Analyzing Scope Creep



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Rekom refers to scope creep as extra things you need to do or that people suggest during the project (Rekom, V. n. d.). Like many project scope creep is nearly unavoidable.  Rekom outlines a few strategies for successfully managing scope creep:

• Build in time and money to deal with it ahead of time
• Saying “no” is on a PM’s essential tools for controlling scope creep
• Deliver what you say you will deliver based on the objects of the project

I’m currently on a project that implements Monday, August 6, 2012. Mid-way through the project an additional SME, the Quality Manager (QM), who is also the business partner of the project Sponsor, was brought on board.  The Quality Manager’s role was to serve as a Reviewer of the learning content.  As usual I sent the next deliverable (learning module) out for review and included the quality manager on the distribution list.  The QM immediately rejected my learning module and sited the materials would not meet the needs of the learner and would require re-work.



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My blood pressure was at an all time high as this was the first learning module to be rejected and this QM is very influential with the project sponsor. I immediately scheduled a meeting to discuss her findings and solution the problem.  During this meeting the QM shared that there was not enough context and background provided for the learning in the content.  That based on the quality errors captured on this team that they would need much more context on document content.  As I listened to her explain why she rejected my module I began to think that she really was not up to speed on all of the components and deliverables for the project and truly didn’t know the objectives of the project.

I spent the next 2 hours providing the QM with the project objects, Statement of Work, the Detailed Design Plan that was approved by the sponsor.  I also went into detail of the learning path the new hire would take for this training. I provided much more detail than I feel like any of my peers would have provided but felt I had to spend this time because she was such an influential stakeholder in the project to the sponsor. Additional I discussed the design strategies I proposed to the project sponsor and based on the decision the sponsor did not want the additional context and background on additional documents in preparation for this instruction. The QM had her own ideas of what the learning content should include.  Though she was not the sponsor and was not the decision maker who determines what the learning content should include.

As part of the solution I also agreed to edit the current module for specific documents to include additional context where feasible for the learner, but could not commit to including this content right now.  Based on my project timeline I had to continue with my current development of the next module. I agreed to revisit the module prior to the delivery of the train-the-trainer and send back to her for final review. I’ve learned that even though I have very tight deliverable timelines for my projects, being flexible goes a long way to building relationships with the stakeholders.  The QM accepted the proposed solution but this made for very long days for me over the last 2 weeks.

Though I had built in time for scope creep and just in case something goes wrong, that time was allotted for the development of my web-based assessments and not for the learning modules. At the end of this project, my assessments were complete; however I’m cutting it very close to getting them into production for our learning management system next week.  The training for this project starts Monday, August 6.

While this may not seem like a major issue to most, re-working modules for instruction is very time consuming and at times tedious. It can easily chip away at your project timeline and cause delays in implementation if not managed properly.  I haven’t had a personal life in two weeks trying to ensure the project timeline is not in jeopardy because of this feedback from the Quality Manager. I delivered what I said I would deliver based on the project objectives and in some aspects just a little more.

As I reflect back on this experience, there were a couple of things I neglected in my role of the instructional designer.  Anytime there is a new reviewer or SME brought on board there is a kick-off meeting.  This meeting discusses the roles and responsibilities of both the SME and the Instructional designer which I didn’t conduct.  Additional, I was not clear in my communication to the reviewer where this module fell in the learning path and provide the context need to adequately perform the review. I have this listed as one of my lessons learned for the project which we’ll conduct next week.

Rekom, P.V. (n.d.). Practitioner Voices: Barriers to Project Success. Retrieved July 5, 2012. https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1342057_1%26url%3D

Communicating Effectively

Week 3 assignment was to interpret a project team communication delivered by three different modalities and to reflect upon each. The key to successful project management is effective communication- sharing the right message with the right people in a timely manner (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008 p.)

Email

When I read the email, my first thought was that it could be easily misinterpreted by the intended audience (Mark).  Second, I didn’t feel like the message was clear and concise and even lacked the purpose of the email. Emails should be concise, clear and relevant. Following those three guidelines your communications is less likely to waste the time on overly verbose messages, or messages that require additional clarification later (unknown n. d.).  I also noticed the communication did not begin with a purpose.  Stating the purpose of the email is a critical component to effective communication (Stolovitch n. d.).  Written communications should include the following:

• Begin with a clear purpose
• State the situation
• Include possible solutions
• Indicate if sign off  is required
• Specify the form that the response is required to take
• Keep tone business and respectful (Stolovitch n. d.)

