Project Organisation will explore the Portfolio, Program, and Project environment, and how communication is key to ensuring outcomes across all levels of an organisation. This will involve understanding the way that projects are selected and initiated, and how project outcomes are realised.

Using a theoretical lens, the way organisations set up and manage their project environments will be explored, with the aim to evaluate the benefits and limitations in the way that decision frameworks, committees, and communication techniques are implemented.

The aim for this course is to equip students with the skills required to manage the project organisations needed to produce quality outcomes.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. identify key project organisational roles
2. define the organisational components for project management
3. discuss key communication strategies for project management
4. discuss strengths and weaknesses of project management initiation methods
5. implement portfolio and program management principles
6. appraise methods to determine the success of projects
7. apply theoretical frameworks to identify challenges in project organisations and develop evidence-based solutions for effective project management.

Research-Led Teaching

Research-led Teaching and Instruction: The course uses management theory and research drawn from high-quality peer-reviewed literature and materials. Students are encouraged to engage with contemporary management studies and literature. ANU provides world-class library facilities so that students have the best access to high-quality peer-reviewed literature: http://anulib.anu.edu.au/ (http://anulib.anu.edu.au/)

Field Trips

There are no field trips in this course.

Additional Course Costs

There should be no additional class costs in this course.

Examination Material or equipment

There is a final, in person oral examination in this course. The examination is not a hurdle assessment. A full briefing, including an explanation of the rubric, will be conducted in the Week 12 seminar.

Required Resources

These three monographs will be referred to frequently in the course. They are available online through the ANU Library. There is no need to purchase them.

Zwikael, O., & Smyrk, J. R. (2019). Project Management: A Benefit Realisation Approach (1st ed. 2019.). Springer International Publishing AG. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03174-9

Gray, C. F., & Larson, E. W. (2018). Project management : the managerial process (Seventh edition).

Project Management Institute. (2025). The standard for project management and a guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (8th edition.).

Other readings and audio-visual resources will be provided on Canvas or through the ANU Library.

Recommended Resources

Whether you are on campus or studying online, there are a variety of online platforms you will use to participate in your study program. These could include videos for lectures and other instruction, two-way video conferencing for interactive learning, email and other messaging tools for communication, interactive web apps for formative and collaborative activities, print and/or photo/scan for handwritten work and drawings, and home-based assessment.

ANU outlines recommended student system requirements to ensure you are able to participate fully in your learning. Other information is also available about the various Learning Platforms you may use.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Other Information

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI use is rapidly growing in all sectors, particularly the use of Large Language Models, of which there are many proprietary brands. In this course, students may choose to use or not use AI tools. In any case where AI tools are used, the student must do so in a way consistent with the ANU Academic Integrity principles for use of GenAI, as well as accurately cite and reference what tools were used, and advise in an appendix how they used the tool. Guidance on how to do this appropriately is provided in the assessment requirements on the course Canvas page, and the ANU provides further broad guidance in the ANU Gen AI LibGuide. As part of handling a potential breach of academic integrity, students are reminded that they may be requested to meet with the Convenor to discuss any assessment submission, including responding to questions on the content of submissions and their understanding of the course concepts assessed by the submission.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Seminar, Introduction to the Course. Project Organisation. Briefing on Assessment.	Practice Test - not counted towards final mark for course.
2	Seminar - Project Organisation	In-class Tests Quesion Set 1
3	Seminar - Project Organisation	In-class Tests Quesion Set 2
4	Seminar - Project Organisation	In-class Tests Quesion Set 3
5	Seminar - Project Organisation	In-class Tests Quesion Set 4
6	Seminar - Program Organisation.	In-class Tests Quesion Set 5
7	Seminar - Program Organisation.	In-class Tests Quesion Set 6
8	Seminar - Program Organisation.	In-class Tests Quesion Set 7
9	Seminar - Portfolio Organisation.	In-class Tests Quesion Set 8
10	Seminar - Portfolio Organisation.	In-class Tests Quesion Set 9
11	Seminar - Portfolio Organisation.	In-class Tests Quesion Set 10
12	Course Review. Final briefing for Oral Exam
13	End of Semester Examination Period	Oral Interview Exams

Tutorial Registration

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Weekly Tests Series (50% - Individual)	50 %	*	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Oral Exam (50% - Individual)	50 %	09/12/2026	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Extenuating Circumstances Application
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Canvas’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Students are advised to attend all seminars in line with the “Code of Practice for Teaching and Learning” clause 2 paragraph (b). There will be Tests conducted in the seminars in Weeks 2 to 11. All seminars will be recorded.

