Strategies to Manage Scope Creep

              Over the past six months, I have been fortunate to have been tasked with managing a very large complex curriculum project that includes a total overhaul of scoring and classification schemas, assessment delivery, student score reporting and updates to teacher resources and professional developmnet. One of the biggest challenges has been obtaining alignment between all stakeholders internally and externally.  Additionally, there is a committee of academics involved in the inputs to the design of the curriculum and assessment. 

                Because the curriculum and delivery methodology is “new” there continues to be additional scope creep on all fronts and which is causing competing priorities and project schedule risks.  All of these stakeholders continue to have “one more good idea” that they like to incorporate into the project. The good news is there is a formal change control process in place and agreed to by both parties.  The bad news is costing and completing a revised cost estimate takes weeks and hours of effort to get it signed and approved.  We have a fast track for VP approval and that too often encounters delays.

               This project is still in progress and upon reflection of the past six month there are several things that I can do and approve upon to better prevent scope creep, reduce churn and enhance communications. 

• More frequent high level  communication updates to high level management internally and externally in both written and face to face sync up meetings.
• Create a project review board that batches up changes to be looked at their entirety (Portny et al.,2008).
• Translate the changes requested into a scope impact document to that all involved can understand the costs and impacts prior to submitting them to the change control board (Portny et al., 2008).

-Michelle Cosner

Resources

Portny, E., Mantel,J., Meredith, R., Shafer, M., Sutton M., & Kramer, E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Cool Project Management Resources

The majority of the projects that I have worked on have been focused on breakthrough new product launches and demand collaboration.  Previous models for cost estimating are limited and I have encountered many uncertainties along the way and found things truly do take longer than every expected.

Having a clear visual that outlines the project schedules and resource allocations is very helpful in project management and communications.  In my search this week I found an awesome software tool called www.smartdraw.com. This tool is very easy to use and has auto formatting and templates to select from. This allows you to quickly create very professional looking visuals and communication documents. Take 3 minutes and play their video tour at the link below:

http://www.smartdraw.com/specials/pert-chart-software.htm?id=42937&gclid=COyI9Yn48rMCFcuZ4Aod5HIA0w

Another cool tool I found is podio.  https://company.podio.com.

 This project management tool is web-delivered, free and provide a really innovative collaboration platform. It provides file sharing, social media activity streams. It works with dropbox, evernote, and other leading apps. This would be a awesome tool for work breakdown charts, communications for project and connecting to all project members effectively through their mobile device and shared project platform. Check out the link and overview of podio below:

https://company.podio.com/project-management-software?gclid=CLGT7JP68rMCFUQw4AodIzcAVw


Thanks,
Michelle

Communicating Effectively

         This week we have been learning when, how and what type of communications work best to manage a project and coordinate all stakeholders involved.  This blog assignment to compare a message that was delivered in email, vmail and face-to-face was quite fun and I found only the vmail to be an effective method to communicate the message. Let me share with you my interpretations of the three modalities and why I felt the vmail message expressed the true meaning the best. 

The email message asking a colleague to send over a report by the end of the day had a negative tone. For example, using the word “but” is a push verses a pull technique and creates resistance from the person you are asking.  Also the email uses “don’t” get your report. Using don’t instead of positive ask also causes the recipient to negatively respond.  Emails are a dime a dozen  and I find if it is important and you need something right away it is ALWAYS best to pick up the phone or arrange a meeting.  The vmail I found to be the most effective of the three modalities. The vmail  was able to convey the message the best and it had tonal variety, clearly explained the importance of the report and in a way that the recipient could empathize with.  The face-to-face clip lacked a sincerity and authenticity of the actor and appeared to be she just stopped by instead of scheduling a meeting with her colleague. The smile at the end was fake and I felt if I was on the other side of her ask that I would be pressured, and she knew I was busy. The vmail enables the person to play message when they have a moment to truly listen and properly respond.

