving group objectives.
- Recognise and apply different perspectives on organisation problems in order to best frame possible solutions.
- Design and conduct an organisational and industry analysis to assess and resolve contextual constraints of a client organisation.
- Deliver an effective and well-justified data analytic solution.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
- the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
- the Writing Centre for academic skills support.
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
Delivery and Resources
Classes
The unit is comprised of 13 x 3-hour seminars in weeks 1 to 13. Each weekly seminar includes recorded content coupled with Zoom Q&A sessions and class activities. The unit will be primarily offered online with a possibility of some face to face interactions (which will be confirmed in discussion with students).
Students can join weekly Zoom sessions. The link and passcode will be made available on iLearn homepage.
Group Work
Group work is an inherent requirement for completing this unit satisfactorily.
Required unit materials and/or recommended readings
Textbook
No formal textbook has been set for this unit. None suits the range of topics introduced here.
Recommended Readings
As a Capstone Unit, we will have some recommended readings included in the iLearn website for this unit so that we can better understand the context in which we are applying our analytical knowledge.
Technology used and required
We will make use of RapidMiner for predictive and prescriptive analytics as well as data-visualisation software Power BI. Free academic license is available for RapidMiner and Power BI is freely available to Macquarie university students in the semester, and students will be given instructions for using these programs remotely.
Unit Web Page
Course material is available on the learning management system (iLearn). The general online website is http://ilearn.mq.edu.au
Unit Schedule
Tentative Schedule of Weekly Topics
- Week 1 | Welcome & Introduction
- Week 2 | Decision Making Soft Skills & Hard Skills
- Week 3 | Business Analytics Project Framework
- Week 4 | Case Study / Guest Speaker
- Week 5 | Case Study/ Guest Speaker
- Week 6 | Project Management Essentials
- Week 7 | Case Study / Guest Speaker
- Week 8 | Case Study / Guest Speaker
- Week 9 | Case Study / Guest Speaker
- Week 10 | Case Study / Guest Speaker
- Week 11 | Business Analytics Career Planning
- Week 12 | Feedback on Client Report and Presentation
- Week 13 | Client Report and Presentation
Policies and Procedures
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
- Academic Appeals Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progression Policy
- Assessment Policy
- Fitness to Practice Procedure
- Grade Appeal Policy
- Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public
- Special Consideration Policy
Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.
Student Code of Conduct
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct
Results
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Student Support
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Student Services and Support
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
Student Enquiries
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
IT Help
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Unit information based on version 2021.02 of the Handbook