Analyzing Scope Creep

"Scope Creep is defined as the tendency of a project to grow in scale and complexity as more individuals get involved. It also occurs as the details of the project are presented to the project owners who requested it, usually management, who then say, Can you also make it do this or that"(Milone, 2008).  I can recall when I was asked to train a class of ten on a certain subject that I was very familiar with.  To prepare to train the class I reviewed each individual assessment for the learners assigned to my class.  This way I was aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and it makes me aware of how I should train the class material.  I also prepared all of the material in segments pertaining to information I will present and also what I will assign to the learning coaches.  At the last minute right before the class is scheduled to start the organization added additional subjects and systems to the material to train, and I was also assigned additional learning coaches that I did not select to work with as well because the class size grew tremendously.  This presented issues because I now had to train unfamiliar information which made me implement time to train myself as well.  I also had to review the new learning coaches and interview them for their strengths and weaknesses so that I would not give them something they could not handle, and all of these additional tasks were not completed efficiently in my opinion because I did not have the time to do so.  Also certain material being presented was new and the organization wanted information throughout the class on the success of the material with the learners as well.  Therefore there were so many additional hands in the class than what I was accustomed to.  Because of this I scheduled a meeting to discuss the positives and negatives pertaining to the class and also to discuss my strengths and all aspects of what I can handle.  This allowed me to persuade them to eliminate the extra hands and appearances of management from the classroom which could disrupt my schedule and process pertaining to the material and changes I made. If I were managing the class and changes I would have originally had a meeting to discuss what changes would be made and what should we expect, and also what may be needed from the trainer and timeframes pertaining to those changes instead of shooting out a quick message advising of those changes at the last minute. 



References:

Milone, Tim. (June 21, 2008). Real world example of scope creep. In Tech Republic.

     Retrieved 12/5/2013, from http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/tech-of-all-trades/real-world-  
     example-of-scope-creep

Estimating Costs and Allocating Resources

The two resources I have selected that would be useful in estimating the costs, effort, and/or activity durations associated with ID projects are listed below.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/project-help/5-steps-to-prepare-your-project-budget-HA001141182.aspx

The site gives 5 Steps to Prepare Your Project. The budgeting plan includes setting pay rates, entering per-use costs, entering fixed costs, setting types of tasks, and assigning resources.  I would use the information and enter per use cost and also fixed cost because that always plays a role in preparing the budget.  I also enjoyed the chart description listed below.

If a task's cost is based on:	And you want approximate costs, do this:	Or you want detailed costs, do this:
Hours worked or amount of material used	Specify rates for all work resources and material resources. Assign resources to tasks. Track hours worked or percent complete.	Specify rates for all resources/materials. Assign resources to tasks. Track hours worked.
A set fee for a task	Specify fees for tasks. Assign resources to tasks only if you have tracking needs beyond cost tracking.	Specify fees for tasks. Assign resources to tasks. Track hours worked or percent complete.
A set fee for use of a resource	Specify per-use costs for resources. Assign resources to summary tasks or subtasks. Track hours worked or percent complete.	Specify per-use costs for resources. Assign resources to tasks. Track hours worked or percent complete.

http://www.businessballs.com/project.htm


Although this site reiterated what most sites state about planning a project, I focused on the information pertaining to communicating your plan to the project team.  The project team is very important because they are assisting as well.  You are not working the project alone, and if you were you would not have a high percentage for success. 




References

Microsoft Project. (2003). 5 steps to prepare your project budget. Retrieved from

       http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/project-help/5-steps-to-prepare-your-project-budget-

