Analyzing Scope Creep: A professional personal experience

A professional project that I played a role in and that experienced issues related to scope creep occurred last year. I was contracted to deliver a Self-Evaluation-Report (SER) for a private post-secondary school experiencing difficulty with meeting a scheduled deadline established by a national school accreditor. The accreditor granted a 6-month extension for submitting the SER.

I was hired on to help with the SER 3 months before the final deadline. The project team consisted of four individuals including myself as the project manager. One team member was assigned administrative tasks such as gathering data, maintaining files and preparing reports. A second team member was to screen written narratives and edit as necessary for grammar, punctuation, and text presentation. The third member of the team was an experienced accreditation evaluator who advised the team on SER content and format. All team members had full-time jobs with different employers.

I was the only one working on this project full-time.
The school provided the project team access to facilities and computer equipment including printers, internet, telephones, desks, and office space. My point of contact was the school Director who was under pressure from the corporate CEO to get the SER delivered on time. The corporate CEO, who was 1200 miles away, was updated every Friday of the week via email, telephone, and copies of SER sections completed as per schedule. Two weeks into the project the team started experiencing scope creep.

One major finding addressed during the SER was a programmatic standard that calls for a formal program effectiveness plan. The school had no such plan in place and risked losing its accreditation. This meant that Title IV funding could be cancelled depriving the school of its main source of income, Pell Grants. This resulted in the client requesting that I provide guidance with implementing a formal program effectiveness plan in less than three weeks in addition to the services originally agreed upon.

Looking back at this experience, I can now see certain problem indicators that I chose to ignore at the time. The school had not been able to meet the initial deadline set by the accreditors and had therefore requested a 6-month extension. Three months into its extended timeline, the school had made no significant progress in completed the SER and had therefore hired an outside source (yours truly) for this purpose. I have since learned that school employees were not willing to work on the SER because it was something unfamiliar to them. All school employees familiar with its accreditation process had moved on, leaving inexperienced administrators and staff in charge. The findings resulting from the SER became a source of concern and near panic among the school administrators who looked to me for answers.

Moving forward with another project will require considerations for reducing the negative impact from unexpected scope creep possibilities. Project management principles and techniques will be the normal protocols from now on. Binding agreements in the form of written documentation outlining the purpose, objectives, constraints, and assumptions for each project will be agreed upon by all stakeholders (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, & Sutton, 2008, Page 43). In addition to a written Statement of Work, an agreed upon project scope statement, project strategy that includes a list of described deliverables, work to be performed, project team assignments, lines of communication, structured organizational hierarchies, budgetary allocations, schedules/timelines, and scope change protocols will be provided in writing to help this aspiring PM guide, direct and control my next project (Portny et al, 2008).

Greer writes that scope changes “can be beneficial when they allow the project team to respond sensibly to changing conditions that exist outside the project”. He explains that “Change of scope is normal-it’s not necessarily a problem” (Greer, M., 2010). From my perspective, I can't help but think how fortunate I was to have been the only accreditation SME in a building full of professional administrators and gauged the potential career opportunities being presented. This perspective allowed me to think outside the box with a calm and resolute clarity of thought that helped me to remain focused on the original deliverables. The project team met the original deadline for submitting a quality SER and went on to develop the client’s first program effectiveness plan. However, I had to work overtime without pay for several days to get it done. Today I enjoy a rewarding and fulfilling instructorship with this same school.

Ref:

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.

Differences in Effective Communication

The following describes an experience in interpreting a message delivered in three formats. Although the exact same message is provided, the difference in the type of format used for communicating the message has a significant impact upon its interpretation from the receiver.

Text E-mail

I perceive there to be a missing report that I have failed to submit on time. This has apparently created a moderate degree of anxiety with Jane, the sender of the message. My falling behind schedule will impact Jane’s performance because she cannot finish her report on time without the necessary information. The message has a tone of urgency but respectful. She is asking for my help in this matter.

Voicemail

Voicemail is respectful but with reserved urgency. Hearing her voice adds to the substance of the message. I perceive a slight degree of anger and even disappointment with her audio voice. I get the feeling that this may have happened before and or may be an ongoing problem she faces with me getting my work done on time.

Face-to-face

The face-to-face message is friendlier and clearer. There is less urgency and her body language, eye contact, genuine smile and “to the point” wording is very friendly. Jane appears and sounds to share a very positive working relationship with me. I’m less anxious from this message and her face-to-face message motivates me to get this report to her right away. My defensive feelings are absent. The message is friendly and I detect no sense of animosity or disappointment in her voice, body language, facial expressions and eye to eye contact.