Examination(s)

There is a final, in person oral examination in this course. The examination is not a hurdle assessment.

Assessment Task 1

Weekly Tests Series (50% - Individual)

There will be ten in-class Tests (equally weighted) conducted from Week 2 to Week 11 inclusive.

They will comprise selected response and/or convergent short answer questions with the answers recorded on paper. These will be closed-book tests. They will assess the learning of class preparation materials and the revision of content.

Qualitative feedback will be provided in class, and quantitative progress feedback will be provided weekly. Students will receive quantitative feedback for the Test Series from Weeks 2, 3, 4 and 5 by the Census date of 31 August. The final mark for the Test Series will be calculated based on the aggregated score for the ten tests and will be communicated to students in Week 12.

This is not a hurdle assessment.

Late submissions will not be accepted, and extensions will not be available. Students with circumstances that impact their ability to complete these tasks should request the appropriate support (e.g. ECA via ANUHub, discuss with the course convenor in advance for EAP adjustments).

Assessment Task 2

Oral Exam (50% - Individual)

The purpose of this assessment is to evaluate a student's ability to engage in informed discourse about, and critique of, project, program and portfolio principles, processes and evidence-based theory. Discussion prompts may include success factors and challenges encountered in case studies discussed in class, as well as the conceptual content covered. Students will be interviewed individually, in person on campus during the end-of-semester exam period for thirty minutes. The interview will be recorded, which will enable later validation and verification of the assessment if required.

Approximately one-third of the interview will cover the special topic or case study provided to students in Week 10, and the remainder will cover material presented and/or discussed in the seminars. Electronic devices will not be permitted.

The interview will be divided into two parts:

1. Prompts (questions) for discussion of the special topic or case study.
2. Prompts about key concepts and ideas from the course.

For each part, there will be a pool of prompts, and a subset will be randomly assigned to each student.

The examinations will be kept as relaxed and conversational as possible.

The main objective is to authentically assess the sophistication with which students discuss and apply key learnings from the course.

Students' responses to each prompt will be rated using a rubric based on a compressed version of the SOLO taxonomy (Biggs, J. B., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for quality learning at university: What the student does ):

• Unsatisfactory (Prestructural understanding): the student hasn't really understood the point and uses too simple a way of going about it. Students in the pre-structural stage of understanding usually respond to prompts with irrelevant comments.
• Developing (Unistructural understanding): The student's response only focuses on one relevant aspect. Students in the unistructural stage of understanding usually give slightly relevant but vague answers that lack depth.
• Proficient (Multistructural understanding): The student's response focuses on several correct and relevant aspects, but they are treated independently and additively.  
• Exemplary (Relational/Extended abstract understanding): The different aspects have become integrated into a coherent whole. At the relational stage, students can identify various patterns and view a topic from distinct perspectives and may be able to abstract to a higher level.

Late submissions will not be accepted, and extensions will not be available. Students with circumstances that impact their ability to complete these tasks should request the appropriate support (e.g. ECA via ANUHub, discuss with the course convenor in advance for EAP adjustments).

The mark for this assessment will be released concurrently with the final marks and grades for the course.

This is not a hurdle assessment.

A full briefing, including an explanation of the rubric, will be conducted in the Week 12 seminar in conjunction with the Course Review.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.

Requests for Assessment Adjustment (e.g. Extenuating Circumstances Application) should be submitted via ANUHub

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material. Any use of artificial intelligence must be properly referenced. Failure to properly cite use of Generative AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity.

Returning Assignments

Please see the relevant assessment task details under the Assessment tab/section.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Not applicable.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Accessibility for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents all ANU students