Tips for assignments & report writing in BPM class

Marco van der Woude, HAN, september 2014

Based on the reports that Ive seen so far in this course, here are a couple of tips for
assignments in general and, more specifically, for the 4 th and the final assignment in
this course.
Technicalities:
1. Use a cover page with your names and student numbers on it.
2. Use a table of contents
3. Structure your report, start with a (short) introduction (why are you writing
this?), end with conclusions (maybe about what you learned?)
4. Use page numbers
5. Mention your sources in a consistent manner (preferably APA)
6. Let one person do the final editing to make sure that everything is consistent
Content:
1. Do research, both about the background of the industry that the assignment is
about and about the specific companies youre studying
2. Analyze the situation as it is today (use Porter, PESTEL, SWOT if necessary
and useful, other models if you want)
3. Describe what you want to achieve, keeping in mind what is realistic (GOALS)
4. Describe HOW you want to achieve your targets (what are you suggesting to
DO in order to achieve the GOALS). This is also known as a Strategy. Which
activities are you hoping will lead to the desired results?
5. Describe how you will measure both the efforts / actions and the results (a.k.a.
Performance Indicators or PIs). Measuring means clarity, so try to describe
things that can be measured and expressed as numbers in some way.
6. Describe when you can tell that your suggested strategy was successful.
Good luck with the assignments and with the final report!