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GEOM20013 | Assignment 2 Page 1 of 9
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GEOM20013
Applying Digital Infrastructure
Assignment 2
Design your GIS project

Preliminaries: What the whole project is about
The set of Assignments 2-5 are guiding you through a professional project applying Digital Infrastructure. You will:
work through all stages of a GIS project, from project inception and design (this assignment) to the project
post-mortem reflection (Assignment 5);
work individually as well as in a group, and reflect to iteratively improve on both;
practise professional written and oral presentation skills, critical thinking skills, and system-thinking.
Thus, at the end of the semester you should have gained confidence to use a professional GIS tool, to develop a solid
understanding of GIS data and functionality for analysis and visualization, to professionally work in a group and to
present joint work, and to uses these skills in innovative solutions to current challenges in society, environment, or
economy – with a commitment to sustainability.
The set of Assignments 2-5 will assume that you work in a professional firm that is known in the market for applying
digital infrastructure to develop advice to their clients. You are a GIS analyst in that firm, and your supervisor assigns
you to a group that shall respond to a “Call for Tenders”.
A “call for tenders” is issued by an organization to buy specific services or work, which very often – and in this
case here – will concern a study to inform the organizations next decisions.
In Assignment 2 (this assignment) you will, in your group, discover the challenge of the call for tenders, and
develop a solution. This design phase culminates in a report, the “tender” (to be reviewed by your
supervisor).
In Assignment 3, assuming that your tender has been short-listed by the client, you will pitch individually your
group’s tender to the client.
In Assignment 4, assuming that your tender has been successful, and you have been granted the contract,
you will, in your group, work out your designed project, deliver the promised results, and make a
recommendation for your client (to be reviewed by your supervisor).
Finally, in Assignment 5 you will meet your supervisor individually for a reflection of this project in your
annual performance review.
What this assignment is about
Assignment 2 forms the first part of the project. You will, in your group, discover the challenge laid out in the call for
tenders (typically a literature study), and develop a solution. This design phase culminates in a report, the tender
document, which will be reviewed by your supervisor before it is sent out. As in any commercial tendering process,
the deadline is hard and non-negotiable – you have to manage your time carefully and safely.
In any commercial tendering process late submissions are generally not accepted. This is to make sure the process
is transparent and fair among the commercially competing participants.
What you will do
Find the “Call for Tenders” in the appendix of this document.
Familiarize yourself, as a group, with the context: Who is your client, and what are the client’s needs. From there,
work out what it takes to satisfy your client’s needs. Consider your particular strengths and innovative ideas, and
shape your response to the call accordingly. You will, as a group, produce a “tender document”.
Remember, should your tender be accepted, you will have to work out what you are promising here. So, make
sure that your tender is realistic.
The design process itself consists of these stages:
Reflecting industry practice, groups are formed by your supervisor, and you will be tasked to work with these
colleagues. These groups have been formed already – for most of you, in Week 1. This is a plus: You know
each other already, and have an internal agreement on how to work with each other.
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In your first project meeting, start with brainstorming how to approach the call for tenders, and agree on a
coarse strategy. Then distribute the work for the first week (which typically will be reading and reviewing).
Work on your literature review sections.
In your following group meetings, work out what it needs for this project to be realized. Specify resources,
design a workflow, identify activities, and set up a workplan. Plan for delays (adverse circumstances).
Book a progress meeting with your supervisor, either in Week 6 or Week 7 (your choice, but advance booking
is essential). At this meeting, as a group, present your identified challenge, your suggested approach, and
your expected outcomes. Do not forget to reflect on the perceived challenges and ask for advice.
A small portion of the marks for this assignment is reserved for the progress meeting. Your supervisor will
observe your individual professionalism in the group’s appearance and contribution to the group’s
presentation, contribution to the design work, and your ability to reflect.
Collate your group’s design work in a written tender for this project.
Tip 1: Each group will have a mix of complementary skills. Find them out early and allocate the design work items
accordingly. Agree early on the individual responsibilities, deliverables, and internal submission deadlines.
Tip 2: In order to provide all group members a GIS learning opportunity in the realization phase, the workplan
should already allocate a dedicated GIS activity to each group member.
Submission
Deliverable is a tender document (group work) limited to 3,000 words maximum and an arbitrary number of figures.
The tender document should cover:
The project client, client need (topic) and the motivation of the topic – set the context. This part culminates
in a concrete project question you are offering to answer.
This part requires a literature review for support of the design.
A “literature review” means here a search, review and synthesis of the scope, the challenges and the methods
applied in similar analyses (or certain aspects of the analysis) appearing in technical reports and applied research
papers.
The data required, and its sources.
The analysis planned, and the intended outcomes.
Your workplan should be specific, i.e., explain which data would be used to derive which results, and how the
steps of your suggested analysis connect to a workflow producing the envisioned results. Reflect on the skill
sets you have, and you can learn in short time to become an expert in that tool. The experts among you
would think of tools like ModelBuilder, but the tools you are choosing are up to you, of course.
A detailed time plan with task allocations to individual group members.
The time plan should be detailed (linking to the workplan), and it should identify the allocation of work items
to persons. Remember, we expect that every group member contributes at least one documented work item
to the GIS analysis, although the group can agree on other than equal splits of the total GIS analysis work. An
expert method for developing a time plan could be a GANTT chart, but again, the form of presentation is up
to the group.
The project design report is submitted per group. Submission deadlines are published in LMS. In line with any
professional tendering, no late submissions are accepted.
Note: The University normally recognises difficult circumstances of students and has a process for special
consideration1
. According to faculty policy, applications for special consideration in assignments up to 25 points must
go directly to the subject coordinator. This assignment is an assignment worth 15 points (hence you’d turn to your
subject coordinator). But this assignment is overriding the policy for special consideration for an educative reason
(training in group work): Taking care of any foreseeable and unforeseeable reason for special consideration is
1 https://students.unimelb.edu.au/your-course/manage-your-course/exams-assessments-and-results/special-consideration
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delegated here to the group and their time management. The elements of this time management and the
corresponding responsibilities must be part of the group charter. Effective teams can adapt to adverse circumstances!
Tip 3: Make sure your group charter has agreed mechanisms to deal with possible dropouts of individual group
members at any time – there are plenty of reasons such as experiences of illness, hardships, bereavements,
violence or assault. Make also sure that you have agreed precautions to deal with technical issues (computer
issues, network issues). The tender is a group deliverable, and the commercial world does not care!
How this assignment will be assessed
Everybody should contribute equally and responsibly to the group outcome. Note that among the intended learning
outcomes of this subject are:
The ability to communicate effectively, with the engineering team and with the community at large;
An understanding of professional and ethical responsibilities, and a commitment to them.
To achieve these outcomes the group must work on their group dynamics, and the individuals are called to stand up
to their professional and ethical responsibilities in this group work.
This assignment is worth 15 points.
The group report receives a single mark, applied to all group members equally (differentiation comes in through
Assignment 3, where each group member presents the report individually). Only in the occasion where some group
members report a grossly unequal contribution by another group member, the subject coordinator might, after
hearing both sides, invite the reported group member for an extra oral assessment of all learning outcomes of this
assignment. The oral assessment would override the group mark and would take already into consideration the failure
in understanding and committing to professional and ethical responsibilities.
Assume that an average report in the class receives an average mark, and that an outstanding mark is exceptionally
rare (“outstanding”).
A late submission receives automatically 0 marks (the equivalent of being excluded from the tender process).
The other assessment criteria are provided in the following three rubrics. Since a report may not meet all the criteria
in one category, the markers are instructed to choose the best fitting category.
Motivation and relevance (0…5)
5 Absolutely professional
Impeccable motivation and relevance section: Comprehensive and concise, deep in intellectual
rigour (system-thinking), just the appropriate references. Nothing to improve.
4 Convincing as-is
Demonstrates original and critical thinking in defining the project in an accurate and succinct
manner, with highly appropriate references and an ability to synthesize. No need for
improvements.
2 … 3 Good overall; improvements possible
Demonstrates original and critical thinking to an extent. Demonstrates understanding of the
project with only minor inconsistencies. Explains the relevance of the problem satisfactorily.
1 Improvements required
Presents a valid problem but shows gaps in deeper understanding of the problem. Describes the
relevance of the problem, but not in consistent or complete manner, or with unsatisfying
references.
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0 Unconvincing
Shows lack of understanding of the problem, misjudgement in the relevance of the problem,
incongruous references, complete lack of synthesis, or other major omissions.
Appropriateness of the design, and feasibility of the project (0…6)
6 Absolutely professional
Impeccable and appropriate technical design, broken down to a level that proper thought is
given to feasibility, risks, and opportunities. Clear and fair distribution of work with equal
engagement of all group members. Nothing to improve.
5 Convincing as-is
Thorough technical design. Demonstrates a systematic and detailed assessment of feasibility,
risks, and opportunities. Improvements would only be cosmetic in nature.
4 Solid with comments
Presents a suited technical design. Demonstrates a systematic and detailed assessment of
feasibility, risks, and opportunities. Improvements could lift the quality of the outcomes.
3 Improvements possible
Presents a feasible technical design that may not realize the full potential of the project.
Discusses feasibility, risks, and opportunities but may miss aspects or may misjudge.
2 Improvements required
Presents a flawed technical design. Approaches feasibility, risks, and opportunities, but due to
flaws risks to fail in time or in the evidence produced.
1 Not trusted in tender
The project design shows an unfeasible design, ill-chosen tools, gross misjudgements of
complexity, or gaps that make a successful implementation unlikely.
0 Nothing to show
No report, or no report of substance.
Presentation (0…4)
4 Absolutely professional
Comprehensive (written from a system-thinking perspective), thorough, and to the point with
intellectual rigour: Nothing to improve.
3 Convincing as-is
Defines the project accurately and succinctly, with highly appropriate references. Message is
clear and on task; language is appropriate with maximally infrequent, non-distracting errors.
Strong in synthesis and accurate referencing throughout.
2 Good chances in tender
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Defines the project in an acceptable way. Message is clear; language may have some nondistracting errors. The review is satisfying, but not particularly strong in the selected references
or synthesis. Referencing may have some, even noticeable, errors.
1 At risk in tender
Defines the project but may have done so more accurately. Message may lack clarity at times;
language errors may be distracting and frequent; or literature synthesis is missing / not
satisfying. Referencing may be inconsistent in form or content.
0 No chances in tender
The presentation is lacking accuracy, appropriateness, or logical flow, and may need a thorough
revision.
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Appendix
The Call for Tenders 2024
The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action of the Victorian Government invites tenders for the
following study: The Victorian Government plans to invest in state-run windfarms. This study shall suggest a suited
location for a new windfarm in Victoria, for a typical size of about 50 MW hours capacity. The tender should identify
site selection criteria, apply these, and identify a location for such a windfarm. The tender should also include a
consideration of costs, based on changes to land use (compensations, potential environmental impact) and on
connection to the grid.
Tenders are accepted until the published deadline, but not beyond.
Response by your firm
When this invitation was published, your supervisor invited the whole GIS department for a brainstorming meeting. At
the meeting, the discussion was about the position of the firm to tender:
Does the project match the firm’s policies to engage only in socially and environmentally sustainable topics
Would there a significant impact be expected
Is there free capacity, and a match with skills Who would be the competitors and what would be the
chances of winning What could be the unique selling points
And when it was agreed that the firm should develop a tender, the discussion turned to:
What topics one could concentrate on There were a few suggestions brought up, but it was agreed to leave
this question for the actual group working out the tender.
Which resources are available Colleagues mentioned that a range of data resources are accessible, among
them:
o https://data.vic.gov.au/
o http://www.ga.gov.au/
o http://aurin.org.au/
o http://data.csiro.au/dap/home execution=e2s1
o http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/maps/
o http://vicroadsopendata.vicroadsmaps.opendata.arcgis.com/
o http://www.abs.gov.au
o http://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/
But there was agreement in the room that these links provide only a starting point for the search for data,
and the actual data needed depends mostly on the chosen topic. In your notes from the meeting, you find
also mentioning of property data, of elevation data, of road network and public transport network data.
Which types of analysis would be appropriate Again, colleagues came forward with ideas according to their
own experience. Not a bad approach, you thought, but perhaps one could also try to learn new tools as
required by the topic You are truly growth-minded2
! Actually, you still have access to the ESRI online
modules, when needed.
The supervisor mentioned how important not only the technical design is, but also the thorough and
polished presentation. “A tender”, they said, “is won by trusting the tenderer.”
2 Didn’t you read recently: “Individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input
from others) have a growth mindset. They tend to achieve more than those with a more fixed mindset (those who believe their
talents are innate gifts). This is because they worry less about looking smart and put more energy into learning. When entire
companies embrace a growth mindset, their employees report feeling far more empowered and committed; they also receive
greater organizational support for collaboration and innovation.” (Carol Dweck: What Having a “Growth Mindset” Actually Means.
Harvard Business Review, 2016).
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