Spotting Scope Creep

Even if it comes from you...

     Often the project manager acts as instructional designer as well.  That is often true in my case and, unfortunately, I am the worse offender of scope creep.  Currently, I am working on a project, mapping the middle and high school science program.  We agreed early on to complete the mapping, common assessments and list of required resources as a part of the Science focus this year.

Here is how it begins:

     "But, wouldn't it also be great if we then designed a new Science Fair initiative?  It all makes perfect sense as we are using a new set of standards that require inquiry, problem solving and critical thinking through the scientific process. Its part of the mapping, in a round about sort of way.  Then, the 6th grade teacher says, 'Oh well, I can pilot it this year and work out the issues before we go full school."

Factors sparking scope creep:

     In our case, scope creep emerged from a desire to do more.  The excitement surrounding the possibilities of the new curricula got the better of us and we were off.  Portny et al (2008) describe "the natural tendency of the client, as well as project team members, to try to improve the project's output as the project progresses" (p. 346) as "common".  Another factor leading to change was the perceived need to differentiate in a tangible way the old curricula from the new; to demonstrate the extent of the work done.

Problems that emerged:

    The initial mapping went very well.  We were on schedule and excited about the progress made.  The moment we began to tackle the specifics of the implementation of the curricula and particularly the extent of the Science fair, the excitement quickly turned to frustration.  The teachers working on the curricula were not meeting the deadlines of our project schedule primarily and were requesting additional time to work on the project.  We had allotted in our budget for 3 days where the teachers would have substitute coverage.  Three days were no longer sufficient so we were over budget, over time and the "client", the Head of School was wondering what went wrong.  Luckily, we had shared our ideas with him and he was equally excited by them.   "A major source of trouble with changes is typically that the project manager...adopts an informal process of handling requests for change" (Portny, et al, 2008, p. 346).  That is certainly what happened with us!


In the end:

     The Science fair details were postponed until the following year and the specifics of instructional strategies were tabled until the main assessments could be completed.  We were back where we started, but not without our bruises in the form of unpaid overtime, unnecessary frustration and a compromised quality of assessment materials.

What we learned:

1. Be specific from the beginning.  Ensure that all stakeholders are on board with the project's outcomes and personal responsibilities.  Have the initial process formalized by placing everything in writing and having stakeholders sign off.
2.  Have an ideas portion of the project.  Inevitably, you will come up with ideas to expand or/and enhance the project you are working on.  Write them down.  Place them as suggestions for projects later on.  Do not discard them; they are also very valuable to the process.
3. But, make sure you do NOT make these a part of the existing project.  Make it your goal to stick to the objectives, timeline and budget you agreed to at the beginning.

I love this quote attributed to Mark Skaife, a well known motor racing driver, "There was a bit of youthful enthusiasm going on.  But they were all way too deep and I came out in a second."  Wish I had!  Next time.

References

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.

 

Tips when developing budgets for projects

Having trouble creating accurate budgets for innovative projects? You are not alone.  I found some useful tips on the following sites:

Bright Hub PM: Taming the Unknown: Accurate Costs Estimate Tips by Rupen Sharma

Managing Innovative Projects: Don't mistake the Map for the Journey by Rick Freedman of TechRepublic

Two others from Freedman at TechRepublic that may be of interest:

The Spectrum of Innovation in IT Management

And

Agile Project Management: Estimating the Unknown

Communication is an art and a science

So many of us take our ability to communicate entirely for granted.  We feel that because we can write and speak, we can communicate.  We forget that communication implies not just what we can do as the one trying to communicate ideas, but the role of the person receiving and making sense of the message.  With effective communication, we need to make our goal: to be understood.

In project management, it is particularly important to communicate effectively; to understand what others' are seeing, hearing and feeling and ensure that the message we are trying to convey is received as we intend.  How can we do this most effectively?  I believe this depends on the receiver of the communication.

“Communication is first and foremost about the other person. It's not about what would be easiest, fastest or least scary for you” (Pollack, 2009).  It is important to know how this person prefers to receive information.  Look at how the person has communicated with you in the past.  If they normally leave a voicemail, it is likely that this is a preferred method of communicating for them.