There was no detailed information provided about what type of report which could also lead the intended recipient to ask for further clarification instead of just sending over the report to Jane.

Voicemail

While the tone of the voicemail was warm and welcoming it did not provide the detail the recipient needs without further clarification (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008 p. 357).  From the tone in the voicemail it seemed that Jane had a pretty good rapport with Mark and she understood his scheduling constraints as if they were a common occurrence. Even though Jane could miss her deadline, in her message she was not clear on when she needed the report.

Face-to-Face

While the face-to-face communication appears to be the most effective means to communication the project needs of Jane, the message was not different. She was not clear or concise with the report she needed.  I do applaud the effort of not relying on the written communication or voicemail message that could be misinterpreted. She should have wrapped up the face-to-face meeting with confirmation that’ll she would also send an email to document the conversation between the two of them with the specific report needed the time she needed the report so she does not miss her deadline.  I’m not sure the smile at the end of the face-to-face communication was meant as a warm gesture or she was smiling in hopes that Mark would follow through with her request.

 References

Portny, S.E., Mantel, S.J., meredith, J.R. Shafer, S.M., Sutton, M.M., & Kramer, B.E. (2008), Project managment:Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hobken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Stolovitch, H. (n. d.). Project Management and Instrcutional Design. Retrieved June 27,2012. https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1342057_1%26url%3D

Unknown (n. d.). 6 Tips to tame the email monster. Retrieved July 14,2012. http://www.duration-driven.com/2010/08/6-tips-to-tame-the-e-mail-monster/#more-303

Learning from a Project "Post-mortem"

My First Paint Project

herspeak.blogspot.com

It took me forever to decide what project I was going to use for this assignment. I was so excited that there was no work related requirement. Then I sat with a bobble head doll look not knowing what I would actually write about. The sky was the limit and I was in a fog. Suddenly, I thought about paint project for my second bathroom.

Two weeks ago I attempted my first Do-It-Yourself paint project for my second bathroom. I selected the 2nd bath because it’s upstairs and guest do not use. Secondly, I don’t use. So if I botched the paint job, I wouldn’t have to look at it every day until I figured out how to fix it.


The first thing I did was scope my project. Since it was my first time painting I wanted to know how much paint I needed, type of brushes, how time it would take me to complete the painting and where to find paint for the trim. I had an idea of the color of paint and took a swatch of the material I wanted to match down to Lowes. While at Lowes, I took an opportunity to ask the paint expert what I needed for the trim work in the bathroom. Yeah, I know trim is white, but is all white actually white. Hmm….. that was my question. They were kind enough to share that in most sub-divisions the builder of the homes typically has a contract with a company that supplies all the paint for the homes. This brings to mind the stakeholders and identifying them all upfront in a project. I’d just found out that there was a stakeholder in this project I hadn’t know about. I took my three samples from Lowes and painted a small area on the wall and none of the samples where exactly what I was looking for.


In the interim, I continued some research from the builder’s website and located the number for the Builder. I contacted the builder and they shared that Sherwin Williams is the company used for all the paint jobs in my neighborhood. I visited Sherwin Williams to pick up the paint for the trim and voiced my concern about the current paint samples and what color I was actually going for. The assistant at Sherwin Williams asked to give the color match a try. He took the sample from Lowes and took up a few levels. I took it home and added a sample to the wall. It was exactly what I was looking for. I went back and purchased two gallons of the color and I was off to paint my bathroom.


I successfully painted my bathroom with the first coat. I waited a couple of hours and painted the second coat. I definitely under estimated the amount of time it would take to paint the bathroom. I estimated about ½ a day. It was an all day paint project. WOW! It took forever and my back and neck were killing me. This definitely caused a large amount of scope creep, due to my underestimation of time to paint. Rekom, states that scope creep is inevitable, and you must build time and money to deal with it ahead of time (Rekom, V. n. d.). I was really impressed with my work. I allowed the paint to dry overnight. The next afternoon I began adding all the items back to the bathroom I removed. Last, I hung the shower curtain. I was all smiles.


A few days later I noticed the rod wasn’t even. I attempted to adjust the rod on both sides. As I moved the rods, the paint began to chip off. I panicked and stood in amazement. I didn’t know why the paint was chipping off each time I moved the rod. All of a sudden my light bulb came on. Even though I allowed the paint to dry overnight, the paint was dry to touch. I didn’t research how long it would take for the paint (satin-latex) to actually set, referred to as curing time. That prompted me to search the timeframe for paint to actually cure and discovered it can take up to a month to cure hard for latex based paints. YIKES!


