My worst experience, best experience and defining moment in Instructional Design were all wrapped into a year and half long experience. My first experience in the educational industry was to create a hybrid/blended curriculum that could be used for “at-risk” high school students who were not allowed or unable to attend school during the day. All of the students were overage and under credit for average high school students, in addition most of them were also young parents. The problem that I faced is that by the time I arrived to begin this project, writing the curriculum, the school already had the students meeting regularly every week. I was forced to run the program while creating the program.
At the end of the year and a half I was able to complete the Math program and start the English and Science programs with plans to add a Special Education component to each content area. I had learned so much about teaching, online curriculum development, and the world of hybrid/blended education. It turned out to be a true bittersweet experience. This experience showed me the necessity of project management and as I learn more about project management, the need to follow a project management process. Portny et al define project management as (p. 3), “the process of guiding a project from its beginning through its performance to its closure” (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, 2008)
Some of the weaknesses that made the project difficult were:
1. The requirement to achieve all levels of the project at the same time; there was no process
2. Limited resources and not knowing what resources were required before the implementation of the project
3. I had to be the project manager, the curriculum designer, and the math/science teacher; spread so thin I was not able to complete anything before starting something new
Some of the strengths that made the project successful were:
1. Flexibility to be creative and explore different options
2. Though the number of people working on the project was low, everyone had extensive experience in their fields of study
3. Did not have to worry about location or recruitment of students
Analyzing the project management process presented in our textbook, I believe that more focus in the “Define” and “Start” phases (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, 2008) would have relieved some of the difficulties and made the project stronger.
Thank you.
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.
Day to Day Design
ReplyDeleteI can not imagine designing a program while trying to deliver it simultaneously. A team of one is challenging at best so kudos to you for your motivation to succeed.
You noted that more attention should have been applied during the ‘define and start’ phases of your project, but given there was no real formal process (initially) you did an amazing job of completing the project. “Jumping directly from the conceive phase to the perform phase” is considered a common mistake made by PMs when presented with a short time schedule, but you were fortunate to succeed without having to utilize more time than allotted (Portny et al, 2008, p.105). The ‘flexibility to be creative’ certainly was an advantage and allowed you to pursue various avenues throughout the project. Fortunately your targeted audience was able to ‘flex’ while you discovered what worked best for them. “In a perfect world, project managers would perform all work in one phase of a project before moving on to the next one” (Portny et al, 2008, p.106).
A project’s success can be defined by its outcome, schedule, and resources (Portny et al, 2008). Your project meet the requirements set out by your school, was completed on time, and sounds like it was within the budget and resources you were allocated.
Ann (2011) noted to be successful with project management there are 10 rules you should consider.
They include:
• Be agile
• Do not micromanage
• Keep improving your project management practice
• Ongoing planning
• Work with a sense of urgency
• Visualize and communicate all project deliverables and activities
• Complete step by step deliverables
• Healthy risk management
• Open communication
• Never lose sight of the three factors: time, budget and quality
References
Ann, L.(2011). 10 Rules of Highly Successful Project Management. Retrieved July 10, 2011 from:
http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/10-rules-of-highly-successful-project-management.html
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.
Hi Elizabeth:
ReplyDeleteI applaud you for taking on such a challenging project. It is hard enough to wear one hat, I cannot imagine trying to wear all the hats.
It is interesting how we have read that the there are times the instructional designer could also assume the role of the project manager. I think this could be true in a smaller project, but the larger project really should have the roles assumed by different individuals. "Designers have a tendency to ignore the general picture and get bogged down in the specifics of the design. Project management can help designers stick to detail yet remain cognizant of the entire project" (Lin, 2006. P.10). You were fortunate to be able to keep the entire project in perspective and not get hung up on one role. As you mentioned, what may have been helpful in accomplishing this is the fact that you had a small team (less control issues) who were all experienced. You apparently had a positive working relationship with your peers and they trusted your leadership. You obviously possess the four key characteristics described by Lockitt (2007, p.7) that a good project manager must possess: 1) Energy - ability to enthuse your team; 2) Ability - curriculum experience; 3) Vision - how your ideas fit into the future and how to achieve a successful outcome; 4) Motivation - benefits of the project for both learners and colleagues. Congratulations on achieving success on a project that definitely could have failed.
Lin, H. (2006). Instructional project management: An emerging professional practice for design and training programs. Workforce Education Forum, 33(2). Reprinted by permission of the author.
Lockitt, B. (2000). Practical project management for education and training. London: Further Education Development Agency. (ED445252)