      HA001141182.aspx


Rosenhead, R. (2010). Project Management. Retrieved November 27, 2013, from

      http://www.businessballs.com/project.htm

Communicating Effectively

Formal and informal communication.  The way you deliver a message is key to how the message is received.  As a project manager a lot of your time is to make sure everyone is on the same page and happy.  They also focus on timeframes and making sure all the pieces fit from start to finish.  90% of the communication is not in your words, for example the timeframe you submit information, how focused you are on detail.  You must be really clear in your communication to everyone including the stakeholders.  Emails and public meetings is a good way to keep everyone updated.  Communication strategies vary and never remains the same for everyone.  Someone mentions they were uncomfortable with a formal style of operating projects.  Sensing the style of the organization is very important because it may be different than what you are accustomed to and may take some time to evaluate.  Addressing communication should allow you to ask for advice in the organization, getting the key players together to discuss the communication strategies are also a good idea so that you are on the same page, probe your group for traps you could encounter, document and refine the information you gathered and present to the organization to ensure everyone agrees with your communication strategy.  Three forms of communication are email, voicemail, and face-to-face.  The messages were pretty much the same to me but for some can be misinterpreted.  The email message can be misread because we are reading from a paper document and there is not expression involved, the person reading the message can interpret the message in a good or bad way.  Voicemail went well because you can hear the tone in her voice when she is relaying the message, and the face-to face is also great because you not only get the tone of voice but you can also see their facial expressions and can completely interpret the message as a whole.  Depending on the personality type people may interpret the massage in many ways.  Therefore if it is an extremely important message it should be displayed face-to face.

 

 

 

 

 

Reference:

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.

Learning from a Project

I can recall in the past when I was trying to start my business and I had plenty to do.  One part of my  project was to create a website to utilize for my customer because we live in the technology age.  At  the start of the project I assumed everything was great and did not realize how much research and  effort it would take to create a successful website for my customers.  I created my website and  implemented the website live before I launched my business officially. I had a home page,  information about the business, pictures, and general information listed in text form on the site. Once  I launched the site I had many questions on how to do certain things, and also requested additional  information after viewing the site and this made me aware that this was not a success and something  additional was needed.  After reviewing additional factors and customer feedback I went in to make  changes.  First the site was a little boring because the main factors were presented in text form only.   I went in and included many visuals such as bright fun pictures that went with my company theme.  I  included audio aspects on the site such as recordings that maintained a lively tome of voice  explaining certain aspects.  I also included links on the site that led to additional information such as  my policy and procedures as well, and I included a contact page so that anyone could reach out to me  via the site as well.  I added a page where customers could make payments via credit card or paypal.   I decided to make the site a little more upbeat and detailed as well.  After the additional changes to  the site I received less questions on what additional services I offered, costs, etc. and more contacts  just asking if they could tour and possible enroll.  I didn't realize that my website was an additional  aspect that could have such a massive impact on business success,   

Reflection on the current and future perceptions of distance learning in our society

I think that distance learners will increase over time as it has been doing over the years.  Dr. Siemens (2010) states that distance learning will continue to increase and be accepted in society.  He gave a great example.  In the video he stated to think back five years ago and compare it to distance learning today.  Five years ago when individuals were contemplating distance learning and the technology that should be used, it was not a realistic thought that technology could be as magnificent as it is today.  As years pass technology grows and its uses expand.  Five years from today we should have additional technology for distance learning classes that are not thought of today. 

As a current trainer I am currently aware of the importance of learning regardless of the environment.  As a trainer I have trained in traditional classroom settings, distance learning settings, and assisted with material creation as well.  This makes me aware of what is needed in the classroom for many different students.  As an instructional designer I will strive to develop effective methods to create distance learning courses that will assist in not allowing distance learning courses to stand out in a negative manner only because the majority or accustomed to a traditional classroom. 

As I learn and technology improves I will be able to create distance learning courses that will work for all learners, even the current learners that may not have the learning style that is perceived to be needed for the current online courses today.  In fact, one article referenced the use of a “craft approach” wherein instructors simply convert their face-to-face traditional instruction into an online format, without changing anything except location (Moller et al., 2008).  Another aspect is that when converted to online the designer will pay more attention to adding exceptional technology throughout the course and put less focus on the material and format.  I will make sure to focus on exceptional quality, analyze effectively, design to fit the learners, and improve the current designs.

I will continue to be a positive force at my organization in my field as I have been.  I always find ways to improve my online courses by getting to know my students and receiving feedback from my students.  This feedback allows me to see what is stated continuously and it allows me to make the needed improvements for my learners in the course.  I will also continue to increase my knowledge in the field and also use that knowledge to create effective material and successful learners.  Although there are usually strict timeframes I will make sure I enforce the needs assessment phase because that will make a great difference in my material.  The needs assessment phase is particularly important to ensuring that the instructional program will be designed to actually meet the needs of the institution and/or learners. Glossing over this part of the process often results in superficial evaluations and negative results (Moller et al., 2008).

