MS930 - Being an Effective Business Analyst

Guidelines for Apprentice Presentation and Report

There are two requirements as the output of your apprentice period.
1. Presentation (compulsory, not assessed)
2. Report (compulsory, assessed)

This document provides you with some details on the requirements.

Presentation:
 Presentations take place at various sessions throughout Week 3 (week
beginning 31st of January). The detailed schedule will be announced on
MyPlace.
 You are required to attend the entire session within which you are presenting
in, plus, at least one other presentation session. Attendance will be taken. As
well as providing a supportive environment for your fellow students to deliver
a presentation in, this will help you with the section of your Report that looks
for some comparison with other student’s experiences.
 Unauthorised absence will be treated in the same way as missing other
mandatory sessions – i.e. marks reduction.
 Length
o Individual - up to 8 minutes
o Pair - up to 13 minutes including a joint introduction to the context of
the organisation
o 3 or more – up to 18 minutes including a joint introduction to the
context of the organisation
 Members of the teaching team may ask for clarifications during the
presentation.
 Individuals in the audience will be nominated to ask questions of the speakers
too, to ensure that there is active listening.
 It is expected that your presentation will cover the following topics:
o A brief background to the organisation and the analytical group for
which you worked as an apprentice. This should include a brief
description of the type of the works that the group is involved in, the
skills and the methods that are used and their main clients.
o Description of the work that you were involved in and the particular
tasks that you were assigned with.
o A brief on what you found interesting in the organisation/working
group. This may include both positive and negative points from your
point of view.
o Your main learning points as an observer and as a participant.
 For more details/ideas on the above topics please refer to the document
‘Points for Apprentices’, the sections on ‘Participant’ and ‘Observer’ roles, as
well as the requirements for the report.
 Obviously you have a very limited time to present the above, therefore you
need to plan ahead and practice how you will deliver this in the required time.

MS930 - Being an Effective Business Analyst
Report:

- Your report should be 1400 words (+/- %)
- The deadline for the report is 7th February. The submission is online through
MyPlace. Late submissions are subjected to reduction of marks according to the
normal departmental regulations. Appropriate referencing should be used. TurnitIn
will be used to identify issues of academic dishonesty.

- Apprentices working in pairs/groups are required to write separate, individual
reports.

- Your report should be structured as follows (Marks per section noted in brackets)

o Introduction to the organisation and the analytical group (10%)

o Discussion of your experience as an ‘observer’: (15%)***

 What where the main things that caught your attention in the
organisation or the analytical group?
 What do you think are the strengths and/or shortcomings of the
working environment and the way the group works?
 Any other point that you think is worth documenting

o Discussing your experience as a ‘participant’: (15%)***
 What was the task that you were assigned with?
 What was the relevance and importance of the project for which
you were working (from the organisation’s point of view)?
 Any other point that you think is worth documenting

o Comparison: (10%)
 Comment on what some of the similarities and differences
between your experience and the experience of some of your
classmates, as presented in the class?

o Reflection: (50%)
 Use Gould’s reflective triangle, or another reflective tool with
which you are familiar to generate two key learning points for
future practice.
 You should go through each stage of the tool in order to
generate learning points. Note – you should be aiming for a high
level of reflection, and in order to achieve this, it should be
written up in full sentences, and not presented in bullet points.
 Whilst discussing your learning you may also bring in
experiences from previous BEBA cases, or previous
employment to enrich and support your reflection.
 To enrich your learning further you may also wish to refer to
literature and discuss how it supports or contradicts your
learning points.







MS930 - Being an Effective Business Analyst
***Note for internal/group projects:
We are aware that as part of your projects, you may have only limited experience with
regards to your role as an ‘observer’. If this is the case then you may write in slightly
more detail for your role as ‘participant’ and slightly less for your role as ‘observer’.
Some of the detailed points that you may add can be an overview of the operation, the
tools and techniques used during your project and whether you did come across tools
that were of interest.


Marking Scheme for Report
The weighting for the sections is given above.

Excellent An excellent essay will fulfil the same criteria as a very good essay but
will also link the reflective learning to broader experiences and explore learning points
with respect to the literature.

Very Good A very good essay will clearly go through each of the stages of the
reflective model and provide clear actionable, generic learning points that can be used
to inform future practice. The learning points will have clearly emerged from the
individual student’s experience and be insightful, going beyond common learning
points. The introduction, discussion and comparison sections are clear and insightful.

Good A good essay will provide a clear description of the events that occurred
and undertake a good analysis/critique of the events that took place leading onto clear
learning point. The introduction, discussion and comparison sections are clear and
informative.

Satisfactory A satisfactory essay will highlight some learning that took place
but not use appropriate tools, or literature. The introduction, discussion and
comparison sections are coherent but not informative.


Unsatisfactory An unsatisfactory essay will mainly focus on description and not
focus on learning. The introduction, discussion and comparison sections are not
complete or lack coherence.