Writing a Capstone project

Report
The Capstone Cycle
• Cycle I: Preparatory
• One pager
• One on one discussions on the One Pager
• Preparation of the Project Proposal, approval by company mentor
• Approval by FACULTY Guide and evaluation
• Approved MTR plan by Faculty Guide after discussion with Participant
• Cycle II: The Work
• Participant to carry out the work as per plans in the PP and MTR
• Periodic consultations with Faculty Guide and Company Mentor
• Evaluation of MTR by Faculty Guide
• Cycle III: The Last Mile
• Complete the work
• Prepare ppt for Viva
• Prepare draft report along with the ppt for the viva
• Submit Draft report
• Make changes in the draft report as per suggestions from Faculty Guide and Company Mentor
• Submit FINAL Report
Format/ Template of a Capstone Project
Report
1 Acknowledgement
2 Bona fide Certificate
3 Table of Contents
4 Executive Summary
CP Score Card
5 Introduction
6 Description of Secondary Research
7 Description of Primary Research
8 Detailed Analysis of Primary & Secondary Research Data
9 Results and Recommendation
 Identified Solutions
 Financial Analysis of the solution(s)
 Risk Analysis of the solution(s)
 Final Recommendation
 Implementation Road Map of the identified solution
9 Conclusion
 Summary
 Limitations of Results & Recommendation
 One page Best Practices citation
10 References
11 Project Report Check List
Acknowledgment (Acknowledgement)
• Your choice
• Do not get emotional
• Be factual
• Begin with the largest contribution, and then go down to the rest
• Be inclusive, choose words with care
• Be sensitive about inclusion and omission
I take the opportunity of submitting this report to express my deep regards towards those who have offered their valuable
assistance and guidance in the hour of need.

I sincerely acknowledge with a deep sense of gratitude and show inductance to Mr. …………..for encouragement they
gave me during the initial phase of project. I highly oblige to Lean staff and production staff of M/s. PIPL …… for their
guidance, cooperation and advice.

All my seniors and colleagues have been inspiring and without their inspiration and guidance, the project would have
remained a dream.

Last but not the least, I would like to thank Professor…….., who has helped in shaping my project. Without his guidance
and support, it would not be possible. Also I want to thanks to all my friends and family members, who had directly or
indirectly given their kind co-operation and encouragement. I admit that co-operation and morality are keywords to
success.
This project gave me a chance to understand business of BPCL and key responsibilities of the corporation. This Project is aimed to reduce down-time of
………….. Units. Successful implementation of this project will result in enhanced recovery of Sulphur, production of low pressure steam and
prevention of release of SO2 to environment. Hence, this will increase margins & decrease environmental pollution as well.

I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to Prof……, SPJIMR for his whole hearted guidance, support & advice for my project work. I was able to
successfully complete the project only because of his guidance regarding techniques and frameworks to be used. I would also like to thank my mentor
Mr……..for his continuous support & supervision for completion of my PGEMP journey and the project. He always supported me in terms of arranging
cross functional support, reviewing the progress and guidance regarding corrective actions to be taken.

I would like to thank my section head Mr……….., Deputy General Manager for his unconditional support during my entire curriculum and project
work.

I world also like to thank ….. HR department & top management for providing this opportunity of pursuing MBA from prestigious institute SPJIMR. I
would like to thank (company name) family for their unmatching support in my journey of MBA & the project. I got immediate supports from different
departments such as Operation, Technology, Energy & Environment, Finance, Instrumentation Maintenance etc. Their support helped me a lot to
complete this project successfully.

A special thanks to my family for supporting me during my MBA course. Their constant support to ensure that I get all the time for my course is
unmatchable. I would also like to thank SPJIMR family and my batchmates for making this journey of MBA a memorable experience.
Bonafide Certificate

• I declare that my project work titled ‘ ………………………………..’

is an original work carried out by me & is being submitted in partial
fulfillment for the requirement of Executive Management Program of
SP Jain Institute of Management & Research. I also declare that this
project report has not been submitted earlier in SPJIMR or any other
institute/ university/ agency/ organization.
• Signature
• Place
• Date
Table of Contents
Section no 1 Content Page no
1 Acknowledgement 5
2 Bona-fide Declaration 6
3 List of Tables & Figures 7
4 Executive Summary 8
Chapter-1 Introduction 11
1.1 Brief on Organization 11
1.2 Genesis of the problem 15
1.3 Statement of problem 19
1.4 Objectives 19
Chapter- 2 Secondary Research 21
2.1 Study of past discussions with process licensor 21
2.2 Study of Role of …………………………………………… 21
Chapter- 3 Primary Research 23
3.1 Identification of factors affecting plant performance 23
3.2 Survey for use of Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) 24
3.3 Survey for use of DEMATEL for determining importance of factors 29
Table of Contents (Contd.)
S. No. Page No.
List of Tables
Table 1 Calculation of losses due to TGTU plant outage 17
Table 2 List of factors 23
Table 3 Responses for SSIM 25
Table 4 SSIM matrix 27
Table 5 Initial direct influence matrix (D) 29
Table 6 Key Drivers 52
List of Figures
Figure 1 Facts about Company 11
Figure 2 SBUs of Company 12
Figure 3 Divisions of Company 12
Figure 4 View of a Unit 13
Figure 5 Schematic of plant process flow 16
Figure 6 Initial reachability diagraph 38
Figure 7 Final reachability diagraph 41
Figure 8 ISM Model 51
Executive Summary

