← VCE Software Development U4O1

Writing an assessment of a project plan's effectiveness

A judgement of how well a plan worked, using evidence from the number, reasons and impact of changes, plus improvements for next time.

Part of: VCE Software Development - U4O1 - development and evaluation — Module 198

Understanding Writing an assessment of a project plan's effectiveness in VCE Software Development U4O1

What it does: This evidence line includes the number of changes (6), the reasons (unclear scope) and the impact (delayed delivery), which together support the judgement. The judgement is justified by specific figures: the number of tasks changed and the outcome for the deadline. An improvement is a specific action for future plans. Stating what happened is only evidence, not an improvement. Strong judgements are specific, use evidence and give a clear level of effectiveness such as effective, partly effective or ineffective. A judgement is the overall verdict on the plan's effectiveness, so it opens the assessment and is backed up by evidence.

Common mistakes: An if statement must end with a colon. The line should be: if changes > 4 and delay > 5: so the judgement is only made when both pieces of evidence are high. Python does not use && for combining conditions. Use the keyword and: if changes < 3 and delay < 2: so both pieces of evidence must support the judgement.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 186–198) and word search (Modules 172–198).

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Learning
Duo
Which opening sentence is a real judgement of a project plan's effectiveness?
The plan was mostly effective because only 3 changes were needed and none delayed the final deadline.The plan was good and I liked it.
Matches
Judgement: The plan was good.
↓
The judgement is vague and gives no evidence about the number, reasons or impact of changes.
Applying
Meanings
Term
Project plan effectiveness judgement
Meaning
A judgement of how well a plan worked, using evidence from the number, reasons and impact of changes, plus improvements for next time.
Practice
Judgement: The plan was mostly effective.
Testing
Gaps
Evidence: , reasons, impact of changes
Check Answer
Spots
2delay = 8
3if changes > 4 and delay > 5

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Quick Questions

1. Which opening sentence is a real judgement of a project plan's effectiveness?
A. The plan was good and I liked it.
B. The plan was mostly effective because only 3 changes were needed and none delayed the final deadline. ✓
A judgement states how effective the plan was and backs it with evidence such as the number and impact of changes. Opinion alone is not enough.
2. Which piece of evidence best supports a judgement that a plan was NOT effective?
A. The plan was changed 11 times, mostly due to poor estimates, and the project finished 2 weeks late. ✓
B. The plan was printed in colour and had a title page.
Effectiveness evidence comes from the number of changes, the reasons for them and their impact on time, cost and scope, not from how the plan looks.
3. A student writes: 'Two changes were made, so the plan was effective.' What is missing?
A. The reasons for the changes and their impact on the project ✓
B. A longer list of the software used
A strong assessment combines the number of changes with the reasons and the impact. A count on its own does not justify a judgement.
4. Which statement is an improvement for next time?
A. Add 20% buffer time to testing tasks because they ran over by 3 days. ✓
B. Testing tasks ran over by 3 days.
An improvement is a specific action for future plans. Stating what happened is only evidence, not an improvement.
5. Which is the best order for writing an assessment of plan effectiveness?
A. Improvements, then a guess, then a list of tasks
B. Judgement, then evidence (number, reasons, impact), then improvements ✓
Start with a clear judgement, support it with evidence from the number, reasons and impact of changes, then finish with improvements for next time.

Match the Pairs

Judgement: The plan was mostly effective. → A clear overall statement about how well the plan worked, which the rest of the assessment must then support.
Improvement: Add a 2-day buffer before testing. → A specific change to make in the next project plan, based on what went wrong in this one.
Evidence for a judgement combines the number, the reasons and the impact of changes to the plan. → Evidence: 6 changes, 4 caused by unclear scope, 3 delayed delivery.
A judgement must be supported by evidence from the project log, not just opinion. → Judgement: Mostly effective, as only 2 of 9 tasks changed and the deadline was met.
Judgement: The plan was good. → The judgement is vague and gives no evidence about the number, reasons or impact of changes.
Improvements: Try harder next time. → The improvement is not specific or linked to evidence, so it cannot be used to change the next project plan.

Key Term

Project plan effectiveness judgement
A judgement of how well a plan worked, using evidence from the number, reasons and impact of changes, plus improvements for next time.

Fill in the Blanks

1. Evidence: number, reasons, impact of changes
Hint: Type the word for how many changes were made, the first piece of evidence.
2. Few changes, low impact: plan was effective
Hint: Type the judgement word that suits a plan with few, minor changes.
3. Many changes, high impact: not effective
Hint: Type the level of impact that would lead to a judgement that the plan was not effective.
4. Improvement for next time: add buffer days
Hint: Type the word that shows the improvement is for a future project.
5. A judgement must be backed by evidence
Hint: Type the word for the facts, such as change records, that support a judgement.

Spot the Error

Question 1
A changes = 5
B delay = 8
C if changes > 4 and delay > 5
D verdict = 'Not effective'
Line C — An if statement must end with a colon. The line should be: if changes > 4 and delay > 5: so the judgement is only made when both pieces of evidence are high.
Question 2
A changes = 2
B delay = 1
C if changes < 3 && delay < 2:
D verdict = 'Effective'
Line C — Python does not use && for combining conditions. Use the keyword and: if changes < 3 and delay < 2: so both pieces of evidence must support the judgement.
Question 3
A changes = 4
B reason = 'scope creep'
C print('Changes: ' + changes)
D print('Reason:', reason)
Line C — You cannot join a string and an integer with +. This causes a TypeError. Use a comma, print('Changes:', changes), or convert with str(changes).
Question 4
A total = 6
B serious = 4
C share = serious / total * 100
D print('Serious:', share, '%'
Line D — The closing bracket is missing, which is a syntax error. The line should be: print('Serious:', share, '%') to report the percentage of high-impact changes as evidence.
Question 5
A fixes = []
B fixes.add('Add buffer')
C fixes.append('Weekly review')
D print(len(fixes), 'fixes')
Line B — Lists do not have an add() method. Use append() to add an improvement for next time: fixes.append('Add buffer').

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