Reflecting back on the painting project I felt like I had not really identified all of the stakeholders. Sherwin Williams was that unknown stakeholder that was identified early on in the project. Identifying them early in the project didn’t affect my budget or painting time line. I had already estimated cost for purchasing trim. My project timeline was grossly underestimated. The level of paint detail in the corners, making sure I didn’t have streaks and applying the second coat took two times as long as I had estimated. Finally, the curing process for the paint job was a critical task in the project that I didn’t even know about. I simply thought it took a few hours to dry. This should have been a part of the analysis part of the project and calculated into the timeline. Although every project is different, the activities that make the most sense early on in the project are confirming the needs; drafting objectives identify the audience selecting the strategies (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008)



Overall…. I LOVE my paint job. It was a huge success because I met my goal of painting the bathroom myself and painting it a color I really liked.

Rekom, P.V. (n.d.). Practitioner Voices: Barriers to Project Success. Retrieved July 5, 2012. https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1342057_1%26url%3D

Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog.

Select the Project Management from the menu at the top for all posted related to that course.

Thank you

Reflection

Reflection

Dr. George Siemens talks about the increasing role of technology and new communication technology in distance education (Siemens, n.d.). I think this will be one of the ongoing perceptions of distance learning. There is a perception that technology is viewed as making learning easier to do/accomplish. Technology really is just a different way of learning the same content that’s learned in a traditional classroom. Other perceptions that will not fade in the coming years are the lack of face-to-face interaction between the instructor and the student and the quality of education at online universities. “Online degrees are just as credible because these programs must prove the same level of academic standards required of their brick-and-mortar peers in order to qualify for accreditation, a voluntary form of self-regulation and peer review that ensures quality and educational excellence (unknown n.d.).”

As an instructional designer one of the key components to help influence perception about distance learning is effective use of the Theory of Equivalency, which states that distance education is not identical to face-to-face education, but is equivalent. There will always be a perception that distance education is not equal or valued the same as a traditional classroom. I can, as an instructional designer ensure that in my analysis, design, development and implementation that the instruction is equal to the same instruction the learner would receive in a traditional classroom.  I can successfully accomplish this through activities and applications in my instruction.  The learner will get the content; the heart of an online course is activities that make the content come alive (Piskurich n.d.). As an instructional designer in a corporate learning environment I’ll need to create sound and practical online instruction. Distance education benefits corporations by allowing them to interact with different offices around the world (Siemens, G. n. d.).  

To be a positive force for continuous improvement in distance  education means to me not only exceeding my clients expectations for online courses that enhance learning and communication for other team members but also creating a foundation for each and every online course I develop. That means not compromising on the activities, collaboration just for the sake of speed to market or speed to development. This allows me create sound instructional design that makes a difference in my work space that continues to evolve.

References:

Piskurich, G. (n.d.). Facilitating Online Learning. Retrieved June, 24, 2012. https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_549515_1%26url%3D

Siemens, G. (n.d.). The Future of Distance Education. Retrieved June 24, 2012 from: https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2F%09webapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_5495%0915_1%26url%3D

Unknown, (n.d.). Online Degrees Gaining in Acceptance Among Employers- But concerns Remain. Retrieved June, 22,2012. http://www.elearners.com/articles/all-posts/how-employers-view-online-degrees/

Converting to a Distance Learning Format

Week 7 Converting to a Distance Learning Format

Deciding to convert to an online blended course is not and easy decision to make and requires a lot of planning. Blended courses have a mix of online interactions and face-to-face interaction.  This mix varies from 30-79% (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012).  Even before you start of the pre-planning activities associated with converting to a blended distance learning course, the trainer must decide on a distance learning theory. What is the foundation by which the training will be based on?  A firmly based theory of distance education will be one that can provide the touchstone against all decisions - political, financial, educational, and social – when they have to be made can be with confidence (Keegan 1988)

Once the theory or components of several distance learning theories are identified, you begin your pre-planning strategies.

