Analyzing Scope Creep

 

“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically, to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside. The enemy of the ‘best’ is often the ‘good.’” – Stephen Covey.

The Project

I worked at a school that conducted Allied Health Courses using the tradition face-to-face method. The school decided to convert the face-to-face Home Health Aide (HHA) class to the online format. Since HHA had only 20 contact hours, the administration assumed it would be easier to convert it to an online class. The management selected the Administrator to be the PM. The administrator identified and selected a project team that included the SME and the technical Designers. The SME was to provide the material and the technical design team would re-purpose the material to address the issues relevant to the online medium. The project was scheduled to be completed in two months.

The Scope Creep

Greer (2010) identified scope creep as those seemingly reasonable requests for “little add-ons” or enhancements by stakeholders, which eventually get the project budget and schedule to be blown out, and eventually making the whole project team to be blamed. In the instant case, the scope started changing when the SME had to leave the project due to personal issues. The new SME came with all new ideas and concerns. She wanted to introduce video sections that had not originally been included in the initial plan or budget. She also wanted to include other aspects of the curricular such as CPR that was not part of the original scope. Having come from an organization that had a functioning HHA online, she wanted to make our online HHA class to take the same format and design of her previous engagement.

Project Creep Management

The stakeholders did not address this scope creep very well. Instead of reviewing the effects and the impact this scope changes would have on the project, the Project Manager let the SME have a free hand in the new process. Consequently, the budget almost doubled, and the timeline exceeded the initial plan. Several project members who had time pressure could not be available in the new expanded project, the finance office did not have the money to pay for some of the new activities, and the project team all but collapsed. The project was an utter failure. We did not succeed and we abandoned the project without the team producing anything tangible despite the costs and time spent.

This project had many flaws. 

There was no written plan or even a project charter. The lack of the project charter left the project open to different interpretation of scope by different stakeholders. The Project Manager was also very weak. Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, and Kramer, (2008) avers that a successful Project Manager require targeted skills and techniques to steer the project to successful completion. Our Project Manager Influence and control over the overall project was weak. He adopted a laissez faire approach to project management. To ensure successful completion I would recommend greater scope control and a clear communication of the project milestones and deliverables. Dr. Harold Stolovich (n.d) recommends that the Project Manager should let any person introducing a change of scope know that though you value their idea, the change cannot be accommodated right away. He also recommends a use of a change of scope document. This would have made the organization achieve success in the project.

The other key issue I would address would be the key assumptions project members had for the project. The tacit assumptions were that the entire team would be available for the life of the project. There was also an assumption that the project had an unlimited budget and the aim was to develop the best online HHA course. These assumptions were not grounded on facts and became a major handicap during the implementation.

I would have revised and clarified the project purpose, developed a project charter and have it approved by the management and have any change no matter how innocuous be accompanied by the change of scope document that would outline the impact of the change on the schedule and budget of the project.

References

Greer, M. (2010). The Project Management Minimalist:Just Enough PM to Rock Your Projects! Baltimore, MD: Laureate Education Ed.

Portny, S., Mantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., Sutton, M., & Kramer, B. (2008). Project Management - Planning Scheduling and Controlling Projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Stolovich, H. (Writer), & Laureate Educational Inc, (Director). (n.d.). Project Management Concerns: Scope Creep [Motion Picture].

Communicating Effectively

Voicemail.

I think the voice mail was effective as the respondent would be able to playback the message at their convenience. I however found the message a little bland. It is also difficult to confirm if the respondent ever received the message. It is more formal and has a sense of urgency and if the respondent listen to it, they will be more inclined to take action.

Email

Although emails are a more permanent record and allows for a review and searchability, the casual nature of this message does not indicate urgency or make the request formal. It appears more informal and does not impress the respondent with the urgent nature of what the sender wants to achieve. The writer did not apply the rules of email etiquette available here.

Face to face.

