Analyzing Scope Creep

I can describe a professional experience on a project that ran into all of the scope creep issues that were mention in the example provided (unplanned deliverables, financing issues and timeline issues ). The project I am describing is a project that, last I heard, was an absolute failure. I worked on this project for just shy of a year and I had seen it all. It was a systems implementation that was to be a full release to the entire organization. The deadline estimate was short but workable. However, after some time it became clear that there were issues merging the new system with existing systems etc. At first this was not too alarming as it is common to run into issues but after several months of false release deadlines it became clear that this project was turning into a money pit. At the time I simple kept my head down and focused on the work I had in front of me. I was a developer on the project and I was expecting the project managers to help salvage the project. If I had been in the position of PM on the project, after pulling my hair out, I would have to be very honest with the team about how miserably the project is going. I would have just asked for the project to be placed on hold until the systems issues were figured out instead of continuing to put in effort and finances toward the project. There was an attempted late into the project but it was too late.  I think I did all I could do considering my role on the project and trust me I complained, a lot.

Estimating Costs and Allocating Resources

I feel like the most challenging thing about estimating activity durations and resource costs is the actual estimation. It takes a great deal of research and study in order to calculate the costs and timing of a project and sometimes the best preparation is experience. Calculating cost can be tricky in that there is always the possibility for unexpected obstacles to incur unexpected cost. With the right experience a project manager will be able to calculate any surprise costs, within reason. Time estimation comes with its own challenges. Like in cost estimation, there are possibilities that timing issues may arise during a project. However, I feel like these time issues are far more damaging to the health of a project than any cost issues that may arise. Every circumstance is different but unexpected time obstacles can throw off the entire chronology of a project and put the release at risk. I feel that estimating the duration of each activity is the riskiest part of the estimation process and should be handled with great care.

Communicating Effectively

Multimedia Program: "The Art of Effective Communication"

Having listened/read the distinctive communication in each modality (linked above) I feel that all of them seemed respectful and direct. However, on a very small level I feel that the voicemail was forgettable. I felt that it was something that I could possibly get ignored. On the face-to-face approach I felt that it might be a bit abrasive and maybe unusual. I preferred the email communication overall. I may be accustomed to receiving emails primarily and can prioritize any requests that I receive in that format much better. All in all I feel that the message was well composed and therefore suitable for all modalities. Each message was different in terms of how personable it was. Clearly the face-to face interaction was most personable but I do not feel that it improved the quality or importance of the message.  The general message of this resource is to underline the importance of communication. I learned fairly quickly that clear and concise communication is a difficult thing to accomplish and it can be very frustrating when you are on a project with someone who seems to disregard the importance of communicating well. I have learned that being direct, fast and respectful is the best way to communicate when working as part of a team.

Learning from a Project “Post-mortem”

I worked on a project for several months that was extremely disorganized on the client side. There were many issues that came up through the duration of the project but one issue that would continuously affect the project negatively was missed deadlines. This is a huge issue and will no doubt negatively affect the project from top to bottom. There is no good way to measure appropriate development of deliverables if you have an ever changing goal. This leads to instability in every aspect of the project and can hugely affect the mood of the staff involved. I do feel that there could have been something done in order to re-focus the project. If the project manager had spoken directly, honestly and respectfully to the client about how very destructive this behavior was it would not have been repeated so often. Bringing this to their attention would have opened up the lines of communication and allowed them to see how negative of an affect this was on the overall success of the project.

Best Practices Guide for Converting to Distance Learning

Introduction:

The purpose of this guide is to outline the best way to convert a face-to-face learning program to a distance learning program. This best practices guide will include helpful information for a trainer to use when converting learning environments. It is a great help to have a document to assist in the planning of this process and it will help trainers to lead their learners with confidence.

Planning:

The planning for the stage of this kind of an undertaking is extremely important. There is much to consider when converting a face-to-face learning program to a distance learning program. Each element must be fully and thoughtfully studied to ensure the success of this objective. Use the below checklist to guide you through the planning process:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Planning Checklist:

Step	Description	Check
Assess need to identify goal(s):	Take a look at what is required to complete the major goal of the project. List the requirements. You should try to envision and take note of what it is you want and what it is you currently have in place. Asses what is missing to make your vision complete. Write down your goals.
Conduct instructional analysis And Analyze learners and contexts	It is important to decide or rediscover what it is you want to teach, what is your course topic? You should consider this with the learner in mind. Identify the “type” of individuals that will be attending the class. Use the learner profile to develop your plan.
Write performance objectives	Write a well presented performance objective which includes any major and minor goals, who your audience will be and the time frame in which you plan to deliver the class. Add any pertinent information to this document and present it to any stakeholders.
Revise instruction And Develop assessment instrument	Restructure the original instructional plan to accommodate any new requirements that you have discovered. These new requirements can be technical, instructional or any other elements that are not currently a part of your instructional plan.
Develop instructional strategy	Develop a plan of attack. Decide how you will implement the plan. What issues could come up and how will you manage these challenges.
Develop and select instructional materials	Develop a collection of articles, textbooks and/or web resources to assist the students in their learning. Be sure to consider the value these resources will have to the learner and remove any inadequate resources from your resource list.
Design and conduct formative evaluation of instruction And Design and conduct summative evaluation	Develop an evaluation document that consists of evaluation information. Include a basic (formative) evaluation and an overall (summative) evaluation. Include information about what was successful about the project and what was not successful. Offer further solution for unsuccessful elements.

 

Other Considerations:

Converting a face-to-face learning program to a distance learning program comes with several challenges. But keep in mind that there are aspects of this change that will be enhanced the learners’ experience. One objective is to enhance communication. You should consider this when developing your plan as well as throughout the development of this instructional program. Having a more distance based learning can also improve learner morale, as they may have the opportunity for a more asynchronous and/or self-paced learning experience. Having learners take more responsibility and control over their learning will improve their dedication to learning the topics introduced.