In an exercise about effective communication, I read, heard and saw the same message delivered via email, voicemail and a face-to-face exchange.  I wondered which method worked best for me. 

Ø  As I read the email, I felt that the sender was clear, polite but honest about her needs.  Although I felt uncomfortable that I, as the reader, may have placed the sender in a difficult situation, she provided a medium for solving the issue and I felt like she would genuinely appreciate my quick response.

Ø  As I listened to the voicemail, I felt fear and shame.  I felt her disappointment and I wished I had not placed her in that position.  This is definitely not a way I prefer to be contacted. 

Ø  The method that surprised me most was the face-to-face exchange.  Although I initially believed this was my preferred method of communication, I did not like the way this particular message was relayed.  In the video, I only saw one person speaking and for me the best part of the face-to-face method is the possible exchange between the two people.  There were places in the dialogue where the receiver may have spoken perhaps apologizing or immediately providing the requested information, which were not there.  The one sided communication was too long, in my opinion, to be a fair representation of effective communication face-to-face.

From this exercise, I learned that I like email communication if it is clear, simple and sincere and may even prefer it to a face-to-face exchange if the request is a simple one.  However, as Pollack (2009) in the ABC article, The Best Way to Communicate in the Workplace explains, “If you have something complicated to explain, if you have a super-urgent message to deliver, if you get the sense someone is annoyed at you or if you are annoyed at someone, your best bet is to talk one-on-one”.   I certainly agree with that. 

Recognizing your preferred method of communication as compared to that of others can have a powerful impact on your overall effectiveness as a project manager, and for that matter, in all areas of your life.

Reference:

Pollack, L. (2009). ABC News. The best way to communicate in the workplace.  Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/OnCampus/story?id=6681011&page=1.

Why projects fail despite best intentions

Designing, developing, implementing and evaluating curriculum is a time consuming, necessary process for all schools. At small schools, not part of large districts, the burden falls firmly on the laps of teachers already busily addressing teaching and learning in their classrooms. Still, the job must be done.  A few years ago I lead a Language Arts curriculum review committee during its design stage.

This was the first time I lead a curriculum design team but had participated in various teams before.  None of these had been completely successful and I was determined to make this project different.  I quickly held a meeting with the teachers and administration to discuss the rationale for the project.  I explained the curriculum development cycle, the need for the process and the goals of the current committee.  I asked for teachers from all grade levels to join the team at that time and filled the committee with interested teachers who would be directly affected by the project’s outcomes.  The following week we held our first meeting where I shared our objectives and agenda items for the remainder of the year.  The only constraint I shared at that time was that of time.  We needed to have the document completed by the end of the school year.

We began our work enthusiastically but it wasn’t long before we realized that this would not be an easy project.  In the end, we completed the Language Arts curriculum including grade level benchmarks, program philosophy, essential questions and enduring understandings and summative assessments.  However, we were not entirely proud of our results.  What could we have done differently?  We followed the plan.  Everyone was on board.  We had the support of the administration.

We did not understand the constraints of the project and how they would negatively impact the outcomes. The project plan I developed was not feasible and it took me too long to make the required changes.  I find some comfort in the knowledge that this is described as a common mistake.  “Even when project managers do their best to assess feasibility and develop detailed plans, many find out that they cant achieve what they thought could be done” (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, Kramer, 2008, p. 106).  Specifically, the job of unpacking the standards is extremely time consuming but an essential step in the early stages.  This took 3 times as long as I had initially planned and the job was rushed which affected the quality of the work.  I tried to adjust the schedule to fix the problem, but here emerged a problem I had not counted on (naïve, I know), the constraint of budget.  Although I enjoyed the support of the administration, fixing the schedule would entail coverage for teachers that was not a part of the budget.   

The project was completed, but it was rushed and over budget.  The assessments were weak and had to be revamped the following year. Although the process was a great learning experience for all, not just in the area of project management, but also in improving teaching and learning Language Arts at our school, the deliverables were weak.  This is so primarily because I as the project manager did not “[anticipate] and [plan] for risks and uncertainties” (p. 107).

