← VCE Data Analytics U4O1

Judging the impact of plan changes on project completion

How much a change affected the finish date, the scope and the quality of the finished solution, such as delay, dropped features and extra effort.

Part of: VCE Data Analytics - U4O1 - Development and Evaluation — Module 105

Understanding Judging the impact of plan changes on project completion in VCE Data Analytics U4O1

What it does: The extra 6 hours show the impact as additional work, even though no delay is recorded. This judgement names the impact on the finish date and the scope, and then links it to how effective the solution was. Scope is what the solution includes. Dropping a planned feature such as a slicer reduces scope, while a font colour tweak is a minor style change. A strong judgement uses evidence such as days of delay and features dropped, and links these to effectiveness. Vague comments do not. Comparing the planned and actual finish dates shows how much delay the change caused, which is one part of its impact.

Common mistakes: Delay to completion is the actual finish minus the planned finish. Subtracting the other way round gives a negative number for a late project. It should be delay = actual - planned. A project is late when the actual finish is greater than the planned finish. Using < would report 'Late' for projects that finished early. It should be if actual > planned:.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 85–105) and word search (Modules 63–105).

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Learning

Duo

A change to the plan pushes the finish date from 12 June to 26 June. Which statement best describes its impact?

No impact, because the project still finishedA two-week delay to completion

Matches

Impact: the change was fine.

↓

This is a vague judgement with no evidence. It does not mention the delay, dropped features or extra effort.

Applying

Meanings

Term

Impact of a change

Meaning

How much a change affected the finish date, the scope and the quality of the finished solution, such as delay, dropped features and extra effort.

Practice

Change: Chart task moved from Week 3 to Week 5

Testing

Gaps

delay = actualFinish plannedFinish

Check Answer

Spots

1planned, actual = 20, 26

2delay = planned - actual

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Quick Questions

1. A change to the plan pushes the finish date from 12 June to 26 June. Which statement best describes its impact?

A. A two-week delay to completion ✓

B. No impact, because the project still finished

Impact includes how much the finish date moved. A two-week slip is a measurable delay, even if the project is eventually completed.

2. Which is an example of a change affecting the scope of a data solution?

A. Changing the font colour of a chart title

B. Dropping the dashboard slicer because time ran out ✓

Scope is what the solution includes. Dropping a planned feature such as a slicer reduces scope, while a font colour tweak is a minor style change.

3. A student spends 6 extra hours fixing broken formulas after a data source changed. What kind of impact is this?

A. Extra effort ✓

B. Features dropped

Extra effort is the additional time and work needed because of a change. Nothing was removed from the solution, so this is not dropped features.

4. Which judgement about a plan change is better written?

A. The change delayed completion by 3 days and removed one chart, so the solution was less effective. ✓

B. The change was bad and caused problems.

A strong judgement uses evidence such as days of delay and features dropped, and links these to effectiveness. Vague comments do not.

5. Which question helps you judge the impact of a change on completion?

A. How many people liked the new plan layout?

B. How far did the finish date move from the original? ✓

Impact on completion is measured against the original plan: delay, scope lost and quality of the finished solution.

Match the Pairs

Finish: planned 12 Sep -> actual 19 Sep → The change caused a 7 day delay to completion, because the finish date moved later.

Scope: 5 charts planned -> 4 delivered → One feature was dropped, so the scope of the finished solution was reduced.

A change can add extra effort even if the finish date stays the same, so effort is part of its impact → Effort: planned 10 h -> actual 16 h (+6 h)

An effectiveness judgement states the impact and backs it with evidence about delay and dropped features → Change caused a 3 day delay and dropped the map chart, so the solution was less effective.

Impact: the change was fine. → This is a vague judgement with no evidence. It does not mention the delay, dropped features or extra effort.

Delay = planned finish - actual finish → The subtraction is the wrong way round. It gives a negative number when the project finishes late.

Key Term

Impact of a change

How much a change affected the finish date, the scope and the quality of the finished solution, such as delay, dropped features and extra effort.

Fill in the Blanks

1. delay = actualFinish - plannedFinish

Hint: Type the operator that works out the difference between the actual and planned finish dates to measure delay.

2. =IF(D2>C2,"Delayed","On time")

Hint: Type the function that chooses between two results to label whether a task finished late.

3. =COUNTIF(B2:B9,"Dropped")

Hint: Type the function that counts how many features were dropped from the scope.

4. =SUM(C2:C9)-SUM(B2:B9)

Hint: Type the function that totals the planned hours so extra effort can be found.

5. IF delay > 5 THEN OUTPUT "High impact on finish date" ENDIF

Hint: Type the keyword that starts the action when the delay condition is met in a judgement.

Spot the Error

Question 1

A planned, actual = 20, 26

B delay = planned - actual

C print('Delay:', delay)

Line B — Delay to completion is the actual finish minus the planned finish. Subtracting the other way round gives a negative number for a late project. It should be delay = actual - planned.

Question 2

A planned = 20

B actual = 26

C if actual < planned:

D print('Late')

Line C — A project is late when the actual finish is greater than the planned finish. Using < would report 'Late' for projects that finished early. It should be if actual > planned:.

Question 3

A planned = 10

B built = 8

C dropped = planned - built

D pct = dropped / built * 100

E print(pct, '% dropped')

Line D — The share of features dropped is measured against the original plan (the planned scope), not against what was built. It should be pct = dropped / planned * 100.

Question 4

A plan_hrs, used_hrs = 40, 55

B extra = used_hrs + plan_hrs

C print('Extra hours:', extra)

Line B — Extra effort is the hours actually used minus the hours planned. Adding them gives a meaningless total. It should be extra = used_hrs - plan_hrs.

Question 5

A delay = 3

B dropped = 0

C if delay < 5 and dropped == 0:

D print('High impact')

Line D — A short delay and no dropped features means the change had a low impact on completion. The judgement should say 'Low impact', not 'High impact'.

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