         This activity implies that there are different times and reasons to use each type of communication.  If something is time sensitive it is often best to reach out by phone or schedule a meeting right away.   If it is a simple request and not complicated, an email may be the right approach. If the request is larger in scope and sensitive in nature, a scheduled face-to-face session would most likely work better.   Going forward my lessons learned from this assignment are to always keep in mind the reason for your communication, when is a response needed and how critical is the answer to your communication in meeting the project schedule and deliverables. With this thinking in mind, I will be able to select the right communication modality and approach.

-Michelle Cosner

References

The Art of Effective Communication. [Video podcast]. Retrieved  from

http://mym.cdn.laureatemedia.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html

Cherell's Instructional Design Blog: Learning from a Project “Post-mortem” A post-mor...

Cherell's Instructional Design Blog: Learning from a Project “Post-mortem”


A post-mor...: Learning from a Project “Post-mortem” A post-mortem is great when another project is ongoing to gain a concept or idea about wha...

What was the biggest challenge of your project? Did everyone do their share?
-Michelle

A Multi-Year, Multi-Million Cost Estimate Post Mortem Review

A couple of weeks ago, I completed a behemoth $56 million dollar cost estimate that involved capturing costs from this year through 2020.  The client wanted us to include in our estimate costs that would be “incremental” to the existing annual budget as a result of the increase in scope that they had specified. The objectives of this cost estimate was to provide a resource that could be used for planning and budgeting, would enable the organization to manage its investment portfolio, allocate and or obtain additional funding as needed to fund the project or determine if they needed to reduce scope. The project was a success and the estimate and accompanying resources were very well received by the client. However, I must say I was very relieved when the client was pleased as the visibility of this project extended from my level up to the Presidents of both organizations. 

               There were several processes that made this project go smoothly in spite of its size and complexity.  The first was a joint planning session for the project by our leadership team and the client.  Both organizations had program, finance and senior management at the table which was critical. We agreed upon the strategy, timeline, cost template and deliverables that would accompany the cost template.  This planning session enabled everyone to walk away with a common understanding. Additionally, we had weekly touch base calls to vet any additional questions, clarify additional inputs, and obtain sign off on our assumptions that we were using for the project (Greer, 2010).  Following this planning session, I coordinated a large internal kick-off session with all key managers and the worker-bees from each area that would be providing costs. This internal kick-off helped set the stage of why the estimate was important and how it could help secure their jobs through 2020. The carrot of confirming additional work and job security was one that motivated many to be timely in their deliverables needed for the estimate. We had several artifacts such as a project timeline with milestone charts, cost templates, definitions, FAQ’s and assumption documents that were distributed at the kickoff meeting.  Our team of four that worked on coordinating the project has a good chemistry and trust of each other which helped during the crunch time and brought the project to the finish line.  Lastly, leadership was key. I had my Senior VP attend the kick-off session and demonstrate his support of the project and emphasize the importance of it.   When we delivered the cost estimate we followed the delivery by a four hour face to face meeting to walk senior leadership through estimate and answer questions that they had.  The face to face final meeting provided the opportunity to confirm what we delivered met their needs and expectations and answer questions and review the resources so everyone had common understanding of the breadth and scope of what we delivered.

               An area that was most challenging was the aggressive timeline of the project. The project kick-off was June 15 and final cost estimate was due to the client on September 30^th.   From June through early July the majority of the team was maxed out with deliverables for the operational part of the project then July 4^th hit.  In earnest between summer schedules and other workloads many unfortunately did not deliver their inputs until September which caused an additional burden on my finance colleague and my team members working on the estimate.   We had to work several weekends and nights because others did not adhere to the project schedule.  Because our organization is a matrix structure  is was challenging to get those who missed the deadline to deliver as I have no authority over them and I had to continue to chase until they provided what was needed which took way too much effort on my part. This window was selected for the project as it was suppose to be our quieter time but this was not the case.  In the future I would of utilized a better work break down process and reporting of tasks, built more time in the schedule to review the inputs received from each area and time for it iterations.  Another challenge was each area had to provide their estimate back to me in a very complicated excel template that was hard to navigate and input. We were tied to this template as that was what was agreed upon but when we went to actually input information found it time-intensive to use.  For future estimates the feedback was we need to create a new template to capture costs and make it easier and faster to use. 