Lessons learned:

1.     Do not skimp on the planning stage

2.     Ensure that your feasibility study is complete and accurate

3.     Include all team members in the development of schedules and responsibilities

4.     Hold everyone accountable for their performance, including yourself.

5.     Use ‘intelligent flexibility’ keeping to your outcome goals, but remaining flexible with the process.

** Communicate, communicate, communicate!

References:

Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.

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.

Stolovich, H. (2012). Project Management and Instructional Design. Retrieved on January 5, 2012 from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2097260_1%26url%3D

Converting Face-to-Face Learning into a Blended-Learning Opportunity

      On-line education is increasingly becoming more acceptable as a viable learning format option.  New technologies allow for instruction to be targeted, individualized and therefore more meaningful than ever before.  Many face-to-face learning formats are being converted into blended-learning formats in order to broaden the possibilities available to the learners.  However, merely making the materials accessible on-line and transferring the assignments will not make the desired changes.  The instructional designer creating the change must pre-plan carefully, designing new activities that make the most of the opportunities awarded through a blended-learning format.  The role of the trainer will also shift significantly from a face-to-face environment.  He/she should  be 'trained' in order to understand and make the most of the changes. 

Open Courses Increasing Access to Education

Open Courses have emerged all over the Internet.  They reinforce the belief that education should be accessible to all.   Often provided by the top universities around the world, open courses are an opportunity to learn for free, and considering the price of a tertiary education these days, they are worth taking a good look at!

I have chosen to look at the open courses offered by Yale, known as Open Yale courses.  The courses range from Introduction to the Old Testament to Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics. .  Specifically, I am looking at a course entitled SOCY 151: Foundations of Modern Social Theory. The welcome message from the Founding Director and Principal Investigator, Diana E. E. Kleiner, expresses the goal of the initiative.  “We hope the lectures and other course materials, which reflect the values of a Yale liberal arts education, inspire your own critical thinking and creative imagination” (Open Yale Courses).

Excited about the potential of the initiative, I quickly got started.  The course consists of a course overview, a topical syllabus with lecture videos, assigned reading lists for each lecture, transcripts of each lecture and descriptions of the assessments used in the Yale for credit course. 

I teach the advent of communism in my IB History class so I was particularly intrigued by the videos on Marxism.  Each video is approximately one hour long and the first one I watched was incredibly interesting.  I viewed it with a copy of the transcript open and learned quite a bit in the process, which I plan to share with my students in the near future. 

Distance learning has opened the doors to many learners thirsty for knowledge but lacking access.  The potential for distance learning to revolutionize education everywhere is already being realized and much emphasis is being placed on how to improve learning through distance, online opportunities. 

Best practices in distance learning involve many of the same ideas as in traditional classroom teaching.  Planning is an essential component.  Understanding your learners and the learning context is the first step in the planning process.  The next step, creating good objectives and a specific plan or syllabus can then reflect the learners’ environment more accurately.  Designing instruction for specific learners enhances the learning experience and makes the process more efficient and effective.  The Yale Open courses are designed for those potential learners that have the interest to learn from the most respected lecturers in their field, with the hope that these lectures will inspire learners to improve their lives and the lives of others.  Although they are open to all with access to the Internet, they are not designed for someone that requires a specific skill or content understanding.  

Interactivity is an essential component of quality distance learning programs.  Although the Yale Open courses allow would-be learners to access professors and experts that would otherwise have no access due to financial restrictions, lack of admission to the university or/and distance, they allow for no interactivity with either the professors or the other learners.  Moderated interactivity is time consuming and costly and could not be offered free of cost. 

Assessment is important to learning in all types of settings.  Although the Yale Open courses list the types of assessments required by the credit earning, tuition paying students, neither the actual assessments nor the rubrics used to assess are shared.  That is a component I would of enjoyed using and missed from the course.  I understand that feedback would not be available in a free environment however I was ready to write about the issues, to reflect, to engage with the content. I was left wanting more.   But, as the goal of the courses is to “inspire…critical thinking and creative imagination”, my experience with Professor Ivan Szeleyni through the SOCY 151: Foundations of Modern Social Theory Yale Open course was a success. 