In the face to face modality, the presenter is able to communicate her needs in a more personable manner. She is pleasant and engaging. My concern is that there is no way she can use this communication to set a deadline and a reference point. The written word is more formal and is easy to retrieve and review. In formal project environment, Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, and Kramer, (2008) discourage use of informal communication as it leads to miscommunication and hurt feelings. Face to face communication can generate immediate feedback but in my opinion should be followed up with documentation. In nursing, the adage states that “If it is not written, it did not happen.” This is just as true in project management.

In project management, it is better to over-communicate than to under communicate. I would recommend we apply all the three modalities to impress on the respondent the urgency and the need to keep to the timelines. Duthler (2006) discusses the Politeness of Requests Made via Email and Voicemail and make several valid observations. He concludes that the results indicate email requests were more polite than voicemail requests. His full article is avilable here.

Reference

Duthler, K. W. (2006). The politeness of requests made via email and voicemail: Support for the hyperpersonal model. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(2), article 6. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue2/duthler.html

Portny, S., Mantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., Sutton, M., & Kramer, B. (2008). Project Management .Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Learning from a Project “Post-mortem”

The Project: College Management System;

Background to the project:

I worked for a small college that wanted to develop an in-house College Management System that would capture various aspect of the college management. This was an important project as it was to capture student information, track student progress from application to graduation and capture data on Administration (human resources, finance and administration).

The project deliverables included:

• A computer application that would provide real-time reports on all aspect of college management.
• A web interface to facilitate staff and  student login
• Different permission levels for administrators, sub-administrators, lecturers and students
• An offline backup for information captured by the system

I was the project manager with responsibility to plan, organize and coordinate the project.

The project did not succeed.

What contributed to the project’s failure?

As Greer (2010) advises, it is important to be clear about the project concept to get the support from key people in your organization. I did not clarify the project concept and deliverables. All I did was have this meeting with the Director of Education and the Chief Executive and decided that we needed an online/ computer application. Halfway into the project, it became obvious that much more work needed to have been undertaken well before the project commenced.

For starters, I did not develop a statement of work or a Project Charter (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, and Kramer 2008) that formally launched and acknowledged the existence of the project. It was therefore difficult to access organizational resources (people, equipment, materials) willing to undertake the project activities.

The lack of a statement of work was a major hindrance to the success of the project. I was unclear about the project deliverables from the outset and different mangers kept on adding functions to the final application. This “scope creep” could not be contained, as the initial scope of the project had not been outlined. All stakeholders expected the project to be the panacea to all their headaches with the present system where each department kept own information and records. Most of this information was duplicated while some critical information could not be accessed on time. For instance, the instructor kept student grades, the finance kept financial records while the admissions needed this information to discuss with students and sponsors.

The vendors I hired were also not very competent. This was compounded by the fact that their terms of reference were vague and kept changing in the life of the project.

The assumptions that I had made for the implementations of the project were wrong. I initially had underestimated the size and effort required for the project. No comparative or feasibility study was undertaken and no benchmarks were set. I also assumed that staff members critical to the success of the project would be available for meetings and consultations. This was inherently wrong as they were busy in their daily responsibilities and could not avail themselves as needed.

Though the chief executive had implied that we would have access to reasonable finance to purchase needed computer equipment and other necessary software, the process of getting the funds released was bureaucratic and tedious. We therefore decided to skip purchases of critical software and other computer accessories.

By the time the project was almost complete, the board of the college decided to implement a different system that could accomplish what we were working on without having to invest in internal equipment. This was motivated by the fact that our project was taking too long and the accrediting council needed to have a functional system by the time they did a site visit. So our project was abandoned altogether after investing thousands of dollars, lost man-hours and sleepless night on my part.

I learnt several lessons about project management from this project. This can be captured using Greer’s 10 Steps to Project Success( p.5):

Step 1: Define the project concept, then get support and approval.

Step 2: Get your team together and start the project.

Step 3: Figure out exactly what the finished work products will be.

Step 4: Figure out what you need to do to complete the work products. (Identify tasks and phases.)

