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7BSM2003 OBA - BA Assignment Brief-5

The document outlines the assessment brief for the Operations and Business Analytics module, focusing on an individual report and Excel modeling assignment related to the Students' Union Shop. Students are required to analyze customer arrival data and cashier service times to determine optimal staffing levels and suggest improvements. The assignment includes specific questions for analysis, a report format, and a grading scheme, with a submission deadline of April 17, 2023.

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M Waheed Athar
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2 views

7BSM2003 OBA - BA Assignment Brief-5

The document outlines the assessment brief for the Operations and Business Analytics module, focusing on an individual report and Excel modeling assignment related to the Students' Union Shop. Students are required to analyze customer arrival data and cashier service times to determine optimal staffing levels and suggest improvements. The assignment includes specific questions for analysis, a report format, and a grading scheme, with a submission deadline of April 17, 2023.

Uploaded by

M Waheed Athar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Assessment Brief

Operations and Business


Module Title: Module Code: 7BSM2003
Analytics
Assignment Format & Excel Modelling and Individual Assignment
50%
Maximum Word count Report Weighting:
Within four
Time: 23.59 Coursework return weeks of
Coursework Submission: Date: 17th April 2023 Date returned to submission
Method: via Canvas/StudyNet students:

Module leader X Zhao First marker X Zhao

Approved
Internal Moderator Module Board name BAS Group
Date:
Approved
External Examiner Module Board date TBA
Date:

Assessment Criteria
Learning Outcomes: Knowledge and Understanding tested in this assignment:
 Evaluate the role of data, analytics and associated technologies in adding value to a variety of
organisations
 Appraise the appropriate use of business analytics to support operational decision making to create
and add value to a business
Learning Outcomes: Skills and Attributes tested in this assignment:
 Formulate, evaluate and reflect on operations management issues to be able to determine which
business analytical technique is most beneficial
 Critique the importance of information sharing within the organisation and appraise the impact of this
information on decision-making within an organisation
 Determine the appropriate tools and make recommendations to inform and support strategic decision
making
Feedback /Marking criteria for this Assignment
Performance will be assessed using the grading criteria and mark scheme indicated below.
Guidance for improvement will be given in writing on the Assessment Feedback Form or on the
StudyNet Feedback Form within 4 weeks of submission.
For each day or part day up to five days after the published deadline, coursework relating to modules
submitted late will have the numeric grade reduced by 10 grade points until or unless the numeric grade
reaches 40 for levels 4, 5 and 6 or 50 for level 7 (PG). If a submission is more than 5 days after the
published deadline, a grade of zero will be awarded. Where the numeric grade awarded for the assessment
is less than 40 for levels 4, 5 and 6 or 50 for level 7 (PG), no lateness penalty will be applied;
Plagiarism offences will receive standard penalties.

Detailed Brief for Individual/Group Assessment


Assignment Title:
Excel Modelling and Individual Report - The University of Puddletown's Students' Union Shop

Description of the assignment:

Background
(Any similarities to the student shop at the University of Hertfordshire are entirely coincidental. This is a
fictional example.)
The Students' Union Shop is trying to work out how many cashiers it needs to employ in order to provide an
adequate service level. Customers at the shop line up in a single queue and are called forward to pay for
their purchases when a till becomes free. To help determine the busy times of the day, the shop has
recorded the number of customers arriving at the tills in each 5-minute interval during the shop's opening
hours, from 8am until 6pm (N.B. this is the number who actually make a purchase and does not include

Karen Robins - Updated November 2016


Assessment Brief
customers who are just browsing). Records for a period of 5 weeks are available. All the data were collected
during term time.
The shop usually functions with just three cashiers but it has the capacity to support up to 6. The shop is
open for approximately 50 weeks each year. The management has also collected data about the time it
takes for cashiers to take payment. These data come from term time and 1000 records are available.
Management are concerned that customers wishing to buy food, in particular, may be going to other outlets
within the university such as the Big Ears Sandwich Shop or the Noddy Bar. Management are also
concerned about the turnover of their staff and would like to reduce their stress and also stop them getting
bored. They would be interested to hear about any innovative operating strategies for doing this.
You are employed as a consultant for the Students’ Union Shop. The shop management would like to hear
insights from you, but does have a few specific questions they would like to ask. These are
 What is the average customer arrival rate per hour based on the current data?
 The management reckons there are more customers during the lunch break, and would like you to
look into this matter. Could you spot any busier period during the day? If so, what are the busier
hours?
o What is the average customer arrival rate per hour during busier period?

o What is the average customer arrival rate per hour during quieter period?