Donald Kirkpatrick offers a straightforward approach to evaluating learning programs (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, Zvacek, 2012, p. 349) (Clark, n.d.).   The first level deals with the reactions of the learners, “Did they like it?”.  I did enjoy reviewing the course and the one session I participated in.  The second level deals with learning, “Did they learn it?”.  In an attempt to evaluate the degree to which I “have advanced in skills, knowledge, or attitude” (Simonson, et al, 2012, p. 349), I realize I did get something more concrete than mere enjoyment out of the course.  I can speak on the subject and elaborate on the ideas discusses.  I am not certain whether this new knowledge will remain a part of my long-term memory, but at the moment it has inspired new thinking and the creation of differing perspectives than those previously held.    The third level deals with the transfer of knowledge, “Will they use it?”.  I have already incorporated one of Dr. Szeleyni’s ideas into my lesson on the origins of communism.  The fourth level, results, is more difficult to assess in this situation.  Obviously the impact of the course would have been more profound if the course offered interactivity and if the assessments and rubrics had been shared. 

I admit that as an adult learner with a profound interest in modern social theory, I am not the typical learner.  The for credit version of SOCY 151: Foundations of Modern Social Theory is designed for exceptionally talented, young adults, recent high school graduates not for a teacher with 22 years of experience.  Therefore, Dr. Szeleyni is not looking at learners like me as he speaks yet I felt connected in the experience.  Perhaps, this is because as Malcolm Knowles describes in his Andragogy theory, “[adults] should acquire the habit of looking at every experience as an opportunity to learn and should become skillful in learning from it” (Smith, 2002).   I think the Yale Open courses, and specifically the one I participated in, SOCY 151: Foundations of Modern Social Theory , is worthwhile for adults interested in the subject.

References

Clark, D. (n.d.). Kirkpatrick's four level evaluation model. Retrieved October 5, 2012,

            from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/isd/kirkpatrick.html

Open Yale courses. (2012). Retrieved October 5, 2012, from http://oyc.yale.edu/ 

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning

at a distance Foundations of distance education (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Smith, M. K. (2002) 'Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and

andragogy', the encyclopedia of informal education, www.infed.org/thinkers/et-knowl.htm.

SOCY 151: Foundations of Modern Social Theory. (2012). Retrieved from 

            http://oyc.yale.edu/sociology/ socy-151#overview 

Interactive Tours for the 9-12 classroom

“Technology has the shelf life of a banana.”  Scott McNealy

As the speed of technological innovation continues to hasten, so does the potential for enriched distance learning.  Instructional designers are creating new, exciting opportunities for learners everywhere.  The immense choices of technologies available provide an exciting range of possibilities. 

Case in point

A high school history teacher, located on the west coast of the United States, wants to showcase to her students new exhibits being held at two prominent New York City museums. The teacher wants her students to take a "tour" of the museums and be able to interact with the museum curators, as well as see the artwork on display. Afterward, the teacher would like to choose two pieces of artwork from each exhibit and have the students participate in a group critique of the individual work of art. (Walden University)

Role of the Instructional Designer

There are numerous ways that the instructional designer can help the teacher develop this learning module.   But, the most important first step is to determine the lowest common technologies (LCT).   This can be done through a student survey where the students are prompted to list the technologies available to them (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, Zvacek, 2012, p. 116).   Survey Monkey is a user friendly and efficient tool to use to create and administer surveys.  There is no point in developing a module that requires technologies not available to the learners.

Facebook

High school students are likely to be familiar with social networking sites such as Facebook.   “According to a recent study by the Pew Internet and American Life project, 55% of precollege Americans ages 12 to 17 were active on social networking sites in 2006” (Simonson, et al, p. 131).  Using Facebook, students can easily take a picture of the two pieces of artwork they choose to critique and begin discussion threads. Similarly, the museum curator can log in to the Facebook page and interact with the students asynchronously.  He /she can engage in a Q&A with the students regardless of time zone or location.