Step 5: Estimate time, effort, and resources.

Step 6: Build a schedule.

Step 7: Estimate the costs.

Step 8: Keep the project moving.

Step 9: Handle scope changes.

Step 10: Close out phases, close out the project.

References.

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

Portny, S., Mantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., Sutton, M., & Kramer, B. (2008). Project Management planning, scheduling and controlling projects. Hoboken. NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Reflections on Distance Education

Reflections on the Future of Distance Learning

Distance Learning is gaining wide acceptance across the globe to learners and employers alike. Siemens (n.d.) avers that online education is gaining acceptance due to increased online communication and growing comfort with web 2.0 technology tools. Gambescia and Paolucci (2009) alleged that the number of online courses students enrolled today has out-distanced all other forms of distance learning in a remarkably short amount of time. A google search for online classes generated about 4.5 million results in 0.19 seconds.

Future Perceptions of Distance Learning (5–10 Years; 10–20 Years)

The future of Distance Education is really quite promising. Prensky as far back as 2001 observed that students in the 21st century were no longer the people that existing educational system was designed to teach. He described the students as “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet (Prensky, 2001). He observed that these students would continue to revolutionize the education systems by adopting and demanding new technologies and new approaches to learning.

Ira Socol in his blog argued that the world of education presently includes Mobile phones, computers, hypertext, social networking, collaborative cognition (from Wikipedia on up), Google, text-messaging, Twitter, audiobooks, digital texts, text-to-speech, speech recognition, flexible formatting and a myriad of other technology tools afforded by the web2.0 technologies. He concluded that these technologies would create a flexibility and set of choices unprecedented in human communication by enabling the vast part of the population that earlier media forms disabled (Socol, 2009). These learners will therefore embrace distance-learning technologies due to their comfort with the technology and the increased use of communication tools.

Improving Societal Perceptions of Distance Learning

The key concerns identified that have continued to hold back people from readily accepting Distance Education is the thinking that distance learning cannot be similar or equal to the traditional face to face class. The “equivalency theory,” discussed by Simonson (n.d) promotes equivalent learning outcomes for students in face-to-face and online experiences although different approaches to learning are used. As an instructional designer, I will need to ensure that the course goals and objectives align with the desired course outcomes.

As an Instructional Designer, it will be my primary responsibility to impress upon SME’s on the importance and the critical nature of planning for online courses. I will also advise the instructors to ensure that they do not convert the tradition class by simply posting the materials and resources to an online server. They will need to redesign the course for the distant learner. The use of PowerPoint presentation and handouts will need to examine from the lense of the distant learner. As Siemens suggests, online learner may not have the patience to flip through150 slides as is possible in a traditional classes.

Final Thoughts

I will continue to be a key advocate for Distance Learning. As is already obvious, my decision to take this class (which is purely online) is a testament to this conviction. Henceforward, I will encourage more learners and instructors to migrate part of instruction and learning to the online format. Hybrid course seems to be progressively becoming the baby steps as learners embrace pure distance programs. This class has helped me achieve reasonable comfort in using Course Management System when designing distance program.

References;

Gambescia, S., & Paolucci, R. (2009). Academic fidelity and integrity as attributes of university online degree program offerings. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 12(1). Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring121/gambescia121.html

Prensky, M. (2001, October). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon, Vol. 9(5).

Siemens, G. (n.d.). The Future of Distance Education [Video]. Available from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5693697&Survey=1&47=7753466&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Simonson, M. (n.d.). Theory and Distance Learning.(Video) Baltimore , Maryland.retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5693697&Survey=1&47=7753466&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Socol, I. (2009 , July 14). Technology: The Wrong Questions and the Right Questions. Retrieved October 29, 2011, from Change.Org: http://news.change.org/stories/technology-the-wrong-questions-and-the-right-questions

 

Best Practise Guide when converting a Traditional class to a Hybrid class

As an instructor, you should invest significant effort in redesigning a traditional course to a successful hybrid course (Garnam & Kaleta, 2002). This is because the class seat time is reduced and a part of the learning activities are moved online. You should review the course goals and objectives and design new online learning activities to meet the set goals and objectives of the class. These activities must effectively integrate the online activities to the face-to-face meetings.  Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek (2009) suggest that while teaching at a distance, you require greater emphasis at the initial planning phase.