• Describe the project in brief details. The format could be:

• Para 1: company description, description of the unit where your project is done
• Para 2: Description of the departmental/ divisional issues and the issues that you will address
in the project
• Para 3: Description of the issue, methodology used, primary and secondary research, tools and
techniques used
• Para 4: Results achieved, fulfillment of targets set for the project, benefits realised - to the
organization, to you personally, to your career
• Para 5: What went well, what could have been better, what were the obstacles which
prevented a better approach and deployment.
• Para 6: Learnings from the project – organizational and personal, suggestions for further work
• TOTAL length of the ES – 2 to 3 pages
 Executive Summary (Example)
• In a series of implementation of environmental protection measures, (company name) set-up TTT Units at downstream of …. These units are designed
to increase element recovery from 99% to 99.9%. This additional recovery not only increases marketable production but also reduces emissions to
environment significantly.

• Since their commissioning, these plants could not be operated continuously. Malfunctioning of Quench column resulted in frequent shut-down of
plant to either backwash of internal packings of column or removal and cleaning of it. This frequent problem results in under recovery of element, loss
of production & significant environmental impact.

• This problem is very complex in nature as multiple factors impact process parameters of the Units. This project was felt necessary to reach at
actionable items to ensure uninterrupted reliable operation of these plants.

• Methodology:

• To solve this complex problem of the plant, the first task was to identify various potential reasons causing this problem. Literature review & Structured
questionnaire was used for identification of the problem. This activity resulted in identification of 16 factors resulting in plant malfunctioning.

• Multiple technical reasons and solutions were suggested by technical and operational experts based on their knowledge in the domain. These reasons
were also found interdependent on each other. There was no consensus on the solutions and every possible solution can not be tried upon due to
financial and operational impacts. Hence, there was a need of managerial approach to reach at potential reasons and finding feasible solutions.
Executive Summary (Example) (Contd.)
• Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) is a framework which provides a systemic approach to develop a
realistic and clear picture of a system and its involved interdependent variables. In this method a team’s
judgment decides how items are related. It finally derives a complete structure of variables with help of
identified relationships. With help of ISM, four key drivers of the problem were identified.

• Major Findings: Firstly, with help of structured questionnaire & secondary research, factors affecting plant
performance were listed down as following:

1 Quench Column packing choke up

2 SRU last condenser outlet temperature on higher side
3 Not getting exotherm across reactor catalyst bed
4 Unit running at higher feed flow than design
5 Frequent gas breakthrough in quench column
Executive Summary (Example) (Contd.)
• After completion of ISM modelling & DEMATEL analysis, following factors were identified as critical factors with prioritization:

Priority Critical factor

1 SRU Feed Forward Control malfunctioning
2 Feed quality fluctuations
3 Quench column packing design issue
4 Lower Caustic strength

• Solution of all these above critical factors were identified with help of expert opinions. Following were the
listed down solutions:

• 1. SRU Feed Forward Control malfunctioning: Installing feed composition analyzer

• 2. Feed Quality Fluctuations:

Executive Summary (Example) (Contd.)

• Above identified reasons were reviewed for technical justification with help of
structured questionnaire and study of research papers. These reasons were found
technically justifiable.

• Feasibility analysis of these solutions was done with help of IRR & NPV
calculations. The NPV & IRR of implementation was found satisfactory and
solutions were found feasible to implement.