You may also find that your role as a trainer may change when you convert a face-to- face learning program to a distance learning program. You should encourage learners to be more self-motivated and allow them to take center stage in their learning experience. Your role as a trainer may change from a lecturer to more of a class monitor, in where you allow the student to develop on their own. This does not mean that you will not be attentive. In fact you should be more attentive but do more listening than talking. You should present the students with course material but also help them to develop their knowledge and address any issues in a timely manner.

Communication:

Improved communication is the major objective that you wish to meet through the implementation of this project, so it is imperative that you choose the best communication tools for this program. Below are several good options for improving communication between classmates and from learner to instructor.

One on One Communication	Group Communication
Email	Email
Skype	Skype
Instant Messaging	Previously Recorded Video
Texting	Live Streaming Video
Individual Phone Calls	Texting
Office Hours/Face-to-Face Meetings	Conference Calls
WebEx	WebEx
Mailing	Mailing
Twitter	Twitter

Resources Used:

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and Learning at a Distance – Foundations of Distance Education (Fifth ed., pp. 154-194). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Resources for Success

1.    McVay Lynch, M. (2001, December). Effective Student Preparation for Online Learning. In The Technology Source Archives at the University of North Carolina. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from 1. http://technologysource.org/article/effective_student_preparation_for_online_learning/

The above website will lead you to a web document entitled “Effective Student Preparation for Online Learning” by Maggie McVay Lynch. This article is about the author’s understanding on how effective development and implementation of distance learning can lead to successful student learning and future re-enrollment in distance learning courses by previous distance learners.

2.    Payne, S. (2010, February 28). Adult education: How to prepare for distance learning. In helium.com. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from 1. http://www.helium.com/items/1756738-prepare-for-adult-education-distance-learning

The above website will direct you to an online resource about preparing adult learners for distance education. This article, entitled “Adult education: How to prepare for distance learning” by Silva Payne, seeks to prepare adult learners to manage distance learning. This article takes into account adult learning issues such as, family and work balance.

3.    DISTANCE EDUCATION AT A GLANCE. (n.d.). In University of Idaho. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.uiweb.uidaho.edu/eo/dist9.html

This webpage, entitled “DISTANCE EDUCATION AT A GLANCE

GUIDE 9: Distance Education: Research,” provides an overall understanding of distance learning. It includes straight forward answers to frequently asked question about the distance learning experience.

4.    Preparing for Online School and Distance Learning. (2011). In Distance Learning Headquarters Your Long Distance Learning Solutions. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from 1. http://www.distancelearninghq.com/learningresources-articles6.htm

The above webpage offers students a step by step guide for learners to prepare for any upcoming distance learning courses. The webpage, entitled “Preparing for Online School and Distance Learning,” is a great way for distance learners to build the confidence they require to succeed at distance learning.

5.    Lorenzi, F., MacKeogh, K., & Fox, S. (2004). Preparing Students for Learning in an Online World: an Evaluation of the Student Passport to Elearning (SPEL) Model. In EURODL - European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.eurodl.org/materials/contrib/2004/Lorenzi_MacKeogh_Fox.htm

The above link will lead you to an online article entitled “Preparing Students for Learning in an Online World: an Evaluation of the Student Passport to Elearning (SPEL) Model.” This article outlines the way in which the National Distance Education Centre, in Ireland, has formed their distance learning curriculum and deliver based on their research.

The Impact of Open Source

I had never heard of “open courses” before this week. I was unaware that there were free instructional courses widely available online for anyone to access and use. I have had experience with online courses from websites such as Lynda.com, and other websites that require a paid membership. However, was not aware of the website that offer free educational courses beside the short instructional videos sometimes offered on youtube.com. In this week’s resources we were offered a great amount of guidance on how to identify properly planned and implemented courses. These guidelines will help me to not only prepare my own modules but it will also help me to identify open courses that will truly help educate me.

For this assignment I chose to focus on the open course website oyc.yale.edu. This website offered a number of open course including, Astronomy, English and Music. The course that caught my eye was the Astronomy open course entitled “Frontiers and Controversies in Astronomy” with Charles Bailyn. Luckily I have prior interest in topics of astronomy and this was a pleasant surprise. Upon my investigation of this open course I was struck by how well planned it seemed. The approach was straight forward. The course was to be conducted twice a week and each course would be fifty minutes long. As mentioned in this week’s read from “Teaching and Learning at a Distance – Foundations of Distance Education” the structure of the course serves to provide guidance for the students and allow them to learn in balanced units of education.

Other recommendation offered by or text this week was that the instructor (and course development team) consider a number of things including the course components, learner type, delivery and materials and learning environment. I believe that this open course takes into account all of these elements. For example, this course has preset textbooks that the learners should acquire to promote their learning success. This is a preplanned approach to satisfying the need for course materials to support the learner’s understanding of course topics. And in consideration of the online environment all of these texts are available electronically or for delivery, which is easy on the learners involved.

Although this course is well structured it does lack an interactive element. It does offer student’s video lectures on youtube.com but it does not offer much in terms of group activities (which, in my experience, are not as helpful as they are stated to be anyway). According to our class textbook this, group element, is highly important. So, I would conclude that this course is lacking an interactive side. The guidelines offered this week have truly helped me to prepare for building my own modules and learning from quality learning establishments, online and otherwise.

Assignment Resources:

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and Learning at a Distance – Foundations of Distance Education (Fifth ed., pp. 152-180). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Yale University 2013. (2007). Frontiers and Controversies in Astronomy with Charles Bailyn. In Open Yale Courses. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://oyc.yale.edu/astronomy/astr-160#overview