The “tour” of the museum exhibition(s) can take place through video created by the museum and placed on to the Facebook page.  Further, most museums already have virtual tours of their regular collection, albeit they reserve their special exhibits for those that come in for the face-to-face visit. 

Developing a rubric in order to determine if the learning outcomes have been reached is important to the design of this module.  Discussion threads are an easy way to evaluate the students’ ability to question and analyze content. 

Kristen Nicole Cardon, a student in a British Literary course, describes how her teacher facilitated discussions in her class using a Facebook page. She describes various benefits of the use of Facebook in her class including, “We were able to benefit from insights from peers who generally don’t participate in class discussion” and “Through contributions from our classmates, we understood how each distinct text related to the others and to the class focus, and so on” (Walsh, 2010).  Facebook is a great tool to use for lively discussion threads particularly because of the familiarity of the platform and the ease of use. 

Facebook is also used in the classroom for other purposes.  Not only do the discussion threads provide a platform for developing your ideas but also Facebook gives students a voice they may not of otherwise had.  In a recent article from the popular educational website, Edutopia, I learned how teachers have been using Facebook to give students a voice and to promote advocacy (Walpert-Gawron, 2010). The Buffelgrass Shall Perish fan page provided Mr. Brian Kievit’s middle school students the opportunity to send their message to a broader community using Facebook (2010). 

Facebook is a useful tool, with which the teacher can effectively apply distributed learning, 

allowing “instructor, students, and content to be located in different, non-centralized locations so that instruction and learning occur independent of place and time” (Simonson, et al, 2012, p. 124).

Virtual Worlds

Perhaps a bit ambitious, but another exciting possibility is the use of virtual worlds such as Second Life. Virtual worlds “appear to have exciting potential for placing students in real-life applications of course content”  (Simonson, et al, 2012, p. 132).  The instructional designer can recreate the desired exhibition and the students’ avatars can interact with the art within the virtual world.  

This is an exciting concept but the limitations may be too difficult to overcome.  The necessity of a large bandwidth for users and the extensive amount of time required to recreate the scenarios (Simonson, et al, p. 132) may make this technology impossible for the teacher and instructional designer alike.  However, once developed it would be the next best thing to purchasing a round trip ticket to New York City and being there in person.

Many educators are already experimenting with tools like Second Life.  As part of a Global Kids Inc. initiative, Second Life was used to enhance content in urban classrooms.  They warn not to underestimate the power of Second Life as an instructional tool especially when teamed with other Web 2.0 tools (Joseph, Santo, Tsai, 2007, p. 18). Global Kids offers some ideas for implementing Second Life in classrooms such as creating interactive workshops and photo shows (Joseph, et al, 2007, p. 19).  Both of these would be useful in our scenario. 

Wikis, Blogs and Video Conferencing (Skype)

Depending on the availability of technology and the experience of the instructional designer and the teacher, the right choice may be different from the two outlined above.  Wikis provide an easy to use platform for collaboration.  Videos can be loaded as widgets and discussion threads can be used to critique artwork or/and interact with the museum curators.  Other possibilities include the use of blogs for ease of communication and or video conferencing tools such as Skype to interact with the museum curators in real time.    

References

Joseph, B., Santo, R., & Tsai, T. (2007, July). Best practices in using virtual worlds for education 

     [PDF]. 

Scott McNealy's top five. (2006, April 25). Retrieved from Tech Republic website:

     (http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/hiner/scott-mcnealys-top-five-one-liners-of-all-time/349)

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a    

            distance Foundations of distance education (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Walsh, K. (2010, August). Facebook as an instructional technology tool [Newsgroup post]. Retrieved 

     from EmergingEd Tech website: http://www.emergingedtech.com/2010/08/ 

     facebook-as-an-instructional-technology-tool/ 

Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2010, May). Social media in education: The power of Facebook [Newsgroup post]. 

     Retrieved from Edutopia website: http://www.edutopia.org/ 

     social-media-education-examples-facebook