• 2 to 3 pages
 CP Score Card – to be included in
every Final Project Report
2. PROJECT FINAL REPORT STAGE Date of filling
A. Project Outcomes Established Value Impact Established Qualitative Impact
1. Cost of production reduced buy 10% 1. Cleanliness of site improved
2. Project delay reduced by 5% 2. Lean Management implemented
3. Revenue and profit increased by 10% 3. Working capital management improved
and 5%
B. Financial Analysis Was Financial Analysis undertaken as part of final report YES NO
If YES - financial metrics If NO - reasons
Savings Inr'000
Project Investments Inr'000
NPV Inr'000
IRR %
Payback years
Introduction

• Describe the company’s business, markets, environments in which it

operates, the key stakeholders, key data for the last five years – P&L,
Balance Sheet, production, sales, margins etc
• Describe the industry practices, benchmarking
• Describe the competition
• Describe your company’s key strengths etc. A SWOT diagram, a
VRIO diagram of Barney (ref: Jay B Barney, (1995). Looking inside for
Competitive Advantage. Academy of Management Executive, 1995 Vol.
9 No. 4, pp. 49-61)
• Describe the problem, what has been done, how it is affecting the
company, what has been tried, what needs to be done
• 3 to 4 Pages
Secondary Research and Analysis of Data
• Describe the secondary data collected – how, how many years (5 years
coverage is ideal), in-depth, different metrics, show the trends,
interactions between variables
• Quantitative data is essential. Original work in terms of data
collection, data interpretation, using the data to reach inferences,
conclusions and identify the need for Primary Research should be
clearly visible
• Data Analysis using various tools, such as, statistical, financial, market
related, HR related etc should be shown clearly. Use of the latest IT
techniques, like IOT, AI, BOTs, ML, etc could be included as
appropriate
• 5 to 8 pages
Primary Research and Analysis of Data
• Describe the primary data collected – how, focus group discussions,
building on literature data by connecting with project conditions, surveys,
sampling, questionnaires used, response analysis, discussions with peers,
and all stakeholders, projections and forecasts done etc.
• Quantitative data is essential. Original work in terms of data collection, data
interpretation, using the data to reach inferences, conclusions and tie up the
Primary and Secondary Research outputs should be visible.
• Data Analysis using various tools, such as, statistical, financial, market
related, HR related etc should be shown clearly. Use of the latest IT
techniques, like IOT, AI, BOTs, ML, etc could be included as appropriate
• 5 to 8 pages
Detailed Analysis of Primary and secondary
Research data to identify solutions
• Analyse the data to identify the options available to solve the problem
• Use a matrix to compare the various options in terms of cost, benefit,
resource requirements etc. (criteria for comparison). Identify the nest
possible and the optimal solutions
• Select a solution which you think is the most appropriate and explain
using financial or other types of analysis as appropriate.
• 4 to 6 pages
Results and Recommendations
 Identified Solutions: Describe the solutions implemented, how were they implemented, what
difficulties were faced, what changes were made to accommodate the realities, how were
stakeholders in volved in the implementation of the solution
 Financial Analysis of the solution(s) : IRR, NPV, Pay Back, are some of the types fo financial
analysis. Projected cash flow, P&L and BS could also be done.
 Risk Analysis of the solution(s): Identify the risks of not implementing, during implementation
and post implementation. There are different models of risk management available in literature.
Adopt any of them.
 Final Recommendation : Describe what was implemented finally and the results obtained
 Implementation Road Map of the identified solution: Describe all the aspects of implementation –
resources required and used up, space required, equipment, markets, financial constraints, people,
competencies, tie taken, financial and non financial benefits. Quantitative and qualitative benefits
could be mentioned.
 5 to 6 pages
Conclusions
• Describe the situation before and after the implementation –
qualitative and quantitative
• Mention what are the limitations of the project
• What could be the further lines for work
• Any other matter that you would like to mention, for example, how the
company will benefit from your project and also from the possible
extensions, anything that went well, anything that didn’t
One page Reflections on Best Practices… 4
• Best Practices
• Are those which
 Are developed after thought and experience
 Are being practiced
 Have undergone close scrutiny for effectiveness
 Yield good results
 Which helped you to do your CP well
 Have been approved by your mentor
One page Reflections on Best Practices… 5
• One-page reflections on Best Practices in your CP
• (To be included in the CP Report)
• Identify two or three Best Practices (BP)
• Write about the following:
 The main idea behind the BP
 Describe the BP in brief in the way it is being practiced
 Results obtained
To be included in the CP Project Report
• Figures
• Tables
• Line diagrams
• Plant layouts
• Financial analysis
• IT related – screen shots, general
• Pictures
• 4 to 5 pages
References, webliography, annotation
• Literature reading is a must for all Capstone Projects. Literature can be in form of journal
articles, magazine articles, internet webpages, newspaper reports, thesis etc.
• There could be TWO ways in which the external readings can be listed: under
‘References’ and under ‘Webliography’. All web related annotations will be done under
the latter, and the rest will under the former.
• All types of references must be annotated in the text. The webpages can be annotated as: (
https://www.digitalindia.gov.in/ ) in the text, and as: https://www.digitalindia.gov.in/ ,
title, accessed on date and time in the ‘Webliography’ list.
• All other references should be annotated as follows: Author name (et. al. to be added if
more than one author), year of publication). For example, Jayaraman, 1999. This indicates
that the name of the author is R. Jayaraman and the reference was published in 1999. And
then, under the ‘References’, please use use the ANA format for annotation. Example:
References, webliography, annotation
(contd.)
Jayaraman, R. (2013a, July). Impact of TQM on operational excellence. ZENITH International
Journal of Business Economics & Management Research, Vol. 3, Issue 7, pp.61-70.
Jayaraman, R. (2013b). Succeeding Through People: An Overview of How Business
Excellence Practices Have Changed the HR Landscape. Prabandhan – Indian Journal of
Management, Vol. 6, Issue 1, pp. 5-12.
Jayaraman, R. (2014). Impact of Business Excellence practices on Technology Management
in India – perspectives and a case study. MERC Global International Journal of
Management, Vol. 2, Issue 1, January 2014, pp.33-50
The report could be in any Font.
The Font size should be 14 ONLY for all Headings/ Sub Headings and 12 for the body of the report.
The Report MUST contain the following pages:
Penalty
for Pages
Page Heading
omission Limit
(marks)