 

Guide for Converting to Blending learning

Pre-Planning Strategies

•  Determine the Instructional System Design (ISD) to use. When instruction is designed within a system, learning occurs (Simonson et al 2012 p. 152).
• ADDIE
• Morrison, Kemp, Ross
• Dick & Carey Model





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Know learner characteristics – Discovers the traits that differentiate learners to assist with achieving the goals of the instruction (Morrison et al 2012 p. 57)

• Conduct analysis to discover the leaner characteristics to include:
• general characteristics
•  specific entry characteristics
• learning styles
• social characteristics
• learners with disabilities
• culturally diverse learners
• Write clear measurable Objectives (Piskurich, G. n.d.)
• Create an instructional Plan of activities to take place from module to module or week to week.  This can be accomplished with a syllabus (Piskurich, G. n.d.)
• Consider Technology – Determine the type of technological resources that trainer and students can easily access and learner knows how to use (Piskurich, G. n.d.)
• Technology support – Be prepared for technical problems.  It is important that students have projects and assignments independent of the instructor and alternative means of communication (Simonson et al 2012 p. 153)
• Identify an evaluation method - The AEIOU Approach is a great way to evaluate a distance learning program.  It uses quantitative and qualitative methodologies and uses formative and summative evaluation strategies (Simonson et al 2012 p. 356)

Original Training Enhancements

• Focus on visual presentations
• Focus on activities and applications - They are the heart of an online course (Piskurich, n.d.)
• Provide increase access for students

Changing Role of the Facilitator

The facilitator will transition from a traditional classroom setting to a blended environment where they must consider ways to facilitating the learning process and encouraging students to assume responsibility for their learning (Simonson et al 2012 p. 204). The facilitator will need to select methods of teaching that provide learners with enough interaction to keep them on task while encouraging them to explore their learning experiences (Simonson et al. 2012 p 204).  The trainer can accomplish this with discussion forums, group collaborative activities, and blogs all of which still require the trainer to be engage and guide the student.

·         Guide students at the Beginning – do not assume students will make a easy transition from the traditional classroom to online (Simonson et al 2012 p. 205)

·         Communicate regularly – The facilitator can’t no assume that because some of the course is face-to-face that they don’t have to communicate with the students as much. In fact, the facilitator needs to increase the amount of communication to ensure students understand the online assignments.  It’s more difficult for the facilitator to determine if a student is struggling in an online environment because there are no visual cues.  Additionally, the instructor may adjust the hours that they are available to accommodate the online portion of the course.

·         Question & Answer – In a traditional classroom the instructor answers questions in class from the students.  The facilitator will need to establish and adjust to a question and answer forum for students for the online courses. The facilitator will need to establish a deadline for responses with the understanding that students now have availability to course materials any time.

Steps to Encourage Trainee Communication

1.      Instructor to show the trainee that they care about their success.

2.    Participant in asynchronous and face-to-face discussion and not disengage, help make it happen for the trainee.

3.    The will get the content, create collaborative activities, and applications that motivate them to learn

4.    Involve the trainee in the development process of the instruction

References:

Morrison, G., Ross, S., Kalman,S., Kemp, J (2011). Designing Effective Instrution. Sixth edition. John Wiley & Sons, inc.

Piskurich, G.( n.d.). Planning and designing online courses. Retrieved May 30, 2012. https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_549515_1%26url%3D

(Simonson, M. Smaldino, S., Albright, M., Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and Learning at a Distance foundations of Distance Education. Fifth Edition Pearson



The Impact of Open CourseWare

The Impact of Open Courseware

Open source software is intended to be freely shared and can be improved upon and redistributed to others (Simonson et al p 141).  OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a free and open digital publication of high quality college and university level educational materials.  These materials are organized as courses, and often include course planning materials and evaluation tools as well as the content.  OpenCourseWare are free and openly licensed, accessible to anyone, anytime via the internet (OpenCourseWare Consortium n.d.) As a part of my analysis I reviewed a course from an Open Course site. I selected the Open Yale Course one because I was intrigued to see if an ivy league higher education systems was a step above the university I attend are their students better equipped for distance education success or do they all pretty much the same pre-planning and planning activities associated with distance education.

From the homepage I’ve already noticed they’ve done their planning and considered all learning styles for the courses offered. All of the courses are available in video, audio and text transcript formats.  Using all of these types of media address all of the learning styles.  Learning styles is one of the major factors in successful learning at a distance (Simonson et al p. 226). Additionally the analysis upfront of the learner characteristics has been thought out and under Terms of Use there are references to age restrictions for the use of the Open courses at Yale.  What I did notice so far is none of the above noted information is located in one place.  I had to select different tabs within the site to discover this information.

There are a list of courses, syllabi, which is critical to preparing students for expectations course work due and when throughout the course (Piskurich, G. n.d.).  It includes course reading and applications assignments in the form of problem sets.