 

 

 

 

References

 

Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008, July/August). The evolution of distance

education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web. TechTrends, 52(4), 66-70. Retrieved from http://lynnmunoz.wordpress.com/2011/10/09/the-impact-of-distance/.

 

Siemens, G.  (2010).  The future of distance education.  Laureate Education, Inc.

(Producer).  Video

 

Converting to a Distance Learning Format

                      Converting to a Distance Learning Format

      Take a look at the video listed below. The video below shows us a school that transitioned to a

blended learning environment. The blended learning environment also was not held in two different

location. Please view the video below.

 
          In the video they show a classroom setting of students sitting in a classroom setting

learning the daily material. The school transitioned to a blended learning environment, but with

the transition the students sis not transfer the online environment to a different area. The students

that were learning in the traditional class remained in the same class as the students that were

completing online lessons. The teachers would have the students rotate from listening to the

teacher to completing online assignment. Do you think the student's working online can focus on

the material if they are in the same room as the students learning from a live teacher? There are

many ways to set up a blended learning environment and this gives you something to think about

because the students must always come first.

       Pre-planning strategies the trainer needs to consider before converting the blended

learning program is critical. An important aspect of distant learning is to provide a valuable

learning experience to students who might not otherwise have access to learning (Simonson,

2012). The trainer must first review the course to examine the needs of the course and the

needs of the students. During the review the trainer should review both aspects to see what has

been working over time and what may not have been working for the class and the students.

During the review phase the trainer or designer should collaborate with a subject matter expert

to make sure they are aware of all aspects and to received information and advise that would

assist with class improvement.

            A blended learning approach combines face to face classroom methods with computer-
mediated activities to form an integrated instructional approach.

Therefore if the trainer will be moving from a traditional course there will need to be many aspects to

consider because the class will now be working partially online and some students may not have an

online class experience. The blended learning course has to present the best of both worlds related to

the live classroom and online environment. The trainer would review to verify what information

would be better presented online and also what appropriate CMS system should be used for

the course to make it effective. Videos, and material can be enhanced in the online environment

to show pictures, video, and audio that would make the course more exciting. As an online

trainer, the trainer must try to find a good way to communicate and interact with the students

consistently. Never allow the learners to remain passive (Simonson, 2012).







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

     distance: Foundations of distance education : Pearson.
   

Distance Learning - The Impact of Open Source

The Impact of Open Source

The distance learning course I chose is titled, “Conversations you can’t have on a campus: Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Identity.  The course is organized well and the requirements and material are very clear to students and readers.  The course follows the recommendations for online instruction as listed in the text book.  It lines up with Andragogy-Malcolm Knowles theory.  Knowles theory is relevant to adult learners.  Andragogy deals with frameworks for programs designed for the adult learner. “The attainment of adulthood is concomitant on adults coming to perceive themselves as self-directing individuals” (Brookfield, 1986).  On an adult learner could work with the format of this online course because all basis of the material is self -directed and it is placed in a format so that the learner can explore, read, and review the information while learning the set-up of the site and how to access certain information and material. 

The course designer implemented the course activities to maximize active learning for the students.  There are six sections formatted in the course.  The course home, the syllabus, calendar, readings, assignments, and download course materials.  The home page provides the title and gives a brief description of the course.  There is also a syllabus that gives a more detailed description and also provides the requirements for the course.  I really enjoyed the calendar, readings, and assignments sections because everything is formatted in a basic way and it is very easy to view and understand.  The students will not have to view many different sections or find many different sections to get the information that they need. The view of the assignments section is listed below.  The topics are listed and there are the pdf document links listed to take you right to the information you need.  This format will allow students the opportunity to spend most of their time on their work and assignments and less time trying to learn the sight and finding information.

 

TOPICS	REFLECTION PAPERS
Affirmative action at MIT	(PDF) (PDF) (PDF) (PDF) (PDF) (PDF)
Religion and sexuality	(PDF) (PDF)
Relationship between MIT and Wellesley students	(PDF) (PDF)
Evolution and creationism	(PDF) (PDF) (PDF)

Course: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/political-science/17-s914-conversations-you-cant-have-on-campus-race-ethnicity-gender-and-identity-spring-2012/index.htm

 

References

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2006). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.).