Final thesis (Bachelor, Master) as a small project - POPm

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Final thesis (Bachelor, Master) as a small project

Theses, whether master’s or bachelor’s thesis, are an integral part of a degree and are therefore of central importance to students. Although the thesis is “visible” and known from the beginning, it is challenging for most students to do it. An essential aspect of this work is that undergraduate students, for the first time, must independently (and alone) organize themselves over a longer period of time. In addition to the independence, the time management and the realistic work organization is a sticking point in the implementation.

Lecturers often face the challenge of guiding students through the process appropriately. The balance of the right and adequate assistance is of great importance for a successful implementation, but often difficult to achieve. Support in the creation can offer the consideration of the thesis as a small project.

The visualization of borders as well as the consideration of various aspects, such as the delivery objects / objects to be viewed and a timetable, gives the students a good overview as well as security and orientation in the preparation of their work. The figure above shows the relationship between the research process and the accompanying project management. The research process is represented by 4D model. The accompanying project management runs parallel to this model.

The “substantive research work” consists of the research work and is presented in the 4 segments:

define
design
do
describe

The accompanying project management consists of the following steps:

Step 1: Project Initiation
Step 2: Project start
Step 3: Project coordination and controlling and
Step 4: Project completion.

By clicking on the associated process arrows, you will receive more detailed information on the individual process steps of project management. Additional teaching materials and templates can be found in the download.

Reference:

Maylor, Harvey; Blackmon, Kate; Huemann, Martina; 2017. Researching Business and Management, Second Edition. Palgrave: London.

Final thesis (Bachelor, Master) as a small project von Claudia Ringhofer ist lizenziert unter einer Creative Commons Namensnennung 4.0 International Lizenz.

Download (German only)

Claudia Ringhofer2019-01-16T22:34:55+01:00

Step 2: Execute project start

After the project definition and context definition has been carried out, some project management methods are used by the student to make the topic and the context visible. The following methods are recommended.

Stakeholder analysis

Theses involve a variety of stakeholders. The application of a stakeholder analysis supports the visualization of this and the subsequent communication planning. The description of the relationship and the analysis of the expectations of the individual stakeholders gives students an indication of the intensity of the communication. Above all, building relationships with (perhaps initially unknown) stakeholders is a great learning experience for students. Above all, the so-called stakeholder matrix is well suited for students with little or no project experience. The clear cluster facilitates the further planning of measures.

Stakeholders analyzed in the stakeholder matrix are described in detail, expectations are analyzed and measures are defined. The visualization of the cluster helps the student to define the appropriate measures.

TIP:

One of the main reasons for the delay in finalizing theses is the late contacting of relevant stakeholders such as case study firms or experts. Through the visualization of the stakeholders, students have to deal with communication planning at an early stage and can start processes on time. The communication and the effort with representatives of case study companies is often underestimated by students.

Deliverables / Objects of View

The definition of delivery objects, or in other words results and intermediate results, helps the students to concentrate on the essentials. One main result, the final thesis itself, is a central and therefore visible result for students. Other results or interim results, such as literature analysis, case studies, must be explicitly made visible. The objects can be displayed in a list or mind map.

TIP:

The intermediate results must be scheduled in the scheduling! This is very well suited to the milestone plan or schedule.

Especially with formal objects such as a plagiarism check they can give valuable input.

Schedule

At the end of the planning, the time frame must be deposited by means of a schedule. As already discussed in the context of time, the fulfillment of the small project is not only the “writing” of the thesis, but also includes other work such as correcting or printing the work. Below is a skeleton of appointments shown, this can be extended as desired.

Step 2: Execute project start

After the project definition and context definition has been carried out, some project management methods are used by the student to make the topic and the context visible. The following methods are recommended.

Stakeholder analysis

Theses involve a variety of stakeholders. The application of a stakeholder analysis supports the visualization of this and the subsequent communication planning. The description of the relationship and the analysis of the expectations of the individual stakeholders gives students an indication of the intensity of the communication. Above all, building relationships with (perhaps initially unknown) stakeholders is a great learning experience for students. Above all, the so-called stakeholder matrix is well suited for students with little or no project experience. The clear cluster facilitates the further planning of measures.

Stakeholders analyzed in the stakeholder matrix are described in detail, expectations are analyzed and measures are defined. The visualization of the cluster helps the student to define the appropriate measures.

TIP:

One of the main reasons for the delay in finalizing theses is the late contacting of relevant stakeholders such as case study firms or experts. Through the visualization of the stakeholders, students have to deal with communication planning at an early stage and can start processes on time. The communication and the effort with representatives of case study companies is often underestimated by students.

Deliverables / Objects of View

The definition of delivery objects, or in other words results and intermediate results, helps the students to concentrate on the essentials. One main result, the final thesis itself, is a central and therefore visible result for students. Other results or interim results, such as literature analysis, case studies, must be explicitly made visible. The objects can be displayed in a list or mind map.

TIP:

The intermediate results must be scheduled in the scheduling! This is very well suited to the milestone plan or schedule.

Especially with formal objects such as a plagiarism check they can give valuable input.

Schedule

At the end of the planning, the time frame must be deposited by means of a schedule. As already discussed in the context of time, the fulfillment of the small project is not only the “writing” of the thesis, but also includes other work such as correcting or printing the work. Below is a skeleton of appointments shown, this can be extended as desired.