Report Caption Page 2 1

Acknowledgment 2 1
Bonafide Declaration 2 1
Table of Contents 2 1
List of Figures 2 2
List of Tables 2 2
List of Abbreviations 2 2
Executive Summary 5 4
Filled Up CP score card -
Project Proposal Stage
1
Filld UP CP scorecard -
Project Final Report Stage
Introduction 5
Problem Statement,
Objectives of the study,
Methodology used 3
Secondary Research
Primary Research 25
Analysis
Conclusions and
Recommendations 4
Implementation of
recommEndations 2
Financial analysis, Estimated
Savings, IRR,ROI 5
TOTAL PAGES 59
ANNXURES APPENDED
AFTER FIN ANALYSIS WILL
NOT BE COUNTED FOR
PAGES.
MAXIMUM PAGES 60
MINIMUM PAGES 45

SCORING (MARKS) FOR CP

REPORTS
SCORE GIVEN BY FACULTY
LESS:
PENALTIES AS ABOVE

MINIMUM/ MAXIMUM
PAGE PENALTY @ 1 mark per
page for a maximum of 5
Final score
Extra Slides – for self study only
The format of the Capstone Project Proposal
• Project Title
• High Level Organisational Business Objective:
• Background of the project
• Preparatory work: Secondary & Primary Research and data Analysis done to
identify the problem.
• Methodology to be used and plan for Primary & Secondary Research for the
project
• Secondary Research
• Primary Research
• Tools /techniques to be used
The format of the Capstone Project Proposal
(contd)
• Scope of the Project, expected benefits and its importance to company’s
business
• Project Deliverables
• Quantified and Measurable Project Goal & Business Benefits.
• Project goals
• Business benefits
• Major Risks / Issues/Dependencies (if any)
• Relevance of this project to your current job
• Which learning from class you can use in the project work
Chapter -4 Data Analysis 32
4.1 Analysis of contextual relationships among variables 32
using Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) and
Structural self-interaction matrix (SSIM)
4.2 Use of DEMATEL for determining importance of 34
factors
4.3 Technical Justification of results
Chapter- 5 Results & Recommendations
5.1 Solutions for critical factors identified
5.2 Path Forward for Solutions
5.3 IRR and NPV for implementation of solutions 38
Chapter-6 Conclusions 40
6.1 Summary
6.2 Benefits of work (gains)
6.3 Limitations and Future Scope 45
Chapter-7 Applications of Learning from Class
Chapter -8 References & Webliography
Annexures
1 MOM with process licensor Engineers India Limited 50
2 Troubleshooting Quiz
3 List of respondents for ISM Modeling & DEMATEL
4 Responses for SSIM
5 Responses for DEMATEL
6 Cost of implementation and calculations of IRR & NPV 52
34
One page Reflections on Best Practices
• Syeda Noorein Inamdar and Malu Roldan.(2013). The MBA Capstone Course: Building Theoretical,
Practical, Applied, and Reflective Skills. Journal of Management Education, 37(6) 747–770

• San Jose State University, San Jose, CA, USA

One page Reflections on Best Practices… 2
Theoretical – classroom Applied – analysis and
teaching, literature surveys, recommendations, management
approval, implementation,
spreading the CP way in the
organisation
Practical – self-study, planning Reflective – what went right,
for CP, research – primary and what did not, what could have
secondary been done, Best Practices
Knowledge Results
The CP Quadrangle (Source: Prof R. Jayaraman, 2023, based on
the paper by Syeda Noorein and Malu Rodan, 2013)
One page Reflections on Best Practices… 3

Planning

The CP
Results Processing
Cycle

Implementing