A couple of opportunities I noticed with the setup and introduction of the Yale open courses.  It appears that they provide very little orientation for individuals who may not be familiar with Open Course sites.  The course I specifically reviewed called Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner provided an overview of the course, how the course was structured and course materials which could be downloaded.  I was still unsure of my PC/technology requirements.  It wasn’t until I selected the introduction to the course that I was able to view the audio, video and how the transcripts where made available.

These are all past courses that were taught at Yale and have been made available.  After reviewing this course and the associated syllabus, I saw very little interactivity for the learner other than the downloading of the transcripts, listening to the audio and viewing the lecture online. The Designer had no other activities for the distance learner and there were none included in the syllabus to account for distance learning. Only the short paper and term papers that was required.

In conclusion, the format is very streamlined for distance learning. It does follow the distance learner pre-planning vaguely but it does not appear this site is for the novice with distance learning or open course sites.

References

Open Yale Courses: A free open website offering a number of introductory courses taught by Yale University professors. http://oyc.yale.edu/

Piskurich, G.( n.d.). Planning and designing online courses. Retrieved May 30, 2012. https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_if=2_1&url=%2fwebapp%fblackboarrd%2fececute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3Dcourse%26id%3d_549515_1%26url%3d

Simonson, M. Smaldino, S., Albright, S., Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and Learning at a Distance Foundations of distance education Fifth edition, Pearson

Asynchronous Training

Example 3: Asynchronous Training

In an effort to improve its poor safety record, a biodiesel manufacturing plant needs a series of safety training modules.  These stand-alone modules must illustrate best practices on how to safely operate the many pieces of heavy machinery on the plant floor.  The modules should involve step-by-step instruction and the method of delivery to all shifts at the plant.   As well, the shift supervisors want to be sure the employees are engaged and can demonstrate their learning from the modules.

Asynchronous training is distance education where instruction is offered and students access it at separate time or anytime it’s convenient for them (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, Zvaeck, 2102 p. 34).  Think of it in terms of anytime, anyplace, any path learning.  In this training the instructional designer is tasked with developing stand alone modules that also demonstrate how to process for a manufacturing plant. The challenge with asynchronous training is selecting methods of teaching that provide learners enough interaction to keep them on task while encouraging them to explore their learning experiences (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, Zvaeck, 2102 p. 204).   A couple of different technologies the instructional could use as part of their development of these modules are podcast and blogging. Additionally based on what is known from the scenario, existing training in the form of videos may be available at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Podcast

The lecture or training can be revisited once the training is complete (Kersey, J. 2009).  This provides the student flexibility to review the video at their own pace. This type of flexibility provides the learner to review any step-by-step instruction they may have missed in the initial viewing the opportunity to view again.  This isn’t an option in a classroom lecture environment.  There is the ability to embed notes within the podcast that the student can access. The step-by-step instruction of the training can be called out in these notes.

A podcast (video) addresses multiple learning styles in single format that will appeal to all types of employees required to take the safety training. For example, those that need the visual element, the podcast streams video of how to perform the step-by-step instruction.

Real world examples can be found here at Walden University in my MS Instructional Design program.  We view podcast/video cast weekly as part of the resources to support content and reading materials.

Blogging

As part of the learning the employees are to demonstrate their learning from the modules.  A great way to validate the learning is to have the employee perform the action and document their process, experience and results in a blog for review.  Blogs can be excellent tools for students to reflect about course content or reporting activities in a student teaching experience (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, Zvaeck, 2102 p. 129).  A study conducted by Brescia and Miller findings suggest that the reinforcing of course engagement and the repetition of exposure to coursework are the most valuable aspects of blogging (Brescia, W., Miller, M. (n.d.).  The blog can also be used to provide feedback, coaching and suggestions for the employee to successfully complete the modules.

References:

Kersey, J.C. (2009).  Benefits of using Podcast in Higher Education.  Retrieved May 24,2012 http://sfaapodcasts.net/2009/02/27/benefits-of-using-podcasts-in-higher-education/.

Simonson, S., Smaldion, S., Albrithg. M., & Zvacek S. (2012).  Teaching and learning at the a distance: Foundations of distance education (5^th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Brescia,W.F., Miller M. (n.d.) Retrieved may 24 2012. Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education, vol. 5 http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=10&ved=0CLgBEBYwCQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fejite.isu.edu%2FVolume5%2FBrescia.pdf&ei=4sG-T96NNKmViQL0taSaCA&usg=AFQjCNH8W2rwxgSN-q1314niJAZhr4w4nQ&sig2=XaAloxmiqMlTVQjEacjKjw