References:

Laureate Education Inc. (Producer), (2011). “Communicating with Stakeholders”, http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5089754&Survey=1&47=6435139&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

"The Art of Effective Communication" , http://mym.cdn.laureatemedia.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html

Learning from a Project "Post-Mortem"

Learning from a Project, “Post-Mortem”
Ruben H. Ramos
May 12, 2011

I have learned, from past experience, that the best laid plans with the best of intentions for developing a needed project can turn into a big mistake without the use of project management principles.
Several years ago I attempted to implement an in-service training program for medical department faculty at a private post-secondary school. My goal was to develop a comprehensive program that would assist program instructors with improved delivery of course content. I was certain that this initiative would result in improved student learning experiences as well as a stronger and more attractive allied health program.
I had been developing training curricula in medical assisting for over 10 years and felt that the next logical step was to “train the trainers”. Sessions for administering a series of comprehensive exams were scheduled over a period of four weeks. The exam scores would be used to provide the data necessary for developing subsequent lessons. What resulted was a flood of complaints from instructors to the school administrators. The school of “hard knocks” in project management change leadership had begun and I was its only pupil.
The primary stakeholders (instructors) had not been consulted from the very beginning. The needs assessment had not included input and cooperation from faculty. When they first learned about this new initiative, the decision to implement had already been made. This must have contributed to misperceptions about the intent and goal of the project. Determining the need and feasibility for instructional improvements had excluded the instructors’ perspectives and inputs. No conversations or brainstorming sessions were conducted with stakeholders.
The project goals and deliverables had not been shared. Some of the instructors felt that they were being targeted for termination of employment. This created a great deal of anxiety among the faculty. To make matters worse, there was no written plan, defined goals, timeline, or budget. The project was halted and resumed a year later with the cooperation of the instructors and administrators. The lessons learned from these first mistakes proved invaluable in the subsequent project successes which followed. Today, this school is one of the top providers of quality training in allied health.
Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.

Welcome to Project Management

The multi-disciplinary function for the Instructional Design professional includes Project Management. I look forward to exploring this challenging dimension to an already fulfilling career in adult education.

Instructor Resources for Online Training

Resources for Success

This module will introduce you to five online resources that will help you to become familiar with the distance education environment. Resources are listed below and a brief explanation for each resource is also included. Your transition from experienced instructors in face-to-face settings to knowledgeable facilitators of distance education modules brings new challenges. For example, you’ll probably find that more discussion is used with online settings. Your distance learners may participate at varying times with these discussions. Another challenge may be that you may have to devote more time to preparing for each course module with less opportunity for last minute changes. These five online resources are but a sample of the rich and diverse resources available to distance teachers, facilitators, and learners via the internet.

A comparison of face-to-face and online courses is provided by Dr. Curt Bonk from Indiana University. “Dr. Bonk covers pedagogical and operational differences between on-site and online courses, strategies for adapting a current course to an online version, guidelines for creating, planning and designing a course and content. Please view the following short presentation available at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3H7PbkndOk .






CONNEXIONS

URL: http://cnx.org/
Description: The content in Connexions comes in two formats: modules, which are like small "knowledge chunks," and collections or groups of modules structured into books or course notes. This resource operates under an open license which allows for free use and reuse of all site content. Connexions houses one of the largest repositories of open educational resources (OER) in the world. This enables the user to create, share, and modify content accessible to anyone via the World Wide Web. Content is accessible online and can be downloaded using PDF and EPUB formats. Print on demand is also available to its users.





Open Educational Resources (OER Commons)

URL: http://www.oercommons.org/
Description: OER Commons provides open educational resources to build general skills with software programs like MS Word and Excel. It allows learners to plan a career as well as to develop marketable skills. Classroom management software can be used for setting the tone and rules for you classroom as well as intentionally designing classroom life connected to student learning, social skills and behaviors. Science can be taught and learned by doing active exploration and problem posing. An “Arts as Inquiry” feature allows the learner to delve into visualization, creative thinking and more artistic habits of the mind for arts-integrated learning across disciplines.
National Repository of Online Courses
URL: http://www.montereyinstitute.org/nroc/
Description: The National Repository of Online Courses (NROC) is a growing library of high quality online course content for students and faculty in higher education, high school and advanced placement. The main page for this resource is displayed in Figure 1 of this page. Check out this introductory video for this website: http://www.montereyinstitute.org/media/demo.html.
Teaching and Learning Technologies Centers

URL: http://www.indiana.edu/~tltc/index.html
Description: This web site provides support for effective, quality teaching and learning through the appropriate use of instructional technology at Indiana University Bloomington. It supports instructors and students, at no cost, who are using technology to enhance their teaching and learning. Different services include consultation, outreach and workshops, technology application, media conversion, and workspaces.