 How fast on average does a cashier serve a customer in our shop?


o Have you spotted any outlier in the collected service data? If yes, did you include (or exclude)
those outliers when coming up the average, and why?
 How many cashiers does the shop need to have a reasonable performance?
o When taking the average daily arrival? Would you consider the average daily arrival a good
measure for cashier arrangement, and why?
o During busier period if observed?

o During quieter period if observed?

The shop management is also interested in hearing your thoughts on how the adoption of business
analytics in general could positively impact the shop performance. (For students who participant in the
Young Enterprise competition AND wish to work this part in their YE group, please see alternative
arrangement here.) They would appreciate that you keep this part under 2 pages.

What You Should Produce


You are required to produce a model using Excel, which could be used by the Students' Union Shop
management team for evaluation of their performance using the data provided or any new data that becomes
available in a similar format. If there is any further information you believe to be essential, make a realistic
assumption and explain clearly what you have done (in the report below).
The model should be supported by a comprehensive report in which you should report on their current
system, pointing out any existing problems, and suggest ways of improving the service level. You must give
a convincing argument to support the improvements you are suggesting, e.g. by showing the benefit of
adding an extra cashier in terms of staff utilisation and customer waiting time.
Length of Report
The Students' Union Shop management team are very busy and so value concise reports. Your report
(include Executive Summary, see below) should be no more than 15 pages.
You are also required to include an Executive Summary at the beginning of your report. It should
summarise your findings on management’s specific questions listed in the Background above. The Executive
Summary should be no more than 2 pages.

Data
The data on customer arrivals and cashiers' service times are available on the module site under

Karen Robins - Updated November 2016


Assessment Brief
Assignment, Business Analytics. https://herts.instructure.com/courses/102855/assignments/203508

General Restriction
Visual Basic for Application (VBA) code should NOT be used for solving the problem. If you have never
heard of it, then consider yourself good with this restriction.

Deadline
The deadline for submission is 17th April 2023.

Mark scheme:
Note that this assignment is deliberately open-ended and initiative will be rewarded. The assignment will be
marked out of 100.
1. Excel Model
1.1. A suitable queueing model (5%)
1.2. A working model (5%)
1.3. Shop management able to evaluate performance using any new data in a similar format (5%)
1.4. Initiation / creativity, e.g. graphs, presentation (5%)
2. Executive Summary (10%)
3. Report
3.1. What is the average customer arrival rate per hour based on the current data? (5%)
3.2. The management reckons there are more customers during the lunch break, and would like you to
look into this matter. Could you spot any busier period during the day? If so, what are the busier
hours? (5%)
3.2.1. What is the average customer arrival rate per hour during busier period? (5%)
3.2.2. What is the average customer arrival rate per hour during quieter period? (5%)
3.3. How fast on average does a cashier serve a customer in our shop? (5%)
3.3.1. Have you spotted any outlier in the collected service data? If yes, did you include (or
exclude) those outliers when coming up the average, and why? (5%)
3.4. How many cashiers does the shop need to have a reasonable performance,
3.4.1. When taking the average daily arrival? Would you consider the average daily arrival
a good measure for cashier arrangement, and why? (5%)
3.4.2. During busier period if observed? (5%)
3.4.3. During quieter period if observed? (5%)
3.5. Thoughts on how the adoption of business analytics in general could positively impact the shop
performance (For students who participant in the Young Enterprise competition AND wish to work
this part in their YE group, please see alternative arrangement here.) (25%)

Student Support and Guidance


 For further help, contact your module leader in their drop-in hours or by email.
 Use the Grading Criteria and Mark Scheme to help improve your work.
 Go to CASE workshops, use the CASE website and drop-in hours
www.studynet.herts.ac.uk/go/CASE/
 Academic English for Business support is available through daily drop-ins from the CASE office. See
the CASE workshop timetable on the CASE main website page for details.
 Make full use of Library search to identify relevant academic material and the ‘Subject Toolkit for
Business’ which contains links to other Information Databases and the Information Management

Karen Robins - Updated November 2016


Assessment Brief
contact details.
(http://www.studynet1.herts.ac.uk/ptl/common/LIS.nsf/lis/4DAF5390094771C2802575ED004212BF)
 Some tutors allow students to test their work using Turnitin. Guidance on submission to Turnitin via
StudyNet can be found by using the following link.
http://www.studynet1.herts.ac.uk/ptl/common/asu.nsf/resource+library/
TURNITIN+FOR+STUDENTS+2016+USER+GUIDE.pdf/$FILE/
TURNITIN+FOR+STUDENTS+2016+USER+GUIDE.pdf

Karen Robins - Updated November 2016

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