               Upon reflection of this project it was deemed truely a success. For the future and next go around I need to be more supportive of my internal stakeholders, add more time to the project schedule and make the tasks easier and less burdensome for everyone involved.

-Michelle Cosner

References

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

Distance Learning Reflections

                  Technology use transcends across geographic borders, religions, and cultures and has an uncanny ability to unite people around the world.  To stay competitive in the marketplace, many businesses are building project teams with members from different countries and time zones, which enables them to operate 24x7.   These workers need to collaborate by using cutting-edge technologies.  With the growth of businesses setting up shop in locations around the world, companies will demand that training programs be implemented in an online environment as this modality typically provides the best return on investment. 

Norms are what most people think and do. With technology being ubiquitous in our daily lives, we have entered a new age in where distance education is growing in acceptance in the higher education and business setting (Siemens, 2012).  K12 settings have not on large scale adopted distance education, which I believe is attributed to the power of the teacher unions and lack of understanding by local school boards.  As the iPad, iPhone and other technology devices become prevalent in the K12 environment, I believe the K12 landscape will change greatly over the next 5-10 years, and the new norm will be blended learning with some instruction direct and others facilitated via the web. In 10-20 years, the majority of the world will participate in some type of distance education experience.

                  The power of distance education is amazing and for me personally has enabled me to complete courses and is assisting me to reach my goal of attaining my Masters.  Without, the flexibility of distance learning courses it would be an impossibility for me achieve this goal due to my family and work obligations. 

As an instructional designer and proponent of distance education, I have found that people are uneasy with the unknown.  Everyone who I know has taken an online case felt that it was beneficial and not as hard as they thought it would be.  When we were assigned to conduct an independent review of one of the open courses, I was blown away by the depth, variety and quality of free online courses out there.  This is something that was on my list to do but didn’t make the time to take free course until this recent assignment.  All of us have our own hobbies and areas of interest. I will continue to suggest to others that they explore the wealth of free online courses out there as a way to test drive and become familiar with what online courses have to offer.  This approach may help the skeptics dip their toe in the water of an online class with just the minimal investment of their own time.

                  As part of our discussion assignment this week we interviewed friends and colleagues to ask them to share out their thoughts and perceptions about distance education.  All of the people I interviewed expressed to be successful in an online setting that they would need a great communicator as an instructor, would need the ability to ask and get answered questions in a timely way and would want an engaging and supportive environment.   Best instructional design practices address the concerns my interviewees had as the designer would include a plan (syllabus) for the course with clearly defined learning objectives, instructors would understand the lesson plans from end to end and instructors would be adept and knowledgeable of the technology platform (Simonson et al., 2012).   Through my Walden Masters program, I am learning best practices and gaining the necessary knowledge, which will enable me to be a proactive force and advocate for online learning.

-Michelle

References

Siemens, G.. (2012).  Future of distance education [video]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1373693_1%26url%3D

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Converting training modules from F2F to Distance Learning Environment

To improve the quality of trainer to trainee communications one must focus on standardization of communications such as the course syllabus, interaction, frequency and facilitation of communication exchanges, and train the trainer workshops. These are all key aspects that effect and can improve quality.  Additionally, these are key elements that are instrumental in course evaluation and assessment (Simonson et al, 2012).  This guide provides suggestions and ten steps to follow as you transfer training modules from a face to face to blended learning model.

Here is my link to my best practices guide that includes tips and ten steps for success. Guide to convert F2F training modules to distance learning