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
William,
ReplyDeleteI am so happy for you that you had the perseverance to hold another paintball fundraiser. It looks like a lot of fun. Great pictures! I really like the saying "I gave up control to gain more control of the project." If only some folks I know would to that their work life would much less stressful. I call it "letting go." You seem to have a very positive personality. After that first paintball event, I might have given up. Great job!
William,
ReplyDeleteI have worked in different capacities with the post-secondary private school industry for 15 years. I have initiated fundraising activities ranging from dollar-donuts to Easter-egg-hunts. Its a very lonely enterprise. The results may not be what we anticipate but the motivation for helping others is admirably.
Stakeholder support at the administrative level is paramount to a successful outcome. Most faculty and staff may not want to put themselves out on a limb in case of failure, but if the project is a success, these same individuals will be the first to mention "what a great idea it was".
Your subsequent successes examplify the importance of utilizing project management techniques. Experience is still the best teacher, in my opinion, and you made the best of your learning experience. You obtained the help of others and were able to focus on the overall scope of the project instead of being bogged down with too much detail.
Hi William,
ReplyDeleteIt is true that if we are expected to work in a team environment, that we should effectively plan, schedule, and communicate with our peers, if not, the project is suspect to be doomed. It is clear that when you approached the second project and connected with the community, the profits were indeed greater. It is a good feeling to be able to learn from our mistakes and best of all to be able to talk (discuss)about them with a community of learners who do understand.
Good job - Mr. Fundraiser
Carmen
William,
ReplyDeleteWhen you mentioned the need to give up controlling all aspects of the fundraising project and focusing on overseeing the overall project, it reminded me of another important aspect of project management, delegating. Delegating can be the most difficult part of a project since we are always thinking, ‘If I want is done right I might as well do it myself.’ If a project is going to be completed in a timely manner, delegation is the key.
Also---How did you get your comments to show at the bottom of your posts? My blog is hosted through blogger as well and my comments only show as links. Thanks!