Communication is the KEY!

William Knopf-Blog posting Week 3

The message was the same throughout the 3 different types of communication (email, voicemail, and face to face). As I went from each message I felt that it was the same for the email and voicemail, and different with the face to face.

Perceptions influence how you can take any of the messages. In emails, I have found that you have to use very direct language. Also the way a person takes the message depends greatly on their mood and how the take the written message. In the voicemail the tone of the message can determine how the listener takes the message. In the example the voice was positive and asking in a supporting manner. Finally in the face to face communication, your non-verbal communication speaks louder than your words. Like Stolovitch (2010) stated the attitude, body language is a huge factor in communication. One thing that I was taught long ago (not sure by who), “the mouth speaks lies, the body tells you all!” This is so true, and in the face to face communication, I felt negative vibes from her. From my perception the voicemail conveyed the best and true meaning of the message.

From the exercise and the video segments, communication needs to be direct and to the point. The problem should be stated clearly and in the beginning, a solution of some kind should be suggested, and how you want the person to respond to you. One thing that I need to work on is getting all the team players involved and engaged in my projects. I have run projects so long by myself that I will have to learn how share and communicate the tasks and focus (Portny, 2008). One thing that I have done and it was suggested by the text is involving the right people (Portny, 2008). Identifying the right people in the project is extremely important and making sure they stay engaged is a key feature (Stolovitch, 2010). Another important item is to not be ambiguous (Stolovitch, 2010), in the case study Carlos was extremely ambiguous and open-ended, and this lead to problems in the project with Catherine and Dan. There are many things to think about and I liked how Catherine put a real world number on how much time it takes, 300:1 (Portny, 2008). Planning is extremely important and just as important as communication, because without proper communication all the planning is worthless.




Sources:
• 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.
• Video Program: “Communicating with Stakeholders”
Dr. Stolovitch discusses communication strategies and managing client expectations.
• Video Program: “Practitioner Voices: Strategies for Working with Stakeholders”
In this program, Troy Achong discusses strategies for dealing with different stakeholder personalities, and Vince Budrovich illustrates why stakeholders need to be kept involved during the entire lifecycle of the project.
• Video Program: “Project Management Concerns: Communication Strategies and Organizational Culture”
Dr. Stolovitch gives Carole Kramer advice on adjusting her communication style to fit her client’s culture.

Failed project

Project overview: I was working at a private school. As you may or may not know funding in private schools is less than public schools. Therefore fundraising is an extremely important part of working for a private school. When I took over the role of fundraiser chair, I decided to make some new fundraisers to break up the routine. At the time paintball was a big and popular at the time, so I thought it would make a great fundraiser. I contacted a local field to for details and billing. The date was selected and the price set. However the day only raised $60 for 7 hours of activity and many more in planning. The day was not a success.


1. Are you proud of our finished deliverables (project work products)? If yes, what's so good
about them? If no, what's wrong with them? The product of the project was fundraising money for the school, and I was not happy with the result. The net profit of the day was only $60.
2. What was the single most frustrating part of our project? The most frustrating part of the project was the net result. Planning for the event took over 3 weeks of time and the day itself took 7 hours.
3. How would you do things differently next time to avoid this frustration? The next time that I did the project, instead of inviting just our school, I opened it to the public. Instead of a few handfuls of families, the local community got involved. The next paintball fundraiser brought in $800.
4. What was the most gratifying or professionally satisfying part of the project? Even though the project was not a huge success, the school was still thankful and believed in the project.
5. Which of our methods or processes worked particularly well? Instead of doing all the leg work, like Stolovitch (2010) stated, I gave up control to gain more control of the project. I had a person in charge of concessions, paintball supplies, entry tickets, and t-shirts.
6. Which of our methods or processes were difficult or frustrating to use? None.
7. If you could wave a magic wand and change anything about the project, what would you
change? I wouldn’t change anything, because I learned from the experience. You don’t have the ability to go back in time and redo things. I took the good things from the first day and re-worked the failing objectives.
8. Did our stakeholders, senior managers, customers, and sponsor(s) participate effectively? If
not, how could we improve their participation? The stakeholders, the school, did not actively participate. I had total control and was also totally accountable for the project.


Source:
Stolovitch, H. (2010). Project Management and Instructional Design. Walden Video Library

Discussion 1-reposted

William Knopf-ID

Instructional designer has many roles and responsibilities when a project is concerned. One of the first roles is to identify the need of the project. What is the goal that the project is trying to accomplish? When an ID is doing this function they are showing an understanding and relating to the project itself. According to Dr. Stolovich (2010) ID are musicians that control their own section of a project. The ID is concerned with the objectives, methods of delivery, media to deliver, learning styles, and assessments (Stolovich, 2010). When having the first initial meeting with the stakeholders or client the ID should identify the topic and objective of the project. The ID should start to formulate ideas that will best serve the project and fulfill the objectives. The ID should also know the trade and be able to find SME, these are similar to project champions that the PM will find, and they can assist in the development of the project (Portny, 2008). Another key concept the ID has to consider is whether they have to report to the PM or not. In some projects the ID has to not only design the instructional methods, but also manage themselves through the project. An ID can have very similar roles of a PM if that role is not established.

Sources:

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.
Rekom, P. (2010). Practitioner Voices: Barriers to Project Success. Walden Video Library.
Stolovitch, H. (2010). Project Management and Instructional Design. Walden Video Library

Stolovitch, H. (2010). Project Kickoff. Walden Video Library.