What are some of the pre-planning strategies to consider before converting a traditional program?

Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek (2009) suggest that  you should eliminate trial and error by;

·         Retooling the the courses by shifting the focus to visual presentations, engaged learners and careful timing or presentation of information.

·         Considering ways for illustrating key concepts.

·         Plan for interactive activities and group work.

·         Be prepared for technical problems that may occur.

·         Examine issues related to the separation of the instructor from the learners.

What aspects of the training program could be enhanced in the distance learning format?

This check sheet will identify whether you have made necessary adjust when converting to Distance Learning format.

Training Aspect		Yes	No
Course materials	Have you used figures, tables and other visual presentations (Simonson et al, 2009)
Course objectives	Have you redesigned the course to ensure focus is on pedagogy and not technology (Garnam & Kaleta, 2002).
Focus	Is the course should be learner centered
Group work and participation	Have you Constructed a supportive social environment through use of discussion boards or group wikis and make participation mandatory and part of the final grading
Assignments	Are the assignments clearly scheduled with specific due dates.
Grading	Have you provided grading rubric

How your role as trainer will change in the distance learning environment

Distance learning instructor role can appear contradictory and sometimes shifting in focus. During the design phase, the instructor can be both the instructional designer and the subject matter expert. Once the class is underway, the instructor role changes to that of an interactive facilitator.

You role as a distance learning instructor will require you to;

·         Take a back seat and guide the students by monitoring the discussion posts and regularly prodding participants to look at the material another way or to refocus the conversation back on course.

·         Have better presentation skills, some technical competencies, virtual management techniques, and the ability to engage students through virtual communication (Berge & Collins, 1995).

·         Understand the technical component of the software and hardware interfaces, systems access, passwords, and the like (Berge & Collins, 1995)

·         Play a social role with responsibilities such as building a learning community, helping students work in groups, and establishing a culture for productive interaction.

·         Keep online discussions on track, weave discussion threads, and maintains group harmony (Rohfeld & Heimstra, 1995).

·         Perform managerial responsibilities, from maintaining students’ records to facilitating self-directed learning. In a virtual environment, monitoring student progress can be even more difficult than in the classroom.

What steps will you take to encourage the trainees to communicate online?

Simonson et al., (2009) gives various recommendations to encourage communication among learners. They suggest that you must clarify the minimal acceptable standards for in-class communication and discussion. You should develop a detailed syllabus with clear instructions, deadlines, and guidelines to help students manage their responsibilities and time (Durrington, Berryhill & Swafford, 2006). Grading rubrics are the best method to share these expectations. You must reward students through grade points for contribution to the learning community. To assure that the learners understand the material correctly, you should also offer constant and timely feedback. You must remind the Learners to be sensitive to people of different cultures and orientations. They should also be respectful to everyone. The Learning and course management system should also support the learners, and provide an open forum for discussion.

References

Berge, Z. L. & Collins, M. P. (Eds.). (1995). Computer mediated communication and the online classroom. Volume II: Higher education. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

Durrington, V., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190-193. Retrieved  on October 20, 2011 from http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/433631/strategies_for_enhancing_student_interactivity_in_an_online_environment/.

Garnam, C., & Kaleta, R. (2002, March). Introduction to Hybrid Course. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from Teaching with Technology today: http://www.wisconsin.edu/ttt/articles/garnham.htm   

Rohfeld, R W., & Hiemstra, R. (1995). Moderating discussions in the electronic classroom. In Computer-mediated communication and the on-line classroom. 3. eds. Berge, Z.L. & Collins, M.P. Hampton Press: New Jersey.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education. 4th Ed. Boston: Pearson.