The Digital Economy Project Plan
800 words for undergraduates, 1,000 words for postgraduates, submitted individually via Blackboard. This is a template – please delete the instructions in italics before submitting. The following should be the outcome of team discussion. It is fine for parts of this document to be identical to, or overlap substantially with, other team members’ work: directions are given below as to which parts should be your own work.
The following plan is all or mostly based on group discussion and processes: Yes/No – delete as appropriate
– at this early point, groups are naturally going to vary in their level of preparedness addressing each of these issues. If your answer above is ‘Yes’: if the group hasn’t decided or discussed a certain issue by the deadline, in that case, you’d briefly indicate (e.g. “group discussion/pending” or “discussed, decision pending”) and then outline your thoughts on the issue/s. This will be useful for the next time the group meets. If the answer is ‘No’, also outline your thoughts on each issue to the best of your ability and have these at hand for discussion with the group – because you selected, “No,” you don’t have to litter the document with ‘pending’ statements.
1. Guiding statement [Teamwork: overlap encouraged]
This should make it clear which case study you’re drawing on, and the general direction your analysis is currently heading in. For example, it might read something like, “Company X’s success demonstrates that attention can drive sustainable growth online, despite economic downturns.” or “Company Y is facing important challenges which demonstrate the pitfalls of ignoring workers’ rights, especially when workers can draw on the Internet to organise effectively.” Your team isn’t expected to stick closely to your initial statement: it’s just there to get you thinking critically.
2. Project Schedule [Teamwork: overlap encouraged]
Broadly list the phases and milestones for your project from start to completion, including deadlines and the need to incorporate feedback. You may write this as a timeline or table, and your team may have a more detailed timeline elsewhere.
3. Roles and Responsibilities [Teamwork: overlap encouraged]
Identify tasks and roles that will be carried out collectively, and which will be completed by specific individuals. We don’t suggest that you break up the initial research (set readings) between team members, as you’ll all need to have a grasp on the basic concepts to develop your analysis.
Think, in particular, about the work of collaboration. For example, who will coordinate meeting times and deadlines? Which team members will manage editing the document? Will you assign a team member to contact the tutor when necessary?
4. Supporting technologies [Teamwork: overlap encouraged]
Collaborating online requires attention to specific tools which support project management, collaborative writing, and publication which allows for multiple contributors. In this section, you need to list the tools which you will use to support your collaboration, along with which role each will serve. For example:
- Trello: project management (assigning tasks and managing deadlines);
- Google Docs (sharing drafts and collaborative editing);
- Whatsapp (ongoing communication);
- WordPress (publication).
5. Decision-Making Structure [Teamwork: overlap encouraged]
How will decisions be made? What kinds of decisions will you make as a group, and which decisions will be delegated? What if someone, for some reason, can’t take part in a decision?
6. Two Guiding Principles for Effective Online Collaboration [Complete individually]
We recommend that you leave at least 400 words for this (if you are an undergraduate) or 600 words (if you’re a postgraduate).
In this section, you should outline two principles that will inform your collaboration on this project. This needs to be evidence-based: draw on appropriate research to reflect on how you want to contribute to a healthy work culture.
Postgraduates are expected to draw on a relevant case study from the digital economy for at least one of the case studies.
7. References in 6th APA format (not included in word count)
The majority of your project plan should not require references, but you are expected to support your Guiding Principles with appropriate evidence.