References:

Bonk, Curt Video Presentation: Planning an Online Course, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3H7PbkndOk

CONNEXIONS, http://cnx.org/

National Repository of Online Courses, http://www.montereyinstitute.org/nroc/

Open Educational Resources, OER Commons, http://www.oercommons.org/

Teaching and Learning Technologies Center, http://www.indiana.edu/~tltc/index.html

Reflection on the Future of Distance Learning

The availability of learning resources made possible by modern telecommunication technologies has transformed the educational landscape in the past several years. One impact is the growing acceptance of distance education throughout the world. Online learning and teaching resources have made it possible to provide effective instruction to populations once limited by time, distance, and economics. Today, anyone with access to a computer can gather information on any topic of interest from almost any data base around the world. In addition to information acquisition, is the availability of free online social and academic networking resources such as Facebook and MySpace for communicating with others worldwide at any time, day or night.

Today’s communication technologies are more compact, lightweight, and powerful digital tools capable of storing vast amounts of information retrievable in seconds. These technologies are well known to the younger generations who, as Peter Drucker expressed, have become computer literate before they have learned to read and write. With this new reality comes an increasing challenge for the current education profession to incorporate these technologies into the classroom setting. The growing acceptance of distance learning throughout higher education may mean that we in the adult education community need to prepare for these demands.

In the next 5 to 10 years we may see the hardcopy textbook replaced with the E-book, interactive learning software that uses entertainment as a means of educating. This one change can have a domino effect on the education industry worldwide. For example, all students could be provided with hand-held computers containing electronic versions of any book ever published. In essence, students could carry an entire library of information available to them at any time. This would mean that school libraries would become obsolete thus putting entire education communities out of work. The transportation, paper, ink, and other industries would also be affected as the education institutions move toward a totally virtual environment.

In 10 to 20 years the entire education system will probably be restructured with virtual schools being the norm and brick and mortar institutions reserved for those able to afford them. Open courses may evolve into open programs, schools and universities offering low cost quality education online or even education at no cost. This would result in an educated populace worldwide and possibly an unprecedented “new age of enlightenment”.

With these changes in the horizon, we must prepare ourselves and others in the education professions. Teachers must be technically competent to communicate with their students as well as share online resources with them and one another. Experienced educators at all levels must be encouraged to accept, learn, adopt, and incorporate new and emerging technologies into their classrooms, conventional and distant. Instructional Designers can act as proponents of distance education technologies by accepting this as a social responsibility.

Being a positive force for continued improvement in distance education may start with each individual educator. Incorporating online technologies into the classroom will only motivate students to learn using these resources. Measuring the impact of online learning technologies on student success will provide the evidence-based information necessary for moving distance education in the right direction.

Distance Education, Converting to a Distance Learning Format

Consider the case of a training manager frustrated with the quality of communication among trainees during face-to-face training sessions. A possible solution may be to convert current training modules to a blended learning format that would add a new dimension to the learning process by introducing an online or distance learning experience for all concerned. Making training materials available on a server will provide trainees with access to resources and assignments at all times. Blending face-to-face instructional settings with distance education resources may improve interaction between trainees and trainers.

Converting face-to-face training modules to a blended learning format by adding online resources requires consideration of several factors. These factors include pre-planning strategies, recognizing aspects of original training program that may be enhanced in a distance learning environment, necessary changes to the role of the trainer, and steps to encourage trainees to communicate online.

Technical considerations such as availability of computer and internet, learner computer and internet literacy, and learner preparedness for success in a distance learning environment. Preparing for the possibility that technical problems may occur is another pre-planning consideration. Students should have assignments and projects that are not dependent on technologies for their completion. With transferring aspects of the original training program to an online setting, Simonson suggests that “courses previously taught in traditional classroom may need to be retooled” and that instructors should avoid “dumping” the course materials onto the online course. He recommends that classroom materials be revised with illustrations that provide a visual representation of key concepts (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Svacek, 2009).

The role of the trainer is another significant change to be considered when adopting online formats of instruction. Distance learning shifts the teacher-centered approach to a learner-centered format. This means that the instructor must shift his/her instructional methods from lecturing to coaching because students will change from passive to active learners involved in collaboration with one another as well as the instructor. Therefore, consideration must also be given to interactions that encourage trainees to communicate online.

Ref:

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson